UDL Tech Toolkit

Here are some of the discoveries I made from the UDL Tech Toolkit today:


Scholastic Story Starters

Filed under: Writing

For students who have a hard time generating ideas for their writing, there is the Story Starters machine on scholastic.com. The student enters their name and grade level, and then presses the spin lever to generate a story starter (e.g. Write a birthday message for a pink caterpillar who lives in a castle). If the student is unhappy with any aspect of the starter, they can spin the individual lever for that part of the sentence (see video below). The student can then choose the format they’d like to use (postcard, newspaper, etc.) or use the format indicated by their teacher. They can also draw a picture to go along with their story. When the student is finished their piece, they can print it off.

I like all of the choice available with this website and the ease of use. Also, when exploring the website a bit further, there are lots of other great activities for students and resources for teachers.

Story Bird

 Filed under: Writing

I was drawn to this app because of its whimsical appearance and beautiful illustrations. You have the ability to read previously created Story Birds or create your own. Story-telling on this website is a shared experience, with 2 people creating a story (one with words, one with pictures, either narrating) and then sharing it by printing, watching, etc. 

This website would be great for everyone from reluctant writers to students who love writing but would enjoy the visually appealing prompts provided to them here.

Another really neat feature about it is that artists can send in their work to be used on the website, so there’s a big variety of illustrations available for story inspiration. 

Big Simple Talking Calculator

 Filed under: Math

The name says it all. This is basically a big calculator that talks. This would be useful for a student with a visual impairment, or a student who would enjoy the novelty of having an over sized calculator (such as a student with ADHD), and students struggling with their basic facts. There is an option to have a voice on or off to read the equations and numbers.  

Evernote

 Filed under: Research/Organization

This is a huge program with lots of possibilities from upper elementary to high school (and university). Evernote allows you to store and organize all of your files from your different devices (mobile, tablet, computer) in one spot. Students can use it to take and organize notes, make recordings and store them, organize research, and share their notebooks with a network or class. For students with organizational difficulties, this would be excellent for keeping their notes and anything pertaining to projects, etc. organized and together. There are lots of tutorials available for Evernote, but here is a quick video that gives an idea of what it could be used for.

Inkless Tales

 Filed Under: Literacy Tool

 Looking at the site initially, it is a link to stories read aloud with accompanying animations. When the site is explored further, it contains poems, games, science experiments, and other projects. The more you click around on the site, the deeper it goes – there is more to it than initially meets the eye. Some of the games are linked to cross-curricular activities, for example, there is a math game for The Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe. This would best be used for younger students who have difficulty attending to task, require visual prompting or respond best to visuals combined with text, rather than just text on its own.