Accessible Instruction Materials
What are accessible Instructional materials (AIMs)?
AIMs are instructional material designed in ways that allow all students regardless of ability to understand and learn from them. These materials are often in digital format and accessed using computers to accentuate multiple learning styles that may benefit from voice output, video clips, simulations, 3-D models, etc. AIMs are not solely dependent on technology and can be simple instructional manipulatives such as counting blocks or picture cards.
How do AIMs benefit all students?
The design of AIMs allow all students to engage the curriculum in a variety of ways using manipulatives such as blocks, rods, bean sticks, etc that alters the content which allows the student to comprehend it better. Computer technology further advances AIMs by presenting it in digital format which allows for a variety of presentation styles. The presentation of the curriculum can be scaffolded using built-in features to the software or digital curriculum. These include features such as auto summarization, 3-D modeling, video streaming, auto feedback, digital images, text to speech, automated assessment and feedback, and more. AIMs with built in scaffolds allow students to alter or adjust the materials to a level they can understand and not be solely dependent upon the teacher or peers to help them understand the content.
Where can I find more information about AIMs?
- Visit the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials. This site provides information on the history, policy, research, and practice related to AIMs. There are also training and instructional resources available.
- Read "Accessible Instructional Materials: An Annotated List of Research Articles" by Nicole Strangman, Ph.D., which can be found at the NIMAS @ CAST website.
- Look through the AT Cubed: Assistive Technology Tools, Tricks, and Tips (and Talk!) blog titled "Towards a Systemization of Accessible Instructional Materials"
Where can I find AIMs?
Links to websites (organized by content area) providing free digital content, available for use with all students. Tips on how to incorporate Accessible Curriculum Materials into instruction are available in "Miscellaneous" section.
Language Arts
Baen Free Library: Great publisher pushing the edge of ebook distribution
ICDL- International Children's Digital Library: A library for the world's children
LibriVox: Free audio books in the public domain
FREE- Federal Resources for Educational Excellence: More than 1,500 teaching and learning resources across several subject areas
Free Classic AudioBooks: Digital narration for the 21st century
Wikibooks: A free collection of open-content textbooks in multiple subject areas that anyone can edit
Intersect Digital Library: A library of "supported text" books incorporating resources and study strategies that help students learn more from what they read
Project Gutenberg: The first producer of free electronic books (ebooks)
Read Print: Free online books, poems, and short stories
Bartleby.com: Free, unlimited access to books and information from the preeminent Internet publisher of literature, references, and verse
Bibliomania: Free online literature and study guides
Text Content Analysis Tool: Gives statistics about a text including word count, unique words, number of sentences, average words per sentence, lexical density, and the Gunning Fog readability index
Math
HIAT- Math Websites: Links to the best K-12 math sites on the web
FREE- Federal Resources for Educational Excellence: More than 1,500 teaching and learning resources across several subject areas
Illuminations: A library of 96 online activities that help to make math come alive in the classroom or at home
Science
HHMI's BioInteractive - Animations: Biology site with videos, animations, interactive lessons, and virtual labs
FREE- Federal Resources for Educational Excellence: More than 1,500 teaching and learning resources across several subject areas
Wikibooks: A free collection of open-content textbooks in multiple subject areas that anyone can edit
Social Studies
CITEd Research Center: Multimedia geography instruction
Google Maps Mania: An unofficial Google Maps blog tracking the websites, mashups, and tools being influeced by Google Maps
FREE- Federal Resources for Educational Excellence: More than 1,500 teaching and learning resources across several subject areas
Wikibooks: A free collection of open-content textbooks in multiple subject areas that anyone can edit
Arts & Humanities
FREE- Federal Resources for Educational Excellence: More than 1,500 teaching and learning resources across several subject areas
Wikibooks: A free collection of open-content textbooks in multiple subject areas that anyone can edit
Miscellaneous
Center for Implementing Technology in Education - Webinar Archive: Excellent PD and resources from national presenters on implementing content and accessible curriculum materials in the classroom
CITEd Multimedia Technologies: Using multimedia materials to engage and challenge learners
CITEd Learn Center for Tech Coordinators: Practical and convenient resources to help technology coordinators provide an infrastructure to support technology tools for teachers and administrators
CITEd Community Resources: Technologies supporting curriculum access for students with disabilities
OEDb- The Best Online Research Apps/Sites You've Never Heard Of: Links to a collection of online research resources
Accessible Instructional Materials: An annotated list of recent research articles on accessible materials
Products Based on CAST's Work: UDL Lesson Builder, Book Builder, and other software applications with UDL features