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?

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 Classic AudioBooks: Digital narration for the 21st century

Wikibooks: A free collection of open-content textbooks in multiple subject areas that anyone can edit

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

Illuminations: A library of 96 online activities that help to make math come alive in the classroom or at home

 

Science

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

Wikibooks: A free collection of open-content textbooks in multiple subject areas that anyone can edit

 

Arts & Humanities

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