Universally Designed

Speakers for your iPhone or iPod Touch

I’ve been on the road quite a bit this week and last, so not much time for posts.  I did run across a set of speakers for the iPhone or iPod touch however that I think will work great with the Proloquo2Go software I highlighted last week.

iMainGo

The speakers pictured to the left are from iMainGo.  They fit snugly around your iPhone or iPod touch, which not only looks  nice, but gives your device some extra protection as well.

I havent’ personally used the speakers, but the reviews I’ve seen are excellent.  This will give your device the extra volume it needs to become a very legitimate communication device.

I’m sure there are more options out there, so be sure to send me an email or comment if you have recommendations.

A Low Cost AAC Alternative - Proloquo2Go

If you haven’t already heard, there is an App in the apple application store for iPhone and iPod Touches that can turn your iPod into an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device.  If you’re not familiar with AAC devices, they help people who are unable to speak communicate with others… they give you a voice.  The app is called Proloquo2Go and is priced at $199, but can currently be purchased for $149.  This may sound expensive for an application, but considering the alternative is a $1,200 - $8,000 device, I consider the price very reasonable.

Porloquo2Go.com

In addition to the low price, there are a few other things I like:

• Unlike some software, it comes with some standard vocabulary that makes it usable as soon as it is downloaded.
• You can add new messages at any time.  This includes symbols, or just snap a picture with your iPhone or iPod touch and make a custom button
• You can type a message at any time and have it read aloud
• There is a button that allows you to re-read something you said 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, or longer ago instead of having to re-type the message.
• You can put beginner to advanced vocabulary sets and change the size of the symbols (which of course will cause less symbols to be displayed on the screen).

The only thing I am not to excited about is the volume.  This has nothing to do with the software itself, but if you are in a crowded area there’s not much of a chance that your communication partner will hear you (you could always show them what you are saying I suppose).  I know there are external speakers you can buy for the iPhone, but not sure if there are any that are portable enough to stay connected to the iPhone with a power source for long period of time.  If they do not exist yet, I imagine someone will be coming out with them soon.

A final thing I would like to note is that this could be the tool to end much of the abandonment of AAC devices we see all to often.  There aren’t too many non-verbal students that get excited about carrying around an AAC device everywhere they go.  Even if it is a smaller device, it is still different.  This changes everything however.  I can pick up an iPod touch for under $200 on ebay ($229 new for the 8GB version from Apple) and be using the same device to communicate that others are using for a variety of purposes.

Determining Communication Status

I find that I get more requests to do consults in the area of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) than anywhere else.  This has forced me to put together a process to help ensure I am making the best possible recommendations.  Contrary to popular belief, AAC is not rocket science, so I figured I would share my process here in hopes that it will help others needing to learn more.  This post will focus on determining the type of communicator you are working with.  Future posts will go into more detail about particular devices.

While in Orlando at ATIA this year I stopped by the DynaVox booth.  They gave me a laminated sheet labeled the interAACT framework (you can download it here)that helps determine what type of communicator a potential AAC user may be.  The framework is adapted from Patricia Dowden’s work at the University of Washington (see more information by Clicking Here).

The point of this framework is to help you know whether the potential user is an emergent, context-dependent, or independent communicator.  You should visit the site or download the document to learn more, but the basic things to look for in an emergent communicator include things like having limited purposeful communication, little or no social interactions, etc… The more able a communicator, the further up the continuum he or she would be.

So why does this help?  First, going through the characteristics forces you to ask important questions that you may not otherwise ask.  Second, although we’re not at this stage yet, knowing the answers to some of these questions will help you to immediately rule out several types of devices.  For example, if you have an emergent communicator, and they have not yet grasped the concept of pictures representing actual objects, it’s probably a little early to be going out and purchasing a the latest and greatest $10,000 dynamic display device.  However, if a communicator is at the independent/creative stage, that may very well be what you need.

Once I have a clear understanding of the type of communicator I am dealing with, I am able to start researching the most appropriate supports.  I have several books, websites, magazines, etc… that keep me up to date on what type of AAC devices are out there.  If you are new to the AAC field, I recommend going to the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative’s website and downloading their AT assessment guide (4th edition - get it here).  There is a complete chapter on AAC, which includes an AAC device continuum with examples.  Although this isn’t an exhaustive list, it will give you the general idea of what’s out there.  Then you just need to do your research.

After determining the type of communicator you are dealing with and getting some ideas from the WATI or other resources, you are ready to start trials.   AAC, and AT in general, is really a trial and error field.  You gather the most information you can, find what you think the most appropriate device at this time will be, and try it out.  Collect data and if it works great, if not, it’s back to the drawing board.  Hopefully your school system or university will have AT you can borrow for trials.  If not, most regions have some type of lending library (in Central KY we have the Bluegrass Technology Center and Special Education Cooperatives).  As a last resort, most companies will let you lease (or even borrow) a device for a short amount of time just to try.

Hopefully this post will be beneficial to some of you. I will make future posts on more concrete AAC ideas and examples.  The point that I want to get across for now is that the person who knows the most about a student is the person who works with him or her on a daily basis.  Pulling in an “AAC Expert” may be helpful because of their knowledge, but remember that this person will have limited experience with the potential user.  By using the process I’ve tried to outline here, you may be more qualified to make suggestions than what you originally thought.

Please send feedback on this process.  I just wanted to get something in writing and am sure there are many areas for improvement.

Just received a Proxtalker

Just got my demo proxtalker - http://proxtalker.com/.  Look forward to showing it off next week at Kentucky cooperative network meetings.

Evernote - Remember Everything

I ran across a cool litte application called Evernote that I wanted to share.  You can check it out at evernote.com.  According to the site:

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere. Did we mention that it’s free?

I have an office computer, laptop and home computer in addition to an iPhone and access to the internet about everywhere I go.  Evernote gives me a system for collecting notes, to do lists, websites, photos and more in one place.  Say I’m at a store and need to snap a picture of a product to check out later.  No problem, I just take the pic with my phone and add it to evernote.  It will show up on my computers, phone and evernote website when I log in.  Same goes for contacts, notes from a lecture and more.

From an educational perspective, think of how useful this would for students who are in seven class periods a day and have computers and/or internet capable phones at home.  I can see this being a very useful resource for them as they collect information for a report, story or other project.  In addition, for students who have poor organizational skills, this could be an excellent support.  A screenshot of the desktop version for windows is below, but this application works on the internet, mac and iPhone as well.  Oh, and it’s FREE for the basic version that should handle most uses.  The premium version on runs $5/month.

Digital Text Resources

Finding sites with digital text (mostly free) is a job in itself.  However, this is one of the most important things overlooked when schools decide to purchase text to speech software.  I remember doing a 2 or 3 hour training on how to use such software, then asking participants where they were going to get their digital text to use with the software.  You would have thought I had asked how to solve a complicated mathematical equation.  Needless to say, I start my trainings off with this question now.  If participants leave thinking that they are going to have to scan in text books from beginning to end, I can pretty much guarantee you the use of the software will be around the same level as it was before you bought it.

I’ve included in this post a few places to check out.  The best thing to do is just CLICK HERE to download the Word document.  I can’t take credit for developing it, but it’s been past around so many times I cannot credit the original author.  I did however remove several out of date links and check the others to ensure accuracy.  This of course doesn’t include every resource out there, so if you can think of something else I encourage you to post it as a comment on this blog post.

Here are a few of the included resources along with descriptions (usually from the site itself).  Note that this is for free/non-copyright text.  Therefore they will not include links to textbooks or other copyrighted literature.  Those types of texts will many times need to be purchased separately or only used with students with specific disabilities.

Bookshare – http://www.bookshare.org

Bookshare offers more than 42,000 digital books, textbooks, teacher-recommended reading, periodicals and assistive technology tools. It is free for all U.S. students with qualifying disabilities.

Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

There are over 27,000 free books in the Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog

Bibliomania - http://www.bibliomania.com/

Free Online Literature with more than 2000 Classic Texts

AcademicInfo - http://www.academicinfo.net/

AcademicInfo is an online education resource center with extensive subject guides and distance learning information. Our mission is to provide free, independent and accurate information and resources for prospective and current students (and other researchers).

ReadPrint.com - http://www.readprint.com/

Offers thousands of free books for students, teachers, and the classic enthusiast

Kids Corner - http://wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm

Contains a collection of Beatrix Potter’s books with text available in English, German, Japanese, and French.

WorldWideSchool.org - http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/catalogs/bysubject-top.html

The Intersect - http://intersect.uoregon.edu/

A Library of “Supported Text” books incorporating resources and study strategies that help students learn more from what they read.

Bartleby.com - http://www.bartleby.com/

Alex catalogue of electronic text - http://infomotions.com/alex/

The Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts is a collection of about 14,000 “classic” public domain documents from American and English literature as well as Western philosophy.

Page by Page Books - http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/

Offers hundreds of free classic books with frequent additions to the collection

SchoolLibrary.com - http://www.schoollibrary.com

Offers public access to over 27,000 books and materials (choose public access from menu at top of page to access). Paying a nominal membership fee of $8.95 per year allows access to over 100,000 additional books and materials. Reading lists prepared by the University of Hawaii sort books by grade level.

20-20 - http://www.2020site.org/

Provides free books and other materials covering a wide array of areas. Topics include history, garden, children’s books, how-to books, home repair and decoration and fashion.

Classic Reader – http://www.classicreader.com/

Offers a large collection of free classic books by authors such as Dickens, Austen, Shakespeare and many others. You can read, search and even add your own annotations to any of the classic books. A selection of author biographies and portraits are also available.

Cool Whiteboard Software

Just finished reading about how to integrate whiteboard lessons into online learning environments where the FREE software LectureScribe was mentioned.  LectureScribe is a software developed by Brian Dean, an assistant professor of computer science at Clemson University.

I viewed a demo of the software and found it very well put together.  Although it is recommended that you use a tablet PC or WACOM (input device you for computers that you can use a digitized pen with), you could always use a regular PC with a mouse (just know it may be a bit frustrating).

The software gives you multiple boards so that you don’t have to include your entire lecture on one board.  It also allows you to record audio.  When finished, it saves as a .swf or flash file, which is compatible with almost all web browsers.  From there, you can post it to your site, blog, eLearning course or whatever floats your boat. Currently the software is PC only.

Oh, and did I mention it’s FREE!  Check it out at http://www.cs.clemson.edu/~bcdean/lscribe/.

A communication device worth looking into

I had an opportunity to take a look at a new communication device at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Conference in January.  It is called the ProxTalker and is a bit different from other devices on the market.

As you can see, the ProxTalker’s design is one that fits in well with students who use systems such as PECS (picture exchange communication system).  Meaning that the pictures can actually be taken off the device and used as a low tech communication system, an exchange system or for an activity.  I think this is great because most students begin using symbols and symbol activities at an early age with programs like Boardmaker.   This system just provides students a gateway to move to a more advanced system without a major shift in ability.

The basics on how ProxTalker works is simple.  You just purchase the device and it comes with a hundred or so plastic “sound tags” that are used as the communication aides.  Here’s what the website has to say:

Each Sound Tag is encoded with a unique radio frequency identification code. When the Sound tag is place on the zone button and pressed, the ProxTalker detects the tag and then it speaks the word associated with the it. There are five word zone buttons so a complete sentence can be formed. Sound Tags are included with the device and are also available to add to a system. Specially designed binders and accessories are available for added convenience. Multiple real human voices and multiple languages are available. There is no programming involved.

I have been looking for a device that goes beyond the GoTalk and CheapTalk types of mid-tech devices, but are simpler than the dynamic display devices for some time.  In my short time experimenting with this device, it seems to fit the bill.

A UDL resource you will want to bookmark

Many of you may already be aware of the Free Tech Toolkit for UDL, but just in case you haven’t had a chance to visit it, you should do so now.  It’s actually a wiki and the address is http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/.  For some reason, during the time of this post, I was having trouble getting the homepage to load, but you still view the information by clicking on a category link on the left of the page.  Categories include free text to speech, graphical organizers, writing tools, research tools, reading tools, and much more.

The wiki is maintained by Karen Janowski, who also happens to have a cool blog I read on a normal basis at http://teachingeverystudent.blogspot.com/

Academic Earth makes going to college easy

I ran across one of the best sites I’ve seen recently after reading about it an article.  The site is called Academic Earth and this is how they describe themselves:

We are building a user-friendly educational ecosystem that will give internet users around the world the ability to easily find, interact with, and learn from full video courses and lectures from the world’s leading scholars.  Our goal is to bring the best content together in one place and create an environment that in which that content is remarkably easy to use and in which user contributions make existing content increasingly valuable.

The colleges you can visit include the most pretigous in the United States.   Here’s a list:

• Berkley
• Yale
• Harvard
• MIT
• Princeton
• Stanford

The lectures are great and users can rate the lectures after watching.  I have never been one of the YouTube types that can sit around watching videos on the web all day, but I literally spent an hour (56 minutes to be exact) today listening to Paul Brown at Yale discuss Sigmund Freud.  I learned more in 56 minutes than I can remember from my entire college psych class and found the whole thing very enjoyable.

So in addition to giving you something useful to do during your free time, what else can Academic Earth be used for?  Just think of the opportunities this gives many of our students.  Not all of us are able to go to Yale or MIT, but viewing lectures from some of the worlds greatest professors gives us opportunities we may have never gotten otherwise.  This is just another example of how education is becoming more accessible.  You’ve probably heard of California’s Open Source Textbook Iniative or MIT’s Open Courseware project.  Academic Earth is another one of those great free resources to add to the list.