Reducing Test Taking Anxiety

Test anxiety is when a student excessively worries about doing well on a test. This can become a major hindrance on test performance and cause extreme nervousness and memory lapses among other symptoms. The following are tips on reducing test taking anxiety:

• Being well prepared for the test is the best way to reduce test taking anxiety.
  
• Try to maintain a positive attitude while preparing for the test and during the test.
  
• Exercising for a few days before the test will help reduce stress.
  
• Get a good night's sleep before the test.
  
• Stay relaxed, if you begin to get nervous take a few deep breaths slowly to relax yourslf and then get back to work.
  
• If you don't understand the directions on the test, ask the teacher to explain it to you.
  
• Write down important formulas, facts, definitions and/or keywords in the margin first so you won't worry about forgetting them.
  
• Don't worry about how fast other people finish their test; just concentrate on your own test.
  
• Focus on the question at hand; don't let your mind wander on other things.
  
  Visit testtakingtips.com for more test taking help.
  

Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008

Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008

The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 passed the U.S. Congress in September and becomes law on January 1, 2009. This amended legislation makes it possible for Americans with learning disabilities to access accommodations on high stakes exams (such as the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, medical boards and others) and in the workplace, in keeping with the original intent of the law.

Power Talk

PowerTalk automatically speaks any presentation or slide show running in Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows. You just download and install PowerTalk and while you open and run the presentation as usual it speaks the text on your slides. The advantage over other generic 'Text To Speech' programs is that PowerTalk is able to speak text as it appears and can also speak hidden text attached to images. Speech is provided by the standard synthesised computer voices that are provided with Windows. (Windows based only will not work on a Mac)
Visit http://www.oatsoft.org/Software/PowerTalk for more information and to download.

FREE and Open Soure Educational Software

Free and Open Source Education Software is an extensive cataloged collection of some of the best free software available to support learning at all levels. The collection has been organized by categories that make programs easy to find (categorized by the Key Learning Areas used in Education in Australia) If anyone simply wants to explore what is available, this is an excellent starting point. The site has made it easy to download software without actually leaving the site.
Visit http://os.cqu.edu.au/oswinsdvd/doc/README.html

Woopid

Woopid is an online source of helpful screencast tutorials that offer help with software and hardware questions, with a focus on both Mac and PC. The screencasts are short and to the point, and they clearly show what you need to know. The tutorials are well organized, and Woopid offers an effective search function. If you can’t find what you need, you are even encouraged to request that Woopid create it for you.

www.woopid.com

Convert web posts from text to audio for free at: http://www.odiogo.com

Odiogo mobilizes your media, transforming textual content into audio formats downloadable directly to the PC, iPods/MP3 players and mobile phones!

• High quality text-to-speech solutions
  
• Smooth integration with your website
• End-to-end advertising system
• Comprehensive statistics
• Flexible packaging options
• Supports thousands of concurrent downloads

Ten Tips

10 Tips That May Help Ease Your Child's Transition to Adulthood

1. Help Build your son's or daughter's self-determination and self-advocacy skills.
All young people should have a strong sense of their strengths, abilities, and interest.
2. Help develop your child's social outlets.
Social relationships and recreation are more than fun; they are important tools that help tie people into the community and provide a wider network of support.
3. Expand your network and explore community supports.
As children with disabilities become adults with disabilities, they may need support from a variety of sources.
4. At age 18, your child can register to vote and make sure your son registers with Selective Services.
All Americans at the age of 18 have the right and responsibility to vote. All Males-including those with disabilities-must register with Selective Services within 30 days their 18th Birthday.
5. Explore post-secondary accommodations
Students who receive academic programming and support in high school through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans will not automatically have the same support after they graduate.
6. Investigate SSI programs.
Financial planning is an important part of transition. Many people with disabilities are beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
7. Encourage your child to build a resume by volunteering.
Many young people struggle to find work experiences that help them compete in the job market.
8. Help your child learn "Soft" employment skills.
In addition to the work skills people need to their jobs, they also need "soft skills" These include such things as being able to accept direction, ask for help, deal with conflict, and engage in interpersonal communication.
9. Plan for health care management.
Like most people, young adults with disabilities need to manage their health care and insurance.
10. Look for Resources and People that can assist you.

Tutorial Videos Available for WYNN Software

The Learning Systems Group of Freedom Scientific, Inc., developer of literacy software designed to create custom learning environments for all students, announced today that they have released a new WYNN Training Module. The new CD includes ten videos further defining many of WYNN's most popular features. This video will help teachers and students to become more fluent with the use of WYNN, saving valuable time and providing greater educational benefits.

Video Topics for Popular WYNN Features
The CD contains 10 informative videos, each targeting specific features and uses of WYNN. The topics include:
• Introduction to WYNN
• Reading Styles Toolbar
• Study Tools (including highlighting, lists, voice notes, and others)
• Writing Tools (including homophones and outlines)
• Using the Internet (including the patented WebMasking® feature and form-filling)
• Using the Freedom Import Printer

Each tutorial runs between three and nine minutes, making the videos concise, yet informative, allowing users to easily navigate to the specific information they need.

Pricing and Availability
The retail price is just $35.00. This includes the CD and an informative booklet including helpful Teaching Tips for specific features. To order your Training Modules, email Loni Atton at Freedom Scientific Customer Service department, LAtton@freedomscientific.com, or call her at 800-444-4443 x1032

Turn your words into action with Jott.com

Jott makes sure you stay on top of everything. With a simple phone call to 866-JOTT-123, you can capture notes, set reminders and calendar appointments, stay in touch with family and friends, and interact with your favorite web sites and services... all with your voice!

Simply call Jott and tell them where you want your message to go. Jott captures voice, turns it into text, and sends it to the destination you choose.

Students can create Jott folders for specific school subjects, record their homework assignments, class notes and main ideas from each class for the day. Students can also send themselves to do lists of what they need to get done.

An added bonus is that this service can be used free of charge!

Flipper Guides

Flipper Guides

FLIPPERS® are the perfect educational and informational tool for all ages. Run your finger down the FLIPPER® to the topic you want to refer to. Then "Flip-up" to reveal the information needed. These handy flip-up guides are available with laminated cards or plastic pockets with removable cards. Both versions provide rugged durability. Each are loaded with the information you need... at your fingertips! For more information on flippers visit http://flipperguides.com

Digital Pen

Digital Pen
If you don't take a laptop to class, a digital pen might be the next best thing. For example, the FLY Fusion Pentop digitizes handwritten notes so they can be uploaded to a computer. Users then search their notes by typing in the keywords. The FLY Fusion also comes with a built-in calculator and mp3 player.

Approximate Cost $80 dollars

For more information visit www.flyworld.com

Money Smart

Financial education fosters financial stability for individuals, families, and entire communities. The more people know about credit and banking services, the more likely they are to increase savings, buy homes, and improve their financial health and well being. The Money Smart curriculum helps individuals build financial knowledge, develop financial confidence, and use banking services effectively.

Money Smart is available in two versions: an instructor-led version and a computer-based instruction (CBI) version. Both versions consist of the same 10 modules.

The 10 Money Smart Training Modules

Bank on it Check it Out
-an introduction to bank services -how to choose and keep a cheeking account
Keep it Safe Charge it Right
-your right as a consumer -how to make a credit card work for you

Borrowing Basics Money Matters
-an introduction to credit -how to keep track of your money

To Your Credit Pay Yourself First
-how your credit history will -why you should save,save,save
affect your credit future

Your Own Home Loan To Own

-what home ownership is all about -know what you're borrowingbefore you buy

You can go online to take the modules or you can order a free CD. For more informaiton visit http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/overview.html

iCue

ICue, which stands for Immerse, Connect, Understand and Excel, uses patented technology that includes the iCue CueCard media player, flash card, note-taking tool and trading card. The "flip card" technology allows users to watch streaming videos from NBC News and then "flip" the CueCard over for additional information.

Users can "snag" CueCards and store them in personal resource libraries – or CueCard Stacks – customize them using the "jot" feature to write thoughts and opinions, and exchange comments about content with their iCue friends.

For more information and to take of tour of iCue visit www.icue.com

Making Technology Part of your Back-To-School Planning

Making Technology Part of your Back-to-School Planning

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By Dave L. Edyburn, Ph.D. For many families, the back-to-school season means shopping for school supplies and new clothes. As it gets closer to the first day of school, for a young child it means watching the mailbox for a letter from his new teacher, or for older students it means going to school to register and pick up their schedule. With all the excitement of the annual back-to-school rituals, technology is often overlooked. However, thinking about technology tools and supports can facilitate the back-to-school transition for students with .

learning disabilities. In addition, spending some time learning new technologies before school starts means that more time will be available to focus on using the technology to complete assignments once school begins. This post was taken from the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). For more information on study tips, and the use of technology visit the NCLD web page at www.ncld.org.

Notecentric

Notecentric

Store and share your classroom notes with this innovative site. It keeps your notes organized so you can reference them later and you can easily access it through a Facebook account.

www.notecentric.com

Awesome Library

The Awesome Library is a website which provides information resources for education. The site organizes the Web with 33,000 carefully reviewed resources, including the top 5% in education. It is a Web site that was developed for K–12 teachers, students, parents, and librarians. Over time its purpose has expanded to include college students and professionals.

Contents Include:

Science

Social Studies

Mathematics

Kids

English

Teachers

Arts

Technology
Check out awesome library at www.awesomelibrary.org

Youth Hood

What is the Youthhood?
youthhood.org

It's a dynamic Web site young adults can use to plan for life after high school. It's unique because it's:

• Curriculum and research based
  
• Interactive and personalized
  
• Directed to young adults
  
• Flexible and useful in any setting
  
• Fun
  
• Free
  

The Youthhood provides a holistic, Web-based curriculum that teachers, community service providers, parents and mentors can use with young adults to develop skills, increase knowledge, and implement a personal life plan that will help young adults achieve their dreams.

Check it out at www.youthhood.org and become part of the Youthhood Community!

Click-N-Type virtual keyboard

http://www.lakefolks.org/cnt/

Click-N-Type is an on-screen virtual keyboard designed for anyone with a disability that prevents him or her from typing on a physical computer keyboard. As long as the person can control a mouse, trackball, touch screen or other pointing device, this software keyboard allows you to send keystrokes to virtually any Windows application or DOS application that can run within a window. The Click-N-Type Virtual Keyboard is a 32 bit application that requires Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista or later. The Click-N-Type Virtual Keyboard was designed with ease of use foremost in mind. Oh yes, it's FREE. If you need it, you can have it.

Iogear Digital Scribe Digital Wireless Pen
IOGEAR's Digital Scribe is the first device ever to capture natural handwriting from any surface, and store it directly onto your computer. Based on a revolutionary digital pen that uses ordinary ink refill and writes on any paper, the Digital Scribe stores handwritten notes, memos or drawings onto your computer screen for easy editing right away or save it for a later time.

IOGEAR's Digital Scribe allows you to express your thoughts in your own handwriting, personalize messages to friends, family, co-workers, convert your handwriting into typed text, and more! The Scribe can also act as a substitute for your mouse making it easy to switch between application you wish to write in. The digital pen can also supplement your keyboard for text input and speed up your work in hundreds of software applications that let you customize and and create shortcut features.

Click on the link below to watch a video clip demonstration of the pen:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1463296780/bclid1460782770/bctid1460773797

Succeeding in College and at Work: Students with Disabilities Tell Their Stories

The New England ADA Center and No Limits Media have released informative videos featuring students with disabilities sharing their strategies for successfully staying in school, graduating and getting jobs. Students reveal their struggles with self-reporting their disability, and negotiating accommodations in school and at work. The videos are open captioned and can be viewed by accessing the following link.

http://adaptiveenvironments.org/neada/site/student_videos

Climb Every Mountain

Climb Every Mountain

Orientation to College Support Services and Survival Skills for Students
August 17-19, 2008
For Students attending Central Community College-Hastings Nebraska Campus

Who Should Attend:

• Students who want to jump-start their educational success

• Any student desiring to learn about available support services and college survival skills

• Students with any type of disability

• First generation college students

• English as a second language (ESL) students

Participants must be new students pre-registed for the Fall 2008 Semester.

Further Information:
Persons wanting additional information about the program may contact the Central Community College-Hastings Educational Support Services Offices at (402) 461-2423.

Educational Opportunites Beyond H.S. in Nebraska

Educational Opportunites Beyond High School In Nebraska

A Guide for All Students

http:// edweblab.unl.edu/edu/edopportunites

The web site is designed for secondary students selcting a postseconday education institution. A listing of postsecondary educational programs in Nebraska is included. All schools on the site are licensed or accredited. Private vocational and technical schools are approved by the Nebraska Department of Educations. Schools of cosmentology, barbering, and health related are licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services. The major focus is to provide information about accommodations and special provisions available to students with special needs. The online database is provided by the Deparment of Special Education, College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. 62 colleges are in the database.

School Tube

SchoolTube provides students and educators a safe, world class, and FREE media sharing website that is nationally endorsed by premier education associations.

SchoolTube is the recognized leader for moderated internet media content sharing for teachers and students. All student created materials on SchoolTube must be approved by registered teachers, follow local school guidelines, and adhere to our high standards.

SchoolTube Revolutionizes Internet Video for Students

SchoolTube’s partnership with The Student Television Network (STN) leverages a nationwide network of broadcast journalism teachers and students who share their expertise with each other in an effort to create quality student videos of all types.

www.schooltube.com

A Guide to Gracious Criticism

'Destructive criticism bad; constructive criticism good!' An important skill in high school, college and in the work force is that of giving solid, instructive criticism. Although this hand out was written for college students, it explains instructive criticism as it is equally applicable to high school students. The material covers rules to follow and questions to consider when doing peer writing reviews.

George Mason University

To veiw the hand out click on the following hyperlink -http://www.gmu.edu/departments/writingcenter/handouts/eiphand.html

Playaway

What is Playaway?

Playaway is the newest format of audio, combining a wide variety of content with an easy-to-use player all in one small unit. When you receive your Playaway, all you have to do is press play to start listening immediately – there is no need for a separate player, and it comes with earbuds and a battery to make it play.

Playaway is the most simple and immediate way to enjoy music and audiobooks. Its portability allows users to enjoy their favorite authors and titles on-the-go, whenever and wherever.

What makes Playaway unique?

• Playaway is the easiest way to listen to a book or music – the only thing you need to do is press play!
• Each Playaway contains an entire book or music compilation, regardless of length (up to 80 hours!).
• A Playaway weighs only 2 ounces and can easily fit in a pocket for ultimate portability and multitasking.
• They come with an automatic bookmark function that remembers where you left off.
• Playaways have a universal headphone jack that can be used with a number of mobility accessories including portable speakers, FM transmitters, and audio cables to listen in virtually any environment.

After the content on Playaway is enjoyed, it can be easily shared, just like a book. Or, we’ll help you reuse your Playaway and get great savings through RePlay, our program where we reload your pre-used Playaway with a new title of your choice.

For more information visit-http://store.playawaydigital.com/

Timer

Cool Timer

Cool Timer can be set for up to 100 hours, and can use any Wav, MP3, or Midi file OR any of several built-in sounds to sound an alarm when time expires. Timer runs on your computer screen.

Time anything up to 100 hours.

Use for cooking, exercising, etc.

Great for teachers in the classroom.

Can also be used as an alarm clock.

Use any Wav, MP3, or Midi file OR one of several built-in sounds as an alarm.

Can be set for up to 100 hours in "countdown mode".

Easy to use.

Cool, colorful, customizable interface.

Can be minimized to Windows system tray.

Save and reload preset time lengths or wake times.

Absolutely free!

To download free software visit www.harmonyhollow.net/cool_timer.shtml

Natural Reader-Free Screen Reader

NaturalReader is a Text to Speech software with natural sounding voices. This easy to use software can convert any written text such as MS Word, Webpage, PDF files, and Emails into spoken words. NaturalReader can also convert any written text into audio files such as MP3 or WAV for your CD player or iPod.
•	NaturalReader saves eye strain – relax, sit back and listen
•	NaturalReader saves time - listen while driving, exercising or enjoying nature
•	NaturalReader helps writers – improve by listening to your work
•	NaturalReader teaches second language students – expand your experience and understanding by listening to any text at any speed

Free Version 6.5
	Microsoft Voice included All functions to read aloud any text in your computer Change speed and speaker Miniboard to read any text in other applications For more information and to download software visit www.naturalreaders.com

Zoom Text Goes to Grad School

ZoomNews

Tracy is currently enrolled in the Biochemistry PhD program at Arizona State University (ASU), but it’s been a long road to get there. Although she was born with the rare disease plars planitis, Tracy’s vision didn’t really begin to deteriorate until junior high school. Plars planitis is an inflammation of the middle layer of the eye which causes floaters. By itself it doesn’t cause tremendous vision loss, but after multiple surgeries and medication attempting to correct it, Tracy developed glaucoma. This led to a sizable decrease in her vision - she lost all her peripheral vision and now can only see out of a small part of her eyes.

Growing up and going to school in a small town in Nebraska led to challenges with finding and using transportation and completing her school work. Always interested in the sciences, Tracy signed up for chemistry as a junior in high school. She was told to just find herself a lab partner who could help her complete the lab work. But when she went to college and majored in chemistry, the labs became much more intensive than they were in high school. She knew that she couldn’t rely on the other students to do the lab work for her anymore - nor did she want them to.

“In my freshman year, I had a professor who told me I had to find a way to do everything myself,” says Tracy. “I pushed myself to measure all the chemicals, and if I couldn’t see things properly, I came up with techniques that worked for me and thus became more independent.”

For her coursework, Tracy used a large CCTV that came with detachable glasses. They helped in certain arenas, but they were too bulky to use in the lab. Not long after, the Commission of the Blind in Nebraska introduced her to ZoomText, and she has been a user now for over five years.

“Before I got ZoomText, I would get extremely tired after only an hour of looking at the computer screen,” says Tracy. “Using a computer is critical for me - I have to read journals, develop laboratory protocols, and analyze data on a daily basis, and ZoomText makes everything large enough so that I can be effective in my research.”

For more on Tracy and Zoom visit www.aisquared.com/News/index.php

Webmath

www.webmath.com

Whether you are in primary school and stuck on a basic computation, or in high school and at the end of yourself as you try to complete an assignment in calculus, this site offers amazing help. All you have to do is type in your problem. Webmath will work it out for you and provide you with a helpful explanation. The Webmath programmers have developed special engineers that do the calculations almost instantly in real time.

Tips for Effective Note Taking

Note Taking Tips

* Put the date, class topic, and your name on the first page of your notes.
* Start each day with a new sheet of paper. Write on one side of the paper only. Leave space for ideas that you miss. ( You can also add them to the blank facing page.)
*Don't skimp on paper. Write big, and leave plenty of space between ideas, topics and subtopics.
*Don't try to write down every sentence in order. A good rule of thumb is every third sentence.
*Identify questions or things they you do not understand by using colors or symbols.
*Get cheap pens and lots of them, and don't worry about losing them.
*Sit in the front row or in the middle. Make eye contact with your prof.
*If your class period is long, take reasonable breaks. It's okay to leave if you come back. however, when you do leave, mark the place in your notes where you left off, and when you return, mark the spot where you picked up again. You may even want to note that there is missing information between those tow spots.
*Play around with materials like colored pencils, highters, sticky notes, flags and so on.

Reference: Learning Outside the Lines by Jonathan Mooney and David Cole

Open Office

OpenOffice.org is an office suite application available for a number of different computer operating systems. It supports the OpenDocument standard for data interchange as its default file formats, as well as Microsoft Office '97-2003 formats, among many others.Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is FREE to download, use, and distribute.

Components

OpenOffice.org is a collection of applications that work together closely to provide the features expected from a modern office suite. Many of the components are designed to mirror those available in Microsoft Office. The components available include:

Writer

A word processor similar in look and feel to Microsoft Word and offering a comparable range of functions and tools. It also includes the ability to export Portable Document Format (PDF) files with no additional software, and can also function as a WYSIWYG editor for creating and editing web pages. One important difference between Writer and Microsoft Word is that in Writer, many functions and number formats from Calc (below) are available in Writer’s tables.

Calc

A spreadsheet similar to Microsoft Excel with a roughly equivalent range of features. Calc provides a number of features not present in Excel, including a system which automatically defines series for graphing, based on the layout of the user’s data. Calc is also capable of writing spreadsheets directly as a PDF file.

Impress

A presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. It can export presentations to Adobe Flash (SWF) files allowing them to be played on any computer with the Flash player installed. It also includes the ability to create PDF files, and the ability to read Microsoft PowerPoint's .ppt format. Impress suffers from a lack of ready-made presentation designs. However, templates are readily available on the Internet.^[7][8][9]

Base

A database program similar to Microsoft Access. Base allows the creation and manipulation of databases, and the building of forms and reports to provide easy access to data for end-users. As with Access, Base may be used as a front-end to a number of different database systems, including Access databases (JET), ODBC data sources and MySQL/PostgreSQL. Base became part of the suite starting with version 2.0. Native to the OpenOffice.org suite is an adaptation of HSQL. While ooBase can be a front-end for any of the databases listed, there is no need for any of them to be installed.

Draw

A vector graphics editor comparable in features to early versions of CorelDRAW. It features versatile "connectors" between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowcharts. It has similar features to Desktop publishing software such as Scribus and Microsoft Publisher.

Math

A tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor. Formulae can be embedded inside other OpenOffice.org documents, such as those created by Writer. It supports multiple fonts and can export to PDF.

For more information and to download visit www.openoffice.org

Inprove your typing for school or work

Improve your typing skills with a
free demo of TypeMaster

TypingMaster Typing Test is a free, full-featured typing tester for Windows. After warming up with enjoyable typing games, you can evaluate your typing skills with any of the several test texts, or add your own. You can also view your personal test result history and print out test diplomas. Program has multi user support and four games. In addition this package contains several features of TypingMaster Pro typing tutor such as the touch typing course (3 free lessons) and a full Numeric Keypad course.

For more information visit www.typingmaster.com and download a free trail.

Click Speak

CLiCk Speak Firefox Extension Talking Browser Extension

The CLiCk Speak extension for Firefox is one of my favorite Firefox extensions. At the press of a button, CLiCk Speak will read the contents of a web page that you have highlighted, or it can read the contents automatically. You can choose to access CLiCk Speak through the context menu, or via the CLiCk Speak toolbar.

For more information visit FireFox.