Text to Speech Up a Notch with Voice Dream Reader App

I was checking out a list of apps that support Dyslexia  I linked to, Friday November 30, when I came across Voice Dream Reader. The thing that caught my eye was that it supports Bookshare files. I downloaded it and tested it out.
The app ($9.99) allows you to bring in text from Dropbox, and reads many formats including Epub, Word, Plain Text and pdf. There is also a web browser that lets you navigate to a web page, then do a smart save that edits out advertising and other text from the page and gives you the article text ready to go on your shelf. The web page I tried had lost of ads and blocks of unrelated text and it effectively cleaned up the page and gave me the article ready to read.
The voice that comes with it is a female voice that is very pleasant. There are lots of other voices that can be downloaded for .99 each. I especially like "Tyler" if you want a Hugh Jackman voice reading to you - very natural. The text size and background is all able to be customized and it highlights words as it reads. By pinching the screen you can reduce the area of the screen so it is only a few lines of text wide to take away a lot of distracting text so you can focus on the text being read. There is an editor so that you can edit text within the app. The app also offers translation services to translate a document for a nominal fee.
The settings menu includes a Bookshare account that you can activate for .99. It provides for your login, and if you have an individual account, it will let you search and download titles. It does not support organizational accounts at this writing. Paying .99 cents is a "steal of a deal" for those with individual accounts compared to paying 19.99 for the Bookshare app Read2go. Having tried both , I like the streamline way organizations can use Read2go to support students with Bookshare accounts at school on iPads, but I believe the Voice Dream Reader should be a staple reader to access other content within your pdf's, epubs and other stored documents.
I liked the timer that comes with the app, allowing you to set it for a limited time as a sleep setting or when you go out of the app to do other things. Voice Dream Reader keeps reading when you exit out and go to other work.
Finally, I appreciated how quickly an email came when I emailed their support to ask some questions. They were very prompt and very supportive. I have added this app to our list of accessibility apps for students in the classroom. Check it out.
All the best,
Lon


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Reading Apps: Subtext App Will Read to You

I have been playing with different reading apps to look at accessing text for students. Our Instructional Technology team that writes iDevice in the Mountains, showed me Subtext this morning and I really like it. It has a quality voice and it is free. It has many supports for group readers in the classroom. It also hooks into Google Books to access public domain free classics and about any book you would want to buy AND reads it without worry of a text to speech voice feature inaccessible by the publisher as has been the case on the Kindle. If you are wanting a free reader with a nice voice that tracks and highlights the text, increases font size and imports in the books, web articles and documents, this is a great choice.
 iDevice in the Mountains did an awesome review with a tutorial, so rather than re-write what they have done, go to their post and check it out for yourself. They say:

"We're often visiting with teachers that need to have accommodations allowing a device to read text to students.  They ask, "Is it possible to have the iPad read something like aTween Tribune article"?
(Continue to full post)

I have several reading, text to speech apps I will be reviewing here over the next few posts so be sure to check back.
All the best,
Lon

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iPad Apps List for Dyslexia: University of Michigan

I had a request for some apps for the iPad that could help with phonics and early reading and writing for young children with Dyslexia. I found this list of apps for Dyslexia today and thought I would pass it along from the University of Michigan.
A nice set of Apps...did you know Bookshare has a FREE app for Android now: Go Read?
Have a great Weekend,
Lon

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New Technology Raises New Challenges in Accessibility : What Are They?

The iPad has LOTS of accessibility features for folks, but what about switch access and accessibility interfaces for scanning on the tablet and within apps? There seems to be one switch for one app developer and another switch for another app developer but they don't work together.  There's lots of work to do to create uniform standards for accessible add-on devices and apps.

This and other topics were batted around in "A Life of Learning Magic: An Interview with Byron Wilkes", as I interviewed the CEO of Learning Magic Inc. You can listen to the interview HERE.
The mobile app craze and the lack of a standard among companies for apps and switches that specialize in SPED and learning has made it difficult to see where the future is heading in access for the end users. Byron discussed the changes that need to take place in the new iPad, Android, Kindle world to make programming, tools and peripherals uniform for users with disabilities.
Have companies that sell Clicker 5, Classroom Suite and My Own Bookshelf toyed with developing them as apps? I asked Byron this question since his Learning Magic content played on these software titles. Listen to what Byron shares on this subject.
I would highly recommend sitting in on this 40 minute discussion.  I welcome your comments and discussion too!

Here is a developer, KomodoOpenlab/ TECLA that has made the main iPad and some applications accessible with scanning and a single switch. there are other videos and they have an interesting website. Maybe we can get them on the talk show to share their ideas too:



You can also listen to the program on the right side bar in the Blog Talk Radio Player.
All the best,
Lon

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Free Goodies Available at Learning Magic: Closing Doors end of 2012

Learning Magic, a pioneer in interactive learning on the computer will be closing its doors the end of December 2012. The company, founded by Byron Wilkes, has been dedicated to developing materials and templates for students with special needs to access the fun of learning through motivating topics such as wildlife, nature and ecosystems around the world. Byron teamed up with experts in the SPED Learning and Speech Language Pathology field to develop materials that addressed key learning concepts in fun and motivating software.  Many of these activities featured hundreds of photographic images Byron took of fish in coral reefs, roaming under a rain forest canopy or trekking across Kenya with camera in-hand to capture the "magic" that led to learning in a special way. I thought of him as a Marty Stouffer, Marlin Perkins, Jacques Cousteau and Crocodile Hunter rolled into one for special needs kids. His packaged units, complete with vocabulary, writing starters and lesson plans were designed to play in software such as Intellitools Classroom Suite, Crick Clicker 5 and SoftTouch My Own Bookshelf.

A set of his photography available to use in your own lessons, PCS and Topic/Communication Boards:

I first met Byron when he came down and participated in an Eastern Oregon Summer Institute for teachers. He spent a couple of days with me helping in my classes and sharing his software and concepts for interactive and adapted learning that fostered writing and reading in high interest titles for students with learning or physical impairments. Byron donated his product library to our Assistive Technology Center for our teachers to trial for purchase. Through the years I have run into him at many national conferences and sessions and he has had a great impact on me.

Byron sent out an email sharing:

"We want to first thank the thousands of teachers/therapists/parents and others who have worked with us in the creation/testing and use of our proven products.  Our website (www.learningmagicinc.com) will go off line at the end of December, so we encourage you to go to our "Goodies" section and download as many of the free IntelliTools Classroom Suite, Clicker 5 and My Own Bookshelf activities as you would like.

Our commercial products will remain available throughout the end of the calendar year or until inventories run out.  If you would like product or pricing information please feel free to email us at info@learningmagicinc.com.

Thank you again for your support and encouragement throughout the years"

Thank you Byron for your investment in children and the thousands of students who have had more fun learning because of you and your efforts! I am looking forward to hearing about your next great adventure!

You can listen to Byron share about his life's work and his thoughts on the future of technology and special needs on Blog Talk Radio, Wednesday November 28th at 10 a.m. The archive will be available on the side-bar player afterwards as well.

All the best...
Lon


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The Adapted Stylus: Which One Would You Choose?

The type of stylus used on an iPad or other tablet screen can be crucial for the success of a student trying to write, draw and select areas on a screen. Fine and gross motor issues need to be considered in the process of selecting a stylus for children with orthopedic impairments and there are an array of choices. OT's with Apps ran a nice list of them in a recent post I am linking here: iPad Adaptive Styluses for Individuals with Mobility Impairment. They shared:

A stylus with a long bendable extension:

A stylus with a handle grip:

A stylus adapted on a snorkel mouthpiece to use in the teeth:

...and many more! Links to the places to purchase these and other adapted styluses can be found in the linked post. Think about the access piece for your student The right stylus might open the door to greater success and productivity.
All the best,
Lon
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Proloquo2Go Resources for Version 2.0

This past summer, the new Proloquo2Go Version 2.0 was released. I have been excited about the new basic and core vocabulary feature. You can choose an option for a basic or core word vocabulary. You can also choose how many columns you want it to be which can correspond to the level of the user.
PR Web put out an explanation of it this way:

"Version 2.0 offers two completely new research-based vocabularies: Basic Communication for beginning communicators and Core Word for more advanced communicators using or developing their language skills. An analysis of commonly used sentences has shown that the new Core Word vocabulary reduces the number of steps to build a sentence by more than 30%, when compared to the previous version of Proloquo2Go."

I wanted to link some resources to read and watch that take you through the paces of the new version.

A popular Autism blog site that reviews apps, Autism Plugged In, has posted a review on the new version: Is Proloquo2Go Really Worth $189.99?

Here also, is a link from Spectronics Blog on the new 2.0 version.

Webinar and Video Tutorial Resources on Proloquo2go:

Autism Plugged In presented a Proloquo2go iPad Demo Workshop. The videos of the day workshop have been uploaded to You Tube and you can access the list of topics here.



Spectronics Blog has a webinar on the new features you can access here.

Here is a link to the full manual for Proloquo2go version 2.0

If you are looking to understand the changes and new features, check out these links!
All the best,
Lon

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