Making the Most of What's Available

A number of research and advocacy groups are working to make curriculum materials, tools, and activities accessible for students of all abilities. This article highlights six organizations working in this area. Some employ technology, while others find ways of using what's available, from highlighter pens to old tape recorders.

The Challenges Facing Publishers

Technology is poised to open up worlds of information and opportunity to people with disabilities. Publishers are in a quandary: they are able to offer highly flexible digital text-but can they do it in a way that protects copyrighted material. That is, can they avoid repeating the Napster nightmare that plagued the music industry?

Using Charters to Improve Urban Schools

Charter schools aren't always been the hothouses of innovation that their boosters say they are. But in two university programs profiled in this story, researchers have managed ways to take advantage of flexible chart laws to experiment with school improvement strategies. In one, students regarded as "at risk" are put through a rigorous college prep program at a campus charter school. At another, teachers from a huge urban district visit a school to observe master teachers in the classroom-and learn how to assess and improve their own practice.