ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Below is the second ZoomReader promo code. To learn more about ZoomReader click here. To win the app enter the code into iTunes. The first person to enter the code will win the $19.99 ZoomReader app. Once one person enters the code it will no longer work.FNTMLYWNY...

Below is the first of two promo codes for ZoomReader. To learn more about ZoomReader click here. To use the code enter it into the redeem section of iTunes. The first person to enter the code will win ZoomReader. Once one person enters the code it will no longer work. If you...

ZoomReader is an fantastic OCR and magnifier app for iPhone 4. To read all about ZoomReader click here. Two promo codes will be posted to the blog within the next 24 hours. Keep checking back for the code because the first person to enter the code into iTunes will win....

Always in search of the more perfect gadget, this past week I received my Logitech Wireless Speaker Z515 from Amazon and had a chance to use it with both my PC and iPad. The Logitech Wireless Speaker Z515 is a very aesthetically pleasing sculpted charcoal black speaker...

A new category added to the iTunes store shows off special education apps for many differnet learners. The apps are sorted by categories including communication, hearing, vision, literacy and more. The list can help teachers and students find applications to fit...

I have been using Adobe FormsCentral since its release and have found it really easy to create very professional looking forms which I have used for workshops, webinars, and demonstration registrations. One of the missing features of FormsCentral when it was initially released was...

The Intel Reader and ZoomReader can both help people read. Both OCR printed text and then read the text aloud. The ZoomReader has more features then the Intel Reader. In my test the ZoomReader app recognized and read the text faster then the Intel Reader. To download the ZoomReader app click here. Watch the video above for more info...

The Long Division and Long Multiplication apps for iOS walk students through math concepts step by step. The apps help students master new concepts and improve on old skills.  Both apps are $1.99 in the iTunes App store. Long Division iTunes link. Long Multiplication iTunes link.  These apps are only two in a series of 18 math...

ZoomReader is a combination of a text-to-speech reader, OCR (optical character recognition) reader and zoom magnifier. The app is compatible with the iPhone 4. ZoomReader can help people with many disabilities and challenges including low vision, blindness and dyslexia. The...

Alarms are very important to wake people up. People with hearing impairments can not hear when the alarm goes off. Luckily there are vibrating alarm clocks to wake hearing up people with hearing impairments. There are many models of vibrating alarm clocks at a variety of...

Some students may need tests and quizzes in an electronic format for various needs. Teachers may be hesitant to distribute tests and quizzes ahead of time because of academic integrity concerns. With Microsoft Word you can encrypt tests and quizzes and securely distribute them to students who need electronic...

Bubble notes is a great feature in Kurzweil 3000. Bubble notes allows teachers to easily assess students. Bubble notes also helps students easily complete tests and quizzes. To insert a bubble note go to tools, then notes, and then bubble notes. When a student reads up to a bubble note it will automatically open and be read aloud. Bubble...

The above video is a short example of how to use online downloading in Kurzweil 3000 version 12. Online downloading allows users to download content from many sources directly into Kurzweil. Kurzweil allows users to download books Project Gutenberg, Bookshare and many more. To use online book downloading go to the online menu and then select search...

The iPad has many accessibility features built into the software. iOS includes VoiceOver, white on black and zoom. To learn more about iOS accessibility click here, here and here. A new concept case has a built in refreshable Braille display. The Braille display is...

Apple next operating system upgrade for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch will include a new app called Reminders. iOS 5 is set to be released this fall. To learn more about the accessibility features in iOS 5 click here and here. The Reminders app will is a to-do list that notify...

While I was on vacation last week, I received a Press Release from CS Odessa about the release of the new MindTweet feature that was now integrated into to their flagship product ConceptDraw MINDMAP, and just today I had a chance to give it a try. Once you install the latest version...

Today, Learning Ally (formally RFB&D) released a substantial upgrade to their iOS app. Learning Ally Audio is available for $19.99 on the iTunes app store. The app allows Learning Ally members to download audio books directly to their iPod Touch,...

As a presenter and consultant, I am on the road a great deal doing presentations and am always on the look out for new tools and gadgets that makeS my life easier for me. I would like to share a couple of these tools with you which I think you will enjoy using. The first gadget is...

Today, Assistive Technolgy Blog Podcast became available on the iTunes store. The podcast contains a short summary of every article posted to bdmtech.blogspot.com The new Podcast is an easy way to keep up with the blog while on the go or away from the computer. The Assistive...

Using a dictionary can be very difficult if you do not know how to spell the word you are looking for. The free Merriam-Webster app for iOS and Android solves this problem. The app allows the users to speak their search into their device just with their voice. The speech recognition is...

A new font claims to make reading easier for dyslexics. The font is named Dyslexie and is not yet available to users outside the Netherlands. Dyslexie makes small changes to letters that make reading easier for dyslexics. The font makes letters more recognizable then standard fonts. Dyslexie is currently in use at a small number...

For people with limited uses of their hands using a mouse can be difficult if not impossible. People who do not have hands or who are paralyzed can not use a mouse. Camera Mouse solves this problem. Camera Mouse is a free application for Windows computers. Camera Mouse uses a web camera to track the users head and move the mouse...

iOS has support for refreshable Braille displays. A Braille display allows a blind user to access the device. Refreshable Braille displays are compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The Braille displays connect to your iOS device via Bluetooth. The pairing process is simple and quick. When the Braille display is connected to the device the...

Digital Librarian is a list of free online material sorted by category. Digital Librarian includes resources from around the web. When you click on a topic that interests you a long list of websites comes up. Digital Librarian is perfect for research projects. Once...

Yesterday, Apple released iOS 5 beta 5 to developers. One of the new features is hearing aid mode. Hearing aid mode will allow the iPhone to work better with hearing aids. In order to activate the setting in iOS 5 go to setting then general and then accessibility. iOS 5 is expected...

iTunes U is a free service that helps anyone who wants to learn. iTunes U allows any user to download lectures and PowerPoints from some K-12 schools and many collages and universities. To download a class lecture from iTunes U, search for the topic or school...

 The Chrome browser by Google is well liked by many users. To download Chrome click here. Now there are many extensions that allow you to speech your text into any webpage. This feature is enabled for Google search by default in Chrome. To read more about Google voice...

I have been kicking the tires as I explore the capabilities of Quartet Kapture over the last couple of days. Quartet Kapture works as promised and captures your hand written notes and ideas from a flip chart with ease. Here is a session that I captured and exported the notes as a...

ChromeShades is an extension on the Chrome Web Store. ChromeShades helps website developers make accessible websites by taking out all visual elements and displaying the webpage as a screen reader or Braille display would recognize the page. ChromeShades helps...

Braille is a system of raised dots that makes up the alphabet. Braille is the way that people with low vision and who are blind read text. Braille books are very thick and heavy compared to their print counterparts. Currently Braille users are using refreshable Braille displays...

Skype, the most popular video chat service just released a Skype for iPad. The app supports video calls on the iPad 2 over Wi-Fi and 3G data. To download the app click here. With Skype you can chat with other users using many other devices. Skype supports iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, Windows and Mac OS X. The Skype calls are free but data...

Android phones are becoming more and more popular. Android phones do not have built-in accessibility features like the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. iOS devices have many built-in accessibility features but Android phones do not. One feature that Android phones do include is voice input. With voice input you can touch the microphone next to...

I just started to market a new product called Quartet Kapture and was interested in finding out how many of you use flip charts in your meetings when brainstorming or facilitation conversatio...