Free E-Book "Building Wings" by Don Johnston, Supports Self-Accommodation and Advocacy

I spent some time this Veteran's Day reading Don Johnston's Story, "Building Wings: How I Made it Through School." I have had an autographed copy for several years with good intentions to read it and it has sat on my shelf waiting for me to pick it up.
We had friends visit over the weekend who have a daughter that could really get a lot out of reading Don's book. She is a middle schooler that struggles with comprehension and needs others to read aloud to her. She gets terribly embrassed and wants to hide her disability. I shared some tools for accommodating print disabilities and in light of their situation, decided it was time for me to read Don's book. I am going to share it with our friends too.

The book is large print and set at a 3-5 grade reading level, so it was easy reading for me but the concepts and issues were laid out to cause anyone reading the book to stop and think. I had to look at my own practice as an educator and reflect on how I support students and their learning. Do I challenge them to reach for higher achievement or do I allow them to settle for the easiest plateau? Don's story caused me to reflect on my own learning in elementary school, first impressions of school, my desire to learn and how that changed over time. I even decided to read it to my first grade son.We sat down last night and I read the first 3 chapters to him where Don shares his kindergarten and first grade years.
My son was glued to the story and had lots of questions. He wanted me to read more but it was time for bed. We talked about his coming to me when he can't learn something and not being frustrated, but rather let the teacher and me help him find the WAY he can learn it.
Don Johnston has a Building Wing's Reader's Theatre Contest that I will share about tomorrow. Meanwhile, check out the book and read it here: http://www.donjohnston.com/offers/buildingwings_online/one/index.htmlIf you work with children and you have never read it - you owe yourself and your students a good read of this one!

All the best!
Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Virginia Special Education Students Receive Digital Access with Read:OutLoud

Don Johnston Read Out Loud Chosen at State Level as Reader of AIM:I received this press release yesterday and thought you might be interested in the way the State of Virginia is providing accessible instructional materials in their schools under IDEA. Read about it and post a comment telling us what you think. I think it is a step in the right direction for schools that are overwhelmed about making decisions about what text reader to use and how to get it implemented. Here, the choices have been made for them. I am sure the hope is to streamline the process and get materials in the student's hands in a more timely manner.

Press Release:
The Virginia Accessible Instructional Materials Center (AIM-VA), part of the Helen A. Kellar Institute for Human disAbilities (KIHd) at George Mason University, (GMU) has entered into a two-year statewide license agreement with Don Johnston Incorporated to use its Read:OutLoud® accessible text reader in support of students with special needs. The Read:OutLoud software will enable eligible students with IEPs to access new electronic textbooks and other instructional materials as required by federal law.
The AIM-VA program will ensure that students who are eligible will receive timely access to
digital textbook formats and educational materials as required by the IDEA 2004 Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act. Through the AIM-VA website, http://kihd.gmu.edu/aim,
Superintendents and Digital Rights Managers can sign up to receive the Read:OutLoud text reader and training at no cost. Students can use the text reader at school and at home to take advantage of several reading comprehension strategies and support tools.
John Eisenberg, M. Ed at the Virginia Department of Education Office of Special Education Instructional Services Severe Disabilities/Assistive Technology Specialist, said, "AIM-VA will be the Department of Education's response to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA) to ensure that students with print disabilities receive high quality accessible formats of instructional materials in a timely manner. In partnership with GMU, we are excited about improving access to accessible materials through the use of Don Johnston's Read:OutLoud text reader. Accessible instructional materials used in conjunction with assistive technology will help students with disabilities make significant progress toward improving their educational outcomes."
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), more than 90%
of students with individualized education programs (IEPs) read below proficient levels, yet only an estimated 1-3% has access to technologies that will help them overcome reading barriers. Read:OutLoud is known for its supportive reading guide templates designed to leverage strategies recommended by the National Reading Panel and Reading Next. In this initiative it will serve an estimated 170,000 students in more than 1,900 Virginia public schools.

Read:OutLoud will open and read all common accessible file formats, including the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS), PDF, DAISY, Text Files (txt), Rich Text Format (rtf), HTML, XML, and Bookshare.org. The program includes a web browser to access the Internet with speech-enabled audio, an eHighlighter to improve study skills, the Franklin Talking Dictionary with over 32,000 word definitions to build vocabulary and a bibliographer to help students accurately cite research.
Michael Behrmann, GMU Professor of Special Education and Director of KIHd, is an advocate for assistive technologies and the visionary behind the project. His team specializes in working with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to design innovative programs in support of persons with disabilities in K-12 and higher education. He said, "AIM-VA was designed to be a 'central library model' where materials and services are provided at no cost to support the
needs of its citizens. The VDOE has put us in charge to be a one-stop solution to provide schools with accessible and appropriate reading materials in a timely fashion. We want to ensure that they can comply with this law and are relieved of the burden of coordinating the logistics to access the digital materials, convert the files, purchase the technology and then support our students who need access to become successful learners."

Watch a product demonstration to learn more about Read:OutLoud 'Whole School' License Options - http://www.donjohnston.com/readoutloud

All the best to you!

Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Access and Ability by Ron Graham: Transitions for Students With Disabilities into Higher Education

"I am a man who happens to be blind, not a blind man." Ron Graham, author of Accessability Blog is my latest guest on No Limits 2 Learning Live.
Ron was in a car accident and suffered brain injuries that caused a loss of his sight at the age of 31. He went on to earn his associates, bachelors and masters degrees after the incident. He is an active advocate and resource for accessibility for all, and his positive attitude shines through.
Ron has a unique story that includes his belief that you must be a self-advocate. "If you can't speak up and believe in yourself, who else will?" Ron says. His experience as a director of disability student services at the college level combined with his own disability establish him as a unique expert in transition and higher education for folks with disabilities.
Our discussion led us to the topic of accessibility issues within the college campus and access to textbooks, etc. Ron shared that pre-planning is a huge piece in the process of being successful in college. You need to know what tools you need, how to ask for them and be organized with the strategy to learn.
Listen to the interview: Access and Accessibility Ron Graham's Wayhttp://www.blogtalkradio.com/nolimits2learninglive/2008/11/05/Access-and-Ability-Accessibility-Ron-Grahams-Way
You can also access it on the Blog Talk Radio player to the right on my No Limits to Learning blog sidebar.

All the best to you!
Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Merging AT and General Ed: FCTD Showcases No Limits to Learning

When Worlds Merge: AT and Instructional Technology in the General Ed Classroom
I was honored last month to be asked by The Family Center on Technology and Disability (FCTD) to be interviewed and showcased for the November Issue. I spent about an hour and a half on the phone with the writer from New York. We had a semi-formal interview until it came out that I had been the recipient of a torn right vetebral artery and continue to spend time with an "invisible disability". Come to find out, the writer has had his own processing and learning disability his entire life. Once we established that common ground, we had all sorts of things to talk about.
The editor sent me the rough draft to edit and return. I made a few corrections, but I am amazed at how smart they made me sound! Really, I guess we all just do what we do and don't really think anyone would want to dedicate an entire issue of a newsletter just on what makes up our profession, beliefs, committments and discipline - but that is what they did and there are some good nuggets in there if I may say so myself.
They have an awesome staff, writer, and editor - thanks to them, you will find the information presented with some interesting ideas to chew on. They have included some nice links from my blog posts and interviews as well as mentioning the Assistive Technology Blog Carnival and the Blog Talk Radio -No Limits 2 Learning Live talk show, (Which by the way will have my good friend Ron Graham on today at 10 a.m. Pacific, who is blind and is a blogger (Access Ability) and advocate for UDL and equal access as well as a former director for student accessibility in higher ed. - now retired and donating time to work in public school work with children and vision impairments. His story is AMAZING. Check it out!)

I am very proud and honored to be one of the professionals that FCTD has chosen to include in their resources. You can read the issue at: http://www.fctd.info/resources/newsletters/displayNewsletter.php?newsletterID=10064

FCTD has also asked me to co-moderate a discussion thread on their newly re-vamped site next month (December 2008) on advocacy and school partnerships. I will be sharing the moderation with an expert parent advocate so I am excited about that. I will let you know details when I get the specifics. I hope you will join us.

No Limits 2 Learning .com
I also have my companion website up and going now. There are some interviews, archives, activities and pdf's for download there from my trainings as well as a section I am building on links to free resources. I am constantly adding and building there so check in often: http://www.nolimits2learning.com/
I refer in my FCTD interview to an Action Steps for Advocacy Report that will be available. It is done, but I want to give you a subscription to a newsletter where I will periodically share news like the above with you and share free resources, reminders and links to upcoming interviews, etc. So I am working on a page to have you sign up to get the free report as a download AND the newsletter. I am trying to get that link done and ready on both this blog and the website. I will try and get it done ASAP. Also, your email address will stay exclusively with No Limits 2 Learning and will NEVER be sold or given away to others.

I guess that's all the news for now - there are all kinds of interesting folks we are planning to interview in the near future and projects getting launched. I hope they are of value and interest to you - they sure are fun and enriching for me. I am honored to be able to do this. Thanks so much for your support in reading and listening.

All the best to you!

Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Eye Max Field Tested in Our Region Last Week

I had the opportunity to put the Eye Max by Dynavox to work in a field test last week. Our field consultant from Portland drove one out to set up with a VMax for Halloween Day. We callibrated it with a high school boy who has trialed many access methods with his laptop over the past two years. We had loaded Boardmaker with Speaking Dynamically Pro on his laptop and tried using his head array to access communication boards. I even set up Mp3 files of his songs to play on an Mp3 player board (that would make a fun tutorial here sometime) and we hoped for some extra motivation factor with that one.
We moved to a reflective dot on a cap with a head tracker and stabilized his head with neck support. We worked with a sip and puff but he couldn't get his mouth to curve and grip the straw without air leaking out...so, enter the EyeMax.
The Dynavox rep/field consultant placed the unit on a stand. The EyeMax snaps into the battery compartment of the VMax from the back and has a lens and 2 lights that stay on when it "sees" both your eyes - or one or the either corresponding to each individual eye. Once callibrated, the lens sees you and locks in on your head movement and by dwelling on a button, you can click and open it. When your gaze moves across the board, a blue frame show up on a button. If you dwell there, the frame gets thicker and begins to move inward to fill the button until it clicks to open the linked board or say the message, etc.
Our student had a rough time callibrating because of several things. One was that he has used a head array for years and he has a habit of moving his head instead of just his eyes. Getting him to keep a soft body and just work with his eyes will take him some practice.
Another issue is that he has some problems with holding his head still and we have him braced up every way we can think of short of a halo. Our PT and OT have done a great job of collaborating in a team setting wiith the SLP, myself and the case manager and mom to get this far.
He was able to callibrate it enough to get access started. He played a concentration game, opening and matching squares. He also used a simple yes and no button with large target size.
We have scheduled a loan in January to do a more extensive trial. The devices are being bought as soon as they are ready and the company can't keep them coming fast enough according to the rep. Needless to say, the wait list is long for the loans as well, so if you are interested, check with your regional Dynavox consultant to get a reservation set up.
We are going to be practicing the eye gaze technique in the meantime. I am encouraged by what I have seen.
I would encourage you to check it out if you have a student that has been unable to access a device through any other means. I don't have a price at this point. I know the team was talking about it and I just was busy working with the student and the device. You can find out by calling your Dynavox rep as well.

All the best to you!

Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

The Assistive Technology Blog Carnival "Mad Scientist" Edition is Up!

Happy Halloween!
I am proud to present the October Mad Scientist Edition of The Assistive Technology Blog Carnival. We have quite a few posts this month from some great bloggers.
Check out ideas on talking book PowerPoints, useful Mac tips and ideas, creating switch adapted toys, A mad scientist party, Using Multiple Communication boards, and more.
There are some mad scientist projects like a tech'ed out pumpkin, a look at Tesla on video, Superman fights a mad scientist and a Mad Scientist site with online how to science experiments. There is even a link to a Mad Scientist video game you can download (a pretty substantial demo) for free.
I hope you enjoy!
Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

DAISY Consortium Leadership Share the Vision: Interview on Information Accessibility

Secretary General of DAISY Consortium will be my guest this afternoon at 2 PM Pacific on No Limits 2 Learning Live on Blog Talk Radio.
Ever since I worked on several pieces concerning the process of converting text to the DAISY format using MS Word last spring, I have had some wonderful discourse with folks from the DAISY consortium. They proved their ability to be on top of the online discussion concerning their tools and public opinion when they left comments clarifying some technical issues I had with converting text.
I commended them for their involvement at this level and the team expressed their thanks for the positive input. You see, we forget that there are folks hard at work dedicating days and weeks and months of time to build software to make our lives easier. Many times their efforts go unnoticed and only the negative responses are all that get heard.
I want to share that the DAISY Consortium team has gone above and beyond in their supporting their tools and technology. In light of this, I am very honored to be able to present an interview with George Kerscher Ph.D. and Secretary General of DAISY Consortium and Lynn Leith, the editor of the DAISY Planet online newsletter and Head of Information Services. Lynn has a long background in Canada with the CNIB Library for the blind in audio master production. She has been great to correspond with me and work on setting up this interview.

We will be discussing the NIMAS standards, an update for the MS Word plug -in, strategies for using DAISY files for learning supports, as well as future goals and projects. We will also be talking about the WBU treaty proposal for WIPO -World Intellectual PropertyOrganization taking place on Nov 3 and their thoughts on its implications.
I hope you will join us today, Tuesday, October 29th at 2 PM Pacific time at No Limits 2 Learning Live for the interview.
As always, the archive will be up after the live stream for folks to access from the player on my sidebar at the No Limits to Learning blog or from the talk show archive at the link above. I am also starting to put all the archives on my No Limits 2 Learning.com site under the archives link along with many other resources.
Remember also that the Assistive Technology Blog Carnival "Mad Scientist" Edition will be up on Halloween day and there will be some fun surprises.

All the best to you!
Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Yikes! A switch Adapted Toy for Halloween

A vintage battery operated Frankenstein brings memories of the fun we had as kids with Halloween toys. Why not create a fun switch operated toy using a battery interrupter to bring some Halloween fun to the orthopedically impaired?

Whether it is a screaming doorknocker, a Frankenstein dancing to the monster mash, a rat with glowing eyes or an animated witch, using a battery interrupter can transform a simple toy into a fun treat with a seasonal flair.
There are two ways you can do the battery interrupting. One way is to get a thin piece of copper metal and using snips or scissors, cut it in a circle or square about the size of a dime.
Using speaker wire, solder one of each of the two wires to either side of the copper plate. The other end needs to have the wires soldered to a 3.5 mini jack plug that you can buy at Radio Shack or at a computer electronics shop.
The following tutorial will give you some pictures and directions that are more specific:
Making A Switch Adapted Toy by Dave Grass

Here is another way for the more technically challenged:
Save some time and buy a pre-made battery interruptor from Enabling Devices for $9.95. They also have a nice free tutorial pdf on how to install and use their battery interruptors.
I have used a notching file tool that allows me to notch a hole in the side of the battery door so that the cord can fit through. These can be bought through infogrip for $9.
I have found that the straight-forward toy, as far as having a single action and single switch, is a lot easier to adapt. I bought one toy that had 3 settings and by using the interrupter, I only got one feature and it wasn't that exciting. To get to the main brain of the toy, I had to undo a lot of screws only to find a plastic casing I would have had to break. I would suggest looking for the simplest featured toys you can find for this kind of project.
Here are some pictures and links to some fun Halloween toys that might work I found on a quick search:
A Screaming door knocker.
A dancing witch

A rat

A dancing Frankenstein that plays "The Monster Mash"

Switch adapted toys can make all the difference for kids with orthopedic impairments or low functioning students working on cause and effect. Just make sure that you know what stimulates or scares your students so you are not setting them up for a real scare that you didn't intend on having happen! If you have children that have fun with the ghosts and goblins at Halloween, these adapted toys could be a real treat!

All the best to you!
Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Have a Mad Scientist Halloween Classroom Party Using AT

It is officially Halloween Week! I have several posts to share with a Halloween theme this week as well as the release of our AT Blog Carnival Mad Scientist Edition coming out this Friday and a new No Limits 2 Learning Live Blog Talk Radio interview.The mad scientist in me is having too much fun.I hosted a weekend party up on our mountain this past weekend and the dinner Saturday night was a Thai meal. I dressed up in my asylum shirt, fake tattoo arms and hockey mask to serve the dinner.

Late Saturday night, I went to work on this month's Assistive Technology Blog Carnival and found an email submission from Alicia Odom, author of smdteacher blog. She had so many good ideas, I couldn't wait until Halloween day to post her link on the AT Blog Carnival, so I am linking it below so you can get some ideas from it. Maybe you can use something for your classroom party this week.
Mad Scientist Halloween Party
I love her games. integration of AT devices and supports. Thanks Alicia!

Make sure to check out the Assistive Technology Blog Carnival Mad Scientist Edition on Halloween Day. We have more from Alicia and others on creative uses for AT. There will also be some video clips on mad scientists, links to student activities in science and some other surprises. It's not too late for YOU to submit something either!
Submit to lonthornburg@nolimits2learning.com

Tomorrow I will be sharing how to adapt some fun Halloween battery-operated toys for the orthopedically impaired and some cause and effect fun. My guests for my talk show are starting to line up again after a brief hiatus to get my fall school schedule up and running. I made lots of contacts at Closing the Gap for interviews. DAISY Consortium is working with me on an interview possibly this Wednesday for No Limits 2 Learning Live - I will know soon and you can check back on Wednesday morning to see if it is happening in the afternoon that day or not.
More details to follow...Happy Halloween Everyone!
Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Starting Bell on Wall Street: Carnage as Dow Falls, But Life Goes On in Special Education

I have been feeling life move in slow motion lately as I have watched our world financial crisis. This morning at 5 a.m. as I was readying myself to write a post for the day, I put CNBC in the background and watched as the reports came in from the opening of the European markets earlier today. A plunge in stocks had an impact on U.S. futures showing a drop of over 500 points before we are even open. The implication is that we will see an 1,100 point plunge at the opening this morning. Russia has closed their market for the day and will not open until next week.
NYSE said they were committed to open on time at 9:30 Eastern time. At this point CNBC have their cameras on the NYSE floor and the host said they will be there for the starting bell and they will be recording "the carnage". The opening is starting any time here as I write.
I just have to share this today because my first thought isn't about where my retirement is going (although that thought is there!) but more the thought of what the implications will be for schools and special education services. Will schools opt to cut therapist jobs and make do with their own staff to meet needs? Will services to these students suffer because of the process of cutting corners?
What are your thoughts on where we are headed? I asked our superintendent almost 3 weeks ago if he thought it was too early to forecast where we were headed. He shared that we are OK through this biennium, but the next one will be hard. He is looking at all kinds of options to cut costs that involve new fuel efficient vehicles, teleservice and video conference service delivery options where possible. (The NYSE is open and has fallen 322 points in the first 3 minutes. Now as I write it has dropped 390. Now 425 points while I write this.) He also shared that education has weathered the storm better than many other professions in recession. During the Great Depression schools still opened and teachers taught.
I welcome your thoughts on this. I would like to know what others are sensing as to the implications for student services. Whatever is happening in the financial world, I am still getting up in the morning and meeting with teachers, specialists, students and pressing on with state initiatives for opening up access and availability of accessible instructional materials.
Life goes on...

All the best to you!
Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Fusion Keyboard Enhances Writing with Text to Speech

I spent the day yesterday at our state AT Advisory Board meeting in Salem. I always enjoy listening to what other AT coordinators are using and what they are excited about. One of the pieces of equipment I heard several leaders mention was the Fusion Keyboard by Advanced Keyboard technologies.
I have been using an Alphasmart Neo coupled with Write Outloud To Go from Don Johnston. I bought a small set of speakers that plug in the headphone port and the students have been using it to type to talk. Although I like it, I have had trouble with the WOL To Go disappearing when the battery dies. I have to re-sync it every time. I also have trouble with the speakers not being attached. I like what I read and hear concerning the Fusion Keyboard.

Here's what the company says about it:
"In response to the specific requests from AT, OT and Special needs teachers from around the country, AKT developed the Fusion portable keyboard. Fusion offers the programs and features that Special Needs professionals have been asking for - for years: Text to Speech, excellent word prediction programming, a large LCD display with adjustable font size all on an easy to use, low-cost platform."

You can order a demo device for trial through the website. I like that it has a built-in speaker so carting around an external speaker (like I have been doing) isn't necessary. The cost is $369, but I have heard you can get them for less depending on where you order it.
I have ordered a demo device to look at. I will let you know what I think when I play with it awhile. The company has a cart that holds a lab set, and a charger. This might be a great support alternative so that the whole class has a choice to use this tool, not just one or two that need special support. We all know how kids hate to stand out - plus, we are offering that UDL principal of tools for everyone. Wouldn't this be a great tool to support accessibility to writing and editing for many of our students that don't qualify under traditional eligibilities, yet need the extra support?

All the best to you!

Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!

Animated ASL Library Makes Great Support

While at Closing the Gap I went to a presentation on adapting software tools for the deaf and hard of hearing. Dan Herlihy, of Connective Technology Solutions, the presenter, shared how he used an animated library of words in sign to attach as a dictionary in Kurzweil 3000. He also used it to embed quick clips of words as sign in Intellitools Classroom Suite and Clicker 5.
The dictionary, or library might be a more appropriate term, is produced by Sign Smith Studio from Vcom3D Inc. You can buy individual CD's or the complete library set. They have a science dictionary, a general animated dictionary, an ASL package for the iPhone, iTouch and iTunes, and a studio to put phrases together.
One of the main designers who is deaf himself, was available to answer questions. He showed me a new system they are working on that works on a cell phone or PDA and allows translation by grouping words into phrases It does ASL through the animations as a way of interpretation. This is used on the iPhone tool I think. You can download a free player, a $1.99 sample, and a $29.99 library for the iPhone and iTouch off iTunes now. The link is at the website.
Take a look at their tools. You can power up curriculum for students that need communication support through sign and make your curriculum come alive.

All the best to you!

Lon

Lon Thornburg is an assistive technology specialist and professional development trainer who lives in Oregon and serves 12 districts in 7 counties. He hosts the No Limits 2 Learning Blog and The No Limits 2 Learning Live Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio. He is sharing as a contributing writer on LD LIVE!