Hey Tek-Ninjas, recently I wrote about a grammar and spelling correction software called Ginger. I have removed the blog post, as a friend has directed me towards several online complaints about it.
Several users complain that the software works as malware. They also indicate that it is very difficult to remove. Other folks explain that Ginger coming up as malware as a secondary function of it being an online tool. I don't necessarily understand the explanation, suffice to say these users suggest it's not an issue.
Nonetheless, there are enough complaints that I am a little leery of recommending the software. I intend to write the company and see what their take is on these complaints.
I will report any response I get from the software engineers.
The Intersections of therapy, technology with an emphasis on AAC, education and other random stuff..
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Friday, March 13, 2015
A Little Help FOR Our Friends...
Hey Tek-Ninjas, don't we love it when we find a great app? How about when we like an app a lot, and make a suggestion or two, and those suggestions get incorporated in the next update? How cool is that?!?!
Well the good folks at ModMath built an amazing app. I wrote about it awhile back (read my blog here). They built it originally with their own son in mind, but to date around 27,000 people have downloaded it, so clearly, we like it. And, folks are making a lot of great suggestions for various updates.
I really like this app. It is a stand out because it allows math students to complete their assignments without writing out answers longhand. And it's purposefully built sans calculator so the teacher can see if a student doesn’t understand the concept, or has simply made a computation error. The app builders, Dawn and Josh Denberg could feasibly leave the app as it is, and walk away feeling successful. However, they would like to make it better, and they want to incorporate many of the ideas users have suggested. In order to do so, they will need some money. They indicate that "An upgraded ModMath 2.0 supporting advanced algebraic equations is about $25,000. An Android version with the exact same features will cost $30,000".
Dawn and Josh have started a ModMath Kickstarter campaign. For this first iteration, they are asking for $20,000 and in about a day, they are already half way there!
If you like ModMath, if you would like to see a more powerful/robust version of ModMath, or simply need a worthy place to donate, consider supporting their fundraiser! Also, be sure to "Like" their Facebook page.
Happy Therapy!
Well the good folks at ModMath built an amazing app. I wrote about it awhile back (read my blog here). They built it originally with their own son in mind, but to date around 27,000 people have downloaded it, so clearly, we like it. And, folks are making a lot of great suggestions for various updates.
I really like this app. It is a stand out because it allows math students to complete their assignments without writing out answers longhand. And it's purposefully built sans calculator so the teacher can see if a student doesn’t understand the concept, or has simply made a computation error. The app builders, Dawn and Josh Denberg could feasibly leave the app as it is, and walk away feeling successful. However, they would like to make it better, and they want to incorporate many of the ideas users have suggested. In order to do so, they will need some money. They indicate that "An upgraded ModMath 2.0 supporting advanced algebraic equations is about $25,000. An Android version with the exact same features will cost $30,000".
Dawn and Josh have started a ModMath Kickstarter campaign. For this first iteration, they are asking for $20,000 and in about a day, they are already half way there!
If you like ModMath, if you would like to see a more powerful/robust version of ModMath, or simply need a worthy place to donate, consider supporting their fundraiser! Also, be sure to "Like" their Facebook page.
Happy Therapy!
Labels:
ADD,
ADHD,
App,
Assistive Technology,
Autism,
dysgraphia,
Education,
iPad,
math,
Occupational Therapy,
Writing Process
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Favorite Apps of a Dozen School Based OTs: Communication, Math, Timers, and Organization
Tel-Ninjas, this is part four, and the final segment of Favorite Apps of a Dozen School Based OTs. You can read part one here, part two here, and part three here.
Communication: (certainly considered a SLP domain, OT's can be involved in this process)
Communication: (certainly considered a SLP domain, OT's can be involved in this process)
Proloquo2Go: $219.99, Proloquo2Go® is an award-winning symbol-supported communication app
providing a voice to over 100,000 individuals around the world who are
unable to speak.
Math:
ModMath: Free, ModMath is an adaptive program that improves math skills. The app lets
you type math problems right onto the touch screen of an iPad rather
than write them out long-hand. You can then solve the problems using the
touch pad and print or e-mail the assignments all without ever picking
up a pencil.
Timers:
VisualTimer: $1.99, Refer to my blog. VisualTimer is a 60 minute timer with a graphical display that's also
incredibly easy to use. To get started, just touch and drag the meter
to the desired time and hit the Start button. It's that easy!
Metronome!!: $0.99, An easy to use and accurate audio/visual metronome for your iPhone and iPad. Keeping tempo has never been so simple.
Organization:
Blogger: Free, Refer to my blog. Compose a post that you can save to draft or immediately publish
First Then Visual Schedule HD: $14.99, FTVS HD lets you easily and quickly create and use Visual schedules, Task analyses, Social stories, Choice boards, and Video models.
Folks, I hope some of these prove useful to you. If you have some favorite apps, I'd love to hear what they are, and maybe a blurb about how you use the app in your sessions.
Happy Therapy!
Folks, I hope some of these prove useful to you. If you have some favorite apps, I'd love to hear what they are, and maybe a blurb about how you use the app in your sessions.
Happy Therapy!
Friday, March 6, 2015
Favorite Apps of a Dozen School Based OTs: Visual Motor/Visual Perceptual, pt. 3
This is part three of Favorite Apps of a Dozen School Based OTs. You can read part one here, and part two here.
Visual Motor:
Visual Motor:
Dexteria: $3.99, Refer to my blog article. Dexteria is a set of therapeutic hand exercises (not games) to improve
fine motor skills and handwriting readiness in children and adults.
Dexteria’s unique hand and finger activities take full advantage of the
multi-touch interface to help build strength, control, and dexterity.
Just Find It: $0.99. You are presented two images almost identical but at most 4 different spots. If you find all the differences in each stage before the countdown timer runs out, the remained time will be added to your score. Be careful! Wrong spot means time penalty! But you will be relieved to know that some unused item is left!
Bugs & Buttons |
Visual Perceptual:
Injini |
ShapePuzzle: Free, Shape Puzzle is a jigsaw puzzle especially designed for little children. After you complete a picture, a cute turtle will pops out and tell you the name of the object you just assembled. What's more, each object belongs to a certain scene and after you finish all the items, a vivid scene appears!
Injini: $29.99, 10 feature games with 90 puzzles, over 100 beautiful illustrations, 8 farm-themed mini-games and more. Injini is ideally suited for early intervention - it brings fun to learning and at the same time practices children’s fine motor and language skills, understanding of cause and effect, spatial awareness, memory and visual processing.
Kids Can Match - Animals...: Free, An interactive, adaptive and fun memory game for children of all ages. This app contains an amazing, one of a kind, collection of over 70 authentic animal images and sounds.
Happy Therapy!
Labels:
AAC,
App,
Apple,
Apps,
Assistive Technology,
communication,
cooking,
dysgraphia,
Education,
iPad,
keyboarding,
Occupational Therapy,
Social Skills
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Favorite Apps of a Dozen School Based OTs: Story Telling and Typing (pt. 2)
Hey Tek-Ninjas, this is part two of Favorite Apps of a Dozen School Based OTs. You can read part one here.
Story Telling:
Story Telling:
Pictello |
Toontastic: Free, Refer to my blog article. Toontastic is a creative storytelling app that enables kids to draw,
animate, and share their own cartoons with friends and family around the
world.
Comic Life |
You can retell a family vacation or capture a special day using your photos. It's simple to do: just drag photos onto the page and add your text in speech balloons and captions.
Voice Dictation with Siri: Standard on iPhone 4s or later, iPad 3rd gen or later, iPad mini, and iPod Touch (5th gen). Siri seems to work better with my students then some of the most expensive voice dictation software. Good blog article here.
Typing:
Pictello: $19.99, Everyone loves to tell fun, engaging, and imaginative stories. Go ahead and make a social story or visual schedule for a child with autism or a slide show of holiday pictures for your friends - Pictello makes it a breeze to create and share! Whether you use the included natural-sounding Text to Speech voices, or record your own voice, Pictello is the perfect tool for visual storytelling.
Abilipad: $19.99. Refer to my blog article. Abilipad is a customizable keyboard and adaptive notepad, with word prediction and text-to-speech.
Snaptype: Free, Refer to my blog article. SnapType helps students keep up with their peers in class even when
their penmanship holds them back. Students can easily complete school
worksheets with the help of an iPad or iPhone.
Turbo Type |
Turbo Type: $1.99. Race to the finish and turbocharge your iPhone typing skills! Battle the ruthless CPU opponent in a no-holds-barred typing race across expansive retro-styled scenery and environments, attempting to keep up with the randomly generated sentences and stay ahead of the enemy racer by avoiding deadly mistakes.
Be on the look out for part three of this blog soon.
Happy Therapy!
Be on the look out for part three of this blog soon.
Happy Therapy!
Labels:
AAC,
App,
Apple,
Apps,
Assistive Technology,
communication,
cooking,
dysgraphia,
Education,
iPad,
keyboarding,
Occupational Therapy,
Social Skills
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Favorite Apps of a Dozen School Based OTs: Letters/Writing/Drawing Practice (pt. 1)
Hey Tek-Ninjas, back in June of 2012 I wrote a blog titled “Favorite Occupational Therapy Apps”. Several years later, it remains one of my most consistently visited blog pages.
Many of the apps are still some of my favorite, however I am not working directly as an OT anymore. Instead, I am serving my district solely as an Assistive Technology Professional.
Many of the apps are still some of my favorite, however I am not working directly as an OT anymore. Instead, I am serving my district solely as an Assistive Technology Professional.
Recently a colleague sent an email out to the Occupational Therapists in our district, asking what were their 3 most often utilized iPad apps.
I plan to share the responses in a four part blog.
This is not necessarily my endorsement, but rather the endorsements of several very skilled and experienced Occupational Therapists working directly in a public school setting.
I plan to share the responses in a four part blog.
This is not necessarily my endorsement, but rather the endorsements of several very skilled and experienced Occupational Therapists working directly in a public school setting.
Letter/Writing/Drawing Practice:
iWriteWords |
Handwriting Without Tears: $6.99, Make handwriting practice fun! With our Wet-Dry-Try Suite App, children
learn and practice correct formation habits for writing capitals,
numbers, and lowercase letters. The app simulates our Slate Chalkboard
and Blackboard with Double Lines and helps children learn handwriting
skills in the easiest, most efficient way. The result truly is
handwriting without tears!
Doodle Buddy: Free, Doodle Buddy Gold is the most fun you can have with your finger! Finger
paint with your favorite colors and drop in playful stamps. Connect with
a friend to draw together over the Internet.
WriteMyName |
Snaptype: Free, Refer to my blog article. SnapType helps students keep up with their peers in class even when
their penmanship holds them back. Students can easily complete school
worksheets with the help of an iPad or iPhone.
Ready to print: $9.99, Ready to Print progresses through the pre-writing skills in a specific
order, so that children can master the visual-motor, visual-perceptual,
and fine motor skills necessary for correct printing patterns. It is
designed to teach children the correct patterns for printing, and to
avoid bad habits that are difficult to change as the child gets older.
iWriteWords: $2.99, Refer to my blog article. iWriteWords teaches your child handwriting while playing a fun and entertaining game.
Look for the second installment soon.
Happy Therapy!
Look for the second installment soon.
Happy Therapy!
Labels:
AAC,
App,
Apple,
Apps,
Assistive Technology,
communication,
cooking,
dysgraphia,
Education,
iPad,
keyboarding,
Occupational Therapy,
Social Skills
SnapType Upgrade!
Hey Tek-Ninjas, a few weeks ago I blogged about SnapType. I was and still am very impressed with
the product. If you've not checked it out yet, do so. But if your a school system, wait until tomorrow. I will elaborate.My only complaint about SnapType, and one I shared with the company, was that the product is free, with the option to "upgrade" with an in app purchase.
I'm not complaining about the "freeness", just the upgrade option.
Any app with in app purchasing is not able to be purchased with Apple's Volume Purchase Program. This is not a problem for an individual, but if you want to buy the app for a school (for example), it's hard to be legally compliant, providing the company with payment every time you load the product.
The developer Brendan Kirchner responded promptly to my email, apologizing for any inconvenience, and indicating he'd heard the issue raised before, and he was working on it.
Well, today I received a follow up email which I've shared below.
I'm writing to tell you some good news... SnapType Pro for schools goes live tomorrow! We had many people reach out to us and ask for a standalone option of SnapType Pro and I'm happy to say that Apple has just approved it. You'll see it in the App Store tomorrow morning and will be able to deploy it effortlessly to multiple iPads with the help of Apple's volume purchase program. It will be $2.99 for a limited time as a launch special. Let us know if you have any questions, we're always happy to help!I share this because I think it's terrific when a company hears the requests of it's users, and works to address those needs. It suggests they are paying attention, and that's good for all of us! So, kudos to the Brendan Kirchner!
Happy Therapy!
Here is the link gone active today: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snaptype-pro/id966190445?ls=1&mt=8
Monday, March 2, 2015
Mac Chargers Cost a Lot...
Make a loop up top |
Wrap the cord with loop |
Happy Therapy!
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