Screencastify Extension for Google Chrome

Screencastify is a free Google Chrome extension that can be downloaded in the Google Chrome Store. This is a great tool that can allow students to screencast their work on the computer.  For example they can create a Google Slides presentation and use the screencastify extension to add audio in the presentation or create a Google Drawing and use the extension to describe/tell a story about the picture.

RJ Cooper Apps for Free!

Right now RJ Cooper has put up four of his fantastic switch accessible apps for free on the App Store!  Go get them while you can!

Talking Picture Board App

The Talking Picture Board App is great for users who might need help clarifying themselves due to unintelligible speech.  This allows users to not have to repeat themselves over and over again.  However, they can simply go into this app and choose from over 800 symbols to find what they are looking for.  Users can also add in their own pictures!

Making Sequences App

The Making Sequences App is designed to help teach story order and master steps of completing various tasks.  The app comes with 15 sequences along with narration.  Users can also create their own sequences using their own images and recording their voice.  These sequences can also be shared via Dropbox.

 

iModeling App

The iModeling app is a great way to use video modeling with students.  It has a very simple and user friendly interface.  Users can record and edit footage, assign a video model to a specific student account, add a reward image for watching the video model, and more!

ColorCards Apps

ColorCards has a series of apps.   All of these apps are meant to help users speech and language skills.  The apps vary from What can you see? to Sequencing 6-8 Steps. 

Color Cards Apps:
What Can You See?

Everyday Objects 

Basic Sequences

Sequences 4-Step

Sequences 6-8 Step

Predictable Update Coming Soon!

The Predictable communication app will be releasing a new update!  The update will have new features such as:

• 10 new Nuance voices with foreign accents for speakers of English - Turkish, Indian, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish
• 2 sample ModelTalker voices
• Choose to turn on or off the ability to use profanities
• New Theme feature display
• Change colour and opacity of the text and background in the quick keys, the keyboard keys, and the word prediction bar
• Ability to increase the size of the word prediction text
• High Contrast Option

It has not yet been stated exactly when this update will happen, but it does look like the company is releasing soon exciting new features!

WritePad for the iPad and PhatPad apps

The WritePad for the iPad app is a unique app that lets you take notes in your own handwriting.  After you take your notes in your own handwriting the app immediately converts your written work into digital text with the use of handwriting recognition software.

The same company also produces a similar app called PhatPad.  This app allows you to create and audio note,  draw, write, and type your ideas.  You also have the option of using the handwriting recognition software.  This app will pop up a line to handwrite on at the bottom of the app.  You write your work there and it will turn your handwriting into text.  This is different then WritePad because WritePad allows you to type anywhere in the app and the handwriting can be turned into text. 

WritePad costs $7.99 and PhatPad costs $4.99.  However, if you bundle the apps you can purchase them both for $7.99!

Calendoodle- The Pen and Ink Whiteboard Calendar App

The Calendoodle App is a great way for users who need a more visual calendar.  This app allows you to draw and create on your calendar.  The app has a very clean and simple interface for users and is only $1.99.

Kid in Story Book Maker: Creative Personalized Stories with Locolens Photo Editing app

This app is a really fun way of getting students engaged in creating stories.  The app comes with 12 ready-made story templates.  Users can create custom stories with your own images, text, and narration.  The stories can be shared via email or Dropbox. Insert images of students with different images and pictures to allow them to really be engaged in the story!  This app costs $6.99

10 Fingers + App

The 10 Fingers + app is a fun and interactive way to teach you children how to count with their fingers.  It uses a multi touch feature on the iPad screen that allows users to put multiple fingers on the screen and receive a response.  For example, if the user touched the screen with 3 fingers the iPad will say "Three".  There are 3 different activities within the app.  Also, this app is free for today!

 

My Planner Guide

My Planner Guide is an online service that works along with an app for the iPad and iPhone.  This is a great resource for many students and can be especially beneficial to those on the autism spectrum.  The Planner Guide is essentially a "guide to life".  It has 135 reference guides that provide information of what to expect or how to do a task in the following areas: Personal, Problem-Solving, Communication, Relationships, Community, Work, Home, Technology, School, Stress Management, Self-Advocacy, Personal Safety and Interdependence. These reference guides can be customized from your computer and then be made available on mobile devices.  The mobile app also gives users access to schedules and checklists, and a visual interactive calendar with text and age appropriate graphics that are gender and race neutral.  The Planner guide service is $30 a year (app is free but need login information).  You can explore the website and reference guides with a free 7-day trial before you purchase.

MagicalPad App

MagicalPad is a note-takers dream.  This app allows the user to not just take notes digitally but to mind map, outline, use visual notes and a visual task manager.  This app allows you to insert links and images along with its colorful displays.  The app offers the user templates or you can create your own.  Another great thing about it is that it can be automatically synced to your iPad, iPhone, Mac, or iPod.

aacorn App

The aacorn App is a very different type of communication system.  This app has a very engaging and fun interface for children.  It also uses human recorded voices!  This is great and unlike other apps that use text-to-speech voices.  However, this does mean when inputting new vocabulary the user will have to record a voice.  One thing about this app that makes it different from the rest is its "word tree."  The word tree uses word prediction to predict the next word your child will use.  It also learns from what the user states most frequently.  This app is usually $189 but it is currently having an assistive technology conference sale and is available for $79.99.

Snap&Read Google Chrome Extension

Snap&Read is a Google Chrome extension by Don Johnston.  This is a powerful extension gives the user access to text-to-speech on all visible text.  The text can even be changed into different levels to help readers who are really struggling.

MI remote: Accessible Environmental Control for Children

The MI remote app allows users to control varies parts of their home such as using the television.  It has a very simple interface that is perfect for children.  The app also allows multiple customizable features such adding your own images, text, sound, and change colors.  The app features switch access!  This app also includes an interactive story mode where users make their own stories for different things such as a remote control toy. This app does require 3rd party hardware to work as a remote control.  The iTach Flex, must be used or many functions within the app will not work.

Comic Life 3 App

The Comic Life 3 app is a great way to allow students to show their creative side!  This app allows users to create a story by putting it into a comic book format.  The app even allows you to use your own pictures and make them into comic book images.  This is just another tool to engage students in writing activities and show their creative sides!

Math Planet Apps

These series of apps are free for today! Math planet has a series of apps from grade 1-5th and then another app for middle school.  These apps are really fun and interactive, but the students are still constantly involved in completed grade level math work.  Also, the app allows you to see a summary of the student skills in several different areas.

Be My Eyes App

The Be My Eyes app is an interesting app that uses volunteers to help blind or visually impaired users.  When a user with a vision impairment needs assistance (for example seeing expiration date, in a new environment) they can use the app to connect with another person who can assist them.  There are more than 163, 800 sighted users using the app and about 16,300 blind users.  This gives plenty of people to assist the blind user.  For example if one sighted user is busy, the app will find the next available sighted user in the network.

 

 

Visual Currency Calculator App

The Visual Currency Calculator App is a great iPhone app for students learning how to count money.  The app allows users to have a visual of the actual coins and bills they are adding.

Interactive Time Telling App

There are two versions you can get of this app.  You can get the lite version which is free or you can purchase the full version for $2.99.  This app  allows users to learn to tell time using an analog clock in a fun and interactive way.  It also helps users by giving visuals on whether the clock is set for day time or night time.  There is also a lot of auditory feedback to tell the users what time they are setting on their clock.  The difference between the lite and full version is that the full version gives users more games to choose from and more levels of difficulty.  In the full version their is also a quiz mode, tutorials for young learners, and the ability to learn times in several different languages.

Showbie App

The Showbie app allows educators to have a more organized and paperless classroom.  This app allows users to assign, collect, and review work from your iPad.  Educators can also provide feedback to students work by adding annotations, text notes, and voice notes.  The app also allows your students to complete creative assignments by allowing users to have access to record voice notes, video, and take pictures.

DMD Topic- Talking Pictures App

DMD Topic- Talking Pictures app is free today 3/2/15!  This application allows users to create and share stories using images.  Users can highlight essential parts of the photo while recording a voice description.  This could be used as another great way to have students present material or communicate experiences between school and home.

How to take data and keep track of progress using Google forms/sheets and the iPad

I recently discovered a blog post that give instructions on how to create a Google form, send it to your ipad, and have the form appear as its own icon on the iPad.  This can help therapists and educators immensely by having their data forms on their iPad and having the data reports immediately save to Google Spreadsheets once the form is submitted.  I have attached some pictures so you can see what some of this process would look like.  I highly suggest visiting the blog link above to see the bloggers step-by-step tutorial.

 How the icon will look on your iPad:

 When the icon is opened:

When you view the data progress on spreadsheets:
 

openWeb App

The openWeb app is specifically designed to help users with dyslexia read the web with more ease.  The default font is OpenDyslexic which is especially designed for dyslexic readers.  The colors on the screen have less contrast to prevent glare and symbols are bolder to help detect sentences and phrases.

4 Dice App

4 Dice app presents users with a unique style of completing fraction equations.  Users can practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions.  Once they have an answer the users select "bowl" and the if the user is correct the bowling ball will knock down the pins.  If the answer is incorrect the app not only shows you the correct answer, but the steps to get to the correct answer.  There is even an option to use multiple players.

Autism Apps

Autism Apps is a comprehensive list of apps separated into over 30 categories for people diagnosed with Autism, Down Syndrome or other special needs.  You can search for apps that are free or paid, for the iPad or iPhone, and you can also sort the apps by name, price, and rating.

QR Reader Beta: Google Chrome Extension

QR Reader beta allows users to decode a QR code when they come across it in the web.  To use this extension you right click on the QR code and select "Read QR Code from Image"(you will need to wait a few seconds while the extension scans the code).  If the QR code is a link it will open it in a new tab and if it is text you will see it in a prompt box and you click "ok" to copy it to your clipboard.  This extension can be very useful if students are researching  and come across QR codes in articles or books on the web. 

Google Earth

Using the Google Earth App students can travel to anywhere they want in seconds.  This can be very valuable especially for history and geography lessons.  For example, if your students were learning about Ancient Rome they could travel to the Colosseum and see it for themselves.  It is a great way to make lessons more interactive and engaging for students.  Google Earth can also be downloaded on your computer for free as well. 

This is video is of a 1st grade classroom using Google Earth for their geography lesson!

Read&Write App

TextHelp has recently produced a new Read&Write app.  This app functions as a keyboard which can be used in any app.  The keyboard allows you access to word prediction, text to speech with highlighting,a talking dictionary and a picture dictionary .  The app can also be used on the web on the iPad in Safari.  This allows you to have text to speech with highlighting on the web.  In the web you also have access to a talking dictionary, a picture dictionary and a translator.  If you currently already have access to Read&Write software or Read&Write for Google the App is free!

Save To Drive Google Chrome Extension

Save To Drive Google Chrome extension is great for students and educators who frequently access their drive accounts.  This extension sits at the top of the toolbar and with one click on the logo it saves web content directly into your Google Drive.

Print Friendly & PDF Chrome Extension

Print Friendly & PDF creates printer-friendly versions of online resources and generates images and PDF files to share with students.  Students can adjust the text size, delete text & images, and have the options to print, save as a PDF or email the document.