• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

StoryToGo

Exploring storytelling in its many forms in this digital age

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Our Story
    • Our Creatives
    • Join the StoryToGo Community
  • Community Resources
    • Web Monetization Guide
      • Web Monetization Resource Library
        • Web Monetization Tutorials
        • Web Monetization Research Papers
        • Interviews and Case Studies on Web Monetized Projects
      • Web Monetized Content Library
        • Web Monetized Courses
        • Web Monetized Podcasts
        • Web Monetized Social Networking Platforms
    • Podcasting with my Cat
      • Sustainable Funding Series Vlogcast
      • Encounters in EdTech Podcast
      • The Creative Farm Podcast
      • Boma Global Studios Podcast
    • Job Board
    • Storytelling Case Studies
  • Digital Magazine
  • Professional Development
  • Calendar
  • Contact
  • Submissions

Tech Tips

Toolbelt Theory for Learning and Accessibility

August 1, 2022 by Erica Hargreave Leave a Comment

What's in your toolbelt? What will help you reach your goals?

A trap that so many of us have a tendency to fall into is to try and help others by pushing our ideals and what works for us onto them. This can be particularly true in how we approach children, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and those who are sick or injured; perceiving them as more vulnerable and in need of our help in making decisions for them. We forget that we are all individuals and that what works for us, may not work for them. Ultimately the only expert in what works for them is them (not you or whatever degrees and credentials you might have).

To listen to this article, click the red play arrow on the SoundCloud recording below:

StoryToGo · Toolbelt Theory for Learning and Accessibility

Toolbelt Theory

Take for example, 3 carpentry students that are given a toolbelt. They might all start with the same toolbelt, but as they learn, experiment, and discover what works for them, it is not going to be long before each of those toolbelts are unique to each individual carpenter. This is the premise behind Ira David Socal’s Toolbelt Theory. While tools might be useful to us in performing certain tasks, how we utilise those tools and which are useful to us in the environments in which we work is very individual. Ultimately, in order to discover which tools will be useful to any one person, that person needs to know what is available to them and to have the opportunity to test the tools out in their environment, so that they can build a toolbelt that is useful to them.

Chico's well stocked tool belt from Chris Monroe's book Monkey with a Tool Belt
Chico certainly has a tool belt unique to him. Read on in Chris Monroe’s book Monkey with a Tool Belt.

Toolbelt Theory is based around the idea that as humans we are tool users, and that we choose tools most effectively when that choice begins with the Task at hand, and then considers the Environment in which that task must be performed, the Skill set of the individual (the tool chooser), and the Tools which are available. (Thus the acronym TEST).

~ Ira David Socal

Exploring Toolbelt Theory From the Perspective of Pain Management

As someone who has spent the last 9-years learning to manage pain and 5-years learning to manage post concussion syndrome, this makes a tremendous amount of sense to me. Key to what I have learned from the medical specialists, group pain management classes, and from my fellow patients is that what works for one person in their pain management, does not necessarily work for all. In teaching pain management to patients, medical specialists are essentially presenting patients with a number of tools (although in this case, we are not necessarily discussing physical tools) for managing their pain and asking the patient to experiment with the different pain management tools to figure out which methods of pain management work for them. In essence, each of us patients are creating a pain management toolbelt.

Avoiding the Pitfall of the Misguided Notion that the Educator Knows Best

The key here is allowing the individual to figure this out for themselves, which for whatever reason can be a hard for some educators to understand, perhaps due to the misguided notion that by limiting options, we are keeping things simpler for the student or saving the student time. I just need to look to my Masters to see examples of this. In asking the Accessibility Centre for help in finding ways of managing the online course readings without aggravating my concussion symptoms, I was presented with one solution – Read and Write Gold. Only after that did not work for me, was I presented with a second option on having real voice audio recordings made of my course readings. The latter helped but only with the course readings, for everything else I was left proceeding with extreme caution, walking a fine line with each course in not aggravating my symptoms too badly from all the online reading. And this leaves me with no solution for consuming online readings and research after I’m done my Masters. Fortunately in taking GDSE 584 on Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Design and exploring the UDL Resource site, I am discovering a number of tools to navigate screen based devices to learn, research, consume content, and create content in a way that will minimise the aggravation of my concussion symptoms. Basically, instead of being given one bandaid of the brand and shape that someone else thought would work for me, I am being welcomed into a whole holistic clinic in which I am being introduced to the tools that are available, shown how to use them, and being left to experiment with them, in order for me to find which tools work best for me and in what way. Discovering these tools and recognising the possibilities that they hold has left me with such a feeling of relieve that I’ve actually cried.

Crafting My Toolbelt for Digital Learning and Creating

As I begin to create my own toolbelt for digital learning and creating, I’ve been reflected on who I am, how I learn, what my challenges are, what my strengths are, and where my passions and interests lie.

Personal Reflections on my Inclusive Design Action Plan Brainstorming Mind Map

To give you, dear reader, a bit of an overview of me as a learner, I am dyslexic, and manage chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and post concussion syndrome. I am also highly inquisitive, creative, a problem solver and an experimenter. I love storytelling, am discovering a new passion for audio storytelling, and am a biologist and educator by training. My main love in science is steeped in nature. Time in nature and with my cat are the two greatest calming influences in my life.

My current needs include:

  • mind mapping to organise my thoughts
  • tactile ways of thinking and organising
  • calming visuals that aren’t too loud
  • calming audio
  • natural voice readings
  • reminders to limit work and screen time
  • regular offline / calming breaks
  • healthy relationships
  • dimmed lighting
  • an environment in which I can control my work position, lighting and sound
  • audio recordings for remembering details from interviews
  • time in nature
  • cat snuggles

I am still fully immersed in TESTing (Task – Environment – Skills – Tools) tools with different tasks, but thus far, these are some of the tools that I am finding to be useful for me for my toolbelt for digital learning and creating:

  • f.lux – to control the brightness of my computer screen
  • Voice Control on my Apple devices to limit my time looking at screens
  • mind mapping / concept visualising tools like Concepts
  • Immersive Reader Chrome Extension as a more natural sounding text reader
  • Audiobooks
  • Fireside Chat App for limiting screen time while conducting public interviews
  • Cognitive Accessibility features on Apple Devices
  • Magnifier on iOS Devices
  • Voice Memo for recording non-public audio interviews
  • Background Sounds on Apple Devices to allow me to focus on calming sounds and blockout sounds that are potentially aggravating my concussion or nervous system
  • Vielight Neuro Alpha – a light device that helps manage my headaches and improve my concentration

Next up on my TESTing schedule for my toolbelt for digital learning and creating are:

  • experimenting with and finding a dictaphone app I like, like Voice Note II or Dragon Naturally Speaking
  • trying out Lip Surf
  • finding a helpful and calming break reminder

In highlighting the individual nature of one’s toolbelt even when you have individuals with the same challenges, a colleague in my Masters also has post concussion syndrome and in asking him how he manages the online readings, he uses text to speech readers, which typically for me aggravate my symptoms. In addition, he also follows strict meditation practices, which is something that I find does help me.

Aiding Students in Building their Toolbelt for Learning

If toolbelts for learning are so individualistic, how do we as educators or parents help our students to build their toolbelts for learning, without falling into the trap of simply providing them with what we think they need?

What's in your toolbelt? What will help you reach your goals?
Image created with the aid of Vector Portal.

In contemplating this, this again has me reflecting back on my experiences with learning to manage my chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and post concussion syndrome in which the ChangePain Clinic, Complex Chronic Diseases Program, and Brain Injury Society of Toronto offered me different classes in learning to manage my conditions. While the classes introduced me to the tools and how they could be used, the homework in between the classes gave me the opportunity to test out tools in my own environment to see which worked for me and in what way. This is essentially what the TEST is in Toolbelt Theory.

To aid your students in creating their Toolbelts for Learning, teach them to TEST. Based on the Task they need to do, in the Environment that they need to do that task, with the Skills they have, have them try out the Tools that are available, so that they can determine which tools are the best fit for them and in which way.

Resources for Creating Toolbelts for Digital Learning and Creating

For many educators part of the challenge in aiding students in creating their toolbelt for learning, rather than simply telling students what tools / solutions they should be using, is taking the time to find what is available for their students to meet their various needs. Fortunately, Dr. Paul Hamilton has created the UDL Resource site to help with that.

A toolbelt full of digital tools for learning, creating, and exploring.
A Digital Toolbelt of Gwyneth Jones, the Daring Librarian.

One of our goals over the next few months with our StoryToGo Community Resources is to build a Library of Accessibility Resources and an open, self paced course in the StoryToGo Classroom on Building Your Digital Accessibility Toolbelt. In addition to this, we aim to create a video and blog series on StoryToGo giving people an overview of different accessibility tools and how to use them.

If you have resource suggestions for the series, library, and / or course, we’d love to hear about them in the comments. We’d also love any advice you might have on helping students to develop their toolbelt for learning.

Thanks so much!

~ Erica

Filed Under: #StoryToGo, Accessibility, EdTech, Tech Tips Tagged With: accessibility, inclusive design, toolbelt theory, universal design

Beware of KYC Verification Phishing Scam Impersonating MetaMask

April 16, 2022 by Erica Hargreave Leave a Comment

Beware of a KYC Verification Phishing Scam impersonating MetaMask!

The Scam Email in question, impersonating MetaMask.

Yesterday I received an email from what appeared to be MetaMask support claiming that I needed KYC Verification or my MetaMask wallet would be suspended. I wasn’t sure what exactly KYC was , but am use to digital wallets needing more details from time to time to full fill regulatory requirements, so I am afraid to say that I clicked on the ‘Start KYC verification’ button. I email did after all appear as though it had come from MetaMask. I was then met with the most intense security warning page from Google, which stopped me in my tracks and got me searching ‘KYC Verification Phishing Scam’. And yes, as it turns out, this was a scam, confirmed by the real individuals at MetaMask Support when I further reached out to them.

Note that MetaMask Accounts are not associated with email addresses, so MetaMask will NEVER email you.

Advice from the real MetaMask Support.

If you too receive such an email impersonating MetaMask to access your details, here is what the real MetaMask Support asks you:

  • DO NOT OPEN THE LINK;
  • DO NOT CONFIRM ANYTHING FROM THAT EMAIL;
  • Report the email as spam / a phishing attempt;
  • Forward the email to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org or if you got a phishing text message, forward it to SPAM (7726);
  • Report the phishing attack to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov;
  • Reach out to MetaMask Support to inform them if you receiving suspicious emails or texts claiming to be them; and
  • Delete the email.

Be sure to let your friends know too, so no one falls prey to this scam. My huge thanks to Google for the extreme red warnings before I proceeded further with that phishing link.

Filed Under: #StoryToGo, Tech Tips Tagged With: digital wallets, phishing scam

A Children’s Yoga Adventure Story Created in Elementari

May 1, 2020 by Erica Hargreave Leave a Comment

Lori Yearwood's 1st Children's Story on Elementari

Lori Yearwood created the most beautiful, calming, and relaxing animated adventure story today using Elementari – a platform designed to allow children, youth, teachers, schools, and adults to create interactive, animated stories. Lori’s story is crafted to give kids at home a relaxing yoga experience that takes them on a virtual adventure to a day at the seashore.

A Children’s Yoga Adventure Story to the Seashore

Watch, read, listen, and enjoy!

As you watch, read, listen, and enjoy the story above, wait for the flashing white arrow. Click on it to turn the pages. If it does not appear, then click the left arrow on your keyboard to flip the page. Also, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for things to click on within the story iteself.

Elementari

We were fortunate enough to ‘virtually meet’ and learn about Elementari from one of the founders, Nicole Kang. Nicole kindly participated in our new vlogcasting series on Sustainable Funding Solutions for Media, Educators, and Technologists. You can watch the premiere episode of the vlogcast featuring Nicole and Elementari, below.

Elementari is currently helping teachers and parents, who are looking for ways to keep kids learning during the COVID-19 school closures, by giving them free premium access to their interactive storytelling platform to help kids learn how to read, write, and code.

Request Free Premium Access

Lori Yearwood as Phoenix Rising

Aside from being one of the Founders of StoryToGo, Lori Yearwood is a children’s book author and has a newer not-so-secret identity as a yoga and exercise instructor. You can follow along with her yogi adventure at PhoenixMoments on Instagram.

Filed Under: #StoryToGo, Instructor News, Our Community, Tech Tips Tagged With: Elementari, storytelling platform

Resource App for the Visually Impaired : Be My Eyes

February 1, 2019 by Lori Yearwood Leave a Comment

It makes us so happy to be able to highlight a FREE App that is of great use to the global community of the visually impaired, and uplifting to its volunteers. This app is accessible in more than 150 countries and in over 180 languages. The resource App Be My Eyes provides a connection between its approximately 113,800 blind/low vision and 1,919,500 sighted members. The blind can activate a call within the App using the VoiceOver accessibility feature. The call rings on a randomly selected volunteer’s phone that is matched based on language and time zone. The two are then connected via live video for the volunteer to help with a variety of possible scenarios. It is completely anonymous and users have said they feel relief knowing they are not bothering the same person over and over again for help, encouraging them to use it more.

A testimonial from the Be My Eyes App
Actually App user quote from the Be My Eyes press resources.

I myself (Lori) am a volunteer on the App and I recently answered a call where the visually impaired individual was about to put a big salmon in the oven, but couldn’t be sure that they had set the oven to the correct temperature. The individual held the phone up towards the oven where I was able to see that it read 420 degrees, instead of the 425 it was supposed to be. They adjusted the oven again and it was then 430 degrees. One more try and it was just right! The whole call took about 1 min and the individual on the other end was beyond grateful and thanked me for the work everyone is doing on Be My Eyes.

Visually impaired man video chatting to check the expiry date on a milk carton.
There is no way to check the expiry date on a product without the use of your eyes. Here, a visually impaired App user demonstrates making a call for help with that. (Image courtesy of the Be My Eyes press resources.)

There are stories featured within the App each week, sharing the many different ways the blind have used Be My Eyes for assistance. Some great examples include: reading the numbers on a blood pressure monitor, checking the colour of a tie, a call from a video transcriber to get context of the footage, distinguishing between shampoo and conditioner, helping to convert a PDF file into Word format, enabling a download to a phone where VoiceOver could read the document later, finding dropped items, and many other conundrums that many of us might take for granted.

With so many volunteers a call gets answered within a maximum time range of 30 seconds. As a volunteer you will not receive a call very often. Please consider becoming a part of this loving helpful community, but more importantly, spread the word within the visually impaired communities as human connection is so very important.

Filed Under: #StoryToGo, Our Community, Tech Tips Tagged With: accessibility, human connection, voiceover, volunteer

Primary Sidebar

#StoryToGo is a community designed to reflect storytelling today – shared both through traditional means of oral storytelling, radio, film and TV, and print; in addition to newer forms of media storytelling through the digital arts, including gaming, blogging, online video, and social media.

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

For Free Courses, Webinars, Tech Tips & Job Boards, Sign-Up for StoryToGo eNews

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events.

View Calendar
Add
  • Add to Timely Calendar
  • Add to Google
  • Add to Outlook
  • Add to Apple Calendar
  • Add to other calendar
  • Export to XML

Explore Past Posts

BCIT Media Storytelling Courses

Our Post-Secondary Accredited Courses with BCIT's Media Storytelling Department:

Building Your Digital Media Presence (online)

Social Media Storytelling (online)

Before Footer

Find Us in the Fediverse

On Mastodon:

  • @EricaHargreave

Footer

On the Beat with StoryToGo

Follow along on StoryToGo’s digital magazine for our latest case studies, upcoming free courses and webinars, technology tips and tricks, story musings,  and our latest job boards!

  • Case Studies
  • Tech Tips
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Our Community
  • Courses

For Free Courses, Webinars, Tech Tips & Job Boards, Sign-Up for StoryToGo eNews

Copyright © 2023 · Wellness Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in