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 …
Category Archive: AT
Mar
02
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: …
Feb
25
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. If you are familiar with Texthelp (makers of Read&Write GOLD), you probably know that you can get their software on …
Nov
13
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 …
Jun
01
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 …
Apr
25
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 …
Jan
25
Intro to Video Self Modeling – Part 1
The idea of using images or videos of appropriate behavior in hopes to get individuals to replicate that behavior is a rather common strategy used today. We see it anywhere from exercise tapes to instructional videos. An adaptation of this strategy that you may not see as often is known as video self modeling (VSM), …
Jan
25
Free Screen Magnifier
I just came across a free screen magnifier called iZoom for PC’s that looks like a great option for students with visual impairments and those of us over 40 who keep sliding back from the computer screen to read e-mail! I used it for about an hour and it has a lot of the same …
Dec
19
Assistive Technology vs. UDL
I’ve asked students in a class I’m teaching to identify what they think the difference between Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning is. After a bit of research they all seem to be right on track, but I notice quite often while in the field that not everyone understands this difference and I believe …
Dec
04
Another Free Graphical Organizer
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of open source software. Not only is it typically cheaper (usually free), but many times I find it to be less buggy and provide greater support when needed through forums and discussion boards. For the reasons mentioned above, I recommend for everyone to give …