Assistive+Technology+in+Urban+Schools

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ReadPlease 2003 is a free version that never expires. ReadPlease Plus 2003 has a free trial period of 30-days after which you may purchase a registration code to unlock the software. This download includes both versions of ReadPlease. For people with reading and writing difficulties, have text reinforced by hearing it read aloud can be very useful. Wordtalk is a free text-to-speech plugin developed for use with all versions of Microsoft Word. It will speak the text of the document and will highlight it as it goes. It contains a talking dictionary to help decide which word spelling is most appropriate. Sitting neatly in your Microsoft Word toolbar it is highly configurable, allowing you to: This wikispace is full of different tools that are free that can help students. It has free text to speech, graphic organizers, study skills tools, literacy tools, writing tools, research tools, and so much more. But be careful not everything on this website is free. || Read Please 2003 UDL Tool kit ||
 * **What is Assistive Technology in Urban Schools?** || When it comes to assistive technology in urban schools you run into a problem known as the digital divide. From the website for the digital divide it states the following. “Digital Divide” refers to the gap between those who can benefit from digital technology and those who cannot. “Closing the Digital Divide” therefore means more than just giving the poor the same technologies already received by the rich. Closing the Divide involves restructuring the telecommunications sectors in each nation so that broadband’s benefits can flow to the masses, not just the elite urban sectors of emerging markets.   It took digital-divide researchers a whole decade to figure out that the real issue is not so much about access to digital technology but about the benefits //derived from access//. Examining the situation more closely, it turns out that upper-to-middle classes have high-quality access to digital technology because the “80/20 factor” (in which eighty percent of profit is made by serving the most affluent 20%) causes technology designers to work hard at creating “solutions” specifically for the affluent. The low-income masses were ignored because corporate strategists (till now) assumed that designing apps for them will not be profitable. The result is that even where the poor are provided access to digital technology, they receive mere “localized” versions of products and services intended for the rich.    In other words, inappropriate access could actually harm the poor. In effect, **extending unmeaningful access to digital technologies to the rural sector of emerging markets could actually //widen// the digital divide**.     Abbott districts are school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with New Jersey’s state constitution. They were created in 1985 as a result of the first ruling of //Abbott v. Burke//, a case filed by the Education Law Center. The ruling asserted that public primary and secondary education in poor communities throughout the state was unconstitutionally substandard. There are currently thirty-one Abbott districts in New Jersey  Title 1 areas are areas that are 40% at or below the poverty line. ||
 * **Free applications that students can benefit from.** || There are numerous applications that schools can find that are free so regardless of the financial situation of the district you can enjoy them. Here are a few examples.
 * Read Please 2003**
 * Word Talk**
 * Adjust the highlight colors
 * Change the voice and the speed of speech
 * Convert text to speech and save as a .wav or .mp3 file so that it can be played back on an iPod or mp3 player.
 * UDL Toolkit**
 * **Help Websites for more information** || Digital Divide