Author: AccessAbility Smyles

AAS good friends at Inclusive Technology have joined the VR bandwagon and provided what looks like a comprehensive and practical tool for special needs. As usual they don’t just sell the product without thinking about how it would work in a busy special needs classroom. Headsets don’t need a mobile phone. Sets come charged and ready to be used whenever they are needed. Only the price would put you off!  £1,995! But look at what you get:-

We are excited to introduce Inclusive ClassVR, the first virtual reality system designed for special education classrooms! Special and early education is all about learning through experiences. Rather than sitting in front of a screen or printed resource, InclusiveClassVR immerses students in spectacular 360º environments that enhance and complement their real-world exploration and play. The package includes Four standalone InclusiveClassVR Headsets, delivering fully immersive experiences under the teacher’s control. Unlike other VR headsets, Inclusive ClassVR does not require any additional devices, such as phones. Everything is fully integrated into the device, making it easy to use and super reliable. Inclusive ClassVR includes Virtual and Augmented Reality Resourcessuitable for students with learning difficulties, sensory impairments and physical disabilities. There are currently over 500 pre-made activities aligned to UK National Curriculum and US State Standards. Inclusive ClassVR includes a ruggedised Storage and Charging Case with active cooling fans, ensuring all your headsets are safe, secure and fully charged. Ready for students to use at any time. The Teacher Portal allows the teacher to deliver a defined playlist of resources to multiple headsets simultaneously. The teacher can highlight points of interest and monitor what each student is seeing to help guide them through the experience.

Today has been a day to learn more about voice driven virtual assistants. I think that we need a forum whereby people post their real-life problems for AT professionals to solve. Just as the website http:// IFTTT.com 

Today I got a “what’s new in Alexa” email and thought that this is a great way to send out a cry for problems needing a solution. Leading on for my last post it might look a bit like this:-

” How can I send a email message using only my voice”

” How can I watch audio description programs and freeview digital”

I think I call the website  “solveaproblem.com ” Solutions using voice driven virtual assistant devices would be posted as a reply.  Watch this space! This sounds like a Wiki!!

That’s a question my blind client asks me and it sounds simple but you can’t currently do this with Alexa. That’s because , I think, Amazon has been a publisher not an operating system. Whereas Google is an operating system. That’s my theory. #

But you can do it via IFTTT ( love that website!) and OK Google by turning on this fix.

https://ifttt.com/applets/479257p-post-to-facebook-by-voice 

If you were a blind user you would need to have your screen reader on to make sure you know what you have written. No unwanted or rude messages can be sent unintentionally!

There are number of groups out there that can provide a source of useful information all have to be joined I have listed a few I know that you can contact:-

Online communities give opportunities to broaden your vision and horizon’s . Here are a few, please add ones you use

I am off to London today for the above Volunteer’s day which should prove to be very interesting with both Orcam [BATA member) and Amazon speaking on the Echo device at the event. Also the Family Fund will be there so I hope to catch up with some past colleagues when I was involved with their digital skills project. For more details :-

https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/abilitynet-and-rnib-hold-joint-tech-volunteers-day-ibm-london?utm_source=email&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=AbilityNet-Newsletter-May-2018&dm_i=3SCI,EPZ2,339763,1K1OF,1

This is not really the IT I usually describe in my blog  I know but it is ICT – it does make smart use of a lot of tech which is built into the “blogging” station on board which is updated in realtime but I like the Ocean Tracker which  I have given you a link below. It shows the race in progress and if you like this kind of thing it’s very good indeed.

I stumbled across this event in progress whilst on a personal photo shoot in Cardiff. It was a magnificent day in Cardiff Bay and I went along to the festival that was happening there. I bought Mapfre – the overall race leaders at the time. Here is there team :-

And now the Volvo Ocean Race Tracker

This will end when this leg of the race finishes. Presumable opens again when they set of on the next leg!

Following a sequence of posts about Windows 10 I discovered the feature timeline. Try to remember what you worked on a week ago? You would like to date a piece of work you did and access it or maybe you forgot what the file name was and you needed to find it again . Then timeline is for you.

It’s located down at the bottom task tray next to the search windows:-

When this is clicked tiles appear with the things you have worked on. Useful for logging what you have done and when.