Showing posts with label AT for school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AT for school. Show all posts

Thursday, December 05, 2013

Sign up today! Edcamp Access NJ




When: Saturday, March 8, 2014

Where: The College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown NJ

Time: 8:30 am – 3:00 pm

Cost: FREE!


Eventbrite - EdcampAccess NJ


Carrying on the tradition started by edcamp Access in Boston, EdCampAccess NJ is an unconference devoted to K -12 special education issues and ideas with a focus on reaching all struggling learners. It is not limited to special educators.

Follow on Twitter @EdcampAccessNJ 

or visit the edcamp wiki 

What is an Edcamp?
Do you want to take control of your own learning? Why not try an Edcamp? Started by the Edcamp Foundation with the vision of “ Promoting organic, participant-driven professional development for K-12 educators worldwide.” To achieve that vision, Edcamps follow these basic principles.
According to the Edcamp foundation website, an Edcamp is:
·         free
·         non-commercial and conducted with a vendor-free presence
·         hosted by any organization interested in furthering the edcamp mission
·         made up of sessions that are determined on the day of the event
·         events where anyone who attends can be a presenter
·         reliant on the “law of two feet” that encourages participants to find a session that meets their needs
Want to learn more about the Edcamp experience? Check out this video:


Visit our WIKI page to learn more about the day, our sponsors and add your session ideas onto the Idea Board!

 Edcamp Access NJ WIKI


NJCART ( The New Jersey Coalition for the Advancement of Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology) is sponsoring Edcamp Access NJ to promote learning and sharing about Assistive Technology supports for students with disabilities!
We hope you will join us for the day. Better yet – why not share your expertise with everyone else!
Sincerely,
Mike
NJCART Immediate Past President

Posted by Mike Marotta at 12:19 PM 0 comments
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Friday, October 25, 2013

Frustrated with Spelling?  Enhanced Dictation Comes to the Mac

Many of the students we have worked with have significant difficulty with spelling, to the point that they avoid writing, or write using just the words they know how to spell.  Sound familiar?  

Dictation is one way to use your voice to write, allowing for  a more fluid writing experience.  With the new Mac operating system, Mac OS X Mavericks (a free upgrade), Enhanced Dictation is now available.  On a Mac, find your Dictation preferences and click “Use Enhanced Dictation”.  After downloading a very large file (about 800Mb), your Mac will have the power of Siri-style dictation ready for you to use offline anytime. Tap fn twice, and there’s a new Dictation cursor that will type out what you are saying seconds after you say it. And you can keep talking, using voice commands like “new paragraph” and punctuation names to fill out your text and keep going. Try it out for yourself!  
Posted by Fred Tchang at 12:05 PM 0 comments
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Bookshare needs your help!

Bookshare has been a powerful support for people with print disabilities. I don't think a week goes by that I don't recommend it to a consumer as a solution for reading difficulties. I have recommended this service to everyone from 1st grade to college. So many people benefit from Bookshare. Well, this free service needs the community's help so I wanted to pass along this recent email I received. Please consider giving your support to this worthy cause. Thanks!

Dear Mike,

It’s not typical for us to send you an email like this, but we felt this situation was so important it was necessary.

You may already be aware, but for years negotiations have been moving forward on what many have come to call the "Treaty for the Blind." The goal of the international treaty is to make it possible for people who are blind, or have other print disabilities such as dyslexia, to get access to the books they need for education, employment and inclusion in society—no matter where they live. It's something we already do, with great success, in the United States through Bookshare.

However, private interests are trying to alter the treaty in such a way that it would become useless—even harmful. For example, they’re trying to get language adopted that basically says: “if you can buy it, you can’t borrow it.” This is not only an attack on people around the world with print disabilities—it’s also an attack on libraries, like Bookshare, and could have a drastic effect on the number of books you have access to.

Our biggest worry is this becoming a treaty that could stop Bookshare from serving our users in the United States the way we do today.  We need our government negotiating for a treaty that supports a library like Bookshare.

That’s why we’re working with a coalition of disability and library groups, including the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind, to fight back against the proposed changes by these private interests. We’ll do everything we can to secure a treaty that both protects the access we have now and that will benefit people with print disabilities around the world—but we need your help.

We’re asking you to take a moment to sign a petition on the White House’s website that urges the President to step up his support: http://ow.ly/lkJVs. If we can get to 100,000 signatures, the White House is required to respond to the petition and will, hopefully, take positive action. With your help we know we can reach that number.  We also recommend the petition at the National Federation of the Blind’s site, which is particularly accessible.

Thank you for your time and support. Together, we believe that our collective voice can make a real impact.

If you’re interested in more background on the treaty, here are some articles and resources you can review:


Sincerely,
Jim Fruchterman & Betsy Beaumon, Bookshare

P.S. Please post the link to the White House petition on your social media to help spread the word and get your friends involved! Again, here is the link: http://ow.ly/lkJVs.

Note: this advocacy effort by Benetech, the nonprofit organization that operates Bookshare, has not been supported or endorsed by Bookshare funders, including the U.S. Department of Education.   
Posted by Mike Marotta at 9:35 AM 1 comments
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Sunday, April 14, 2013

FREE Webinar - App Smackdown!

Do you want to learn about apps to assist people with disabilities? Sign up for the ISTE SET-SiG webinar this Tuesday, 4/16/13 @ 7PM.

The webinar is FREE - registration is required. I will be presenting along with:






Hope to see you there! Don't forget to follow me @mmatp
Posted by Mike Marotta at 12:40 PM 1 comments
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Monday, April 01, 2013

The week in tweets!

Want to know what was happening in the Twitter universe last week? Here are some interesting tidbits.

Don't forget - follow me @mmatp

Enjoy!


Posted by Mike Marotta at 9:45 AM 0 comments
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

iPad Use in the Classroom - EduTalk Podcast

For your listening pleasure - this episode of the EduTalk Podcast focuses on iPad use in the classroom. The interview is with Maribeth Lowe from Monroe HS in Virginia.



Listen to internet radio with EduTalk on Blog Talk Radio
Posted by Mike Marotta at 8:00 AM 0 comments
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Monday, March 25, 2013

The week in Tweets!


Here for your viewing pleasure are my "Top 10" tweets from the last week. I hope you find something valuable here. Enjoy - and if you are on Twitter make sure to follow me @mmatp !










Posted by Mike Marotta at 8:15 AM 0 comments
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Saturday, March 23, 2013

SETSIG Intro to AT Webinar

This week I had the opportunity to participate in a free webinar hosted by the SETSIG (Special Education Technology Special Interest Group) in ISTE.

The webinar, co-presented with Kirk Behnke from Region 4 ESC in Houston, TX, was an Introduction to Assistive Technology.

Did you miss it? Don't worry, follow the links below for the webinar recording and the chat log between the participants.

Webinar Recording

Webinar Participant Chat Log

SETSIG has many great resources - including an outstanding list of free webinars coming up throughout the year. Visit their page HERE to learn more.

Posted by Mike Marotta at 8:29 AM 0 comments
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Monday, March 18, 2013

The week in Tweets!

In keeping with my post from last week - I offer up the "Top 10" Tweets of the past week. I hope you find something beneficial here.

Enjoy - and if you are on Twitter make sure to follow me @mmatp !











Plus one extra!


Posted by Mike Marotta at 7:30 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, March 03, 2013

Adapted Speech Recognition

You never know what tidbits you'll pick up at a conference.  I've evaluated and trained many people on the use of speech recognition as an alternative to typing, including people with speech impairments.  But there's always something new to learn.

Doug Bowes of SET-BC (Vancouver, Canada), presented on training those with speech impairments in the use of Dragon Naturally Speaking.  He spoke about students whose speech is intelligible to other people, but for whom speech recognition software might be difficult to use.  We've always talked to our students about enunciating, taking breaks, making sure they get enough breath support.  But one little tip from Doug was to encourage students to enunciate the ends of words.  This bit of advice can be easier for students to understand and follow, and naturally leads them to avoid combining the end of one word with the beginning of the next.

SET-BC has a great website with lots of AT training resources:  www.SET-BC.org.
Here's a form they use when considering speech recognition for any student:
Speech Recognition Consideration Form

Posted by Fred Tchang at 8:21 PM 0 comments
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Monday, February 11, 2013

ATIA 2013 Takeaways

I’ve been home a little over a week now from ATIA, and am still on an AT high. I remember feeling this way coming home from summer camp when I was a teenager—happy, inspired, and ready to spread the news of everything I learned. It’s always great to learn about the actual tools, but my biggest takeaway was more about collaboration.
 
I think it is easy to feel very isolated as an AT Specialist. For most of us, we aren’t sitting eating lunch with the other AT Specialists or chatting as we walk to our cars at the end of the day. We have to actually work a little harder to collaborate with others in our field. We are fortunate though that there are tons of awesome people in the Assistive Technology world who like to share their knowledge. At ATIA, I was lucky enough to chat with some of the QIAT leadership team, who are leaders in our field. Although I recognized their names from the QIAT listserv, I had never met them in person. It felt like I was meeting the president! Talk about an inspirational group! From that conversation and others at ATIA, I have come to my biggest takeaway—Take advantage of the resources that are out there in the AT field. I will make time to read all those QIAT listserv emails, read blogs of others in the AT field, and learn from my co-workers, as well as try to be a resource for others. It is give and take. For anyone not already on the QIAT list, it has been a huge support for me and is an easy place to access really knowledgeable people. Although you will get lots of emails each day, it is an invaluable (and free) resource.

Okay, on to the tools. A couple of things from the exhibit hall and sessions that caught my eye:

  1. I was very impressed with the Clicker apps--Clicker Docs and Clicker Sentences. They are very similar to Clicker 6—clean interface, simple to use. Clicker Docs is a talking word process with word prediction and word banks. Clicker Sentences helps emerging writers using Clicker grids. Bonus: These apps work with Clicker 6, so activities you created in Clicker 6 will run on the apps, and vice versa.
  2.  I have been on a quest to beef up my evaluation skills in the area of reading. I was very happy to learn about PAR (Protocol for Accommodations in Reading) created by Denise DeCoste and Linda Bastiani Wilson in conjunction with Don Johnston. This is an assessment tool that helps an evaluator determine the most appropriate reading accommodations for students, based on data. Bonus: Free download from their website. I’ll definitely be reading through this over the next week or so. http://www.donjohnston.com/products/par/index.html 
  3. I also learned a little more about Diigo.com, a website I had heard about but never really explored. Diigo.com is a social bookmarking tool that allows users to collect info on the Internet. You can bookmark web pages, highlight text on a webpage, and create sticky notes, etc. This could be a super useful tool for teachers to find web sites for their students on a specific topic to narrow down the vast information found on the internet. Bonus: It is all on the cloud, so you can access anywhere. 
What a great conference!
Posted by Anonymous at 3:35 PM 0 comments
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ATIA 2013 Conference


Several of our staff members recently returned from the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference in Orlando, FL (www.atia.org) . Over the next couple weeks, we will all be sharing our impressions on exciting tools / strategies we learned about. 

Today - Erica Kaufmann, Assistive Technology Specialist, shares her top two takeaways from the conference. 


Integrating AAC, Computer Access and Powered Chairs
Presenter: Karen Kangas
Session Description: Integrating the use of an AAC device, computer access and driving a powered chair for ease of use of each of these devices is critical for real independence by the user in managing themselves within their environments. Too often, an individual has all this equipment yet, requires another adult to give them access to each part. The current programmable electronics available on powered chairs allows integration to occur, which put simply, allows the individual to manage all their equipment independently. However, how the chair is programmed and what interfaces are needed are not always considered or obtained for the user. This session will focus on the equipment needed, the programmability needed and provide case study examples of how to create integration within the individual's own assistive technology. Using alternative access, as well as joystick access will be shared. Teaching and managing the integration will also be shared.

Erica reports: 
Karen Kangas talked about dual switch access.  She said that two switches are always better than one when using switches to control a powered wheelchair and communication device because having one switch causes a delay in access.  She also talked about how no one should stop at doing cause and effect.  There is always another step.


E-Readers in the Classroom
Presenter: Mike Marotta (Thanks Erica - flattery will get you everywhere!)
Session Description: With BYOD, we are seeing more e-reader devices show up in the classroom. Everything from a Kindle to a Nook to an iPad. But how can we use these devices to support instruction? This session will focus on e-readers and how we can use these tools to ignite a passion for learning. We will discuss how to find reading materials to support classroom learning and how to modify existing materials to work on these various devices. Resources will be shared via an interactive web presence.
Erica reports:
Something you talked about was readability.  I felt that this was so great for people who are blind or visually impaired because it gets rid of the "junk" on the page and allows someone who is using a screen reader, like JAWS, to navigate the page with the arrow keys or other reading commands more easily.

To learn more about Readability visit their website - www.readability.com 


Stay tuned for future posts related to our experiences at ATIA!

Wish you had attended the conference? Check out the ATIA Conference Recording Options

According to the ATIA website:
Selected Suite of Conference Sessions Available As Recorded Sessions - $300 Single with 5 and 10 Pack Options --- inclusive of CEUs
Recognizing the need to provide quality, affordable group training without travel and lodging costs, ATIA is offering archived, on demand access to 10 hours of conference proceedings post-event. This suite of the "TOP TEN" sessions* highlighting the breadth of educational content offered during the conference program provides affordable training for a group of educators from your school/agency or a district-wide team purchase, which might include teachers, SLPs, OTs and PTs.  



Posted by Mike Marotta at 11:33 AM 0 comments
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Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Life Just Got Easier

Have you ever wondered how many minutes of your life have been wasted fumbling to try and get a projector to recognize your laptop or computer?  Mitsubishi has introduced the WD390U-ESTExtremeShort Throw Projector, a projector that will let us skip that step by connecting directly to the Cloud. 

David Nagel, executive producer for 1105 Media's online K-12 and higher education publications and electronic newsletters, tells us more in this article.

Posted by Assistive Technology Center at 10:09 AM 0 comments
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Friday, January 18, 2013

Improve Your Search Skills


I don’t know about you, but if I am not careful, I can lose large chunks of time searching online. I’ll type a quick something into the slot, 276,344 responses will pop up and I’ll be off. It’s not the most effective way to search, especially for someone easily sidetracked and susceptible to the parade of ads popping out all over the screen. The good news is, there is help for folks like me.

Google offers courses online to help searchers get the information they need quickly and efficiently. Daniel M. Russell, a Senior Research Specialist at Google, hosts a YouTube series on Power Searching that demonstrates how use the most efficient search terms, narrow a search and ensure credibility.

If you’re ready to take your search skills to the next level, Mr. Russell will be starting an Advanced Power Searching Course online on January 23, 2013. The class features 12 practice challenges, a couple of assignments and a certificate for those who complete the course.
Posted by Assistive Technology Center at 3:28 PM 0 comments
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

For those of us who help K-12 students get accessible texts, it had been a real problem to help those same students as they entered college and didn't have the same laws and support system in place.  When the AccessText network came into being, and further expanded to provide free membership to colleges, it was a godsend.  From their website, www.AccessText.org:

"The AccessText Network helps college students with print disabilities by connecting their disability service offices directly with leading textbook publishers to obtain electronic files. These files are used to create accessible versions of the textbooks."


I've been using their new Accessible Textbook Finder, which allows you to search NOT ONLY their collection, but also Bookshare, Learning Ally, etc.  It's great!


And here's a secret!  You can use their search tool even without being a member!  You can be looking for a book for a k-12 student, it doesn't matter-- this tool just helps you search all sources.  

TIP- the ISBN search field only accepts up to 13 numbers, so get rid of dashes before cutting and pasting an ISBN nunber into the search.  And if the ISBN number doesn't show up, search by title.  
Posted by Fred Tchang at 11:16 PM 0 comments
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Thursday, April 05, 2012

TLC Spotlight - Blue2 Bluetooth Switch

Blue2 Bluetooth Switch

With the Ablenet Blue2 Bluetooth Switch, you will have access to your favorite compatible iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch applications. You simply sync the Blue2 switch with your Apple® device and activate the switch scanning mode.
With two built-in switches, the Blue2 supports both single and dual switch access. Additional switches can be used with the Blue2 Switch by plugging them into the available ports.

Additionally, Ablenet's Blue2 Bluetooth Switch also comes with a USB Bluetooth dongle so you can use it for computer access.

Features:
Bluetooth wireless access up to 30 ft.
No-touch access to compatible iTunes AAC apps
Single or dual switch access
Long battery life
Computer access with the included Bluetooth dongle
Supports five modes of keyboard/mouse commands
Compatible with iPad, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th Generation), and iPhone (3GS & 4).

What do you think? Do you want to TRY IT before you BUY IT? Then join our Technology Lending Center. Click here to join today! 
Posted by Janet A. Zoda at 9:59 AM 1 comments
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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Snap & Read from Don Johnston

Don Johnston Inc, the company that brought us the SOLO suite of tools recently announced their newest product, Snap & Read!

According to the company website:

Snap&Read is an accessible toolbar that reads any text on-screen as it floats over any application. The simple one-button interface reads both accessible and inaccessible text aloud from Flash websites, Word docs, PDFs, web-based tests, images, and even dialog boxes.

If it looks like text, Snap&Read will read it!
The tool can be loaded onto your computer (MAC or PC) or you can run it directly from a USB drive and have access to the tool anywhere!

Cost of the software starts at $79.99 per license or a special introductory price of $399 for an unlimited site license.

Visit the product page to check out the video of the tool in action. Click here!

I am looking forward to getting my hands on this software. Keep watching for a more in depth review.
Posted by Mike Marotta at 2:45 PM 1 comments
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Thursday, January 05, 2012

TLC Spotlight - Wow-Pen Joy Optical Mouse

Do you realize that with a conventional mouse your hand is flat on the desk?  So to move the mouse, you must move your wrist sideways.  While doing this, your wrist is restricted in its motion.

The Wow-Pen JOY Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse combines break-through comfort with a host of productivity enhancing features unlike any mouse on the market today. The Wow-Pen isn't just another mouse, it's a revolutionary jump forward in computer input devices.  Wow-Pen JOY second right click button for this five button, fully functional mouse. 



See below diagram of the Wow-Pen Joy

What do you think? Do you want to TRY IT before you BUY IT? Then join our Technology Lending Center. Click here to join today! 
Posted by Janet A. Zoda at 8:50 AM 0 comments
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Tuesday, January 03, 2012

APP Attack! College Prep Apps

Today's APP Attack focuses on Apps for college prep. This list was originally published in the TL Advisor Blog at the Tech & Learning website.

Essay Apps
Essay Writing Guide $1.99 holiday sale- By arranging the elements of writing graphically around three wheels (Content, Style, and Organization), teachers and students are better able to visualize how the elements of writing develop style, coherence, and meaning.

SAT and ACT PREP
Complete SAT Free for iPhone or iPad. For complete course $24.99. Free app includes mini diagnostic test and topic videos.

SAT Math Pro Test $1.99 - 80% discount. This app covers 50 topics including detailed videos. 100s of original SAT math practice problems, nine SAT math tests and detailed reports.

Flash of Genius SAT Vocab Free. Use with iPod, iPhone or Ipad Written by Harvard and MIT Professors, this app adjusts the order of the flashcards to suit each user. It also inserts mini-lessons, so users learn the word roots, the connections between the words, as well as the words themselves.

SAT-ACT vocabulary builder $4.99 Phone, iPod touch, and iPad. 500 of the most commonly tested vocabulary words on the SAT® and ACT® exams. 1000 illustrative sentences, spaced repetition feature, automatic statistics, search features, quiz mode and more.

College Guides
College Search Guide Handbook $2.99 Includes over 3000. Information about each college includes:
  • Degrees Offered
  • Campus Setting (rural, suburb, large city, etc)
  • Campus Housing Availability Information
  • Student population with charts on diversity
  • Religious Affiliation
  • Credit Accepted
  • Estimated Student Expenses for three years
  • Financial Aid Information
  • Enrollment Information
  • Freshman Retention Rate
  • Programs and Majors (students in each major)
  • Varsity Athletic Teams
  • Accreditation
  • Campus Security Information for three years
  • Federal Loan Default Rates
  • User Reviews

Peterson's College Guide Free. Includes over 60 official data points on over 4,000 two- and four-year colleges in the United States. Search for the perfect college by any combination of state, size, tuition, sports majors offered or selectivity.

Budget and Financial Aid
Ace Budget $.99 For iPod, iPhone and iPad. A personal finance app. Users create daily, weekly, monthly, semimonthly, quarterly, and yearly budgets and schedule recurring transactions, set reminders, view graphs, compare historical data, and more.

College Fafsa Finder Free. Provides the most essential information for US college applicants around the world:

  • Freshmen class academic profiles and estimated cost of attendance
  • College contact information, including admission office information and website link
  • Each college’s FAFSA code (public institution) or CSS code (private institution)
  • Three ways to search colleges: by name, by FAFSA code or by CSS code.

College Tools
College Survival Kit $1.99- Programs in the app help ease the stress of applying to schools. Users touch the control panel, choose the "Brain Wave" desired to improve their mental state. Also included are a personal alarm and memo pad.

iStudiez-Pro - $2.99 I have recommended this app before as a back-to-school app. Helps users organize their schedule, follow up with homework, and summarize what has to be done.

Complete Class Organizer $4.99 Take notes while recording lectures and the audio syncs to the text. Manage homework and exam dates, store and calculate grades, and organize info for every class.

To see the original post, plus two extra apps that cost more that $10, visit the post HERE.

Do you know of other college prep apps? Leave a comment below and share your resource.


Do you want to learn more about APPS?

Do you want to learn how to implement iPads in your school?

Contact us - we can help! We will work collaboratively with your team to determine an effective course of action for your specific situation.

Email Mike Marotta, Assistant Director, ATS Dept. at mmarotta@advopps.org
Posted by Mike Marotta at 1:24 PM 1 comments
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Monday, December 19, 2011

APP Attack! Apps for Public Speaking


Our APP Attack for today comes from Gregory Swanson's Apps for Education Blog and focuses on Teleprompter apps for public speaking.

The main feature of these apps is the ability to load in your speech and the app with scroll the text on the screen as you speak.

Check out the list HERE.

Do you want to learn more about APPS?

Do you want to learn how to implement iPads in your school?

Contact us - we can help! We will work collaboratively with your team to determine an effective course of action for your specific situation.

Email Mike Marotta, Assistant Director, ATS Dept. at mmarotta@advopps.org
Posted by Mike Marotta at 8:00 AM 0 comments
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