Text-To-Speech Readers

Special education teachers will be happy to know there are several FREE text-to-speech readers on the Internet that they can use for their students.

The first one is called ReadPlease. It allows you to copy and paste the text into the window, choose a voice, and then sit back and listen. There is a free version as well as paid version, but I have found the free version to be adequate.

The second one is called NaturalReader. This program also has a free and paid version, but it has more flexibility than ReadPlease. The voices in NaturalReader sound more natural as well. You do not need to copy and paste text into a window to use NaturalReader.

The last one is PowerTalk. Be sure to scroll down the page when you click the link to find the download button for PowerTalk. PowerTalk is free, and different from the first two programs because it has the ability to read text from a PowerPoint slide.

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Create Picture Cards Fast and Easy

*Picture by suchitra from Flickr

Create Picture Cards Fast and Easy

Mrs. Riley's site called "It's in the cards" is a new online program still in Beta that lets users create picture cards. For special education teachers who are familar with Boardmaker, Mrs. Riley's site is easy and free. You can try the program without an account, but you'll need to register if you want to save or print the cards. In addition, you can keep the cards that you have saved as "public" or "private". Why reinvent the wheel if you can use someone else's cards that are stored on the site, right? For now, this site is free, but in the future it may be a paid site once they have a faithful following. However, if they keep their prices lower than Boardmaker, they may be able to keep their followers.

The History of the Internet

The blogs are abuzz today with a new video that came out on Vimeo on the "History of the Internet". I first saw this video mentioned in Learning and Teaching in the 21st Century and then again in Free Technology for Teachers. As part of the National Student Technology Standards, one of the objectives that students are expected to know is all about the history of the Internet. As a teacher, I would have a difficult time explaining this concept to my class. Not anymore! The video below was created by Melih Bilgil, a graphic designer in Germany.


History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

Astronomy Sites

Wiki Sky is a site that shows outer space with incredibly beautiful photographs. Zoom in and out of constellations, nebulas, galaxies, and more. While I don't think this is as useful or detailed as Google Sky, it is another good tool for teachers and students to use as reference.

Also, hop on over to The Tech Museum's Satellite Builder sponsored by Lockheed Martin. The site answers questions such as, "What is a satellite and what do they do?" Furthermore, there is an interactive section where you can build your own satellite or learn about the anatomy of a satellite.

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More Contests for Teachers and Students

Thanks to the wonderful writers at Instructify, I learned of a contest for teachers sponsored by Inspiration software called the Inspired Visual Learning Award. Basically, if you are a teacher who has used Inspiration, Kidspiration, or Inspire Data software with your students, you are eligible to apply for this contest. Just send in a teacher and student sample of a lesson you created, and you may win fabulous prizes! Click here for more details from Instructify or click here for guidelines or click here to see the application. Deadline: Feb. 27, 2009

Are you a high school teacher? Encourage your students to apply for the BrainyFlix Vocabulary Video Contest! The contest, sponsored by the Alumni Association, wants to help students learn SAT vocabulary words by posting vocabulary videos made by students. The video that receives the most votes in the contest will receive $600 in prize money. $200 goes to the creator of the video and $400 goes to the class or school club of his/her choice. The site will also give out one free download from iTunes for every five videos that are submitted (for the first 1,000 videos uploaded to the site). Deadline: March 16, 2009. See example video entry hosted on YouTube:

Science Videos on Vimeo

Vimeo is a video sharing community that allows you to upload videos and control who sees them. Users can comment on videos much like youtube or teachertube. As with any video, it's strongly encouraged that teachers preview videos on vimeo before using any of them with their classes. Having said this, there is a section of simple science videos on vimeo that are worth checking out. I watched one on the Water Cycle and on Teeth (see below). It's one more site that can be a valuable resource for teachers. However, wouldn't it be great to have your students create a video for your science class and upload it to this site? As you might notice, none of these videos use students in the films. Instead, they use other images and footage to create the videos.


3A Teeth Video from Simple Science on Vimeo.

Lookybook: Preview Children's Books Before You Buy

Lookybook is a site that allows parents and teachers to preview kids' books before they buy them. Ever wonder about this as you look at books on Amazon.com? Granted, Lookybook does not have the same vast quantity of books as Amazon does, but the site is adding more and more books with time. Lookybook also allows you to embed the book into your blog or website so kids can get a feel of the story. Finally, if you like the book, you can click the link to buy it. You can browse Lookybook without a username and password, but if you create an account, you can add books to your "shelf" to flag your favorites. See example below: