The LDRC Project (Learning Disabilities Resource Community) is a virtual information community created to benefit all individuals affected by learning disabilities including individuals with LD, parents, teachers, researchers, other professionals in the field as well as concerned community members. It is a place to gain knowledge about learning disabilities, discover new teaching and educational tools, share information and experiences, and contribute to a greater understanding of Learning Disabilities.
On November 8th, the LDRC released a fully functional demo version of ATutor . The updated version of ATutor is a complete rewrite of the older version and includes many new features. ATutor-a FREE resource--is an adaptive learning environment and a Web-based course-authoring tool. The primary purpose of ATutor is to create an environment that meets the skills and preferences of each individual learner. It is an accessible learning environment that is adaptable to a diverse range of skills and abilities. Learners with disabilities often have difficulties with online learning because of access issues resulting from their disability, or because the learning environment is not suited to their preferred style of learning. ATutor can be adapted in many different ways to suit the preferences of each individual learner. ATutor has been created to:
1. Provide a learning environment in which online learners can arrange navigational content in ways that are adaptable to a preferred learning style and the diverse characteristics of individual learners.
2. Allow Web developers and educators to easily develop online educational materials to be presented in a structured learning environment via the Web.
3. Host courses, or publish Web-based educational materials for learners to access in an interactive learning environment.
We would like to encourage all potential content developers to explore and learn more about ATutor. For information on using ATutor, please visit the ATutor How to Course .
We would also like to encourage all potential instructors or designers to try out the tools available on the ATutor demo site--this will enable content designers to actively experiment with the content development tools and to begin thinking about how they might want to use this resource for putting their educational materials online. To try out the instructor tools, login with the name "demo" and the password "demo", then go to the 'Play Here Course'.
The LDRC Course Server is now available for those who wish to develop online instructional materials, or wish to develop fully independent online courses. Course designers may choose to create private courses, available only to their selected students, or may choose to create public courses that will benefit the larger community. Non-commercial courses may be developed on the LDRC Course Server for FREE.
The Office of Learning Technologies (OLT) has released their 2002 call for proposals under the Community Learning Networks (CLN) Initiative. Although the LDRC will not be applying this year, we are encouraging LDRC community members to pursue this funding to help build upon what we have started. We can offer our support to potential applicants interested in pursuing this funding. Please contact info@ldrc.ca for assistance.
The next Destination Success Conference will be held May 7th to 8th at the Casino Rama Hotel in Rama, Ontario. Keynote speakers include Richard Lavoie and Howard Eaton. Make sure to mark this date in your calendar!! For more information visit the LDRC event listing.
Wordshop production presents 'An intimate portrait of life with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)'. This documentary provides intimate accounts of the lives of three families affected by ADHD who open their doors and invite the world in.
Ann Thompson, a teacher with over 30 years experience, shares with us her classroom experiences with students who have a mixed laterality dominance--that is, a physical mismatch of dominance between the eye and hand. Thompson discusses various cases seen during her career, providing her own personal commentary on strategies and assessment approaches implemented to help these students. Read the full article
The LDRC is now offering economical advertising space for those who wish to market an LD related product or service. Proceeds from LDRC banner advertising will help us recover the costs associated with maintaining the LDRC site and keeping the information on the site up to date. If you have a product or service that would benefit the learning disabilities community, please visit the LDRC advertising page for more information about creating an instant advertisers account, and displaying your banners on our site.
Can you contribute to the public understanding of LD? Do you have LD related knowledge, expertise, materials, curriculum or personal experiences that can help learners with LD better adapt, develop skills, and allow them to become productive members of their communities? Visit the LDRC site and learn more about how you can become involved!