ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG | INVENTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Over the past couple of years I have done a number of technology sessions at my local public library which have pretty well attended. This year I decided to do a presentation on Evernote, which I thought would be of interest to the community  I have been an Evernote user for over 5 years and use it more and more for my own personal and professional needs. During the presentation I demonstrated how to use the Evernote application on a computer, iPhone & iPad. Using my trusty Epson PowerLite 915W projector, I am able to connect my laptop via a standard USB cable to the projector and connect my iPad via the VGA cable. Using the Epson Remote that is included with the projector, I can quickly switch between the two devices which makes it really handy and easy to switch between the computer and the iPad when doing presentations. I should note that the USB connection sends both the video out and audio to the projector which makes it a really easy set up when doing presentations. During the presentation I used a presentation deck that I created with the Haiku Deck app on my iPad which I then imported into Keynote. Once the Haiku Deck presentation was in Keynote, I could now use the Keynote Remote app to move through my slides which works really well. I will do another post about this workflow in  the near future. I am really enjoying using Haiku Deck and the finished product looks like I hired a graphic designer to create-in fact I did it myself and you too can with Haiku Deck. Below is the Haiku Deck that I used for my presentation. Enjoy!

Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad

I just learned about this new Twitter application from Vernier Software & Technology called Go!Tweet which can provide real time data capturing that is sent and posted through your Twitter account. Imagine classrooms linked across the globe using this technology to capture real time scientific data using Twitter. It is really simple to get started using this new application. First you will need a Twitter account. Second, you can download the Go!Tweet application from Vernier which at this time is only available for the Macintosh. Thirdly, you will need to have one of the following digital sensors:

• Go!Temp USB Temperature Sensor
• Go!Motion USB Motion Detector
• Go!Link USB Sensor Interface and a compatible sensor

Once you have the Go!Tweet application installed simply plug in your sensor and start sending your data to your Twitter account. I used my Go!Temp USB sensor this morning to send the temperature in my kitchen to Twitter. Now imagine have a consortium of schools doing a project and using the Go!Tweet application to send live data that can be tracked over Twitter- pretty cool! Remember that you can use the # hashtag to track your online data collection projects. Just have everyone who is involved in your data collection project use the same hashtag ie. #DataProject101 which can then be searched on Twitter. You can go into the Preferences in Go!Tweet and enter the hashtag that will automatically be posted with the data. Works like a charm! Now just wondering when Go!Tweet will be available for Windows?

When I went to pick up my mail this week I was surprised and delighted to to see a package from Simtech Systems, Inc. in my mailbox. When I opened the Priority Mailbox, inside was a beautiful purple jewelry box with the word MindMapper emblazoned on it. I opened the box an inside was a shinning gold USB MindMapper 2009 USB Edition of their mind mapping application. The 4GB MindMapper 2009 USB Edition is a portable version of their standalone application MindMapper 2009 Professional that can run on any PC by plugging into the USB Port and requires no activation to run. MindMapper 2009 USB Edition ships on a swivel USB drive which makes it really small and can easily fit on your key ring. Once you plug MindMapper 2009 USB Edition into your USB port MindMapper 2009 Professional automatically brings up a dialog box allowing you to jump right into the program. MindMapper 2009 USB Edition is an ideal tool for those individuals that need another license to run the program for home use or for those business people who travel and may not bring their computer with them but may access to a computer in an internet cafe or at another office location. It is an ideal way to store and save your mind maps that can then be used in a business presentation by simply plugging in MindMapper 2009 USB Edition and opening the map up from the drive. The MindMapper 2009 USB Edition allows the user to store and save your mind maps on the USB drive giving you access to your stored information.

For those of you who have not taken a look at MindMapper 2009 in awhile now is the time to do so. MindMapper 2009 Professional is a significant upgrade from MindMapper 2008 and now includes the familiar Fluid Ribbon Interface along with a number of powerful new features that can easily turn this mind mapping application into a presentation and project management tool. In the project management arena MindMapper 2009 Professional includes: task scheduling, Gantt charts, Resource Allocation, and integration with Microsoft Project. It is easy to assign Resources to tasks as well as dependencies and view them in a Gantt Chart. By default MindMapper 2009 sets up Finish to Start dependencies which can not be changed. You will find it easy to change the percentage of the task completed which can be easily visualized in the Gantt Chart. In the Gantt Chart View you can also have MindMapper 2009 USB Edition to track Actual versus Projected Costs. MindMapper 2009 offers a Scenario Mode which lets you use MindMapper 2009 in a Presentation Mode by isolating each of your branches. Once in the Presentation mode you can view your mind map in a presentation manner, in Full screen mode and moving through the slides by clicking or setting up a time delay before advancing to the next slide.

MindMapper 2009 USB Edition is a powerful mind mapping application with a built in Gantt Chart and Presentation Mode. It is easy to use and having access to MindMapper 2009 USB Edition makes it easy to work with the application- wherever you are as long as you have access to a Windows based computer and a USB port. So give it a try and let me know what you think.

I want to thank LaCie for sending me a iamaKey USB Flash drive to test. Looking at the design of the iamaKey USB Flash drive you feel like saying to yourself "How come I didn't think of this?" With so many different USB flash drives to choose from today in the marketplace, Lacie has created an inspiring design for their latest USB Flash drive that takes the form of a key. If you are like me you probably have several USB Flash drives in your desk, in your briefcase, or in your pockets. Inevitably you will misplace or lose one at any given time. So the idea of creating a USB Flash drive in the form factor of a key is really fantastic. Simply place the iamaKey USB Flash drive on your keyring and you are ready to go.

The iamaKey is scratch as well as water resistant and has gold connectors (Gold SIP) making it very durable. The iamaKey is extremely thin and lightweight and supports High speed USB 2.0 read transfer rates of up to 30 MB/s; and write mode of up to 10MB/s. The iamaKey USB Flash drive is compatible with both Windows and Macintoshcomputers and is available in a 4GB and 8 GB model. I had a chance to test the iamaKey USB Flash drive this afternoon and it worked beautifully-the transfer rates when copying and moving files were very fast and having the ability to place it on my keyring is really a dream come true. Now I know that when I need access to one of my files I can always count on it being on my keyring. The 4GB model of iamaKey is $17.99 and 8 GB model is $27.99. Lacie has added two additional USB Flash drives with a key form factor which they are marketing as LaCie itsaKey and LaCie Passkey USB Flash drive. The LaCie PassKey includes both a USB Flash drive as well as a micro SD card reader.

I'm sold on the iamaky USB Flash drive, and now all I need to remember, is not to try to use it to open the door to my home with it :-) Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Kurzweil Educational Systems announced today the release of Kurzweil 3000™ USB for Windows. With this release students can access all of the features of Kurzweil 3000 on any Windows computer by virtue of plugging in the device into a USB port. Kurzweil 3000™ USB for Windows is available in both the Professional and LearnStation versions. The Professional version also for the scanning of text while the LearnStation version provides all the features less the scanning capabilities. Here is a list of the features as noted on the Kurzweil 3000 website:

Key Benefits of Kurzweil 3000 USB for Windows

For Struggling Students

• Easily use Kurzweil 3000 at home or on other non-school computers.
• Save files and user settings — saving files on the USB flash drive enables students to have ready access to their important files regardless of what computer they are using.

For Teachers

• Gain immediate access to Kurzweil tools for students and teachers alike — without depending on others to install software.
• No installation of software necessary.
• Use Kurzweil 3000 on virtually any Windows computer — even at home.
• Bring Kurzweil 3000 to demonstrate at IEP meetings with parents.

For IT directors

• No installation of software necessary — less effort (if any) in supporting software installations.
• Provides an easy way to move software from one classroom or lab to another so that a limited number of licenses can be used anywhere in the school without having to install it on a network.
• Enable students and teachers to use software at home.

System Requirements

• Processor: 700 MHz Intel Pentium III (or faster)
• Operating Systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista;
• Memory: 128MB or if using VoiceText™, 256MB
• Disk Space: 200MB
• Screen Resolution: 16 bit high colors, 800 x 600 pixels
• USB 2.0 port
• Scanner: TWAIN compliant
• For audio file creation: MP3 encoder and/or Windows Media Player.
• For how-to videos: Windows Media Player.
• Sound card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 or other16-bit compatible sound card with speakers and microphone; keyboard and mouse.