Information Technologies and Disabilities


Below is the contents for the current issue of this journal.  It can be found
on the web at
http://www.rit.edu/~easi
Select the journal link and then page down to the current or last issue.

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                               June 1998

                            Copyright Statement
     _________________________________________________________________

                                    Articles


CD-ROMS FOR MATH AND SCIENCE

by Madeleine Rothberg and Tom Wlodkowski
CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media
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This is an instructive article that looks at various pieces of math and science
software to  evaluate their usefulness for people with vision impairments.
The article also makes suggestions on how to make the programs more accessible
for individuals with vision impairments.


COMPUTER-BASED CONCEPT MAPPING:  PROMOTING MEANINGFUL LEARNING IN SCIENCE FOR
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

by Lynne Anderson-Inman, Ph.D. ([log in to unmask])
University of Oregon
and
Leslie A. Ditson, Ph.D. ([log in to unmask])
University of Oregon
and
Mary T. Ditson,
M.C.A.T.

This paper describes the process and benefits of concept mapping and its use
for helping students with learning disabilities study science.  It includes
four graphics that illustrate the concept maps.  The graphics have full text
descriptions.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN THAT ACCOMMODATES SPECIAL LEARNING NEEDS IN SCIENCE

By
Bonnie Grossen ([log in to unmask])
University of Oregon
and
Mack D. Burke ([log in to unmask])
University of Oregon

This paper addresses six important teaching strategies for "diverse learners,"
students who have backgrounds, foundations, or abilities that differ from most
students.  While it encompasses a wide variety of students, an important
segment of this population is students with disabilities.  The ideas presented
here have definite value for teachers, service providers and others who work
with students with disabilities.  There are also some valuable program
evaluations at the end of the article.


"HITTING THE BOOKS:" ACCESSIBLE TEXTBOOKS FOR K-12 MATH AND
SCIENCE EDUCATION

By Stephen L. Noble
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
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This article is a comprehensive overview of the problems that K-12 students
encounter using textbooks and some accessible text formats that are currently
available.  In particular, the article looks at the special problems posed by
math and science texts for K-12 students with disabilities.

AUDIO-ASSISTED READING:  ACCESS FOR STUDENTS WITH PRINT DISABILITIES

by Carol Evans
Graduate Student in School Psychology, University of Utah
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This short article focuses on another dimension to using books on tapes -
using recorded books along with texts.  This is particularly beneficial for
students with learning disabilities.

MATH AND SCIENCE FROM A HOME-SCHOOL PERSPECTIVE

By Pat Guthrie
Home School Teacher

This article is different from most that are published in the ITD.  It is a
very personal account of a woman who has chosen to home-school her son who has
several disabilities due to a brain injury.  She has worked with the school
system to put together a program that combines her home-schooling with a
couple of classes at the high school.  For the most part this woman uses low-
tech strategies, but she has included work on the computer in her son's
curriculum.  This is a very human look at many of the issues that we often
view only from the practical, institutional or technological perspective.

TRANSITIONS FOR SUCCESS:  HELPING K-12 STUDENTS MOVE THROUGH THE PUBLIC SCHOOL
SYSTEM

by Carmela Cunningham
EASI
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This article looks at some of the challenges and problems that students with
disabilities encounter when they move through the educational process.  It
gives some practical tips for service providers and focuses on the idea that
one plan or strategy will not work well for all students.

Note EASI has online workshops that help professionals in the areas of
general adaptive computing (Adapt-it_, universal web design (Easi-web) and
access to science and Math (Easi-sem).  EASI-SEM next begins on July 6. For
more information go to http://www.rit.edu/~easi/workshops.html