The Assistive Technology Blog

Has anyone tried the Roller Mouse Pro by Contour Design? I have been using it for a month or so and can't seem to get used to it. I always want to reach for the external mouse. For those of you that use a laptop a lot, I think you would be able to adapt easily to having the mouse available at a central location below the spacebar. I have had difficulty getting used to the sensitvity of the cursor control and didn't realize how much my hands shook until I had to control the roller bar. The company advertises it as a possible solution for those with carpal tunnel and I think it would also help with fatigue, because using the Roller Mouse reduces the amount of arm movement required.
Check it out and let us know what you think!
http://www.contourdesign.com

Posted by Kelly Ligon at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's a free demo that I received at this month's American Educational Research Association conference in San Francisco--looked so good that I grabbed it right up! The write-up for Inqscribe (great name) focuses on ease of use: the product developers say that transcription is easier because you can view the video and transcribe the video in the same window.

As anyone who has had to transcribe a student's audio or videotape knows, this is much easier when you can use a foot pedal to control your video or audio (stop/start while you type). This software is compatible with the foot pedal; there is a warning on the website that they are still not sure about compatibility with ALL foot pedals, so there's a warning.

A nice feature for those of us doing VAAP or VGLA or posting things on the web in accessible formats is that Inqscribe will convert your transcript into a subtitled movie!

The website also refers to how the software might be used to support your instruction:
"InqScribe can be used as a teaching setting to engage students in media analysis as homework or as part of project-based work."

Check out the free demo at www.inqscribe.com (MAC/WINDOWS), and share what you think. Is this a tool we might use in creating online professional development or putting alternate assessments together?

Posted by Susanne Croasdaile at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Linda Oggel, M.S., CCC-SLP offers guidance on this topic.

Posted by Fran Smith at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)