An article titled “Despite Popularity, Benefit of Autism Apps Questioned” posted earlier this week over on DisabilityScoop explores the benefits of autism apps designed for iDevices and Android platforms: “Apps designed to help those with disabilities are all the rage, but it remains unclear how effective such new technology really is. Hundreds of apps have come on…
by Shelley Haven, ATP, RET – Assistive Technology Consultant www.TechPotential.net New technologies for learning also create new challenges. This is very evident with “smartpens” which capture a student’s handwritten notes, record audio, and link the two together. Devices like Livescribe’s Echo® can be incredibly helpful to students with dysgraphia, slow auditory processing, and other issues…
By Kim Cantrell, CFILC’s Director of Programs Do charter schools welcome students with disabilities? Turns out, not so much. I was listening to the radio news a couple of weeks ago and heard a segment on charter schools in Florida. They discussed how many of Florida’s charter schools will not enroll students when they deem…
A recent news story on the bay area’s channel 7 features iPad apps for children with autism. Debbie Drennan of Parents Helping Parents is also featured. To watch the video and read the story, click here.To check out Debbie’s AT Network training on apps for iDevices, click here.
School is back in session, which means that assistive technology and individualized education plans (IEPs) are on the minds of many students and teachers. The Georgia Project for Assistive Technology (a program of the Georgia Dept. of Education) created a four-part video series framing essential concepts and action steps for the responsible provision of AT services. Useful…
10 Web pages with apps for special education and adults with disabilities Thank you to the AT Program News for sharing the resources below. As the volume of apps for mobile devices explodes, websites are cropping up to help us learn, review, and share about them. Below is a selection to help you get started:…
Shannon Coe, CFILC’s Reuse & Finance Coordinator, interviewed Nellie DeMeerleer, YO! Volunteer As students are getting ready for the new school year, I wanted to find out what kind of AT youth are using these days in college. So I decided to interview Nellie, a youth volunteer for the Youth Organizing (YO!) Disabled and Proud…
By Luke Hsieh, AT Advocate at the Community Access Center in Riverside Let’s get one thing straight—the Amazon Kindle is not the Apple iPad. For one thing, the functionality of the Kindle is not on par with the Apple iPad; it was designed for one purpose, assisted reading. Secondly, the durability of Kindle may arguably…
By Luke Hsieh, AT Advocate at the Community Access Center in RiversideI first saw this software at the CSUN International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference in San Diego. I was so impressed by the demonstration that as soon as I got back to Riverside, I purchased a copy of my own and ran it…
Written by Luke Hsieh, Assistive Technology Advocate, Community Access Center, Riverside In the field of assistive literacy software, one cannot go very far without talking about WYNN and Openbook from Freedom Scientific. I believe they have achieved a marketing triumph, therefore WYNN and Openbook have become a staple in assistive technology labs everywhere. This article…