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
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
Panther Writer
We all type differently, and the traditional QWERTY keyboard has little logic in today's world other than being the "default" for those typing with 10 fingers. Others have been designed to be far more efficient but have never caught on. With Panther Writer, Panther Technology has rethought the keyboard and come up with an initial offering of four keyboards that provide increased access to a wide range of individuals who ...
Published: 2012 by Panther Technology , Reviewed: February 01, 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
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
Dexteria
Dexteria is a set of hand exercises that helps users improve their fine motor skills and strengthens handwriting readiness for children and adults. Dexteria includes the activities "Write It" (handwriting), "Pinch It" (for pincer) and "Tap It" (for finger isolation). Although they are billed as "therapeutic exercise programs", each activity is fun and engaging. See this app in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqvtvBn3hzU. The application includes an automatic tracking and reporting feature ...
Published: 2012 by BinaryLabs , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
KnowBrainer
The KnowBrainer web site is a combination resource and store. KnowBrainer sells their own third party add-on software for Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking and is also a reseller for Nuance products as well as related hardware such as microphones and digital recorders. Their software provides additional commands as well as specialized vocabularies for Dragon Naturally Speaking, which generally receive positive reviews. There are commands available for specific Windows applications such ...
Published: 2012 by KnowBrainer , Reviewed: November 13, 2012
I Have Cerebral Palsy...so what, I'm still awesome!
Jack, the author of this blog, is a 13 year old boy who has Cerebral Palsy. He began writing his blog over the summer with hopes of helping people understand CP and become more supportive and willing to interact with people who have CP. Jack uses a wheelchair and a communication device but he is not willing to accept limits on what he can do. He writes about how it ...
Published: 2012 by Jack , Reviewed: November 28, 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
Language Builder for iPad
Language Builder is a simple but excellent iPad app for students having a variety of problems with language creation. It joins Story Builder and Sentence Builder, other highly reviewed apps from the Mobile Education Store. It was rated the 3rd best educational app of 2011 by AppsForHomeschooling.com and the 9th best by SmartAppsForKids.com. The latest version 1.7.1 was released in September of 2012. In its simplest form, the Language Builder ...
Published: 2012 by Mobile Education Tools , Reviewed: November 13, 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
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
Texthelp Web Apps
This is the home page of the cloud-based products developed for the TextHelp Suite of webapps. Four products are available for use in browsers on mobile devices or computers. The products work on Mac or Windows operating systems. The products available are Read and Write Webreader, eBook Reader, Dictionary App, and a Speech App. Read and Write Webreader has a tool bar that interacts with content in your browser providing ...
Published: 2012 by Texthelp , Reviewed: August 13, 2012
Teachers with Apps
Teachers with Apps is a group of individuals who consult and/or field test apps that are being developed for use by children who learn better with technology. Teachers and software developers who create apps for use with the I-Pad can pay a fee to Teachers with Apps to receive a consultation or have them field test the new app before continuing with the process of licensing and marketing the app. ...
Published: 2012 by Teachers with Apps , Reviewed: June 21, 2012
myHomework
myHomework is an iPhone, Android and iPad app specifically designed to record and track homework assignments through to completion. It is very easy to use and provides a justification for students to have access to their iPhones both at school and at home. Students can organize their schedules either by time or block (i.e., Days A through F). They can add classes and locations, record assignments and track their progress ...
Published: 2012 by Rodrigo Neri , Reviewed: April 04, 2012
Welcome to the Office of Disability Services Assistive Technology web resource
The Keene State College Office of Disability Services (ODS) has an extremely well-organized and comprehensive website on assistive technology and transition. The home page defines assistive technology and then provides critical information on preparedness for transition. It emphasizes that the students who negotiate transition successfully tend to be those who are on top of their technology needs and tools before they arrive on campus. It then goes on to offer ...
Published: 2012 by Keene State College , Reviewed: April 25, 2013