Thank you to our contributors. If you have anything that you would like to add (particularly more detailed reviews of some of these sites), please email that material to: spedtech@lesd.k12.or.us.
We are in the process of writing a separate page that deals exclusively with access to text, both read-aloud books and audiobooks. At the very least, those sites will include: Bookshare, National Library Service, Newsela, News-2-You, Storyline, Tarheel Reader, and Tumbleweed Press. Some of this information is already included below, but a site is needed that compares these sources and also lays out instructions for getting accounts (and so forth).
Cautions
- Videos can use a lot of bandwidth, which concerns some of our host districts.
- General video sites (e.g., YouTube, Google) can link to material that is not appropriate for school.
- Lane ESD Life Skills policies do not support:
- unmonitored student online access, or
- access for entertainment.
- Do not access personally-owned subscriptions (e.g., do not use a personal Netflix account).
- Face-to-face instruction constitutes Fair Use for movies, music, and so on.
Subscriptions for All Life Skills Rooms
(at no cost to the classroom budget)
The sites identified below as “home access allowed” are available to our students’ families at no additional cost. Write to spedtech@lesd.k12.or.us for login info.
• Home access allowed •
Tumbleweed Press
Tumbleweed Press covers read-aloud books, audiobooks, and math. The read-aloud books can be switch accessible with a partner. Non-fiction books have their own section. There are also graphic novels (especially at higher levels), videos, games, and some books in languages other than English.
• Home access allowed •
HelpKidzLearn
Switch-accessible program site. Loads of activities.
Note: If the usage statistics indicate that you do not actually access the accounts, then they will be removed.
Starfall
This is additional paid content for Starfall. Instead of a login, the classroom browsers are assigned a special link.
The remaining sites in this section are teacher and specialist resources in the main, but the OSLIS site is potentially useful for some Life Skills students when partnered:
Super Teacher Worksheets
Thousands of printable PDF worksheets: math, spelling, reading comprehension, board and card games, graphic organizers, handwriting, flashcards, and manipulatives.
Enchanted Learning
Tens of thousands of educational activities, games, printables, and so on.
Learn360
Free to your classroom. Send a request for an account to spedtech@lesd.k12.or.us.
Oregon School Library Information System (OSLIS)
This site leads to a ide variety of research databases, with a good number of them aimed at elementary students.
Every classroom has access to at least one grid-based communication program for the creation of choice boards, schedules, and the like:
SymbolStix
Easy to learn (with good video tutorial support). Somewhat limited in scope. Work can now be shared between accounts. This is the symbol set used by News-2-You, as well as the Proloquo2go and TouchChat AAC programs.
Subscriptions Chosen by Specific Classrooms
(at half cost to their budget)
The username/password for these sites will be specific to a given classroom.
Reading A-Z (and similar, such as Science A-Z, Writing A-Z, and Vocab A-Z)
Reading instruction: leveled readers, phonics, vocabulary, and so on.
News-2-You
Leveled, symbolated current events stories. Includes a large set of associated lessons and activities for each story. Includes access to the SymbolStix library. We also have the PDF archives available at no cost the classroom.
Very few classrooms subscribe to these:
Edmark Reading Online
This is the contemporary version of the familiar Edmark Reading software. Its use has been piloted in two classrooms, and interested teachers can be put in touch with those who have been using it. It is relatively expensive at about $60 per student per year (which is split between the classroom and the AT budget).
BrainPop and BrainPop Jr
There are tons of educational flash videos organized by academic category: Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Engineering & Tech, Health, and Arts & Music. In any given category, you drill down to a specific video (e.g., Math > Numbers & Operations > Multiplication). At the level of the specific video, this is what you get: 1) the movie clip (with a zoom button to make it full screen); 2) lesson plans and teaching tools; 3) links to other videos on related topics; 4) quizzes; 5) activities (e.g., simple tests, graphic organizers, vocabulary); 6) Q&A (question sentences about the topic, click to see the answer); 7) “gameup” (flash games on the topic); 8) experiment; 9) FYI; and 10) buttons to other categories.
This site also has a “Brainpop Educators” section where you can find: a) state academic standards and their related BrainPOP videos; b) lesson plans; c) an educators blog, and d) training.
Additional Life Skills Sites
(no cost)
Bookshare
Bookshare is an eBook library. Send email to spedtech@lesd.k12.or.us to initiate the process of establishing an account for a student, and a sponsor account for the teacher/specialist who will be their partner in assigning books to their reading list.
Featured
Learn360
Free to your classroom. Send a request for an account to spedtech@lesd.k12.or.us. This site houses P-12 audio, video, interactives, and printables.
D-Pan: Deaf Professional Arts Network
This is a great place to go if you are looking for signed videos.
The Free Reading Program
This is a free K-6 reading, spelling, and grammar program. Create your own free account, within which you will create and manage student accounts.
Make word clouds:
ABCya word clouds
Word it Out
Jason Davies
Internet Safety
Internet Safety 101
The website as a whole has a lot of good general information about internet safety, and this link goes specifically to sets of age-based guidelines.
Academic (Mostly) Games and Videos
Multiple Subject Areas
PBS Kids
Early learners
Fisher-Price Games
Infant, toddler, preschool
Big Brown Bear
Many literacy activities; program for constructing simple addition/subtraction problems
HaveFunTeaching
A great website with hip hop type songs and videos for every letter of the alphabet, plus math, science, writing worksheets and activities.
Kids NumbersP-5 printables, games, and lesson plans across a wide variety of topics.
Math
Prongo
Ages 3-6, 6-9, and 9-12; also keyboard use and games
Literacy / Reading / Writing / Typing
Starfall
Interactive reading site with stories, games, themes; early/mid reading-related activities
Internet Picture Dictionary
Fill-in-the-blank speller
Literactive
Online stories, rhymes, and games that cover literacy; early sound-recognition games
Literacy Center
Early learner; shapes, numbers, letters, CVC spelling words
Scholastic Kids Page
A variety of games, interviews, and video clips. Good for all ages.
Authors
Roald Dahl
Author of James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and so on
Eric Carle
He reads Hungry Caterpillar, and the site contains lots of printable activities.
Skippy Jon Jones
Author reading her stories and fun games
Little Critter
Mercer Mayer reading his stories, plus cool interactive games, printables, and songs
Science
Stellarium
Shows you the night sky based on your location
National Geographic for Kids
Great science games and videos
Innerbody
Human body systems with good info, highlights different parts of the body/systems and defines them.
Science Corner
Leveled activities for chemistry, space, cellular biology, and plant growth. Excellent for all grade levels.
Museum of Online Museums (MoOm)
A list of online and interactive museums. Covers lots of different topics and areas, excellent for upper grade levels and students with very specific interest areas.
Books (See also Online Subscriptions)
Magic Keys books
Books are not read aloud, but can be switch accessible
Tarheel Reader
Various interactive/powerpoint books online or downloadable. Review before showing to students! Can be switch accessible and/or voice enabled.
Storyline
Streaming video of popular books read by famous actors, e.g., James Earl Jones reads To be a Drum. Comes with activities and lesson plans.
The Best Children’s Books
A list of books sorted by subject area, great way to find a book for themes
Crafts
Funology
Recipes, science experiments, silly jokes
Switch-Accessible Programs
See also the HelpKidzLearn subscription.
Shiny Learning Games
Simple mouse games to play online (with variable reliability, however).
Materials
Handwriting Worksheets and Writing Wizard
Customize worksheets for handwriting practice
Kidzone
An excellent resource for leveled readers and math worksheets/activities for preschool to 5th grade.
Making Learning Fun
Early childhood; printables, coloring pages, and early-learning themed activities
Childcareland
Early childhood; includes file folder printables by theme, many of which are free
SoftSchools
Math and writing worksheets leveled by grade and activity, where you can design your own
Special Needs Teacher Materials
Worksheets, links to free software, and so on
The Teacher’s Guide
Lesson plans, materials, technology resources
Early Literacy
Phonics and letter sound cards in Word format
PreschoolPrintables
A file folder site with lots of items to download
Free Loops (sound files)
Free sound files
Internet Archive (of Media)
There are tons of open media files here. You will need to preview some of this, but there are areas that have just animal clips, and so on.
Other (Not-Necessarily-Academic) Games and Videos
YouTube
Video clips for nearly everything you can think of. NOTE: Preview everything before letting students watch. Lane ESD Life Skills does not support unmonitored student access.
HowStuffWorks
Great science videos, games, runs through the Discovery Channel
Online Stopwatch
Really cool countdown timers you can use and set for the whole group
Instructional Technology
Apples for the Teacher
Various resources: games, materials, activities, and so on
Google Transit
Public transportation planner
Other Folks
Headbangers
Students using tech to make music
SpEd Tech British Columbia
While this site is designed for BC schools, it contains a whole lot of information about AT.
OTAP
Oregon Technology Access Program. Consult with your AT provider before borrowing materials from their equipment library.
Rideable
This is a therapeutic equestrian center.
General AT and Special Needs Sites
One Switch
“A resource of fun ideas and ‘assistive technology’ aimed at moderate to severely learning/physically disabled people.”
Not Done Living
Originally, this was a Mac AT site (atmac.org), which the author (Ricky Buchanan) purposed as follows: “Using Assistive Technology to Empower Apple Users with Disabilities.” That is now part of this more extensive site.
SimplyNoise (Requires Flash Player)
This site plays white noise (or you can choose pink or brown noise instead), which can be good for sensory work. Some folks use this while trying to blanket distractions, or to help relax (and even fall asleep).