The loss of control

I can't describe the overwhelming feeling of information I have gained and appreciation from watching this video. This is the story of Ian Waterman, a man who at the age of 19 woke up unable to move. He had lost the nerves that controlled body movement, so an easy task as to put a fork of food into your mouth, became an impossible job. Ian still has his sense of pain and temperature, but lost the sense of touch. I have truly gained a sense of appreciation for my functioning body.
This video has two parts in it, and both are around 20 minutes long, but I highly recommend you take the time to watch this. It's miraculous how complex the human body is.

Watch The Man Who Lost His Body [Part 1] | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Changing Disabilities

For our tech task assignment #7, it was required we watch a video from the K12 Online Conference 2008. The video I chose was called "Changing Disabilities". They focus on the McGiver approach of changing disabilities into possibilites. (I thought this aspect of the presentation was the funniest!)
They mainly focused on a site called voice thread. It's kind of like elluminate. You can present things online and you can comment varying from typing it into the chat, recording it on a microphone or video, or telephoning.
These teachers presented it in their kindergarten class, and most specifically, children with disabilities. They talked about 3 students with different problems, and how the site had help them advance and improve in school. My favorite was about Lindsay. Lindsay was overly sensitive to loud noises, which made school pretty uncomfortable for her. When she attended school, she didn't talk (selective mutism). So when it came to knowing where Lindsay was in reading, her teachers didn't know because they have never heard her talk, let alone read. The solution? Her teacher scanned the pages of a book and uploaded them onto voice thread. She showed Lindsay how she could record herself, and left the room. A few minutes later, Lindsay presented her work and her teacher got to know that Lindsay could read, and she was a remarkable reader.
This is just one example of how voice thread could really help out, and the rest of the video is just as interesting. I never thought of the advantage technology could offer with people with disabilities. It's actually quite incredible! I really loved the idea of voice thread and almost find it easier, and more visually engaging, than elluminate (no offence Dean).
Anyways, if you're interested in more about voice thread, just click my hyper link and they have a audio/visual recording on what it is. It's great.