Question:

“E-Tex” was recommended for my son who has a learning disability. What is it and where do I get it?

Please help, a concerned parent.

Answer:

I’m sure that the “E-Tex” recommendation is a reference to “E-Text” which is an abbreviation of electronic text or digital text. Digital text and other digital resources are electronic versions of the curriculum materials that are used in the classroom.

Beginning August 2001, the Universal Learning Center (ULC) will provide access to digital curricular materials for students with learning, sensory and physical disabilities to help them achieve higher standards in general education classrooms. A service of CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology), the Universal Learning Center (ULC) will give educators, parents and students immediate access to digital curriculum materials – textbooks, reference books, workbooks, worksheets and other supplemental learning materials.

Digital versions of textbooks, reference books, tests
Well-designed “text-to-speech” technologies can easily read words aloud, making content accessible to students who are blind, dyslexic, or for whom English is their second language. Scaffolds for learning, such as prompts for more effective reading, embedded concept maps, vocabulary and background links, can all be built in contextually and accessed individually – customizing the learning experience for each student.

Digital versions of workbooks, worksheets
Readily available assistive technologies such as expanded keyboards, single switch controls, voice activation, etc., can make assignments accessible to students with motor disabilities who cannot use paper and pencil. Scaffolds for strategic learning, like electronic organization tools, outliners, and planners can be built in.

Digital versions of films, videos, accessible educational web sites
New desktop technologies provide full capacity to make and display captions, audio descriptions, even a sign language track, for students who are deaf, blind, or for whom English is a second language.

By combining digital content with these powerful tools, students will for the first time have full access to the standards based curriculum that they are required to master for graduation. ULC will address an urgent challenge that public schools throughout the nation face — to ensure that all students, especially those that are most at risk, have access to the resources that will enable them to achieve high educational standards in regular education classrooms. This effort will be funded in part through National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum (NCAC), a collaborative effort with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Programs (OSEP).

Web Links:

For more information go to http://ulc.cast.org/