iDevice Assistive Features

Hey Tek-Ninjas! Many of you are already familiar with the built in features of the iDevices (iPhones, iPads, and iTouches). But just in case you haven't seen the latest bells and whistles, I want to direct you to Apple's very helpful page. 

This "stuff" is amazing, and all part of your iDevice! These devices offer great supports for folks with issues around vision, hearing, motor skills, and learning and literacy. Make sure you are maximizing your technology's potential.

Hajime!

Quick Tip: Screen Sharing

Hey Tek-Ninjas! Here is a quick tip that my 13 year old shared with me.

If you have Yosemite operating system on your Mac, AND the iOS8 or newer on your iPad, iTouch, or iPhone, you can share what ever is on your iPad screen to your computer, even recording your work if you choose.

Check out the video below



Happy Therapy!

AppleVis Exploring Apple's Work

I have always been impressed by both Microsoft and Apple's attention to how folks with Visual Impairments might access their operating systems. Both companies have historically offered tools embedded in their software, at no additional cost. Granted the quality has varied from year to year.  Often, because they are in the business of selling operating systems, and not accessibility equipment, finding information about these features is not as easy as one might like.

Recently, my brillant colleague and VI teacher, here in the schools sent me a link to AppleVis, showing "what's new and changed for blind and low vision users in i0S7.1. AppleVis is a community-based web site that is managed by a small number of volunteers. They are NOT Apple.

I was impressed by the work Apple continues to do, and frankly how big can the market share be for them? This is good work, with minimal financial gain. (okay, I will quit hero-worshipping Apple for a few minutes).

According to AppleVis, there are 6 new Accessibility features in i0S7.1, including 3 contrast settings rather than one, allowing users to choose an option that best supports their vision. One other feature is the ability to enable Bold Text for icons, text on i0S labels, keyboard, and the calculator. For the other four, visit their page, 'cause I don't want to steal all their thunder.

The page also lists the 25 improvements that have been made to pre-existing features including significant changes to VoiceOver functions.

In addition, the site offers up 13 bugs still found in the system. Love that they are willing to share the successes, as well as what still needs to be worked on.  It's comforting to find that an issue your having is not just yours alone.

Finally, I found the comments from other readers to be very edifying, and as useful as the official info. There are some smart users out there!

Intrigued by the wealth of info, I wanted to look a bit closer at who AppleVis is. This is pulled from their site:

A community-powered website for blind and low-vision users of Apple's range of Mac computers, the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
AppleVis is a rich resource that strives to empower the community by offering multiple pathways to access and share relevant and useful information. As a community, we seek to encourage and support people in exploring the many ways in which these mainstream products and related applications can offer opportunities to the vision-impaired for personal enrichment, independence and empowerment.
AppleVis also offers resources and mechanisms for raising awareness of the accessibility of Apple products and related applications, and for promoting further advancement in accessibility.

Membership is free. They do however welcome donations, as they are volunteer run, with no sponsorship. The site has several pages to explore apps, a forum for users to share ideas, a well maintained blog, Podcasts (tech oriented), Guides, and App Deals are listed, and finally Accessory Reviews. WOW! I am blown away by the thoroughness of their work.

If you or someone you know has visual impairments, this site seems like a necessity!

Happy Therapy!

Keeping your data usage low...

So, if your like me, you use Facebook. A lot. Maybe with students, maybe for personal use. For me, it's a "love-hate" relationship. Facebook is constantly changing and often for the better, but sometimes, not.

Touch Facebook

One "improvement" is making videos automatically load while your scrolling on your mobile device. This is fine if your on wifi, or have unlimited data. But if not, you may notice your mobile bill going through the roof as your data consumption drastically increases.

Auto-Play

So, this is fixable, at least on an iDevice. Go into your Settings. Then touch your Facebook. Within Facebook choose Settings right under the Facebook icon.  Once in Settings, turn on "Auto-play on WiFi only". This process will help you keep you or your kid's phone bills a bit more manageable. 

This tip came to me from my buddy and head wrestling coach, DeWitt Driscoll.  He's officially a junior Tek-Ninja now!  

Speaking of wrestling, my posts have been sporadic at best lately, as my wrestling team is competing a lot, and dominating in the process! Great fun, but cutting into my writing time. Just a few more weeks, and the season will end, and I will resume blogging more regularly.

I assume the other platforms (Droid, Mobile Windows) offer a similar feature.  If any readers can comment on this, other readers would likely appreciate that.

Happy therapy!

"Elephant Sighting" is Published!

Hey Tek-Ninjas! A few blogs ago I wrote about the new software iBook Author from Apple that allows one to write and publish books on iBook to be downloaded and read on Macs, or iDevices.  Well, shortly after that, I submitted a manuscript written by my nephew Niky, and illustrated by yours truly.

Today Elephant Sighting,  was approved and released to 51 countries!

Elephant Sighting can be downloaded here. My next step in this project, is to make a few editorial changes, and see how long the changes take to go into effect. I'll post when that is complete. 

In the meantime, please, rush out and download the free copy of Elephant Sighting. Who knows, in a few months Niky and I may decide to sell it rather than give it away. 

Happy writing!

Quick iTip

With iOS7.0.4 on your iDevice

Did you know: within Settings if you go to iTunes and Apps Store you can now turn on Automatic Updates and app updates download and install automatically.

This makes remote management that much simpler!

Happy Therapy!

Publishing A Book!

Tek-Ninjas, I have long been an advocate of making books with students. Whether to reinforce Social Skills for students with Autism, to create a step-by-step set of directions for a task or job, or to support the writing process. Over the years I have used PowerPoint, Comic Life, and Pictello just to name a few software and app titles.  I still am a fan of many of these titles, and find them appropriate for different tasks.

Recently, a new tool has entered the mix that may replace many of these other tools. iBook Author is an intuitive piece of software which allows users to simply create a e-book, using text, photos, video, sound, and widgets.  These features alone duplicate many of the tools already available. The end product can be read on your computer, iTouch, iPhone, or iPad.

What separates iBook Author from the rest, is that you can share your book on Apple's iBooks, for free, or actually sell it. 

iBook Author is free, and available here.  To create your book, there are several templates to choose from.  Much of your creation can happen by literally dragging and dropping pics or video where you want, and typing text boxes where you wish.  Apple's Widgets add multi-touch possibilities to your book as well, including swipe-friendly photo galleries, animations, pop-over widgets, and 3d objects. Also of significance is the built in accessibility features including voice over technology.  

When your ready to publish your book, iBooks Author will hold your hand in walking you through the process. If you don't actually want to publish on iBooks, but you do want to share a book with one or a few specific people, you can export the book and then Air Drop it, Drop Box it, or email it.

A few months ago my nephew Niky wrote a short story. Over the course of a month or two I created illustrations for his story with his direction. Using iBook Author we are publishing it on iBooks. Currently it is available here. As soon as it is available on iBooks Store, I will link it here. 

Happy therapy!

Printing from your iDevice!

Hey Tek-Ninjas, a number of apps have offered IOS printing... But until now, I haven't found one that works easily for me.  iDevices will even print to specific printers. But I have not purchased any of these printers, as the ones I have are in good shape.  
Recently, I stumbled upon Print by Eurosmartz.  Print does just what it says it will, quickly and easily printing photos, contacts, and web-pages from my iDevice. 

The app retails for $1.99, and the downloadable "WePrint" add-on for your computer is free.  Print works on Apple and Android devices. The computer software works on Macs or PCs. 

Downloading and installing the computer software is simple, then open and follow the directions.  In moments, you can pick from any printer that is already installed on your computer.  

According to the app writers, WePrint allows the user to print from a mobile phone even when away from the printer location, so the print-job will be waiting for you upon return.  Simple, affordable, and you don't have to be a technological wizard to set it up! Well done Eurosmartz!

Happy therapy!

Word Prediction with Google

Lingapps apps creates apps for iDevices, Android platforms, and Google Docs. AppWriter provides word prediction and text-to-speech.  For your pc or macbook, the app is sold as a subscription for $12 annually, which is a pittance compared to most of the competitors. This review is based on AppWriter on my iMac.

AppWriter offers high quality synthetic voices for twelve different languages.  All menus and buttons are read aloud. The user can determine which reading strategies benefit them, such as read from cursor position or read words as you type them.  AppWriter offers context based word suggestions AppWriter comes with one free language. Additional language are offered through in-app purchases. Additional languages retail for $7.99.

AppWriter Cloud is offered free for a month trial.

I was especially excited about this app as my school district talks about moving to a Google platform.   I don't know if this will happen, and if it does, will that include our special needs population, but, apps like this and ChromeVox make it seem as though we could make it work.

AppWriter worked seamlessly. Word prediction was solid, and the voice quality was terrific. This is an app that I definitly recommend you take a look at.



Happy therapy!

Word Prediction in your Pocket...

Hey Tek-Ninjas, I think I have a new favorite app! Again. 

Typ-O HD is delivering what software writers said was impossible just a few years ago. Word prediction, including phonetic spelling for iDevices. 

The interface is elegant and very simple to use. Begin typing and word choices appear in a box. Touch the mega-phone icon and the word is read aloud. Touch the word and it inserts at the cursor. 

Touch the "Settings" icon on the top right of the bar, and tailor your app based on your spelling profile, choose a male or female voice, sync to your Dropbox account, or alter the decor.  

If you need more adaptations, go to Settings for your iPad and make additional changes there.  You can alter the pitch of the voice as well as the reading speed. You can also filter profanity, font size, and choose vocabulary size.  

The folks at SecondGuess apps boast for this app they have collected and analyzed roughly 100,000,00 words of text. That is astonishing, and probably one reasons the app works so well. 

When your done writing you can choose from multiple ways to share your document. Options include Apple's new Airdrop, or sending via a Message or email. In addition, you can post straight to Twitter or Facebook. This last function really demonstrates the app writer's understanding of how to resonate with young writers!  I also found that I could simply copy and paste text into other apps if I wanted, such as Comic Life. 

Another feature that takes advantage of the iPad is the ability to change font size by pinching or "un-pinching" the text. Really neat quick way to adjust sizing. 

In addition to offering really powerful word prediction, the app integrates voice dictation that works as well as anything else out there. 

The app sells for $14.99, which for an app may seem step at first glance. But, consider that most other word prediction software with phonetic spelling rarely sells for less than several hundred dollars, and does not run on iDevices, Typ-O HD is a bargain!

One last thought... The folks at SecondGuess offer a $4.99 version of Typ-O also, and the difference is that the less expensive version has a lower quality voice. This may not seem that significant, but the quality voice is really remarkably good, and as you likely know digital voices can be difficult to listen to, especially for our youngsters on the spectrum. 

Happy therapy!

IOS7 Highlights: Guest Blogger Ben Tignor

Sign-In

Tek-Ninjas, it should come as no surprise to you that my youngest son is an avid Apple user. Fanatical even. 

He and I have been engaging in debate about the pros and cons of the new IOS7. Ben has some good insights, and so I asked him if he wanted to guest-blog. He was excited, and I have learned some useful tips. I hope this is as useful for you as it was for me.


Ben is twelve years old, and currently in the seventh grade.

IOS7 Highlights, by Ben Tignor

Siri and Tools, swipe up to access

IOS7 is obviously a complete visual overhaul of the operating system, from the new lock screen, to the nice parallax effect in the background, but unfortunately, some users believe that the new look is all the update has to offer. While the animations and the sounds are nice, and the update for Siri is interesting (yet somewhat unnecessary), there are a few things that people have overlooked, so I have compiled a small list of changes that I believe are significant improvements.

New Tab System

Safari-

In IOS6, when browsing, I was strictly a Chrome user, as opposed to in IOS7, where I enjoy Safari very much. Chrome for IOS6 was cleaner, and I liked to have my Google tools immediately available when I signed in. I had tried other browsers including Puffin, but none were as good as Chrome. In IOS7, first of all, Safari looks great! It has a new sleek, light design, and honestly, I would prefer a wood grain design to that weird faux-metal gradient thing they had going on before. It has a new tab system, which is similar to the multitasking of the rest of the OS. When you're on a page you want to read, as you scroll into the content, the menu shrinks, revealing more of the webpage for easier access. Like the rest of IOS7, Safari has been overhauled, and I deleted Chrome minutes after the update.

Camera/Photos- 

 Following the success of photo editing/sharing apps like Instagram/PhotoStudio, Apple has changed up the camera to fit the new style. While I am not crazy about how it looks, as Apple went for a darker design that most of the OS does not share, the new features are very useful, and I have found myself using other photo editors less and less. The classics are still there with a few tweaks. Video is more or less the same, but the classic photo system has two big improvements: Burst, and an increased shutter-speed. Burst is for the moments when you want to snap your picture at just the right time, because you know it's coming up, but you miss it by just moment. Now, if you hold down the button, your camera will take multiple pictures at once, and continue until you release the button. The camera can do this now, because of the other improvement. The shutter speed is very much increased. The camera also comes with photo-effects built in, so you can take your black-and-white grainy artsy pictures without using hipstogram or any other app. The Photos app also now organizes your pictures for you, organizing albums for where you were, and when you took it.

Air Drop, share data easily

Airdrop-

I know this is not strictly IOS7, but I feel that Apple has really done their best work with their version of Airdrop. For those who don't know, Airdrop is a service Apple provides for all current devices, and it is similar to Dropbox or Bump in the sense of easy file sharing (but not in the sense of permanent storage). You turn on Airdrop in your device, while in Contacts or Photos, and you can see others in the area who also have Airdrop on, and you can then share contacts and files via Bluetooth in Airdrop, and they can share with you. It's easy to do, and very quick.

These are just a few of the new features that immediately grabbed my attention. I'm looking forward to learning more about the new operating system, and sharing what I learn with my dad.

Ben and I will continue to delve into the new tools that IOS7 offers, and I will think about how they contribute to the occupational  performance and relative independence of our students with special needs. 

If you have already discovered a stand out feature please don't hesitate to post here!

Happy iDevice-ing!

Storysmart: A Very Interesting Story!

What happens when a veteran Speech Language Pathologist marries a Designer, and they have a child with High Functioning Autism?  

Well... if the moons align correctly, you get some really fabulous apps!

Jennifer Minnelli is the SLP, and her husband Pete Minnelli is the Designer.  Integrating their unique skill sets they founded a company called Rubycube which creates mobile apps for children with high functioning autism, ADHD, and other social challenges. Currently they are producing a series of apps called Storysmart.

Their website describes Storysmart as a "suite of apps that provide both a recreational and therapeutic activity for elementary-school aged children and are designed to help them develop social communication, social cognition, critical thinking and narrative skills."  That is a tall order, but I'd have to say the apps definitely have that ability.  

Ultimately, the Minnelli's plan is to create six stories in the suite. Currently there are two ready from iTunes.  The stories are very reasonably priced at $3.99 a piece.  In addition, the Minnellis intend to make the apps for the Android platform soon.

Passage Choices

Each story presents a page at a time. The artwork is very sweet and endearing, some of it animated, some of it static.  Each page is clean and uncluttered.  The story can read itself, or just each word you touch, providing scaffolded reading support. On each page there are generally two passages that allow the user to choose what the most socially appropriate passage for the situation would be.  Prior to using the app, the user is able to record their own responses for correct and incorrect answers, and when they choose the passage, one of the recorded messages is played, thereby reinforcing the correct answer.

Therapeutically speaking, this app packs a whole-lot-of-punch for SLPs, OTs, or educators who bring their clinical reasoning tools with them.

Tool Bar

There is some nice functionality built into the programming such as the ability to turn the music on or off, change the font, return to the beginning, email Rubycube.  In addition, there is a brief educational section called "Parents" but useful for therapists or educators as well.  All of these features are easily accessed through the tool bar at the bottom of the page.

One feature I'd like to see added would be the ability to either significantly enlarge the font, or change the contrast. The inherent difficulty would likley be that this might change the layout of the pages, but it could make the app more accessible for those with visual impairments.

As noted above, Rubycube has two stories ready to be purchased:

1. Trudy Goes to the Beach: focuses on what is expected on a family vacation.
2. Casey's Big Day: focuses on what is expected from a student on his first day of 5th grade, including modulation and transitions.  

They are working on the following:

1. Ruby Gets in the Game: focusing on playing a team sport, and the nuances of following directions, paying attention, and getting along with others. 
2. Mario's Big Reactions: focuses on modulation and appropriate problem solving. 
3. Pia Stands up for Herself: focuses on navigating friendships and self advocating.
4. Aaron Plays it Safe: focuses on personal space.

If you work or live with a youngster struggling with social skills for any reason, Rubycube's Storysmart suite is  a "must-have" set of apps. 

Happy Therapy!

Facetime: adding and removing numbers and email

Similar to my prior post, occasionally I receive an email from staff telling me they need to add someone on Facetime, or perhaps they are receiving Facetime calls from people they don't know. In the latter case, that occurs because they have inherited an iDevice from someone else, or they are using a group iTunes account to manage "Find my iPhone" and other features.

It is pretty simple to make certain that you are receiving the Facetime calls you want, and not those you don't want.

1.  Begin by touching on "Settings"

2.  Then touch "Facetime" in the left column.

3.  Uncheck email or phone numbers you don't want, and add email accounts that you do want. 

Make certain that your Facetime friends have the new email/numbers to contact you.

That should take care of it, happy therapy!

Catch UP Parents!

 As a parent, do you know which kids your child goes to the mall with? If your child says "I'm going out driving around with my friends", do you say "okay"? Or do you ask "who, what, where, when, and maybe why"?

An engaged parent asks those questions. 

I remember when I was a teenager. There were a few phones in our house. One in the kitchen, and one in my parents room. My last few years at home, I got a phone in my bedroom, but it was the same telephone line, and I was not supposed to stay on the phone during the day, as my father worked from home. Having private, unsupervised phone calls was a challenge.

Many teens today live in two separate worlds, the physical world where we reign as parents, and another, the cyber world where we are often woefully absent. Today's youth have multiple social media venues they participate in.  Many of them have a smart phone and maybe a computer to use as they see fit. At it's best, the cyber world is a tremendous social tool which they navigate with remarkable skill and it enriches their lives. At it's worst, it becomes a Lord of the Flies situtation with cyber bullying, sexting, academic cheating, and super-gossiping.

Either way, this cyber world and it's social tools are here to stay. We can catch up, and be stewards of our children in this complex ever shifting environment, or be left far behind, asking our children to raise themselves to the best of their abilities.

I challenge all of us to ask who, what, where, when, and maybe why regarding our kids social media usage. Know which tools they use. Friend or follow them. Make it mandatory. You wouldn't let them go to the mall with a known drug seller, or a kid known for shop-lifting, right? Hold the same standard to their social media.  My kids have to share their passwords to all their media tools with my wife and I. I go on as them periodically. I don't post as them, and I make a point not to embarrass them, but you will see things as the "user" that you can't from the "following side".

Happy Parenting!

A little iTip....

Did you know that once you log into iTunes on an iPad, iTouch, or iPhone your password is "good" for up to 15 minutes? 

The ramifications of this are that if you log in and download an app for another user, and then hand them the device, they can begin downloading more apps or in-app content. This is not to say that they would have malicious intentions, they may simply be young and not understand the impact. 

Make certain that sufficient time has passed before you leave an iDevice unsupervised if the password is active, or simply sign out of the App store upon downloading the content. 

Happy Therapy!

Apple Kool-Aide. Yes, I drank it.

Yes, yes, I know, and I've acknowledged this before, I drank the Apple Kool-aide. I am a huge fan of their products and no I don't get any money from them to say so.

But seriously, check out this page from Apple. The page explains the dozens of assistive technology accessibility features which come pre-installed on Macs.  Many of which you won’t find in other operating systems at any price. There is also a good explanation of the universal access features for iPhone, iPad, and iPod, Apple is taking these technologies to a new level.Mac computers and iDevices include quality text-to-speech, word completion, spelling and grammar check.  The built in voice over is a powerful screen reader which can help folks with visual impairment navigate their computer. Also built into the computers is Refreshable Braille Display Support, and Screen Magnification. 

There is more detailed on the link above. These functions are very powerful, and having them pre-engineerred into the operating system really helps them run seamlessly.

Sōsh: Improving Social Skills Just Got Easier!

Sōsh

Do you work with tweens, teens, or young adults on social skills? If so, Sōsh may be an important app for you to take a look at. It is designed to be used by individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, on an iPhone or iTouch,  but will work on an iPad as well.

Home Screen

Per the designer, Sōsh addresses five essential abilities for social skills development including Relate, Relax, Reason, Regulate, and Recognize. The Home screen is easy and intuitive to use. Sōsh is a strength-based road map for individuals who want to be social, and a guide for the adults who are supporting that individual in achieving their goals.

At $39.99, Sōsh seems relatively pricey, until you consider all that it offers. With over 60 well designed screens of exercises, strategies, and practical information to work through social situations in a step-by-step manner. In addition, Sōsh is available for a free seven day trial at their website here.  There really is so much available in Sōsh that I will focus on only some of the highlights.

Relate

Talking Strategies

The Relate bubble corresponds with connecting with other folks.  Clicking it opens five more bubble links: What Did That Mean, First Impressions, Talking Strategies, Out and About, and Common Ground. Each covering a different issue. What did that mean for example is a massive collection of idioms. This allows a user to look up an idiom to gain a better understanding when they here it. Common ground is a data-base that the user creates listing topics that they are interested in, and another of topics that they hear other folks discussing. Double tapping on a word in the data base opens a google search for that word. First impressions is another data base, where the user creates a rolodex of sorts of everyone they meet. The rolodex can include the person's name, phone, relationship, interests, and things you've discussed with them.  First impressions has the ability to import info from your contacts, or by "Bumping".

Too Loud!

The Regulate bubble corresponds with managing behaviors. Clicking it opens four more bubble links: Voice Meter, Monitor, Interest Log, and Tracking. Voice Meter is a simple volume meter with a visual display with the likert scale Too Soft, Just Right, and Too Loud. This is useful in helping students modulate their voice volume.  Interest Log lets the user enter an activity and how long they engaged in the activity. The Tracking bubble presents a screen with two behaviors and clicker counters to gather data on the occurrence of a given behavior.

Problem Solver

The Reason bubble corresponds with thinking things through. Clicking it opens four more bubbles: Transition Timer, Perspective, Mental Strategies, and Problem Solver.  The Transition Timer is just what it sounds like. A simple time with minutes and seconds, with the option of including a beep or voice warning when there is 5 or 1 minutes left. The Perspective bubble helps to put a stressful situation into perspective for the user. The user is able to type in a situation, and then use a scale to rate how much of an effect a given situation has on their life. The Problem Solver bubble allows the user to enter a problem, and then write out 3 different solutions. They then can check a box by the solution they choose. At the bottom there is a box to rate how well the solution they chose worked.

Journal

In addition to the practical problem solving tools above, Sōsh has a built in journal with ready email capability, a goal page, and a robust online archival system.

I have touched only on a few aspects of this incredibly rich app, and encourage anyone working social skills to take a closer look, as this is a goldmine for therapists, parents, and most importantly, folks struggling to manage social skills.

Here is a video of Sōsh in action with Dr. Mark Bowers, author of Sōsh: Improving Social Skills with Children and Adolescents.

Happy Therapy!

Technologies merging...

Tildee Tutorial

A resource teacher that I work with just emailed me this really cool link. It is a tildee tutorial for Dragon Dictate on an iTouch that she made. I've blogged about both tools before, and I love that she made this tutorial about Dragon Dictate using Tildee, and is sharing it with staff and parents!

Here is the tildee blog, and here is the Dragon Dictate blog.


Happy Therapy!


And here's an addendum: she just sent me a second tutorial on how to email your Dictation to your self.  Check it out here.

Visules: simple, clean To-Do lists

Visules

Visules is an app for iDevices that allows caregivers to quickly and easily create picture schedules on the fly. Visules is very simple, streamlined and effective. Retailing for $4.99 it is a bargain. 

Dean Huff, creator and owner of Visules writes that "as a father of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, I have learned that communicating visually with my son is often the most effective way.  As a professional application developer and avid iPhone user, I knew we needed to have "an app for that."   The result is Visules, which communicates checklists and individual cues using text, images, and colors.

Visules is very streamlined and has two collections, actions and flows.   

                                   
Actions are individual cues.  You can make your own actions using your camera or images you find online.






Flows are series of actions.  Flows let you create a to-do list for the user. When they've finished a step, touching that word or icon places a check in the right side indicating it's done.

List Mode is the setting to use Visules. Actions and Flows are not editable in this setting.

Edit Mode  is the editable mode. 





For a simple, easy to use scheduler, Visules is hard to beat.

Happy Therapy!

Join Me: Intervention for Visually Impaired Individuals

I have long been a fan of LogMeIn, software which allows me to help my wife or sons when they are struggling with something on their computers (say adding a printer).  LogMeIn was designed for remote management over the web.  So, I can be at work, and my wife at her work, and she may call to ask for help. Sometimes I can talk her through a process, but other times, I really need to drive the computer. LogMeIn allows for that, even if her laptop is across town.

The folks at LogMeIn have taken their remote management and streamlined it to allow users to share what is on their computer screen with other users, specifically on iPads. The beauty of this is that the viewer can view, but cannot edit. JoinMeIn was originally designed with a business user in mind, but really is an amazing tool for our students with visual impairment (VI).

Imagine the teacher using the SmartBoard, and all the students are engaged watching the lesson unfold. Some VI students might follow along by pointing their closed circuit tv at the SmartBoard Screen, but this is not ideal because the image quality is not great (CCTVs are not really designed for this use).  Now imagine that the VI student is able to watch the lesson on his/her iPad, even taking screen shots of salient images. The student is able to expand, and hone in on anything they deem important. Watch the "how-to" video here.

JoinMe is free. To use it, first download the iDevice app here. Or, if your an Android user, get the app here.  Then get the software for your computer. PC users here, and Mac users here.

Happy Therapy!