Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
iPad for Environmental Control
While listening to a recent episode of iPad Today, the started talking about the Plaza hotel in New York City. The Plaza has decided to include iPad's in all of their rooms for their guests. What I found interesting is the custom app they will have installed. The app will allow guests to to control their environment in their room - lights, temperature, TV, drapes, fans, etc... - Plaza Hotel iPads. The app also includes options for room service, valet service, weather and more.
What strikes me about this story is how easy it would be to take this to the consumer side of things. While I have no idea the technical specs involved in this (the app is from Intelity and is short on details of how it works), I would assume it works via wi-fi. If someone would make a router that you could hook your devices too - temperature control, lights, tv, etc... then you'd have a device that could control everything in your house.
I can imagine people with physical disabilities, who are able to use an iPad, would relish the ability to have more control over many parts of their life with this type of app. Having everything all in one place would be very convenient. From what they said on iPad today there is no plan to make this app available to the app store in general, but I for one hope that someone sees this opportunity and runs with it!
Patrick
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011
QR Codes in the Special Education classroom
For those of you without smartphones...it's a link to my About.me page. So what...why take a picture with a smartphone, what's the point? Well, my point is that there is more to this little symbol than it seems. Imagine being able to read this symbol using a webcam, most laptops have them these days, now imagine your class full of students going to the correct webpage without you having to help them! Here's a screencast of what I'm talking about. By making simple QR Code sheet, you can hold it up to the webcam and voila, instant website!
Ok, so how do you do it? It's actually quite simple. First find the site you want a code for, copy the site, then head to goo.gl, paste the site into the box and click shorten. You'll see a list of the links you've shortened, click on details next to one. On that page you'll see the your QR code in the top right corner, right click and select "save image as..." Print it out and you're ready to use it or better yet, sync that picture to your iOS device and hold that image up to the webcam (it works really well)!
So the next think you need is a way to read the QR Codes. The program I'm using is call QRReader - you can get the directions to download it here - QRReader Installation. Once it's installed you can read any QR Code, just make sure it's well lit and you hold it straight. It takes a little practice, but I'm sure most kids will get it pretty quickly!
This is one of those ideas that can be used in many different situations, but I really see it shining as a way for students who can't type to have access to their favorite websites. Or instead of a teacher putting the link on board and then fixing the link on 5 different computers. and I'm sure there are many more uses for them. Good Luck!
Patrick
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Monday, February 14, 2011
#AppMondayTAS - Expressive
Expressive was developed in order to improve the communication abilities of individuals with a communication disorder. It does not matter if an individual is having difficulty communicating due to autism, apraxia, or any other communication disorder, Expressive will give that person the ability to express themselves through the use of pictured images and corresponding audio.It is designed to be a mid-level communication system, above static audio generating systems (like TapSpeak Choice) and below full communication suites (like Proloquo2go). It allows individuals to easily navigate simple questions, places, people, verbs, feelings and basics. There are quite a few built in phrases and messages. The interface for adding new pictures/symbols is quite easy to use. If you choose an application image the sound is provided for you, if you choose an image from your library you can add your own sound.
Navigation around the app is simple, a home and back button are provided as well as delete and add buttons. You can turn off the edit mode in the Settings Menu on your iOS devices. You can also choose between Male and Female voices in this area. The app is responsive, even on older devices, and works well. So if you are in the market for a mid-level communication device/app this is might be a good option for you. Expressive is $29.99 and the developers inform me that an update is forthcoming adding more images.
Patrick
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Sunday, February 13, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Facebook for Parents
Larry Magid has created a very comprehensive document called Facebook for Parents. This document which is updated on a regular basis covers all of the safety and privacy settings for Facebook. They even include a cheat sheet for suggested settings for teens - Suggested Settings. There is a lot more information contained in the document, and I think a good read for any parent of a teenager or upcoming teenager!
Patrick
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011
#AppMondayTAS - Pictello
Pictello is a very full featured app, that allows for creation as well as consumption. Pictello allows you to create stories using pictures from your iOS device. The app includes text to speech, but also allows you to record your voice if you want. You can download more voices (British & American) for free through the options menu.
There are a ton of options for creating stories including top & bottom labels, and it can read both, one or none, different voices, and other options. The interface is easy to use, and includes a wizard mode to help you create stories. One very useful feature is the ability to share stories between devices. By creating a free account you can upload and share the stories with other Pictello users. You do need to use a unique code to share the stories.
PIctello is $14.99 at this time, but I have 1 free code to giveaway this week. As always you can enter up to 3 times, using the following methods:
1. Comment on this post
2. Tweet about this post using the hashtag #AppMondayTAS
3. Like the Teaching All Students Fan Page on Facebook & leave a comment
Get your entries in by Thursday, 2/10 and good luck!
Patrick
Crossposted at iEAR.org
Disclaimer - I received a copy of this app to review for this post.
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Sunday, February 6, 2011
Weekly Diigo Links (weekly)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
iAdapter Case with Speakers for iPad
Just a quick post this very snowy morning, and hope that you are enjoying a snow day! I thought I would share a new case for the iPad from AMDI. This case comes with dual speakers, rechargeable battery, a carrying strap, rubberized exterior & a sliding cover that goes over the home button (to help keep kids from leaving an app!). This is the first case I've seen with speakers for the iPad so it has a leg up on much of the competition...it also has a $198 price tag. :( If I had an iPad I would be interested in trying it out, but the price bothers me.
Patrick
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