AR Testing with braille display/talking software and virtual instruction

Any blind child can take an AR test online using a braille display or talking software or both

Video also on Youtube: Dr Robinson teaches-AR Testing with braille display/talking software and virtual instruction

For lessons on all things blind and low vision, visit: www.yourtechvision.com

Mac and iTool manuals galore at AndreasHead

AndreasHead offers up a wikki that is plentiful of all types of Mac/iTool manuals to learn from, including the ipad which is floating into all corners of education.
In addition, Andrea offers many iTool lessons on Youtube---just do a search on what you need: type in ipad and a plethora of lessons will be populated for you to browse.

Toys for blind/low vision children

Discovery Toys is the place to go if you are looking for that perfect interactive toy for a blind/low vision child.  Go to this very accessible site and browse around to find the toy you need at Discovery Toys. If you need further information, contact:

Brandy Wojcik

Independent Educational Consultant

(512) 689-5045

ballstobooks@gmail.com

Bob Hope in Heaven

One of the GREAT ones of our time! WE can learn a lot from a good sense of humor!  

BOB  HOPE IN HEAVEN For  those of you too young to remember Bob Hope, ask your  Grandparents. And  thanks for the memories. WHAT A WONDERFUL  E-MAIL.   I  HOPE THIS WILL PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR  HEART. Tribute to a man who DID make a  difference.     ON  TURNING 70 'I  still chase women, but only  downhill'. ON  TURNING 80 'That's  the time of your life when even your birthday suit needs  pressing.' ON  TURNING 90 'You  know you're getting old when the candles cost more than  the cake.' ON  TURNING 100 'I  don't feel old. In fact,  I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for  my nap.' ON  GIVING UP HIS EARLY CAREER, BOXING 'I  ruined my hands in the ring. The referee kept stepping  on them.' ON  NEVER WINNING AN OSCAR 'Welcome  to the Academy Awards or, as it's called at my home,  'Passover'. ON  GOLF 'Golf  is my profession. Show business is just to pay the green  fees.' ON  PRESIDENTS 'I  have performed for 12 presidents and entertained only  six.' ON  WHY HE CHOSE SHOWBIZ FOR HIS CAREER 'When  I was born, the doctor said to my  mother, Congratulations,  you have  an eight pound  ham. ON  RECEIVING THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD  MEDAL 'I  feel very humble, but I think I have the strength of  character to fight it.' ON  HIS FAMILY'S EARLY POVERTY 'Four  of us slept in the one bed. When it got cold, mother  threw on another brother.' ON  HIS SIX BROTHERS 'That's  how I learned to dance.  Waiting for the  bathroom.' ON  HIS EARLY FAILURES 'I  would not have had anything to eat if it wasn't for the  stuff the audience threw at me.' ON  GOING TO HEAVEN 'I've  done benefits for ALL religions. I'd hate to blow the  hereafter on a technicality.'    Give  me a sense of humour;    Lord,  give me the grace to see a  joke, to  get some humour out of  life, and  to the person receiving this the grace to pass it on  to others.

Tricks to learning how to use the Braille low vision protractor

There are many wonderful tricks to use the Braille Protractor..watch the video here or on YouTube at: Tricks to learning how to use the Braille low vision protractor
If you need further help, Susan Osterhaus at the Texas School for the Blind has even more videos on Youtube

Geeks making the world a bit better for blind/low vision and others

Gary Bishop has created a wonderful site where you can get the latest greatest research on what is going on for all types of disabilities--or different abilities

I highly suggest taking a look at seeing what can help you: Just go to Gary Bishop--Geeks making the world a bit better

Assistive Technology Trainer Guidelines and Procedures

If you are looking for an extensive list of Assessment tools, Texas Department of Blind Services has delivered such a list on what trainers should be delivering and teaching to blind and low vision individuals.

See this extensive list at: Assistive Technology Trainer Guidelines and Procedures

A talking television for blind/low vision People

Panasonic launches a talking television

The World's first talking television has just come out, which promises to offer the blind world access to all the options sighted people take for granted.

Read all about it at:  Panasonic launches a talking television

ipad, braille display, external keyboard attach to teacher's computer for blind/low vision students

Learn how you can attach all these tools to a teacher's computer so everyone can interact with what is going on in the classroom, no matter how far away it is from the student

Watch YouTube video: ipad, braille display, external keyboard attach to teacher's computer for blind/low vision students

Play Clay—The Basic Recipe --teach shapes the fun way

Play Clay is so simple. It’s safe, Inexpensive, and encourages children’s own creativity. Kids can have hours of fun shaping, cutting, and making anything their mind can come up with. Add cookie cutters to show shapes.
Download your free recipe now:
Play Clay—The Basic Recipe --teach shapes the fun way

Free Online games for blind or autistic children

Only using the arrow keys, just about anyone can move around and navigate this website. Go to a multitude of different games and have fun by answering questions with yes, just the arrow keys. Try this site out: Hark the Sound

Create work, send to student using Dropbox, student opens on iPad, completes work then sends back to teacher using email

Learn how to create work on a Mac or Pc and send to your student on their iPad, ipod or iphone using Dropbox (iPad example is given, but same techniques work for other iTools). After the student opens and completes the work, they send it back to the teacher for correction.

Watch video at Youtube: Create work, send to student using Dropbox, student opens on iPad, completes work then sends back to teacher using email

iPad, Braille display with read2go -refreshabraille demo, but any will do

Learn how to download books from bookshare and read them in read2go APP. Use audio, braille display or both.

Watch the video that can make the difference:   iPad, Braille display with read2go -refreshabraille demo, but any will do

Web Site Resources for Blind/Low Vision games/products/tools

This list has been on going for years of all the many resources I constantly use with my students and parents. It is in no particular order yet, as it is constantly growing. If you use a particular site that has helped you greatly and is not on this list, please let me know and I will add it for everyone else also. Download your free copy by clicking on link below, add to cart and check out and a digital download will be waiting for you in Your Lessons (a link at that top right hand corner of the site)

Web Site Resources

ebooks for your iPad or other iTool-Read2go

Read2Go is the most accessible e-book reader app for readers with print disabilities. Directly from within the Read2Go app, Bookshare members can find, download, and read books all on a single Apple device. No need to download books to computers, transfer files, or decompress files! Just download and READ! from the Read2Go website--watch the video

Read2Go Highlights

• Browse and search Bookshare’s entire collection
• Download and automatically unzip books
• Store books on the Read2Go bookshelf
• Connect via blue tooth to specific braille displays to read in braille
• Read books multi-modally (see and hear words at the same time)
• Read in text only or text-to-speech mode with built-in Acapela voices
• Control font size, color, background, reading speed and more!
• Volume purchase discounts available for schools

This ereader is truly one of the easiest readers to use. Once you type in your basic information and pick your configurations, just type in the title you want and it will instantly download from the bookshare site. Go out and find other periodicals and more with this incredibly easy reader. It will bring the world to your finger tips. Anyone with a reading disability will achieve the ability to see and hear a books.

Special Needs--There’s An App For That!!

“The Technology is brilliant, but the magic is in the teaching.” Phyllis Brodsky

       Just like any other learning medium, before using an iPad with your child or student, you

must first know the child’s vision and hearing, their level of foundational information, what

additional supports are needed. Apps should be chosen based on the desired outcome.

Think about what skills you are trying to teach, think about accessibility – can the child

see it, hear it? What additional learning supports need to be in place to make this understandable.

As with all aspects of teaching a child (either at school or in the home) you

must first ask why. What is the purpose of this activity? Is this to assist in communication, for

helping the child in concept development, to use in social interactions, to increase independence,

or to promote more positive behaviors. There are many apps that can be

used in each of these areas. Let’s separate them out!

 • Communication: Answers Yes No, First Then Visual Schedule, Proloquo2go, Tap To Talk

• Check out this video about Victor’s Voice!  http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/

us/2011/01/17/dnt.ipad.helps.boy.talk.WFMY

 • Concept Development: Uzu, Cosmic Top, Pocket Pond, Vocal Zoo, Peekaboo Barn

• Social Interactions: Fruit Ninja, 10 Pin Shuffle, 2 Player Xylophone, 1 on 1 Hockey, Align

Four, Tic-tac-toe

 • Literacy: Pop Out! The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Bob Books #1, Alphabet World, Letter

Tracer Preschool Letters, Flying Word

 • Math: Math Ninja, Math Bingo, Baseball 1 – 6 Facts

 • Independence: LookTel Money Reader

 • Behavior: That’s How I Feel, iReward,

 • Other Uses: Fluidity turns your iPad into a Light box!

          A simple but powerful app, That’s How I Feel, uses brightly colored and easy to understand

illustrations to help children express their feelings. The app is easy to use. Designed

with a traffic light in mind, the app uses three primary colors to express different emotions.

The app contains children’s most powerful feelings. Simple voice recordings convey appropriate

intonation for each feeling on That’s How I Feel.

 For more on iPads go to:

 •  Apps for Children with Special Needs

 • Apps for Digital Storytelling

 • Babies with iPads

 •  iPad Academy

 • iPodsibilities

 Taken from the West Virginia SenseAbilities newsletter, Winter 2012, pg. 8

What a blind child should do when the class is asked to create a Poster Board

When a child is asked to create a poster board or anything with paper and pencil and cutting out pictures, I direct them toward a PowerPoint presentation.

Blind children can easily create an elaborate or simple PP depending on their skill level. Last week, such an event came up with one of my newer students. Her skills are basic so we kept the PP basic. We went into the Internet and copied all the pictures out that she needed...yes she did this all by herself with just my verbal cues---she learned how to route her JAWS cursor to where it needed to be and use a special right click on a keyboard that brings up all those special options to do what you need to do--on a laptop as the commands are different on a desktop--this is not the applications key. There are many tricks in getting the perfect picture and she is on her way to learning these skills. When she saved all her pictures, she went back to her PP and inserted them where they needed to be. We did all the placement of the Title and pictures and over the weekend she did all the writing for each slide in the correct text box.

Any graphic information that she is unsure of, the assistant makes a 3-D item so she can feel---happened to be science --wikki sticks,pipe cleaners--and you can burn off different parts of the pipe cleaners to make a multitude of different textures (she created a peptide model), placed with braille labels ( braille label out with just as much blank space so you can bend the whole braille label around the pipe cleaner to stick it, which can be easily read by the blind student).
Lessons to help you teach:
PowerPoint, save pics from Internet and place in presentation-audio/visual lesson
PowerPoint Office 2003, taking you from Basics to Presentation with JAWS
PowerPoint Office 2010-taking you from the Basics to Presentation with JAWS

Teacher's computer connects directly to Student's iPad or iTool wirelessly

How many of our blind/low vision students are sitting in class now with an iPad, learning the new way of technology, but are not sure now to access what the teacher is demonstrating on her iTool or PC on the screen in the front of the room?

The Air Display APP has changed all that. By downloading Air Display onto your PC or Mac and iTool--which happens to be an iPad the majority of the time in the classroom, whatever the teacher is doing on her computer can be immediately projected on the student's iPad. If the teacher asks the students to demonstrate their skill in the front of the room, the blind student can sit at her desk and input the information right on their iPad and it will project on the teacher's computer and onto the front room screen. Technically, ALL the students can use this technique right from their desks. Our students just happen to be using Zoom effects---they still need to work on the Voice Over with Braille Display...there are still too many hiccups with this use.

If you would like more information on how to accomplish this task, go to avatron.com/apps/air-display and create that extra monitor that can be interactive or just viewed up close and personal.

Books Featuring Characters With Blindness and Visual Impairment

Hundreds of titles about stories of Books Featuring Characters With Blindness and Visual Impairment-(click on link and open file)-Find the right book for your situation. You will need to add to cart and check out to open the file.

This list is taken from many resources, most of which were in print without information of where it came from. They were scanned and added all together.

 If you know of other titles that are not here, please let me know at yourtechvision@gmail.com so I can add them to the list.

New iPad 3-A Touch Screen you can FEEL

In about a year Seneg and Apple will be putting a tool out there where you will be able to feel pictures and graphics on a flat screen iPad. Where schools are switching to using iBooks and etext, this could mean the chance for blind/low vision children to interact with the graphics in the text book. If you would like to read more about this incredible upcoming tool, go to:

Rumor: New haptic feedback touchscreen bound for the iPad 3
and another View of the Retinal Display

Evolution of Braille

Anyone interested in reading about the evolution of Braille and the importance of this medium is invited to read all about it at the Braille Authority: February 2012: BANA releases complete article on the Evolution of Braille

Braille Touch to text on a phone

Georgia Tech iPhone App Could Help Blind Users Text

Watch the full video from the link above on how anyone can learn how to quickly braille text for messages on a phone and only on a phone.

Don't just Graduate, but LEARN along the way

This situation comes up more often than is good for the blind/low vision population. Having parents who want their child to graduate so badly, but do not really care if they learn along the way. Or, somehow they believe that when they get to that graduation stage all the things they did not learn will somehow miraculous appear through osmosis, escorted by a para of course because the child failed to learn how to walk around on their own. Along the way, the parents insisted a para do the work with minimal effort from the child and when the child went home, the parents pushed the lessons to completion, only to have her do poorly on tests. Parents getting angry because of the low scores, they have the student's work reduced even more. She does not learn the same content as her peers, which will harm her in the future.

The parents do not realize that all their efforts in getting the child's workload reduced and having a para glued to the child's side all day will have a very negative effect on the child's life, her confidence, self-esteem and how she views what or rather what  a blind person cannot do because she was never given the chance to prove herself. They essentially are telling the child: "You cannot do it on your own. You need help all the time. You will fail without help."

The solution--backup. Don't push through, but increase blind skills learning so the classes that are being taken, the student can do on their own. Instead of taking 5 general education classes, reduce that to 3 or 4 (depending on how low the child's skills are--maybe even think about a School for the Blind) and The Teacher of the Blind gives instruction on how to complete the assignments without help from a para or parent. The child's esteem grows as they realize they can do the work on their own, take a bus, go and do what they want.

Yes, this most likely will take longer than 4 years in High School. That is OK...they have a life time to now go out and achieve their goals with their own skills.

If you find you were one of those students...don't lose hope. There are great training centers for the blind around the country. One great one to check in to is Louisiana Training Center for the Blind

iPhone is so easy to use with voice over, anyone can send a message

♥   HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Easy lessons at: Mac/iTools

Come see Presentation on technology in action in ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

I will be giving a presentation on all the different types of technology that help blind/low vision students achieve success in school, on February 23-24. On the 23rd, I will speak on the what and when of technology at 1:30-2:45 and on the 24th will be speaking with a panel on the different types of technology used throughout schooling.

If you are in the area, please do come by and join the conversation of success in school.

2012 NEW MEXICO AER CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 23-24, 2012

SHERATON ALBUQUERQUE UPTOWN HOTEL

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

Making a Promethean Board flipcharts (smart board) accessible to blind students

How many out there are in school districts where a smart board or  Promethean board with flipcharts are used? These are graphic pictures that anyone with sight can easily see, but to a blind student, it is empty space. Many paraeducators have to take the pictures and turn them into text or braille for the blind student to read. There is the long way to do this, typing one character at a time ( as you cannot copy the images)  or a fast way.

Here is the fast way. You can download a personal  viewer from the company to load on your machine. Open the viewer then the flipchart, go to file, then to print. When the print box opens, you will see the "export as PDF" so save it as such. Place a folder on the desktop with these PDF files, so they are easy to find, especially if you are going to teach the blind student how to do this, and after all, that is what we want. Open Openbook or Kurzweil and go to open file. Go find the file on your desktop and have your OCR program open it. After it opens, go to launch it into word and it opens in Word. All the great text is there. Now be aware, all those pictures will not translate...they will turn out as a list of letters and symbols, so just go through and delete out what was meant for a picture. Now, all that needs to be done is those pictures are created 3-D by the para to go with this work.
One huge advantage I have discovered is on test day, the students can use their notes. If the flipcharts are in text format, then the blind student can do a quick "find" command on their computer and jump to the theorem they need ....actually faster than a sighted student pouring through their notes visually. Once they have the theorem, they alt+tab back to the exam and continue on answering all the problems.
Now this is just 1 way, but where there is a will there is a way to make the world more accessible.

Watch Video: Dr Robinson teaches-Making a Promethean Board flipcharts (smart board) accessible to blind students

iPhone, iPod Touch-VoiceOver, using Notes and the refreshabraille

Many students were fortunate and acquired an iPhone or IPod Touch for Christmas. Frustration soon turns to success with a few lessons. Learning how to use features in Notes makes these students successful any where else on their iTool. Once they can learn how to Turn contractions on and off, use auto correct features, use the rotor, move around with characters, words, lines,  edit, copy, paste, delete, move and undo mistakes, then Email note to whomever they desire their frustration turns to joy, then they stretch their wings and begin exploring other parts of their iTool.

Lesson at: iPhone, iPod Touch-VoiceOver, using Notes and the refreshabraille

Speech Recognition and Word-using numbers and words-audio/visual

Learn how to start using Speech Recognition, which is already built into Windows 7. You will go into word and begin to learn how to speak numbers and words and then how to correct any problems. Move around easily, copy and paste items you need.
Train your voice first and get set up on Speech recognition, as the more you train the better the outcome when you speak your commands at this lesson-just click to learn: Speech Recognition and Word-using numbers and words-audio/visual

Using a Braille display in WORD

Many students want to just use their adapted laptop or refreshabraille display to braille in content and move around. Click on this link: WORD and BRAILLE DISPLAY to see lessons to help you and your students learn how to
Go in and out of typing mode or braille mode
Using contracted and uncontracted mode
Navigating your pages
Moving around characters, words, sentences
Selecting and unselecting characters, words, sentences
Save, open and print
Moving around the ribbon and inserting a picture

Speech Recognition-give your computer verbal commands to make it move

Speech Recognition has come a long way. If for any reason you cannot use your hands or fingers, giving verbal commands to make your computer do what you want it to do if just a matter of learning the commands. If you are blind and need the same benefits. J-SAY provides both speech recognition and verbal feedback.
This is a quick demonstration of the power of speech recognition. This program is already built into Windows 7 already, so get going.

Watch  video at : Dr. Robinson teaches Speech Recognition

Keystroke Lessons at yourtechvision.com

For lessons on using only keystrokes, go to yourtechvision.com

If you want to advance in your computer skills and do it the fastest way possible through keystrokes, then this site is for you: yourtechvision.com shows you fast access to everything on your computer

At yourtechvision.com hundreds of lessons are ready to download, on Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word, other lessons on Braille Note and other blind technology under Blind tools TAB and Mac-iTools for for Mac -iPad- iPhone users-skills to learn yourself or teach a student. All lessons are compatible with Jaws talking software or Window Eyes too.

If you are low vision, there are dozens of lessons to see your computer better too. yourtechvision.com under the Low Vision Tab

If the lesson is not there that you need, make a request and it will be written up for you and added to the site

With any purchased lesson, you can go to contact page and request a private free lesson to get you up and running and answer your questions.

Braille Note-Learn how to use this adapted laptop for the blind

The Braille Note is an incredibly easy technology tool for the blind. Light, fast on and off; create file, folders, recordings with quick keystrokes. you can do math calculations and insert the problem with answer write into a document. The new Apex has a fast connection so you can answer all your emails directly from it as well as surf the Internet.

If you would like multiple lessons to get you going on how to do these skills, then here is the lesson for you: Braille Note Lessons to take you through the Basics to more advanced skills

How to teach touch typing to students or yourself using a Braille Display

Using simple methods, a student learns the keyboard quickly within 5 hours over 5 days. By the next week, they will be in their classroom typing their lessons...slowly at first, but you will see the speed pick up quickly as they do their work everyday on the computer. Before you know it, they will be typing faster than everyone else. It is daily typing that makes the difference.
Watch video at: How to teach touch typing to students or yourself using a Braille Display

Digital Handwriting -change to Text on a computer with a Tablet and handwriting software

One of the greatest problems for blind students in school is how to get handwritten notes as the teacher writes them in the front of the room. Now they can get those notes on a digimemo and can translate them into text that their talking software will read INDEPENDENTLY. They just hand the writing tablet to a sighted student who is taking notes for themselves anyway. They finish the notes, take their copy and hand the pad back to the blind student. The blind student takes the pad and uses a computer to translate the handwritten notes into text for themselves.
Yes, a para educator can do all this, but it will not make the student independent and the para educator is not going to graduate and do all this when for them in college or at their job. Using the DigiMemo and the handwriting software now gives a blind person the opportunity to get the information they need and translate the handwriting by themselves using a computer. This works with Mac also.

Watch Video: Digital Handwriting -change to Text on a computer with a Tablet and handwriting software

Biology, Chemistry-The Sciences for the Blind

Starting in the education field of the blind over 20 years ago, I depended on wikki sticks, beans, marshmallows, and any other type of object to put together to represent a cell or chemical bond for a blind student to touch and try and understand what was going on in the microscope that the sighted student stared into and went "Ah ha".
How do we give our blind students that "AH HA" moment? We can now.
A Japanese plastics company has created all types of plastic shapes, so all the student has to do is put them together to make the model that is requested by the teacher, to understand what is going on. Or if they are really young, a para educator or teacher can do the same for them, hand it to the child and explain all the parts as the child feels the model. Just so many more options now.
HGS HINOMOTO PLASTICS CO., LTD. has all types of models and shapes to aide in the creation and design of simple to very extensive models for blind children to see. Actually, sighted children find these models very helpful also. What helps one child, always seems to help the other too.

If you need need ideas on how to take notes and data independently, go to Independence Science and see the vast ways of possibility.

How to find a picture and save it from Internet Explorer 9 using JAWS

Take control of JAWS and GO  find pictures on the Internet using IE9--Internet Explorer 9 is a more accessible browser than others  to use these tricks--- save them and use them in your working documents---or just save as a beautiful background on your desktop
Step by Step instructions on how to access those graphics, routing cursor using the right click on the numpad, then saving the picture. Open Word, find the picture and insert it into a document.
This is an -audio/visual lesson for those who want to see and hear instruction. You can find the lesson at: Take control of Jaws in IE9- save pictures from Internet-audio/visual lesson