MindMeister – Another Brainstorming Tool

I just came across a site called MindMeister, which is a web based mind mapping/brainstorming software. It is similar to mywebspiration.com (which is currently in beta and free, but will likely be available as a paid subscription only soon) and is free for up to three boards, or if you are in education you can get the Premium edition for only $18/year. My initial thoughts on this site are very positive. The free version allows for the basics (create a board, sharing, printing, exporting to a pdf, etc…), but for $18 a year there are some additional very cool features. There is really too much for me to mention in a blog post, so check it out for yourself at http://www.mindmeister.com/. Another big plus for me is the ability to work in offline mode if you are traveling and do not have access to email and the mobile app.

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.

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.

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.

Kindle 2 Released

It’s official, the Kindle 2 has been released.  I must admit that after seeing the Kindle 2, I now think that I may have purchased my Kindle too early.  Although expensive ($359 at the time of this writing), it has updated many of the things that I find problematic with the 1st generation Kindle, including:

• Battery life – The Kindle 2 is reported to have a 25% longer battery life
• Delayed page turn – now turns 20% faster
• More storage – Hold over 1500 books
• Text to Speech – This is the number one thing I wanted in the first version of the Kindle but didn’t get.  Text to Speech is not only for those who have reading disabilities, but also for people wanting to listen to their book while driving down the road.  I prefer to read than listen, but after running a couple of red lights I’ve found that listening is the better option while on the road.  One worrisome factor here is Amazon’s decision to make it optional for text to speech to work with books after some heat from the Authors Guild.

The Kindle 2 has even fixed a few things that I thought were fine to begin with.  The device now uses a 3G wireless connection (where available), which should make the download process shorter.  I must admit that I never had trouble downloading so this isn’t a big deal to me.  There is also mention of more shades of gray being supported to make the text look clearer, but I never had an issue with this either.  I’ve used the device in low lighting and in the bright sun without an issue.

There are a couple of things that I would like to see added (these may be included, but I didn’t find any mention of them):

• Some kind of back lighting option available in case I’m reading at night.
• Page numbers at the bottom of the screen… the current system for numbering pages is confusing at best.  Surely (I know… you’re name’s not  Shirley) it wouldn’t be that complicated to put “page # of #” at the bottom of the screen so readers know where they are.
• A better way to show lists and tables.  I’m not sure I know the solution here, but there have been a few occassions when it was very difficult to understand what the author was trying to say due to the way it was represented through the Kindle.

Overall, I really like the Kindle and will consider upgrading when I get a better idea of how many authors/publishers plan on allowing text to speech.  I think the implications for educators and students are tremendous… just think, an entire library on something smaller than a notebook.   If you’re an avid reader it doesn’t take long to make your money back when Kindle books are typcially $9.99 vs. the $20 plus for hard copy new releases.

Read&Write GOLD Version 9 Mobile Released

Read&Write GOLD version 9 was released a few weeks ago.  I’ll do a post soon with my review of the product.  What I want to do in this post is tell about their mobile product.

Read&Write GOLD v9 Mobile

If you are familiar with Texthelp (makers of Read&Write GOLD), you probably know that you can get their software on a mobile drive.  This is beneficial to many schools for several reasons, including:

• The ability for students to take the drive anywhere they go.  This may be school, home or anywhere in between.  Administrative privileges aren’t necessary to use the drive, so any computer with a usb port will work.
• I know this may come as a shocker to many of you, but special education classrooms and the technology department don’t always see eye to eye on things.  Sometimes it can take weeks to get assistive technology installed.  Having a usb product allows you to have the benefit of the program without any installation.

Of course there are negatives as well.  No one wants to keep up with 1000 drives and students have been known to loose things, but a mobile is still a nice option to have.

What I like most about the Read&Write GOLD mobile is the drive Texthelp chose to put it on.  It’s a Kingston DataTraveler® HyperX®, which let’s just say is FAST.  You can find more information on it here if you’re interested.  This is probably the most important part of the mobile, because loading such large program takes time and we don’t want students to spend 3 minutes in front of the computer just waiting for the software to load up.

I personally have one of these drives and now use it for all of my trainings, but I do want to mention a couple of odd things in case you are the one who receives the drive…

First, this may be a vista issue, but when I received the drive I couldn’t just plug it in and use it.  Texthelp requires that you enter your serial number and agree to a few things before you use it for the first time.  What’s weird is that after this I kept getting an error about needing to unplug any other drives before it could finish.  I didn’t have any other drives plugged in however.

So what I ended up doing was just using an XP laptop and the process went much smoother.  If you are using a Vista desktop, I recommend unplugging all other external usb drives before you start, do not use a usb hub (plug directly into your computer), and run the program as an administrator the first time.  This requires you to be an administrator of course.  If you have admin privileges, simply right click on the .exe file and choose Run as Administrator.

Hope this helps.  Overall I think the mobile is a great product and great idea.  Just keep the above information in mind before you start using it.

Text to Speech just got easier

Most of us are probably familiar with products that turn digital text into speech.  Programs like Read&Write Gold and Kurzweil are feature packed applications that will not only read almost any digital text to you, but also provide numerous other supports such as advanced spell check, word prediction and more.  Other programs, like ReadPlease are basic (but free) and allow you to copy and paste any text in and have it read out loud.

The only major downfall to these programs is that a student must be sitting in front of a computer to use them.  Having one computer with text to speech capabilities doesn’t do you much good when 15 kids need it at the same time.

To help remedy this, there are several products out there that allow you to turn text into an audio file (typically an mp3 or wav file).  Once created, students can listen to it on their portable mp3 player, cd player, or even their computer at home.  Granted, this isn’t always as effective as being able to see the text as it’s being read out loud, but it does work for many students.  Surely you’ve seen all of the earbuds hanging out of kids’ ears haven’t you?

Before I list some options, I should mention one concern I consistently get is that not all students have the mp3 players.  This is true, but according to a recent report specializing in tracking the use of digital music and digital music players, over 70% of respondents ages 12-17 already have some type of portable music player.  This is up from 54% last year.  What’s more is that not all portable media players are as expensive as iPods.  A recent search on WalMart.com showed a 2GB video and audio portable media player for under $30!

Now that that’s out of the way, how do we turn text into audio files?  Well, there are really 2 ways: a software application (or one feature of a software application) and a web site.  Let’s look at each…

On the Web:  These websites allow you to paste digital text in and they will automatically create the audio file for you.

• Vozme.com
• HearWho.com (only free for limited amount of text)

Software Applications:

• Read&Write Gold – Contains a “Speech Maker” feature that turns text into a wav or mp3 file
• Text to Speech Maker
• Other options – a website containing several low cost text to audio programs

If you know of any additional programs, especially free programs, be sure to post in the comments section or send me an email.

Video Self Modeling Part 2 – The techy stuff – Updated June 2008

This post is part 2 to my introduction to video self modeling (VSM). Part 1 is only a few paragraphs long so I recommend you read it first to gain a better understanding of what video self modeling is. You can access the post BY CLICKING HERE.

So now the fun part… What do you need in order to successfully use video self modeling? Well, first you will need a video camera. This is typically the most expensive part of the process. Go into any electronics store and you will likely find several different models of video cameras all saying they are the best. First, know that the price doesn’t always equal the best. It all depends on what you are wanting to use the camera for. For example, a popular video camera might allow you to burn your footage directly onto a DVD. This allows you to immediately take the DVD out of the camera, pop it in your DVD player and watch it. Sounds great right? Maybe, but probably not if you are wanting to use the camera for video self modeling because you need to be able to edit the video before you burn it on a DVD. Most other video cameras will work fine for VSM, but you need to be cautious and make sure it will work with whatever editing software you choose to use. I take the easy route and use a FLIP Video Camera that runs about $100. See it at http://www.theflip.com/. You can get a 30 minute or 60 minute camera that runs off AA batteries and plugs directly into your computer via usb just like a flash drive. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Now that you have your camera you are ready to start recording. I’m not a professional video person by any means so I only have a couple of pointers on this part. First, remember that you can get creative with your video when you get to the editing process. Many times I see a person go in and follow a student around for two days trying to catch them doing something for the tape. Instead, maybe you can piece a few things together later that gives the appearance of the student performing the behavior you are looking for. Second, don’t worry about getting the perfect shot. Some people try and shoot the whole thing over because they got someone or something in the video for a few seconds. You can just edit those kind of things out. Also remember that these videos do not need to be high quality. You are not making a major motion picture here, just a self modeling clip.

Once you have your video, it’s time to get to work on editing. This part is going to require you to do a little self learning, but I can give you information on the basic software you may want to look into using. If you are a PC user, Microsoft Movie Maker is free and comes installed on your computer by default. Just got to Start – All Programs – Accessories – and choose Windows Movie Maker. It will take you through the process of capturing and editing your video.  I use QuickTime Pro ($29.99) for most situations. It allows me to make quick edits and save them in different formats including an ipod format. QuickTime Pro will also work with a MAC, but MACs usually come with iMovie, which is also an excellent choice. Finally, I should mention that if you use an older video camera that takes VCR tapes, you can create most of your video editing either on the fly while you are filming (by rewinding and recording over bad parts) or by using two VCRs (one to play the original and the other to record only the parts you want to keep).

Once you have your video filmed and edited you will want to put it in whatever format you need for final viewing. This really just depends on how you plan on viewing it. If you have a DVD player, you will need to use your video editing software to put it in a DVD format (you will also need a DVD burner on your computer). If you’re editing software doesn’t allow for this, you may find that whatever software came on your computer for burning DVDs will convert to the proper format for you. If you are going to watch it on a computer you can put it in a .avi or a .mov (QuickTime) format. I occasionally like to use a .wmv or .avi format and imbed the video segments into a PowerPoint. Then I can set it up to where students click on a picture and the video will automatically start playing.

Hopefully this will give you enough information to get started with Video Self Modeling. I’ll try to put some specific tutorials up in the future on how to use some of the editing software.

The Writer Fusion Released

Occasionally I like to highlight new devices that I believe could make an impact on many of our students. I recently had the opportunity to acquire the new Writer Fusion and am very impressed with what I’ve seen. Let me explain…

Many times I am asked to come in and evaluate a student for assistive technology. More times than I can count on both hands, parents or staff members believed the best solution for the student was to have his or her own laptop. Don’t get me wrong, computers a great and laptops are sometimes even better because of their portability, but they are not always the best answer.

When you really start looking at what the student needs, many times a simple portable word processor will do the job. You’ve seen them before… Neo (Alphasmarts), Dana or Dana Wireless, Writer, etc.. They offer many of the advantages of laptops without the disadvantages. For example, many of the students I met who were being considered for a laptop simply had writing issues that caused them to fall behind when the assignment required taking notes, journal writing, story writing, etc… Portable word processors offer many of the supports writers need without the extra (and expensive) stuff they can do without. Not to mention their battery life is much better!

Having said the above, my personal favorite portable word processor is the new Fusion from Advanced Keyboard Technologies (see pic on left). Not only does it offer your typical word processing supports, but it also includes word prediction and text-to-speech. Features that are not always available in similar devices. In addition, you can purchase a memory card for the Fusion that will allow you to transfer text to and from the device. This is great when teachers want to type up tests or reading assignments ahead of time and transfer them to the device where the student can have them read out loud using a headset. In the limited number of times I’ve used this with students, all enjoyed the device and I’ve yet to run into any trouble with it. Although I’m not sure if available yet, I just saw the newest version, which includes a speaker so a headset isn’t required, at a state conference last month.

Feel free to make a comment and let me know your experience with the Fusion or similar device.