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NCTI has recently profiled the creator of CommuniClique, a simple and efficient communication and collaboration technology support. What's interesting? Teams can "hold meetings from their desktops face-to-face with audio and video, presenting all the communicative benefits of eye-contact, gestures, and voice intonation in real-time, as well as offering video quality that is robust enough for lip-reading." OK, but what else?
Well, here's where it gets interesting: It also offers closed-captioning. How? "The difference is we've structured our server farm to treat each person's voice as a separate channel. So we can actually take each person who is talking, separately and with no noise or overlap, take time stamps of when they say what, and transcribe each person's voice independently. Then we superimpose them back over each other just like you would see in an instant message transcript...A lot of our solutions aren't all that technically complex, they're just these, 'Why didn't I think of that' implementations'. We look for what makes sense, the simplest answer.' This was the case for the separate voice channel solution, which other companies had overlooked in trying to create transcription capability while attempting to solve logistical challenges with conversational overlap and confusion."
Click on http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/index.php/2009/07/20/ipro-communiclique/ to read more.
Read an article by Leslie Broun which reminded me of the importance of the computer as a writing instrument for students with Autism who have difficulty writing. Click on the following links to take a look at some online keyboarding sites, reviews and resources.
http://typing-for-kids-software-review.toptenreviews.com
www.kidsdomain.com/brain/computer/type.html
http://allison.com/courses/Touch-Typing-Training
http://www.assistivetechnologies.com/gallery.asp?category=40&CT=Keyboards
Broun, L. (2009) Take the pencil out of the process of teaching. Exceptional Children. 42(1),14-21.
Trying to get a technology jump start to this new school year? Consider visiting the Big Book of Technology at http://www.bigdealbook.com/cdwgk12/view_book.aspx?editionid=30
There are many apps that are available for reading e-books. Most feature a library of classic books. In addition the apps have the ability to change the size of the font. The Narrator app is the one application that I have found that will also read the text while highlighting. Currently three books are available (Call of the Wild, Anne of Green Gables, and The Tale of Peter Rabbit) with more promised by the creator.
I have also made use of the free Kindle app. This app allows you to purchase books through your Amazon Kindle account and have them available on your iTouch or iPhone. Surprisingly I found that reading a book on the iTouch was pleasurable and did not cause me any eye strain--and I have old eyes. Now I have a book available wherever I am: waiting in the doctor's office, waiting for my children, or while traveling.
Often students with disabilities are prevented from participating in many key academic areas, most often Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Many teachers do not know how to provide accommodations in these areas or how to teach students outside the traditional means of instruction. Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access has a grant the National Science Foundation called Barrier Free Education. The goal of the Barrier-Free Education Project is to provide training and resources available to teachers anytime, anywhere. They have charts that include problems and solutions in all of the content areas.
Check it out and get great ideas
...and it's to turn on the "Always show recognition window when dictating" option in the preference pane. Click on http://atmac.org/improve-macspeech-dictate-recognition-with-one-easy-step/ for Ricky Buchanan's directions...and enjoy better speech recognition starting today! (Isn't she wonderful? Don't you wish she was next to you all the time, giving you pointers?)
Students can scan a single word or a full line of text...the word is spoken aloud and displayed on the LCD screen. Has earphones and a carrying case.
Click on the following link for more information:
http://www.readingpen.com/
If you're like most of us, finding free resources are important these days. If you've missed some of these, consider all the text-to-speech tools below that can be used on a PC computer:
WordTalk
http://www.wordtalk.org/uk
Read Please
http://www.readplease.com/
Natural Reader
http://www.naturalreaders.com
Click,Speak
http://clickspeak.clcworld.net/about.html
Balabolka
http://www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm
Let's spend a minute and look at some plain old fun applications. I love to play and have found many applications that can satisfy my urge to waste a few minutes playing. Besides it's a great way to bond with my teenagers. Some of my current favorites: Touch Physics (2.99)--there is also a free version but I had to upgrade to the full version because I liked it so much. I could argue that you have to know simple machines and laws of physics to play this game so it is indirectly educational.
Another challenging game is Bloons ($.99). Try popping the balloons using a limited number of darts. Each level is more challenging. Let me know if you can get past level 35--I've been stuck there for weeks.
Of course you can always find the classic games like checkers and connect four for free. Happy gaming!
As usual, Ricky Buchanan at ATMac has a good idea: put your emergency info on the "wallpaper" of your iPhone or iTouch. Click on http://atmac.org/put-emergency-information-on-your-iphone-wallpaper/ to read (and see) how she used the "Close Call" app to put key information onto her iTouch. (Check out her reference to ProLoquo2Go!)
Depending on where you live it might be "right around the corner". Calendar wise ATIA is too! It's coming up in October!
This year ATIA will offer more than 500 educational opportunities that provide education and communication to 1) professional practitioners serving those with disabilities (teachers, occupational therapists, rehabilitation counselors, physicians, psychologists, etc.), 2) individuals with disabilities and their families, 3) assistive technology specialists, 4) educational institutions, and 5) corporations and government agencies. These offerings cover all aspects of the assistive technology spectrum, including: augmentative and alternative communication; blind/low vision; computer access; Web accessibility; K-12 and higher education technology; and deaf and hard-of-hearing. ATIA's next conference and leadership event is ATIA Chicago 2009, October 28-31, 2009,
If you prefer, you could attend ATIA in Orlando to be held January 27-30, 2010. For more information on that conference go to
The beginning of the school year is a great time to review the AT needs of your students in the areas of math and reading. Click on the following links to AT that will get your students off to a grand start!
Cool Math
http://www.coolmath.com/graphit/
Elementary Mathematics
http://www.fi.uu.nl/rekenweb/en/welcome.xml?groep=6
Secondary Mathematics
http://www.fi.uu.nl/wisweb/en/
http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/projects/funded/jasper/intro/Jasperintro.html
It's always refreshing to read e-discussions that bring forth the important features about a technology. In the following article, http://www.gottabemobile.com/2009/08/05/pangeas-the-finger-iphone-app-is-more-than-just-a-gesture/, the reviewers discuss the functionality the finger iPhone app. As they note, the more important feature of this app is found as
"I'll point to another terrific feature of the application. That's the text to sign language feature. Yep, that's right. If you enter a phrase of text, or a word, The Finger will give you an animated replay of your text using American Sign Language. I think that's cool and probably helpful if you need to or want to learn American Sign Language.". Worth a try!
So you don't have the resources to travel to the ATIA conference. Well they can come to you via your computer!
The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) has expanded the reach of its educational offerings with the introduction of the ATIA Webinar Series. The series complements ATIA's conferences and leadership forums, which have distinguished ATIA as a leading association dedicated to education related to Assistive Technology. With the introduction of the ATIA Webinar Series, ATIA hopes to further increase awareness of the innovative assistive technologies and services that enhance learning, working, and independence for people with disabilities.
The goal of the ATIA Webinar Series is to broaden knowledge of assistive technology and the evaluation skills to assess assistive technology products. For a full listing of the ATIA Webinar Series go to
Are you supporting students on the autism spectrum? Are you constantly trying to find an easy way to collect data? Tallymander (2.99) is the ultimate tally counter and score keeper. It's great if you need to count repetitive tasks or behaviors. It stores information between sessions, keeps time and you can e-mail yourself a report. The more sophisticated Behavior Tracker Pro (9.99) can be used to track specific behaviors including frequency and duration and keep track of ABC data. Data can also be placed on a graph. I'm sure there are other applications out there that also collect data. Let us know if you are using one of them.
The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) has a website that is full of resources to assist with enhancing literacy experiences for students who have vision challenges. Check out their site to see ideas for "Story in a Box" and "Tactile Units". Many of these are geared toward younger children, however you can take the concepts and use age appropriate materials for older students too.
Explore:
I just read http://www.disabled-world.com/sports/snow/skiing/adaptive-ski-camp.php and got excited about how several organizations (Access Anything, Adaptive Adventures, Steamboat Powdercats, and Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp) are collaborating to sponsor the 4th annual All-Mountain Adaptive Ski Camp and Powdercats Trip. This event encompasses instructor and volunteer training, adaptive ski clinics, and a backcountry Powdercat trip for 30-40 men, women, and veterans with disabilities. Too cool! Why don't we do more of this?
Check out the following links to websites which feature calculators, online calculators and lesson plans. Have fun!
Pacific Tech
http://www.pacifict.com/
Cool Math
http://www.coolmath.com/graphit/
Texas Instruments
Calculators
http://www.graphingcalculators.com/
On line calculators
http://my.hrw.com/math06_07/nsmedia/tools/Graph_Calculator/graphCalc.html
The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) is a federally-funded center that aims to advance tech innovations for ALL students and frequently highlights useful tools and how they are used in schools. Recently, NCTI posted a case study of TeachTown, a "system incorporating therapeutic curriculum aimed at children with autism and other special populations developmentally aged 2-7...It is designed to build receptive language, cognitive and academic abilities. Additionally, it teaches social interaction skills such as comprehending facial expressions and eye gaze and developing friendship skills."
The case study (which focuses on Los Angeles schools) addresses not only the computer-assisted instruction within the TeachTown system, but also the interpersonal activities that the teachers conducted with children. Read more at http://www.nationaltechcenter.org/index.php/2009/07/20/case-teaching-children-with-autism-through-technology/
I recently talked about using the iTouch and iPhone as a communication device with the Proloquo2Go application. Today I want to talk about 2 other communication apps available. The first is iConverse (9.99). This application has a very simple interface and design. It features 6 prerecorded buttons for basic communication. "I need help." "I need something to eat" "I need a drink" "I need a break". You also have the ability to create your own buttons using a picture from your photo library and typing in your own text. The buttons are displayed on a separate page in a list view. The buttons you create can be deleted by pressing the picture until the red minus sign appears. You can also set the application to open to the "My Buttons" page automatically. I see this app as being used as a second communication device by many users in the community or as a beginning portable communication device.
Speak It! (1.99) is a text to speech application that was originally designed to for users to make prank calls. However, I see it as giving individuals who are deaf a voice. This easy to use and CHEAP app allows you to type in any message and have the message spoken. It has 4 very natural sounding voices. You can also save the messages once you have created them and have them spoken automatically."
Visit http://www.sc.edu/scatp/, the website of the South Carolina Assistive Technology Program (SCATP). It's a federally funded program "concerned with getting technology into the hands of people with disabilities so that they might live, work, learn and be a more independent part of the community." We frequent many of the state-level websites because you never know what you'll find there!
SCATP's site features a "Latest AT Innovations" section as well as handouts from their recent presentations. Check it out!