Guided Access! Apple finally delivers!

If you follow my blog, you may remember an article I wrote called "Disable the Home-Button on your iDevice!" 

I was soooo pleased with that bit of code writing (which I had nothing to do with writing) and that I was able to bring it to users.

Well, with the new OS update that code is no longer necessary!

From the "Disabling the Home-Button" article, I wrote:

"Okay, so if you've worked with students using an iDevice, you've had the experience of them hitting the home button to "explore" before you were done with the lesson. Oftentimes undoing whatever progress they were making. Very frustrating, and thus creating our Love/Hate relationship with the "home" button!"

Apple's latest update OS 6 now offers a feature called "Guided Access".  Guided Access addresses the issue more elegantly than I could have hoped for.

Just click on Settings. Then click on "General" Down towards the bottom click on "Accessibility. Then, under the "Learning" category click on "Guided Access". You will be given clear directions on how to use this function. Follow the prompts and you will be delighted by how easy you can use the function.

In addition, when setting up the Guided Access, you can designate aspects of the app which will not function, allowing you to control your instructional session precisely.  Refer to the video below to see this in action.

Teachers, therapists, and parents have been asking for the ability to disable the home button for some time. Apple heard us, and went above and beyond what we wanted.

If your still using an iPad-1, alas, this OS update is not for you. But, you can still use the code from aforementioned article.  

Once again, Happy Therapy!

Evernote Everywhere!

Evernote goes everywhere! Tablet, phone, desktop, or laptop, syncing across devices and platforms effortlessly.  

Evernote is a powerful app/program that is designed to be installed on all your devices. Enter data in one, and it automatically syncs to another. I have it on my desktop, laptop, and iDevices, and I've linked some files with my co-worker.  Evernote works cross platform too.  The basic version, which is what we use is free. There are fee services, which provide additional storage space, and frankly, I'm not sure what else, because the free version has met my needs fine.                                                                                           

My iPhone

Our Assistive Tech team uses it to keep track of student contacts.  We made a "Student Template" that resides on the program. When we start a new student, we load a picture, and all the pertinent data. 

The A.T. Contact Notes are shared between Ashely and I. If Ashley sees a student at one school, she documents the contact, and it automatically updates to my devices as well. So, anytime I pull up a student, for example: Darla Hood from the Little Rascals, I see her photo, which we took and inserted into the note, as well as her recent contact with the A.T. team. 

My Desktop

I use the desktop/laptop version to do most of my writing, but really appreciate having my contact notes  readily available when I want them.  

I encourage folks to keep HIPPA guidelines in mind if your keeping confidential information on Evernote.   

My Laptop

                                                                               

I also use Evernote to keep an inventory of wrestling workouts for the high-school team I coach. At a moments notice, I can pull out one of many standards to follow. 

Some therapists have told me how they keep treatment tools on Evernote, including fine-motor activities, articulation pictures, and social stories. 

So, how do you all use Evernote? Do you use it with students? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Happy Therapy!

Picture Symbols and two Icons

Well, I just found out that after 18 years of working to help students read and write Jim and Jean Slater, founders of Slater Software retired and closed the doors of Slater Software.  Jim was a software designer, and Jean a Speech Pathologist.  Conveniently, they are married, and so they had all the expertise they needed in-house!  Their literacy tools were easy to use, intuitive, and highly effective. So, they've retired.  That's the bad news. 

Literacy Tools

The good news, is that while the Slaters have retired (and I hope they are enjoying themselves), their incredible products are still being offered by Suncastle Technology. 

Also a good thing is that they continue to make available a number of terrific free resources, some specifically tied to their software, but much of it usable with any pdf viewer.  You can find the page to the right here.

School

For example, they have a number of free social stories such as: Drinking Fountain, Back to School, Power Outage, etc.  

See the "Getting Ready for School" check-list to the left, or download it here.  The site offers clear and practical directions for using their materials, such as here: "Print this page and cover with clear contact paper or laminate. Attach an eraseable marker with string and tape. As your child completes each task, he can mark them. Soon all his morning tasks will be completed and he can say, "I am ready for school!"  Erase the marks, and he is ready for another morning's chores!" 

PixAide Widget

One last free-bee that I really like, and use often is the PixAide Mac widget. Download it here. Any time you need a picture symbol, enter the word, click search and ta-da! You can then drag and drop the icon onto your desktop and use it how you wish.

The field of Assistive Technology and education are better for the Slater's work.  In a later blog I will look more closely at Pix Writer ($99) and Picture It ($99), the two programs from Slater Software that I use most often. In the meantime, know that they use their own picture symbols, they cost less than most of competitor's products, and offer both Mac and PC versions.

Happy

Until then, Happy Therapy!

Keyboarding Faster!

Many of our students struggle with the typing process; even if they are a bit too advanced for word prediction programs.  

When possible, training students to use a mainstream word-processor will provide users with greater versatility out in the community. Most libraries offer Microsoft Word, Libre Office, or Open Office. 

One tool that I find very useful in helping students experience success while keyboarding is Auto-Correct. 

With Auto-Correct, you or the student can set-up often typed looooooong words, setting specific initials that will then convert to the full word, or even phrase.

Watch the video above to see how it works. 

Note that the Auto-Correct is offered on all of the big word processors, under the menu "Tools". The process is pretty much identical in all of them.

Happy Therapy!

Getting Homework Assignments to the Home!

Blogger in Action

What if you're a classroom teacher. 


What if you're supposed to have a website for your classroom, you know, for homework, and class notes, and "stuff".

But what if you HATE keeping up your website. Or you just feel too busy!

If you have an iTouch, iPhone, or an iPad with a camera, this could make your life easier! Download Blogger from the app store, which is FREE. The work is setting up a Blogspot.  It will take you 15-30 minutes, and a gmail account, which is also FREE. Than make certain your student's families have the address.

Now, any time there is homework written on the board, or classroom notes, open up the Blogger app. 1. Tap the camera icon in the bottom left corner. Take a picture of your board, and 2. hit "Publish" in the top right corner. Your photo will be published to your blog, with the date, and your students and their families can access it easily!  In addition, you can easily take pictures of class projects.

If any of you try this please let me know. If you try it and run into glitches, let me know that to, and I'll try to help if I can.


This blog got Smithkin Kinders and I discussing what kind of success teachers have had using technology in this way... I didn't have the answer, but it certainly seemed like a great idea.

Good luck, and thanks Smithkin Kinders!

Read a Book!

Time and again, educators encounter students who struggle with the decoding process of reading. The comprehension is there, they just can't get the words. Historically we've turned to books-on-tape, or more current, books-on-CD. This is a great way to help students hear literature, but it doesn't really support the acquisition of reading skills.

Read2Go

Imagine that you download a book (maybe even a NY Times Bestseller) to your computer or iDevice and the device reads the text aloud to you, while highlighting each word as it reads. This happens using Don Johnston's "Read: Outloud" on your computer (PC or Mac), or if you want portability, you use "Read2Go" for your iDevice.

The folks at Bookshare are determined to bring great e-books paired with read-aloud to people with disabilities.  To date, Bookshare offers 161,310 titles in both fiction and nonfiction works.

Bookshare is a free service if your reader has a qualifying disability. Through the service, Don Johnston's Read: Outloud is also free. Read2Go on you iDevice retails for $19.99. Read2Go on the iPad is bigger obviously, but the iTouch is really portable and discrete, especially with headphones.

Eligibility

WHAT'S A QUALIFYING DISABILITY?

If your student has a disability that makes it difficult or impossible to read a printed book, she most likely will qualify for Bookshare services. To confirm that she qualifies, you, or the organization representing you, will be asked to provide your Proof of Disability (certified by a qualified professional) during the registration process.

The table titled "Eligibility" provides guidelines for determining what qualifies as a print disability. It also lists examples of professionals qualified to make this assessment.

Selection of Stephan King

Information regarding Membership Options can be found here.  If you are a teacher, it may make sense to have one person at your school get a membership and "manage" your readers. It's really pretty simple, and an incredible service.

One last note, the folks at Don Johnston have compiled a body of research that supports the efficacy of pairing reading instruction and technology. Check it out here. Nothing like "evidenced-based teaching"!

Happy reading!

What's to Come?

Is this the future?!?!

This image came from http://imgur.com/iL1MR. That's all. I don't have anything clever to say about it, I was simply amused!