•  
• Register
•  | Log in |
•  RSS Feed
• 
  
  Search:
  
  
• 

Register now for the 2008 NCTI Conference!

• Categories

  • Accessibility (35)
  • Assessment (1)
  • Assistive Technology (71)
  • Collaboration (30)
  • Commercialization (42)
  • Design (10)
  • Disability (13)
  • Education (116)
  • Grant Writing (8)
  • Implementation (71)
  • Leadership (9)
  • Marketing (23)
  • News (81)
  • Research (30)
  • Technology Transfer (9)
  • Universal Design [UD] (20)
  • Videos (18)
    • I Can Soar Video (13)

CAST, Google Introduce New Online Literacy Tools

CAST Joins Google and Partners to Celebrate World Book Day

Releases innovative literacy tools to support reading and learning from books, websites

In partnership with Google, CAST celebrated World Book Day on April 23, 2008 by introducing two new online literacy tools that provide robust, embedded learning supports for readers at all levels.  UDL Editions by CAST are world literature classics presented in a flexible online interface that supports and engages novice and expert readers alike. Cast Strategy Tutor offers adolescent readers customizable mentoring and support as they conduct Internet research and read websites.

Both new tools, which were funded in part by Carnegie Corporation of New York, are featured presentations of the Google Literacy Project, a joint nonprofit venture of Google, LitCam, and UNESCO, as part of its World Book Day Innovative Projects page. Texthelp Systems, Inc., a leading developer of literacy support software, contributed toolbar technologies to UDL Editions to expand access for all individuals.

Said Jessica Powell, co-founder of the Google Literacy Project: “The worlds of technology, literature, and learning have a responsibility to play whatever part they can in helping to alleviate the problem of illiteracy. We’re very excited to be involved in this project and help provide a platform through which literacy and reading promotion organizations can connect and share best practices and tools.”

“CAST is thrilled to join Google in this celebration of World Book Day,” said Anne Meyer, Chief of Education Design and Co-Founder of CAST. “With UDL Editions, reading classic works with technology-rich resources becomes an engaging, active learning experience for all students, regardless of how they learn best. CAST Strategy Tutor helps diverse learners read and research online more strategically and productively. We hope these two free tools will help all students experience the joy of learning.”

Carnegie Corporation President Vartan Gregorian added: “Our nation cannot afford to have more than 8 million struggling readers in grades 4-12. In this economy a high school diploma is no longer adequate preparation for the workplace or full participation in our democracy. To succeed in post-secondary education and upwardly mobile employment requires the ability to comprehend and act upon complex written information. Technologies like Strategy Tutor that help our young people read and write benefit not only the new readers and their families, but our nation as well.”

The UDL Editions by CAST (http://udleditions.cast.org) render classic texts from world literature in a flexible online interface that provides just-in-time, individualized supports for struggling readers, and added-value features that engage novice and expert readers alike. Texts include English language works by Jack London, Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, and Edgar Allen Poe, as well as the Spanish-language classic, The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes. Learning features include:

• Leveled supports to build reading strategies and help readers understand the elements of the author’s craft; 
• Texthelp® Toolbar for text-to-speech, highlighting and collecting highlights, dictionary and encyclopedia links, and translation between English and Spanish; 
• Context-specific multimedia glossaries  and enrichment activities; 
• Multimedia background resources, including story links to Google Maps.

The toolbar created by Texthelp Systems, Inc., a leading developer of literacy support software solutions with offices in the U.K. and United States, expands access for all individuals, including Spanish language text-to-speech and other features for Lazarillo.  Says Mark McCusker, Texthelp’s Chief Executive Officer: “We are delighted to be working with our partners to develop technology that continues to push aside the barriers to advancing literacy. We share our partner’s vision of a future where universally designed materials improve access to knowledge for everyone.”

Cast STrategy Tutor is a multimedia program that provides diverse adolescent learners with customizable mentoring and support as they conduct Internet research and read websites. In addition to customizable embedded scaffolds and supports, the program offers teachers rich resources to plan lessons, set supports for individual students (including scriptable animated on-screen coaches), and monitor student progress.

Carnegie Corporation of New York has supported Strategy Tutor since 2003 and UDL Editions since 2007. Says David H. Rose, Chief Education Officer and Co-Founder of CAST: “We’re very grateful to Carnegie for helping make this work possible. Carnegie’s commitment to advancing literacy, especially among adolescents using new media, has been a great inspiration to us.”

Both UDL Editions and Strategy Tutor draw on CAST’s two decades of research and development of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an approach to creating inclusive educational environments that lower barriers to learning and while supporting learners’ individual skills, abilities, and interests.

                                                               ####
About CAST
Founded in 1984 as the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST has earned international recognition for its development of innovative learning resources and for articulating the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework for creating inclusive educational environments. For more information, go to www.cast.org.

About Google Literacy Project
The Literacy Project is a joint nonprofit venture of Google, LitCam, and UNESCO to combat illiteracy across countries and populations. The Literacy Project partners believe the Internet can be a powerful tool in this effort. From e-learning tools and book clubs, to classic children’s books and scholarly articles—users can find books, videos, articles, blogs, and groups about literacy, as well as share all of their own ideas and projects.  For more information, go to www.google.com/literacy.

About Carnegie Corporation
Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” As a private grantmaking foundation, the Corporation will invest more than $100 million this year in nonprofits to fulfill Mr. Carnegie’s mission, “to do real and permanent good in this world.” For more information, go to www.carnegie.org.

About Texthelp
Texthelp is an assistive technology software company with corporate offices in Antrim, Northern Ireland, and Woburn, Massachusetts. Texthelp markets award-winning literacy support software solutions to help people with reading, writing, and literacy difficulties. The company’s mission is to provide high quality and innovative assistive technology for any person of any age seeking to develop their language skills through the use of a computer. Texthelp’s products include: Read&Write GOLD, Browsealoud, and Lexiflow. For more information, go to www.texthelp.com.