Lots of prospective college freshmen look forward to getting a new laptop or tablet computer for college these days. When I entered college in 1989, I was excited to have correctable type on my electronic typewriter. Back then, it wasn't Apple that caught my eye, but Smith Corona. It was considered fairly high tech to have a typewriter that could hold a sentence of text that could be corrected on a 5X1 cm LED display before pressing enter and having it typed onto paper automatically.
There were other wordprocessors out there at this time, but they were too expensive. I could sign up for an hour of computer use in a crowded lab, but after waiting in line and getting booted before I was done, I realized I was wasting time. So I broke down and bought an outdated IBM XT--a metal-shrouded dinosaur with a green monochrome display. I got a cheap dot matrix printer, complete with perforated sprockets. This sufficed for about two years; then came Word for Windows 2.0 (1992), which actually made typing a paper kind of fun. My papers were done more quickly, and frankly, they were better written because I could compose more freely.
With rapid improvements in WP software and the storage advantages they brought, Word became a staple for home lesson-planning. It would be several more years before teachers could use Word in the classroom because classrooms didn't have computers in the early 90s. With the advent of Desktop Publishing (DTP) software for PC, teachers could begin to produce attractive materials for students and parents. Using DTP with students was years away as computers were not universally accessible to students.
Nowadays, students and teachers both have easy access to DTP, which frees teachers up to make create collaborative activities for students to research and report concepts. When I got my first Mac, I discovered Pages--a neat, template-friendly DTP. Take a look at the difference between a parent newsletter I did on Word and one on Pages:
Now, when I post information on our school's LMS, I use DTP tools to make it more visually appealing. Since I can post online, I can use all the color I want (no print limitations). NETS technology standards for teachers (#4) recommends this kind of modeling. That is, if teachers want students to fully utilize DTPs, teachers need to practice the technology effectively themselves. DTP really gets fun when you start to make your own graphics for it. I would recommend GIMP image editor, which can be downloaded for free online for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It takes some practice, but it has a lot of artistic filters that can dress up all those pictures we "appropriate" from Goodle images.
Desktop Publishing Software
For someone who's on a publisher all the time, PagePlus X6 might be the best option for desktop publishing. For around $100 an average Joe can begin producing professional looking documents from nearly 500 templates. It has an art gallery, hundreds of fonts, and digital photo editing. For the more adventurous, it also provides logo design.
In fact, it may have too many features--many that could go untouched by the average user. For day-to-day desktop publishing the most up-to-date word-processing software (Word or Pages) has about all that most users need: templates, font variety, gallery, embedded video, picture editing, linking, masters, and a host of other design options. Documents can be easily exported as PDFs as well.
While they do not rival the design capabilities of Word or Pages, there are two free open source word processing software downloads available that are worth downloading if users can't afford commercial options. Open Office is a feature-rich basic word processing application. In fact, it offers a suite of office applications including presentations and spreadsheets. Another free download, LibreOffice, is almost identical to OpenOffice. Both programs are fully compatible with Word (and, by extension, Pages).
For users who have a comprehensive word-processing program but would like to add a simpler secondary word processor, try Jarte. Because it uses Wordpad, Jarte opens really fast. I use it for simple text copying, pasting, and printing. It offers all the basic formatting options, offers multiple file saving formats, and can print.
Assistive Technologies
GPAT: Georgia Project for Assistive Technology
GPAT is a treasure trove of information about assistive technology (AT), which it defines as, "Any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities." In less legalistic speak, AT is simply technology used to help children with disabilities.
The major operating systems, Windows, Mac OS, Ubuntu, etc., offer assistive functions that make reading and navigating easier. Text-to-speech (TTS) and magnification are examples of some of the simpler accommodations. GPAT recommends Dolphin Easyreader, an audio e-reader application with text and images. Georgia (GPAT) offers the software free to GA public school students with bona fide learning disabilities. Many AT-conscious schools offer Dolphin, as well as many college and university libraries.
DSpeech
Dolphin is certainly not the only AT software available. DSpeech offers TTS as well as automatic speech recognition (ASR). The great thing about DSpeech is that it offers all the advanced features of modern AT reading aids at no cost. It is available as an online download in .zip format. The program provides for customizable voices and it can produce multiple audio file formats, including .wav and .ogg (Mac). Teachers can provide access to audio files produced in programs like DSpeech can upload tons of files to Soundcloud.
Powertalk
Powertalk is an automated speech program for Power Point. Once downloaded, Powertalk is activated by right-clicking in Power Point and choosing the Powertalk utility. It can verbalize all visible text on slides, but can also speak words hidden behind pictures so that images can be narrated too. Powertalk can be downloaded, free of charge, thanks to Open Source Assistive Technology Software (OATS). OATS offers other assistive technologies such as virtual keyboards with features like dwell-click (hovering = click selection) and word/phrase auto-completion.
ReadTheWords
ReadTheWords is another TTS program. This one allows users to create and edit their own audio files, and then upload them in ReadTheWords online storage. It is a paid program that ranges from $40-$100. One of the unique features of ReadTheWords is the Firefox toolbar that allows ReadTheWords to read text on websites at the click of a mouse. Another advantage of the ReadTheWords is that it works as a media sharing site complete with profiles and social support.
Online Productivity/Collaboration Source: Zoho
Zoho
Zoho is an extensive online suite of business, collaboration, and productivity apps. The business side of Zoho focuses on contacts, email marketing, sales tracking, team management, and record-keeping. The productivity and colloration apps are more applicable to teachers. Productivity apps include online word-processing, presentations, spreadsheets, calendar, and a wiki-like collaborative notes/writing app. The collaborative apps include online meetings, chat, documents, online discussions (forums), and project managment.
Zoho could be useful to teachers in many ways. From a basic practical standpoint, since teachers work on materials at home and at work, it helps to be able to access their materials from any device with online connection. If students are provided access to the collaborative tools--especially chat and online discussions--Zoho could offer nice classroom support.
For more ambitious teachers who wish to work with students outside of class, the online meeting function would be worthwhile. This function could be used especially well in online summer school courses and even in conferencing with parents. Some schools are offering best practices discussions with administrators and teachers via online meeting applications. There is a monthly charge for the better online meeting options (more people, no time limit), but teachers could experiment with the limited version for free. If you want a free online meeting option without the strict limitations of Zoho free option, check out AnyMeeting. I practiced with this as an online class tool, and was pleased with how well it worked.
Online Lesson Planning Source: WebQuest
Webquest is an "inquiry-based" lesson format that is based primarily on information gathered online. The WebQuest website needs improvement. Many of the lesson searches I conducted came up dry. The brights spot on the site is QuestGarden. QuestGarden is a search engine that directs teachers to shared lessons by grade and subject. The search turns up a bunch of lessons that all follow the same template of links: intro., task, process, evaluation, and conclusion. The idea behind this service is that teachers work better when they share ideas. Teachers who want new lesson ideas, that happen to also include technology, QuestGarden could be useful. It could also help out a teacher who's a little behind in planning and needs some quick help to avoid lost instructional time. Most teachers have been in this position once or twice. 