The Family Center on Technology and Disability
Assistive Technology Works
LearnZillion
Learn Zillion is a website dedicated to providing resources for proficiency in common core classes and is available to teachers, parents, and students. The website contains lessons on a variety of math, language arts, science, and social studies topics for all grade levels. A user must create an account to access the different areas but there is no cost associated with using any of the resources. Teachers from across the ...
Published: 2013 by LearnZillion , Reviewed: May 29, 2013
Voice Dream Reader
The Voice Dream Reader app reads a range of formatted files including PDF, ePub, Text, Word, PowerPoint, Pages, Keynote, RTF, and HTML. The default voice for Voice Dream Reader is the Acapella Speech Engine installed with Heather. Additional voices can be added for $1.99 each from within Dream Reader. The app is very easy to use. To read text, simply click on the play button on the bottom of the ...
Published: 2013 by Voice Dream LLC , Reviewed: April 25, 2013
Tools4Students
Tools4Students is an iPad app, available through the iTunes store, that is designed for students in grades 2-8 to assist in reading and writing. The app offers 25 different organizers related to vocabulary and comprehension. Students can use a chosen organizer to help them structure their thinking while they are reading or to help them prepare ideas for a writing assignment. The completed app can be saved on the iPad, ...
Published: 2013 by Mobile Learning Services , Reviewed: May 28, 2013
The Assistive Technology Blog
"The Assistive Technology Blog" is a publication of the Virginia Department of Education's Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC) at VCU (not to be confused with AssistiveTechnologyBlog.com, also reviewed here by FCTD). It is a very simply organized blog of hundreds of resources that can be accessed by month or by by these categories: - Assistive Technologies - AT and Standardized Assessment - AT and Transition - AT for Math ...
Published: 2013 by Susanne Croasdaile , Reviewed: April 01, 2013
EdCeptional
EdCeptional is a blog of the EdReach initiative, identified by them as one of their channels. It is one of 18 channels listed on the EdReach web site at www.edreach.us. Other interesting titles include LitTech, TheatreCast, EdGamer and Wilderness Classroom. In fact there is such a breadth of information that navigating it all can be a bit overwhelming at first. Some links go to other EdReach.us pages, some to external ...
Published: 2013 by EdReach , Reviewed: April 25, 2013
Mango Reader
Mango Reader is a free interactive reading platform from tech startup MangoSense. Mango Reader allows users to create books and read existing Mango Book content enhanced with video, audio and quizzes. Although the Reader platform is free, users need to buy Mango Books from the Mango Reader store. Most Mango Books are free or inexpensive ($0.99 to $3.99) and several children's classics are available (Rapunzel, Little Match Girl, ‘Twas The ...
Published: 2012 by Mango Reader , Reviewed: February 20, 2013
10 Apps for Learners Who Struggle with Reading and/or Writing
This blog post from Paul Hamilton’s “Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner” focuses on free or low-cost iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch applications to help students who struggle with reading and writing. Hamilton has compiled summaries and links to information on GoodReader, Dragon Dictation, Nebulous Notes, CloudOn, Side By Side, Type on PDF, Idea Sketch, Text Grabber, vBookz PDF Voice Reader, and AudioNote. The majority of these are ...
Published: 2012 by Paul Hamilton , Reviewed: May 22, 2013
Fun Educational Apps
Created by a parent, the Fun Educational Apps site reviews iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch applications. The range of listed software is enormous, with the reviews sorted by age (from 1 to 12+) and by specific categories (reading, math, science, etc.) to make searching simple. Free and low cost applications are featured, though costs vary widely across all the reviewed software. Giveaways are common as are sales from developers and ...
Published: 2012 by Fun Educational Apps , Reviewed: April 26, 2013
MITS Freedom Stick
The Freedom Stick is a USB "thumb" drive with a large collection of public domain software intended to provide increased access for students with disabilities. The concept and contents were developed by the Regional Support Centre - Scotland North and East with some support from Mozilla. It has been packaged as the MITS Freedom Stick by Michigan's Integrated Technology Supports (MITS) in Lansing, Michigan and made available through their web ...
Published: 2012 by Michigan's Integrated Technology Supports , Reviewed: February 20, 2013
Tales2Go
Tales2Go is a literacy tool in the form of audiobooks. With a library of over 2000 books, children (and adults) can listen to popular books, following along with a hard copy version of the book, or just listening for pleasure. Research has shown that struggling readers benefit from audiobooks in learning phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Tales2Go is not disability specific and can be used to enhance literacy ...
Published: 2012 by Tales2Go , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
Doorway Online
Doorway Online is a collection of free learning activities originally developed with funding from the Scottish Borders Council in 2009. Since that time the activities have increased in scope to include Literacy, Math, Typing and Memory activities. The site includes accessible educational activities that learners will find easy to use independently. Each exercise has a range of accessibility and difficulty options. Accessibility is found through keyboard, mouse, touchscreen or scanning ...
Published: 2012 by Doorway Online , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
Tips for College Success by Nigel the Fox
This booklet with tips on how to succeed in college is a fun, cartoon-like way to get some valuable tips for students transitioning to college. There are 12 tips from meeting the professor before class starts to using technology such as audiobooks, PDF's, iPad, iPhone,and MacBook. Each tip provides an explanation, strategies for use, and links to resources when appropriate. Each tip also has a link to a "student" who ...
Published: 2012 by Amir Bar and CAST , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
Adapted Mind
Adapted Mind offers online skill-building for mathematics and reading concepts for grades 1-6. Several lessons in each grade level are available for free and the lessons can be viewed online at home or in a classroom. Clicking the "Start Math" or "Start Reading" buttons displays lessons sorted by grade level, with easy site navigation to focus on different skill sets for either subject. Alongside the free resources, Adapted Mind has ...
Published: 2012 by Adapted Mind , Reviewed: December 07, 2012
Vision Assist
VisionAssist is a handheld electronic magnifier app that utilizes the iPhone, iTouch or iPad. It is designed to be a portable solution for people with low vision conditions. As users may often be carrying their iPhone or tablet, this is a very convenient app for those times when there is small print and/or a low light reading situation. The app can also be used with Apple TV and a television ...
Published: 2012 by Slinkyware , Reviewed: October 11, 2012
Tapikeo
Tapikeo helps users create storyboards, picture books and flashcards that include captions and audio. This software could conceivably be used to create social stories, talking schedules, and custom soundboards with up to 45 images. Tapikeo Premium allows emailing grids to other Tapikeo Premium users, and the ability to import for free all the predesigned grids from www.tapikeo.com. Tapikeo is available in the iTunes App Store for $2.99 (includes the in-app ...
Published: 2012 by Jean-Eudes Lepelletier , Reviewed: September 24, 2012
StoryKit
StoryKit is a free iPhone app elegant in its simplicity and impact. It comes with 4 public domain stories with text and pictures, but its real power is in the ability to very quickly create new stories: type in text; add original illustrations, pictures, photographs; add sounds and speech; and then upload and/or email the completed story while maintaining complete privacy. Even very young students can use this app independently, ...
Published: 2012 by ICDL Foundation , Reviewed: October 11, 2012
James Nuttall Blog
Dr. James Nuttall worked at the State of Michigan Department of Education for 30 years. He worked in a variety of roles within the Special Education Unit. Born two months premature in Denver, he developed an eye disease associated with prematurity, retrolental fibroplasia (RLF), which left him legally blind. While in school he had difficulties learning to read. "On a sixth grade reading test I could read only 27 words ...
Published: 2012 by James Nuttall , Reviewed: December 03, 2012
Accessibility Guide for Educators
This site, developed by Microsoft, has information useful for educators who want to learn about technology and making classroom technology accessible. There are two classroom accessibility guides that you can download for free. One has information for Windows XP users and the other information for Vista and Windows 7 users. The guides are also available in Spanish. The guide for Vista and Windows 7 has three chapters and a resource ...
Published: 2012 by Microsoft , Reviewed: December 03, 2012
Start-to-Finish Online Accessible Library
So much information is going to the ‘Cloud’ including Don Johnston’s Start to Finish books which have previously only been available on CD. This now makes them accessible to those who use Web-enabled mobile devices, iPads or computers. The collection is built on the same principles as the original Start to Finish collection where books are narrated by trained readers and are edited by speech language pathologists. The books are ...
Published: 2012 by Don Johnston, Inc. , Reviewed: September 24, 2012
Lexiatech
Dyslexia and other difficulties with language can impede successful learning. Medialexie products are designed to help students read and write successfully and to learn organizational skills. This website describes the various products in the Medialexie line. There is a word prediction tool that works with phonetic writing, a customizable toolbar, dictation and transcriving, which allows a student to create a sound file and then convert it to text, an enscriver ...
Published: 2012 by Lexiatech , Reviewed: November 13, 2012