Link to Assistive Technology (AT) Tools: Text-to-speech on desktops and laptops
Diversity is Normal
Accessibility in electronic communication has a legal definition. It is really long, detailed and a little tedious but is something we need to pay attention to. For myself and many others, accessibility is mostly about the varying degrees of learning … Continue reading Diversity is Normal
Arduino Inventor’s Kits Now Available for Checkout
Arduino is an open source electronics platform that you can program to interact with the real world: make lights flash, buzzers buzz, and motors spin. You can use Arduinos to build an invention, animate a sculpture, or automate your house. ITS has purchased several Arduino-based SparkFun Inventor’s Kits now available for checkout from the Media Center. These are great for learning about Arduino and come with lots of fun stuff like motors, LEDs, an LCD display, temperature and light sensors, a buzzer, and supporting electronics. The kit also includes an excellent guide with 16 sample projects starting from the basic blinking … Continue reading Arduino Inventor’s Kits Now Available for Checkout
Scalar Web Projects and Non-linear Presentations
Recently, we have been exploring an exciting new tool for course web projects called Scalar. Scalar works much like the popular blogging tool and publishing platform WordPress; you create pages of content through a text editor, then publish, and present those … Continue reading Scalar Web Projects and Non-linear Presentations
Creating Your Own Website with Website Builders
We kicked off our first 3 lunchtime workshops for the Spring semester with a focus on website creation. We went over 3 different website builders including, wordpress.com, wix.com, and squarespace.com that can help you get started with creating your own … Continue reading Creating Your Own Website with Website Builders
Quadcopters at Swarthmore
You can get amazing video and still shots that previously would have required a full sized helicopter or significant crane and boom equipment with current quadcopter drones (small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) in the parlance of the FAA). Current guidance systems … Continue reading Quadcopters at Swarthmore
New Digital Tools for Reading
I recently read an interesting article in Educause Review talking about the development of a series of tools to support Social Reading. These tools vary in how they work, but generally allow individuals to create notes/questions about a digital text and then allow the Professor (and possibly fellow students in the class) to see all the comments. With MIT’s tool more intense color reflects more comments on that part of the text. LACOL’s Active and Engaged Reading (AER) working group, also focuses on issues of reading in a digital age, including the goals and practices for academic reading as they evolve on our campuses. If this … Continue reading New Digital Tools for Reading