Author: AccessAbility Smyles

A Windows command that I have found useful is “Netplwiz” which takes you to a dialogue box where you can enter the user’s details and if select the option that does not require a manual logon you can enable the device to loadup without the need to type a password. Useful if the user has a disability or cognitive processing errors.

The first Assistive Technology conference in the Lebanon has been a great success as speaker after speaker spoke of making things more accessible for everyone. Here is a screenshot from the local press showing a photo of the blind school giving one of several concerts delegates were given.

Daily Star, Lebanon and Microsoft Learning Tools

Microsoft says their Windows 10 Windows Defender is enough anti-virus protection you need. Certainly adding anti-virus software slows down the operating system. And sometimes Windows picks up what others don’t. But maybe the reverse is true to. What do you think?

Here is a link you can explore about what Windows 10 can do:-

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/comprehensive-security

Today, I fly in readiness for a two-day conference in the Lebanon. I am one of the speakers at the conference and the aim is to raise awareness of Assistive Technology in the Lebanon.  I am honoured and excited to be asked to do this. It fulfills a tick on my personal bucket list – international speaking! I have never done this before so it will be a first for me. The purpose of the conference is to showcase new and innovative ideas and how to exploit the power of technology to support and engage  students and those in education.

Example of  a popular social media/photography  app with subscriptions

I recently subscribed to this app on my iphone and then discovered to my horror that it charges a phenomenal range of in-app prices from £1.79 – £64.00 a month!! I got charged £16.00 one month. And it is not easy to unsubscribe. I did find this article helpful though and if you find yourself in a similar position I recommend you follow these instructions:-

https://support-splashtoppersonal.splashtop.com/hc/en-us/articles/230005267-How-do-I-unsubscribe-from-an-auto-renewing-subscription-on-iPod-iPhone-iPad-

In-app purchases can cost you a lot of money and honestly I would think carefully before clicking on them. They should warn you too if they are going to charge you and not just assume you want that plugin or set of themes, etc.

Anyway, be careful!

The British Assistive Technology Association (BATA) are putting on a free webinar on Tuesday 2nd April at 3:45pm for an hour. The subject is “Building knowledge through Social Media – an Educator’s Guide” We have two experts who want to share their knowledge with you. This arose as a result of asking “How Schools acquire knowledge of assistive technology” and getting quite a reaction from the Educationalists Special Interest Group (SIG).

Details of how to get your free ticket is here:-

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/building-your-knowledge-through-social-media-an-educators-guide-tickets-58540252471

I have just had an article I wrote for nasen published in the March edition of nasen connect. Hopefully, this will start a debate about the role of Assistive Technology in the UK. Since BECTA has gone there are no goto places for Information on using ICT as an Assistive Technology or a teaching and learning tool

Where do schools learn about Assistive Technology? I think it’s a bit hit and miss and we need to challenge schools who say its too expensive and deny SEN pupils their opportunity to show their ability. What do you think?