Web 2.0 for Students with Disabilities

My name is Clint Winter and I am Special Education teacher at Clarke Middle School in Athens, GA.  I have been teaching Special Education for 10 years and am currently the Special Education Team Leader at my school.   It is amazing how much technology there is for free that can help teach our students with disabilities overcome their barriers. This blog is intended to help teachers find new and interesting websites that can help their students be successful in the classroom. I have been reading two texts for this blog, Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World  authored by Pam Berger and Sally Trexler and also Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson. You can follow all of the websites that I will be reviewing by accessing either my delicious account (cswinter4) or by accessing my google spreadsheet here

xtra normal

xtranormal.com -  For my review of xtranormal click here for a short video.

Come Together

Collaboration is a powerful tool.  Students now have the availability to all work on the same document, share ideas with each other, and the entire world. Students and teachers  can truly come together to make authentic works and share with ideas with each other.  Below are Web2.0 tools that I thought could be valuable for Collaboration.

readwritethink.org -  Readwritethink.org is a collaborative reading and writing site with information for teachers, parents, and after school tutors. This website offers lesson plans,  interactive technology sites, strategies for professionals, and a professional development library. This site could provide great ideas for differentiation in the classroom for students with disabilities.
wikispaces.com -  Wikis are a great tool to share and communicate ideas. For example: I have set up a wiki for our Special Education Department at Clarke Middle School to post and share useful links and forms. Wikis can be edited by most anyone and are a great source for up to the minute news and events. Classroom wikis can have information about assignments, useful and helpful links for a given area of study, a place for students to post their ideas, links, and findings. The possibilities of using wikis in the classroom are almost endless. I think that Wikis are great ways for students to comment and elaborate on their learning. Also, Wikis, can be a great way for students to organize their work. For example, a student could have a wiki that links all of their web 2.0 tools to one place. Wkispace is free for educators and is a very easy way for one to share information to their classes. With Wikispaces one can also include widgets in their posts and edits.

PBworks - Pbworks is another site that offers free wikis. PBworks is my preferred host for wikis. I tried setting accounts up on both wikispaces and pbworks. PBWorks has a side bar where one can add folders to help better organize material. PBWorks is a great way to share links, ideas, and presentations.


Zoho.com - Zoho is a cloud computing web2.0 service. Zoho has a few free components but most of the service is pay.  Zoho offers a suite of applications for personal, business, productivity,  and collaboration.  Students can benefit from Zoho by being able to share and access their documents from any computer.

 2learn.ca -  2learn.ca is a website from the Canadian Educational Department that shares helpful web2.0 links with others. The mission of 2learn.ca is to collaborate and share technology rich resources

http://checkvist.com/ -  hCeckvisit is a free or subscription based web based collaboration/outliner/ To-Do list that one can share projects and To-do list with others. Your To-Do list can be exported into html or onto wikis or blogs. Also, you can create tag for your to-do list or outliner.  Google Docs is a wonderful way to share and to collaborate. I have just now really began usuing Google Docs. I for see Google Docs as a way that will transform education. Google docs is free and offers word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software. Students can collaborate on group work using Google Docs. Students can peer edit, collaborate, and work simultaneously on projects. Google Docs can also be accessed from any computer anywhere with internet access. (For this spreadsheet I have worked on three different computers) Google docs is especially beneficial for students with disabilities due to some built in features such as spelling and grammar check, the availability to save information online, and the availability to share with others.

You say hello I say Text To Speech

Text to speech is a powerful way for students with reading deficits to overcome reading barriers. Often times students with disabilities  may feel overwhelmed with the amount of reading required on a project (Especially in the computer lab)  I think that text to speech is a great way to overcome this barrier. With text to speech programs students can copy large amounts of text and listen to it as an Mp3. Students can pause rewind or stop text. The following text to speech programs can be beneficial in the classroom.

vozme.com -  Standard text to speech program. Students can copy and paste large amounts of text  and have the program read the text to them.

http://www.yakitome.com/ -  I think that this might be one of the most powerful ways to use text to speech for students with disabilities. Yakittome  is a free site where students can turn text to speech and then convert the file to the mp3. Students could then download the mp3 to a hand held device and be able to listen or play the information when they get home or to go over classroom notes or handouts. One can embed a link into their page, blog, wiki, or site with the speech to text already provided. The only drawback is that this is a free service and it often takes a long time for the mp3 to download (The times I tried it I had to wait upwards of 3-4 minutes to wait for the program to download.)

spokentext.com -  Spoken text offers many of the same services as vozme and yakittome  but it comes with a firefox extention that makes navigation much easeir.

World Tour

Google Earth is a free down-loadable mapping program (that's just the tip of the iceberg)  I have used Google Earth with my smartboard in my classroom to help students with disabilities be able to touch, zoom-in, and explore areas that we were studying in our Social Studies class Students can keep track of where they have virtually traveled. Google Earth is a powerful way to teach geography and  history.  I think it is most effective for students with disabilities when they can use Google Earth to help relate  their  experiences from their community to whatever they are currently going to study.

Time is on my Side (Yes it Is) If you manage it correctly

Time Management is difficult thing for many students (and adults alike!)  There are many tools that are available online for everyone to keep up with their tasks. I have seen many IEP's that have to do with organization and time management. Examples from IEP's might say (Extra time to complete assignments, chunk material into manageable parts)  The following webistes I think are helpful for students and teachers to do both.

Rememberthemilk.com Remeberthemilk is a very in depth to-do list. One can link their google account with their rememberthemilk account. You can tag your todo list and then have a custom search for words in your list. You can share your list and have your list send you e-mails. One can choose to postpone, complete, or check off their todo list.  One can subscribe to their list via a RSS feed. You can add tasks from the web. You can also access your account from a mobile device. I think that this is a very beneficial  website for keeping organized.

todoist.com -  Todis is a free todo list maker. Todoist can be synced with a google account. One can set up reminders, integrate Google calendar, use tags to help filter tasks, can be accessed thru android and Iphone apps.  This along with rememberthemilk.com seem to be the most in-depth todo list and organizer. Also, others can access your list and calendar if you chose to share your lists. Todoist can also be integrated as a widget on a netvibes starter page.

http://taskthis.elucidata-apps.com/  -  Another task list tool that is much simpler yet not as flashy as remember the milk or todoist. With Taskthis you are also able to subscribe via an RSS feed. 

http://tasktoy.com/ -  Also a nice simple task manager.  With Task Toy you have the ability to e-mail yourself tasks and color code and label your tasks.

Gubb.net -  I played around with Gubb for a while. Gubb bills itself as an Organizer for everyone. Gubb is somewhat unique in that you can update gubb from a mobile phone and send texts to your todo list.  Like some of the other to-do list generators you can color code your list. Gubb can also be used collaboratively   I would picture using Gubb on a computer project with my students. Students could access my to-do list or I could add things to their to-do list. Teachers could use Gubb to share ideas and lesson plans.

I want to be a paperback writer (But I need to polish up on my notetaking first)

Note Taking is a barrier for many students. Students might have a difficult time seeing from the Board, have processing issues where they are not able to copy word for word, Have difficulties in keeping up with their physical notes,  or have a physical disability where they are not able to take notes in a timely manner. Below are some websites that might be beneficial with note taking.

Mynoteit.com -  Mynoteit incorporates calendars, note taking, and a to-do list all in one.  With mynote you can organize your notes into classes, share notes with others, and post to a discussion board with your class. I found mynoteit very user friendly and can see students benefiting from this software.

Evernote.com - Evernote might be one of the most popular note taking services because it can be accessed over multiple devices. Evernote can be an app for a Mobile Devices. With evernote you can leave notes for yourself by audio recording, video, picture, or screenshot. This website might not be as beneficial for actual classroom notes as other note taking websites.

Notefish.com  -  Notefish is a great web2.0 tool for research. Notefish is a way to display and organize any type of research. With Notefish one can have all of their research in one place. I think that this is an excellent way to organize research for students with disabilities. I think that having your web research displayed on one page is a great way to keep information organized and easier to read and locate.

Springnote.com -  Springnote is a web 2.0 tool that could best be used for Group Projects. With Springnote a group can have access to a Group notebook and share ideas and collaborate.  Other than group projects one could use Springnote for personal use, make to do lists, and stay organized.  Springnote seems more complex that the other to do lists and organizers that have been listed.

Ubernote.com  -  Ubernote is an all in one note taking service. Unbernote could be useful for students with disabilites to stay organized and have all of their notes from each class organized in one place. Ubernote is a free service and students can create folders for each class that they are taking and store their notes from their class in each folder.

Graphic Organizers

As a Special Education Teacher one of my most challenging issues that I deal with on a daily basis is trying to keep my students Organized. There are many different challenges in keeping my students organized. Often there is the homework issue, or turning in assignments on time, or coming to class prepared.  Also, there is organization issues in organizing your thoughts for a writing assignment, or organizing ideas for a project. I reviewed the following web tools that can help with organization.

bubbl.us -  bubbl.us is a free webtool for mind mapping and making graphic organizers. Graphic Organizers are a great tool to help promote visual learning, breaking down large ideas into steps, and also organizing ideas. Students have the ability to share their mindmaps with each other on this website.

Wisemapping.com Wisemapping is another brainstorming graphic organizer tool. It is not as flashy as other graphic organizing applications. This is a free service but does not offer as many of the same over the top free features that the other Graphic Organizers do. 

Mind42.com  - Mind42 is a free web based graphic organizer tool. Users can save, share, and export their graphic organizers. Graphic organizers are a great tool to help promote visual learning, breaking down large ideas into steps, and organizing ideas. What is unique about mind42.com is that you can export your files into either images or rtf files, have icons in thought boxes, and add widgets. Users can share their mind maps.


 Mindmeister.com -  Mindmeister is a subscription based graphic organizer. The user can receive 3 maps for free but then there are two tiers for price A business subscription is $9 a month or for personal use it is $59 a year.  Mindmeister is also a collaborative graphic organizer but also includes note taking software, the ability to skype conference, notify of changes by either email or twitter. This is, in my opinion, the best graphic organizer but  there is a financial component with this site.


Loosestitch.com -  Loosestitch is an outliner subscription service that provides outlining graphic organizing software. One can create an outline and share it with other colleagues. There is a single user and corporate account. This website does cost money to use. If I had money to spend for a subscription service graphic organizer I would feel most comfortable with using Mindmeister.

www.ozline.com/electraguide/thesis.html  I have this categorized as a Graphic Organizer but this website has a few tools that will help students formulate a thesis, develop a topic, and has guides for embedding video into your blog. This is not a collaborative site but none the less this is a good site to help students organize their thoughts and put that into their writing.

Picture yourself on a boat on a river (then post it with a digital photo sharing site and share it with everyone you know)

There are many websites out there that offer image sharing. It is is amazing how many imagess are available for our students (Also I think it is kind of scary) but using picture sharing sites can be very powerful for all students. It can be especially valuable for students with disabilities. Often when I find myself teaching an abstract concept I find myself searching for images that can help make that idea or concept more concrete. Also teachers can use these  Below are some picture sharing services and some ideas of how to use them.

flickr.com -  flickr is a an online photo sharing gallery. Students can upload and post pictures to help illustrate a concept they are learning. Teachers can create accounts and keep photos used in the classroom private.  Flickr can also be used to teach students about fair use and creative commons (All pictures in this blog are creative commons) Pictures can be used for story starters, creative writing, and  making abstract ideas more concrete.

photobucket.com -    photobucket is  an online photo sharing gallery. Students can upload and post pictures. Teachers can create accounts and keep photos private.  Flickr can also be used to teach students about fair use and creative commons (All pictures in this blog are creative commons) Pictures can be used for story starters, creative writing, making abstract ideas more concrete.

Picasa.com  -  Picasa  is google's version of sharing and hosting pictures.  online photo sharing gallery. Students can upload and post pictures. Teachers can create accounts and keep photos private.  Flickr can also be used to teach students about fair use and creative commons (All pictures in this blog are creative commons) Pictures can be used for story starters, creative writing, making abstract ideas more concrete.

Start Me Up!

Starter Pages can be a powerful tool for Students with Disabilities. With a starter page and knowledge of RSS feeds students can have information organized and ready to be viewed. Starter pages can contain todo list, widgets, and an easy way to navigate to where students need to go. Below are some links and some ideas of how to use Starter Pages.

Netvibes - Netvibes is a starter page that can be shared or made public.  Your personalized page can be accessed from any computer or mobile device. This could be beneficial because a student could be subscribed to certain feeds and be organized by having  feeds and widgets available: Example: online calendar to put assignments on; calculator for math class;. Page also has tabs to be organized and has tabs that can be color coded.

Protopage -  Another starter page similar to netvibes.  Offers the same services although seems to be less complex than the netvibes. Great way to organize information for students.

Igoogle -  Igoogle is a great  personal starter page. I actually use this has my personal starter page. Igoogle contains all of the features of widgets, RSS feeds, calendar function.  Igoogle has various themes that one can choose to personalize their page or also has the Tab functions to help better organize your information. The main difference is that the Igoogle page is incorporated with a Gmail account. Anytime that one uses an igoogle page their gmail  e-mail account will show up on the page. This would best be used for a students personal page but not necessarily a starter page for a class.

MyYahoo - My.yahoo.com and igoogle offer many of  the same starter services. Yahoo like igoogle displays mail preview in the starter page. My.yahoo also offers the use of widgets, and to subscribe to RSS feeds. One of the main differences is that the MyYahoo page uses the Yahoo Search Engine where igoogle uses the Google search engine.

It's all about presentation

 The following websites are extraordinary tools where students and staff can create. Often, students are given book reports, group poster presentations, or model building as a way to show what they learned.  I think that the following web tools are another extension for students to showcase their knowledge.  The following tools can help differentiate the way students show what they have learned.

Animoto.com -  Animoto is an example of a wonderful presentation web2.0 software. Students can upload their pictures and put in text to tell a story in pictures.  Animoto is  a pay site but offers free access through  an application process for educators (I was instantly approved when I tried it out).  Animoto could be effectively used for students with disabilities or with visual learners. Teachers could focus on teaching sequencing or telling digital stories.

Glogster.com -  Glogster allows students to create "posters"  of their work. Glogster is a terrific tool to differnentiate in the classroom. Students can create presentations that are auditory, visual, include text, and can hyperlink to other places in the web. The following video from teache rtube shows how to use glogster.


http://www.techsmith.com/jing/ -    Jing is a screen capture web2.0 tool where one can take a photo capture of a screen or film a short video with your screen. I've used the screen filming piece to record a short video for teachers showing them how to access IEP's on our school operating system (campus)

I still haven't found what I'm searching for (11 search engines you might not have heard of)

I think Bono said it best when he said, "I Still haven't found what I'm looking for"  he too must have had a computer lab full of 7th graders who were just assigned a research project. Often times students have a difficult time searching on the internet. From my experience my students know a few search websites: Google, Yahoo, more google,  and personal favorite that I found one of my students using once elgoog.com  As educators we often know of only the major search engines but these search engines can often times be overwhelming for our students. My students with disabilities can be overwhelmed or impatient and and begin clicking and copying and pasting.  Below are some links to other search engines that can help better organize information for our students. Especially for students with disabilities. The search engines listed below can help better organize searches for our students with disabilities. Also, these search engines can be used for students with reading deficits or our students who learn better visually.

Yippy - Yippy has the ability to categorize search results into clouds which can  better help students organize their searches. The organization of clouds may prove valuable to students with disabilities to help organize their searches and their thoughts.
Quinturakids - Visual; shows results in clouds with categories for students to click on , interactive design for children. Students can search for web images and video.

Search-Cube is a search engine that shows visual pictures and videos in a unique 3 dimensional view.  Search cube has visuals which might prove to be beneficial for students with reading deficits. 

Viewzi - Very flexible search engine where one can choose how to view the search results. You can choose to have results shown in a power grid, a tag cloud, and simple text. These are just a few ways that one can choose to view their search terms. This is a very advanced flexible search engine. This search engine may prove to be very beneficial for some students with disabilities due to the wide range of possibilities to view your search terms.  I would caution that the amount of choices might overwhelm and hinder students with Attention Deficit Disorder.

Kosmix  -  is a  social search engine that organizes and categorizes material into subsets  of articles, videos, images, etc. .. This  is very flexible and searches are displayed in an organized way.

Allexperts -  Experts answer questions about information in their field. Though answers may not be immediate students can get answers from a live professional. This could benefit students with disabilities by making their searches meaningful and concrete.

Mahalo - Mahalo is a people run search engine. Instead of using some type of indexing software actual people update and answer questions on the search engine. Also you can search for how to videos, and searches usually contain pictures, text, and video. I really enjoyed evaluating the how to videos. I think that these step by step directions are sequential and can chunk the information together.

Google Scholar -  Google  scholar is a search engine where one  can search for scholarly articles and peer reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts, and articles.

50matches.com -  This is  Social Search engine. This search Engine works with Social bookmarking  sites and  leads the user towards websites that people have personally tagged. Again, I think that tagging can help our students with disabilities better organize and categorize their information.

Pics4Learning -  copyright friendly image search engine for students and teachers


http://www.blinkx.com/ - Blinx is a video search engine that has a great feature where you can view all of the  video search in a wall format. This would be a great way for students to organize what they are seeing on Screen.

I hope that with these search engines that you too can find what you  are looking  for.