“I have been having an Alzheimer’s Patient experiment with using SIRI to text his family and friends. The gentleman can no longer read or write or dial a phone. While there are some areas of difficulty, he is able to communicate with loved one’s in a manner that has been lost to him over the seven years since his diagnosis.
I looked at a number of other dictation apps prior to trying SIRI. No one comes close to SIRI’s simple functionality .
Author: AccessAbility Smyles
Specialist ICT SEND Consultant,
Committed Christian,
Loves photography and computing
Plays piano and guitar - both badly!
SENCO’s – Would you like up to date information on Assistive Technology ?
AAS is a way you can keep up to date in the busy field of education. Our blog here gives insight, information to aide your work. IT moves at such a fast pace with changes happening almost daily. Couple that with the slow progress that it is in introducing new technology into educational establishments there is bound to be a tension.
AAS aims to help smooth that and if you subscribe to this blog ( on the front page is a link) you will have these posts sent directly to you. I promise you that they will have really useful information by a proven specialist in Assistive Technology!
Make you own apps with App Furnace
Green Screen Creative Media
AAS are offering training in the use of Green Screen Creative Media to schools and settings who want to develop their use of this exciting creative media.
Introduce your pupils and students to making information multimedia whilst learning how to work together as a team, communicate through speaking to camera, acting out historical events or developing your interviewing techniques.
AAS can come into your school or setting with all the necessary kit and do a session with either classes or individual teachers to teach them what they will need and how to create lesson plans to support your current practise. Raise achievement levels as pupils write a storyboard and script and learn how to speak to camera. Increase teamwork skills by working out the roles to produce a media work. Finally, have a product that can be used in assemblies, used on your school website, or for personal portfolio.
AAS use an iPad with sufficient memory to record and retain information which can be shared through online cloud storage. Information on apps to use and equipment you will need as well as methods to employ are part of the training
1.5 hr session £150
3 hr sessions £250
Full day £500
For further details contact us – email: myles@aas123.com mobile : 07760473943
Working with Autism – AAS at your service!
| “Working with people with autism you soon realise that unless you get their permission to work with them you will not move far in offering new skills. For some people this journey even to allowing them into their world takes a long, long time. That is why AAS have created this new approach using ICT.”
Extract from ” The Power of Permission.” Myles Pilling, Sept 2015 Interaction and EngagementThrough ICTNeed help with developing wider relationships with your child or adult? Does your child or adult have an interest in IT? Is there a need for transferable life skills? * Then this service may be of use to you using ICT to create a dialogue and bridge to relationships * Cost: £30 per 1.5 hr session How does it work? 1:1 sessions in a comfortable setting for your child Based around using IT i.e. desktops, laptops, tablets, ipads,etc Interested? Contact : myles@aas123.com Mobile:07760473943
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Switch Adapted Toys
From Inclusive Technology. Click on the link below:-
Handy Books
Handy books provide an app that enables dyslexic learners to decode text. They provide a service to users that enable you to put all your school text books to be accessible. Handy Book has a free demo on the play store but to use all the functions you need to have the full version which is £4.95 with full use of ebooks and word documents. They will render your documents for a cost of few hundred pounds. Bundles of 12 apps are also available contact : andy@handysoftware.co.uk
Free Vision Screening for schools
Tablet Academy are proud to announce we are supporting the new national campaign http://www.screeningforschools.co.uk
The programme entitles every school in the UK to a free vision screening kit which enables schools to check a child’s vision in 3 minutes. The online software then generates a letter home to parents informing them of any potential issues with their child’s sight.
Why support this programme?
There is evidence that 15% of children up to the age of 16 have an undiagnosed vision problem. These students can present with symptoms similar to specific learning difficulties, can be seen as hyperactive, or have a reduced attention span.
By simply moving a child to the front of the class, or having corrective vision aids like glasses, a child can achieve better results and avoid discomfort.
Tablet Academy are seeking support to raise awareness of this programme and would be grateful if you could share this with any schools you know. Please encourage them to visit http://www.screeningforschools.co.uk and register for their free screening kit.
The Grid AI website builder
Not to be confused with the assistive technology company SmartBox “The Grid” this is an AI website builder that makes your website for you. Literally , posting your links to websites as well as writing your own content. This is still in a beta version but it shows some of its potential. Their is also an iPad app as well. You can add posts and collect websites so far. Seems easy to add content but you need to follow the instructions.
I wrote about this project a while back thinking I had invested in a scam. But it is begining to emerge as a useful magazine style approach. Here is my example so far:-
Crick Software show their next product – Clicker 7
Yes, the secrecy and the wait is drawing to a close now. Clicker 7 will be launched in January 2016 and presumably to coincide with BETT 2016. This product has been a stalwart software for access to ALL kinds of users not just special needs for as long as I have been working in special need.
So what can you expect. I haven’t taken any images because it may change its appearance as it goes through final beta stages. It’s a feature packed edition of Clicker. Improvements and enhancements to make its use even more attractive to users.
It looks and feels similar to Clicker 6 with the following changes which I think have made the product even better!
User logon – is now more visible at the front of the screen
Password protection – new feature if you are concerned your clients or pupils get into the settings and change them
The main headlines are as follows , but there is much more to say that this short blog cannot adequatelty cover! Clicker 7 is pack full of features and useful tweaks that just makes it the best Clicker ever!
Eye-Gaze will be included within Clicker 7 sets but not on the writing pages! This could be used with a wide range of other dwell specific devices like Leap Motion and AirMouse . The usual access tools are there. Switches, mouse/touch. This is a product designed with tablets in mind.
Voice Notes are a new addition allowing audio notes to be made within a writing document. Great feature with colour coding to make access easier to see for the user. Up to 5 notes can be taken in a single document.
Clicker Boards – is a mind mapping tool that can instantly create a wordbank. I can see this being of great use to busy teachers who can use this one tool and send out the topic banks to their students at the same time. Great for supporting teaching and learning which is a big gap in the use of ICT useage. A key bonus is being able to drag and drop words created in the mind map. Drag and drop also works across Clicker 7, notably in Paint.
SuperKeys – is part of the Clicker 7 package so really useful for integration of access tools.
Dyslexic a font has been included to provide support for dyslexic users
Edit mode – more improvements . Now when using a modelled sentence you can edit on the hoof and see the changes sent to the set immediately. Previously, if you wanted to make changes you would have to start again.
Files – are colour coded to make it easier to identify within the Clicker family. There is also a small preview thumbnail to help also with identification. Maybe people would better be able to see what they saved their work as!
Wizards are kept and improved also. You can have instant access to changes and the package supports you by doing all the hard work in keeping the grids consistent and equally spaced. But you are not limited if you want to change all the features you still can .
Word pool – is also a new edition and deals with specific vocabulary that users may wish to have. Dealing pronunication and adding changes to the spell checker .
Costs? Well this has not been annouced other than this big change which la site icenswe will cost £2,200 but will give access to teachers, support assistants AND pupils at home! That’s a great new edition. I expect we will be more information at BETT 2016. I suggest contacting Crick at the launch to see what they can offer your setting.
Overall, a great new edition to the Clicker story. Well done to John & Anne Crick and the team at Crick Software!!
AccessAbility Solutions 