April 2012 | ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

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Free Bookshare App For Android

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, April 25, 2012 0 comments

Bookshare recently released Go Read for Android devices. Go Read is the Android version of Bookshare's app for iOS call Read2Go. The app is free and compatible with a number of Android 2.2 or higher phones and tablets. Features include direct access to Bookshare's library of accessible books, text-to-speech with synced sentence by sentence highlighting and the ability to read ePub books. To learn more about how to become a Bookshare member click here. To download Go Read click here. Click read more below to view screen shoots of Go Read in action.

Next Generation of PersonalBrain Released as “TheBrain®

Posted by Unknown Monday, April 23, 2012 0 comments

TheBrain 7 Augments Dynamic Knowledge Connections to Increase Focus and Data Accessibility on Users’ Desktops and in the Cloud.

Marina del Rey, CA – April 23, 2012 – TheBrain Technologies, the leading provider of dynamic visualization and knowledge management software, announced its newest release, TheBrain 7. The software enables people to connect information into infinite mind maps, modeling thinking and relationships in the real world.

TheBrain software, formerly known as PersonalBrain, has been downloaded by over a million users who seek to organize, visualize and share information more intelligently. Over half of the Fortune 100 organizations use TheBrain for digital brainstorming, research, project management, and as a complete knowledgebase to find and connect all their stuff.

“TheBrain 7 builds on our company’s guiding principle of flexible and fluid information access by offering even more ways to connect and link information,” said Harlan Hugh, TheBrain’s CEO and Chief Technology Officer. “The ability to prioritize and focus on the right information in context is critical. Your digital Brain ensures that your best ideas are at hand when you need them.’’

TheBrain 7 eliminates information overload and searching for files by giving users a clear view of their ideas and information. Unlike standard folder directories and search lists a “Thought” in your Brain can have many connections and contexts. TheBrain displays your Thoughts by concept or project, linked according to how you think. Thoughts contain relevant notes, web pages, and files and can be synced for easy access from the desktop and the cloud.

TheBrain 7 has over 50 new features and enhancements including:

· Next Generation Data Visualization and Mind Mapping – TheBrain 7’s updated user interface gives you the big picture on your information. New animated curved links make it easier than ever to connect and understand key relationships. Expanded preferences let you fine-tune your display, including the ability to customize links with more than 30 possible combinations.

· Enhanced Linking and Relationship Mapping –; TheBrain 7 lets you add more meaning to your connections. Links are now first class objects and can have arrows showing directionality, notes and attachments in addition to labels, colors and thickness. These powerful attributes allow precise concept modeling and give everyone the ability to capture and instantly recall how and why things are connected.

Seamless Integration between Cloud and Client – TheBrain 7 features tighter cloud/desktop integration which includes complete access to all your online Brains from your desktop and secure synchronization of data with TheBrain Cloud.

Increased Performance and Improved Database Backend – Unlike conventional mind maps, each Brain can expand to become a powerful database with thousands of topics. There is no limit to the number of Thoughts or links you can make. TheBrain 7’s increased speed lets users visually navigate and retrieve information even faster.

· More Tools for Getting Things Done – TheBrain 7’s user interface has been optimized throughout for increased productivity. Highlights include an optimized instant activate that prioritizes tags and types, a new calendar display engine, faster and easier color selection, reorganized preferences and controls, and smoother, faster syncing.

TheBrain 7 Pricing and Availability

TheBrain 7 is available for immediate download at http://www.thebrain.com and is offered in two editions: Free and Pro. TheBrain Free is offered at no charge. The Free edition does not expire and lets anyone link ideas and Web pages on their desktops and in the cloud. TheBrain Pro offers unlimited file management, advanced search, secure cloud backup, and much more. You can purchase TheBrain Pro as a desktop license only for $219 or with both the license and one year of services for $299, which includes future upgrades and the full suite of online sync and other cloud services.

TheBrain 7 Upgrades

TheBrain 7 is a complimentary upgrade to registered PersonalBrain 6.0 Pro users who purchased after April 30, 2011 or $100 if originally purchased before April 30, 2011. Existing users can check for upgrade discounts athttp://www.thebrain.com/store/upgrade/

The company is also offering an all-inclusive software upgrade and cloud services plan for $159 per year. TheBrain Service Plan includes

· All upgrades as long as your subscription is valid

· Online access of your Brain from a web browser

· Backup of your Brain online automatically

· Synchronization of your Brain across multiple machines

For more information on TheBrain Service Plan, please visit thebrain.com store, call 310-751-5000 or email sales@thebrain.com.

About TheBrain Technologies

TheBrain Technologies helps people make sense of the wide range of information they need to organize and assimilate on a daily basis. We believe that two Brains are better than one. And if you extend and capture your thinking about your projects and life you can get some amazing stuff done.

TheBrain's patented user interface is so flexible and fluid that you can link any file or concept to anything else. Everyone is encouraged to download TheBrain 7 at http://www.thebrain.com to visualize their thinking or e-mail info@thebrain.com for more information.

Media Contacts

Shelley Hayduk
TheBrain Technologies

310-751-5000
shelley@thebrain.com

Brigitte Senn
TheBrain Technologies
310-751-5000
bsenn@thebrain.com

Snap&Read by Don Johnston

Posted by Unknown Sunday, April 22, 2012 0 comments

Don Johnston recently introduced a new product named Snap&Read. Don Johnston describes Snap&Read as follows,

"The simple one on-button toolbar that reads any text on-screen as it floats over any application."

To use Snap&Read just press the selection button and drag to select the text you want to be read aloud with high quality text-to-speech. Snap&Read can read text in Flash, PDF and images files along with plain text. You can purchases Snap&Read on a USB flash drive and use the program on any computer. Snap&Read works the same on Macs and PCs. To watch a video about Snap&Read click here. To learn more about Snap&Read and its features click here.

Print From an iOS Device to Any Printer with the xPrintServer

Posted by Unknown Saturday, April 21, 2012 0 comments

iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch are great for many tasks. One downside is that it is difficult to print documents, pictures, spreadsheets, emails and notes. One solution is the xPrintServer from Lantonix. The xPrintServer allows you to print to up to ten network printers. Just plug in the xPrintServer and you are ready to go. It allows you to print directly from apps to non-AirPrint compatible printers. The xPrintServer is perfect for schools and bussnisses that need to print from iPads or iPhones. The xPrintServer cost $149.99. Click here to learn more.

Snap&Read- Simple & Elegant Text to Speech Utility

Posted by Unknown Thursday, April 19, 2012 0 comments

Snap&Read

Reading Interface

I have had a chance this week to test out Snap&Read from Don Johnston, Inc which is a clever reading utility for Windows and Mac users. Snap&Read floats on top of your existing applications and when you need it to read some text you simply click on and drag a rectangular region around the text that you want to read and voila the text is instantly read, complete with highlighting. Snap&Read uses the high quality Acapela speech engine and by going into the Settings you can easily slow down or increase the reading speed. Users can select from Ryan or Heather to read the text. The beauty of Snap&Read is that it can read text in Microsoft Word, PDF's, as well as Flash based websites which gives the user a simple and elegant way to read text. Snap&Read is available for $79 dollars and is available for Windows and Macintosh. Snap&Read can also be run directly from a USB drive giving students access to accessible text wherever they are. Take a look at Snap&Read today for an easy and effective tool for reading text in documents and the web.

Using the Boogie Board RIP with the Virtual Desktop Companion

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, April 18, 2012 0 comments

I have been having a lot of fun using my Boogie Board RIP over the last couple of weeks just doodling and drawing. However, I wanted to see if I could integrate it into my teaching and blogging and came up with a way to do both. Using the Virtual Desktop Companion software which is now available for Windows on the website, I was able to connect my Boogie Board RIP and everything that I write could be seen on my computer in real time with the software installed. Pairing up the Boogie Board RIP and ScreenR, I was able to create a short video with audio to show you what is possible.

Using both tools together I was able to quickly create a video and place it on my blog. Using the Boogie Board RIP Virtual Desktop Companion software application extends the usefulness of this product and opens up doors for creating more interactive and engaging content. I would be interested in your thoughts.

Smart eBook Interface Makes Navigation a Breeze

Posted by Unknown Friday, April 13, 2012 0 comments

A new concept eBook reader app improves navigation of eBooks on tablets. The app makes eBook navigation more like the navigation of a printed book. This concept is best for sighted users and may not work as well for the blind and people with physical disabilities. The concept app allows the user to flip through multiple pages quickly, find pages more quickly and more. Currently this is only a concept but may soon be coming to the App Store. While iBooks has an easy to use interface, this new concept seems to take it a step further. Click here to learn more about Smart E-Book Interface. Click "read more below" to see more images of the app in action.

Google Self-Driving Car For the Blind

Posted by Unknown Tuesday, April 10, 2012 0 comments

Google has been developing a self-driving car for a two years. Over the two years of testing the cars they have logged over 200,000 miles. The car has numerous sensors and an on board computer that can drive the car to a destination with out human intervention. In the above video the Google Self-Driving Car drives a legally blind man around town. Click here to watch the audio described version. The car can recognize stop signs, red lights, hazards and pretty much anything else. If the car makes a mistake the driver can hit the break or turn the wheel to control the car. In many states self-driving cars are not street legal. The Google Self-Driving Car is not available for purchase but offers a look into the future. Click read more below to learn more about the self-driving car.

Integrating Livescribe Pencasts with Moodle

Posted by Unknown Monday, April 9, 2012 0 comments

Tonight, I was teaching my graduate course and we covered different strategies that can be employed for students note taking. We spoke about outlining, mind mapping, and giving students partially filled in materials to help them with note taking skills. This lead me into a demonstration of marrying the Cornell Note Taking Method with the Livescribe Smartpen. I divided the page in my Livescribe notebook into the necessary columns and explained to my students how this could be used in the classroom to help students record the main ideas of the lecture. With the Livescribe Pulse pen I was able to demonstrate how a student could easily review the material that was recorded and how teachers could use the pen to embed the notes in a Learning Management System. At the college we are presently using Moodle as our Learning Management System and wanted to show my students how we could deliver the notes on the web using the Livescribe technology.

To get started I had my student take some short notes on the page and I sent the page to My Livescribe account. Once the page was successfully uploaded to my Livescribe account I made it public and clicked on the option to copy the Embed Code. Once I copied the Embed Code I went back to Moodle and using the Create A Web Page option - pasted the embed code and voila the page could now be played within my Moodle course for all of my students to see and listen to. Using this technique it is possible to embed Livescribe notes to wiki's as well as blogs. Livescribe makes sharing your notes a cinch and if you choose to you can view your notes on an iPhone or iPad using the Pencast app. So give these techniques a try and let me know how they work for you. Your students will be glad you did.

AT Class p. 1
brought to you by Livescribe

Custom Label iOS Buttons to Work Better With VoiceOver

Posted by Unknown 0 comments

If an app has buttons that are not labeled well for use with VoiceOver, you can easily edit them to work better. If you are not familiar with VoiceOver click here. For example if an app has a button that is not labeled VoiceOver will just say "button" when you select it. If you custom label the button you can make VoiceOver describe the action that the button preforms. This makes it possible for people using VoiceOver to know what button they have selected. To change the label of a button simply select the button with the VoiceOver curser and double tap and hold with two fingers. This tip will work with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.This will bring up a box where you can then enter in a name for the button. Watch the video above for more information.

Printing from the iPad Just Got a lot Easier- Lantronix xPrint Server

Posted by Unknown Friday, April 6, 2012 0 comments

One of the frustrating tasks for many iPad users is figuring out how to print directly from your iPad. Some schools have resorted to purchasing Hp Printers with ePrint technology that lets iPad users print directly to these printers over the Wifi network. Once these Hp printers are put on the Wifi network all

you need to do is go to the app, and if printing is supported, it will find the printer and print your document. Other schools have looked for software solutions which usually means that you have to install a printing app on the iPad and then use your Macintosh or Windows computer as a vehicle to route your docuuments before they hit the printer. Realizing the need for schools to have access to their network printers, Lantronix has recently released the Lantronix xPrint Server which when plugged into the network will automatically recognize and detect all of the printers on your network. With the Lantronix xPrint Server you are now ready to print from your iPad to any of your network printers- there are no apps to install or configure. The Lantronix xPrint Server saves you time and money. AssistiveTek LLC is proud to be a distributor of the Lantronix xPrint Server and is available for $149.95 plus S/H. Purchase Orders are accepted. Contact me if you need more information- this has got to be one of the best purchases your school can make if you are looking for an easy and inexpensive way to print from your iPad.

Learning Ally Audio App Updated But Still Missing Key Features

Posted by Unknown Tuesday, April 3, 2012 0 comments

Today, the Learning Ally Audio app was updated to version 2.0.4. The Learning Ally Audio app costs $19.99 from the App Store. You must be a Learning Ally (formally RFB&D) member to use the app. The app allows members to listen to audio books downloaded from Learning Ally on the go. The update adds the ability to download books over the web without having to connect and sync with iTunes. It also has minor user interface improvements.

On the downside the app does not allow users to listen to their audio books in the background. In other words, you cannot listen to your books while you view the printed text in another application. This feature is very important for sighted users who want to read the printed text of an iBook with the audio support. You also can't check your email, browse the web or anything do anything else. Once you close the app, play back stops. iOS has had the ability to play background audio for over a year, but Learning Ally has yet to adopt the feature.

If you are a Learning Ally member the Learning Ally Audio app is a great buy. If your not a member you cannot use this app. Read2Go, Bookshare's iOS app, is a more polished app. Click here and here to learn more about Learning Ally.

Screenleap Easy Screen Sharing

Posted by Unknown Sunday, April 1, 2012 0 comments

Using screen sharing software for a webinar is always a leap of faith. What do I mean by that? If you have ever attempted to host a webinar with one tool or another then you probably have experienced just how frustrating it can be to connect. Many of the screen sharing applications ask you to download plug-ins which can make the experience even more frustrating for those users who may be less technically inclined. That is why I was so glad to learn about a new screen sharing tool called Screenleap which I started to use last week.

First off, the screen sharing service is free, and if you are joining a session there is no software to install. It doesn't get any easier that this. I demonstrated Screenleap this week in my graduate class and within a minute all 20 of my students were viewing my screen. Great way to publish the teachers screen to your students in a classroom. All my students had to do was go to Screenleap and enter a 9 digit number that I posted- to begin the session and within seconds they were able to view my screen. This worked without a hitch and the ease of use was fantastic!

During the class one of my students wanted to share her screen so that she could demonstrate a math web site- so she initiated the screen sharing session and at the instructors station I entered the 9 digit code and then I was able to see her screen which was projected in the classroom for all the other students to see. Screenleap works as stated and probably is one of the easiest screen sharing applications I have ever used. So if you get the chance check out Screenleap you will be glad you did.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES