Group items tagged

Click here to register!What:January's topics will be Edmodo and Backchannel. Edmodo is a safe and easy way for your class to connect and collaberate, share content, and access homework, grades, and school notices.Backchannel is a site that can be used to show a video, while students comment, write notes, and discuss the film in live time on the side of the screen. Click here for more information on Edmodo and Backchannel!Participants must bring a laptop.When:January 10th, 20125:00 - 7:00 PM MountainWhere:MSU Billings College of Education BuildingRoom 160Contact: John Keener - Phone: 657-1743                        Email: john.keener@msubillings.edu Debra Miller -  Phone: 657-2072                        Email: dmiller@msubillings.edu

An educator's and parent's guide to websites, blogs, articles, and videos that provide information and tools related to understanding, selecting, and assessing assistive technology and accessible instructional materials.

Webinar - All About Apps for Education: Just the Apps and Nothing but the Apps Thursday, May 5, 2011, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Mountain – Web-Based Training, register Discover the wonderful world of apps for education. This webinar will help you navigate and maximize your use of the iPod/iPad. The presenters will take you on an app adventure and share a variety of apps in such categories as early childhood, literacy, autism, communication, organization, and more. Funding for this webinar is made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Department of Education. The source of funding is from federal award, Grants to States-Special Education CFDA 84.027, P.L. 108-446 Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Basic Vocabulary Organization in PRC Devices Monday, May 16, 2011, 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mountain – PACER Center, Bloomington, MN, register This free workshop is for parents and professionals to learn more about Unity vocabulary organization included in all Prentke Romich Company PRC Communication or AAC Devices.  Participants will be introduced to the vocabulary options available.  This workshop will be held in the PACER computer lab where participants can bring their own device or use computer emulation software (Vantage Lite PASS software version 5.02).  The training will include hands-on experience to become familiar with how Unity supports creation of spontaneous novel communication, and to teach basic device operations such as customizing messages, changing icons, hiding keys, and backing up the device. The presenter is PRC Regional Consultant Helen Canfield.  The workshop is limited to 20 participants. Classroom Suite Version 4 Foundations Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain - PACER Center, register This workshop is designed for educators, SLPs, OTs, AT specialists, paraprofessionals and parents who are new to (or have limited experience with) Classroom Suite V.4. The goal of the Foundation Workshop for Classroom Suite V.4 is to enable educators to use Classroom Suite to teach early concepts, reading, writing, and math to students struggling because of learning difficulties or access issues. This workshop is sponsored by Cambium Learning Technologies. Registration fee $225. Kurzweil 3000 Version 11 Foundations Thursday, May 19, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain - PACER Center, register This workshop is designed for educators, SLPs, OTs, AT specialists, paraprofessionals and parents who support students with learning disabilities and are new to (or have limited experience with) Kurzweil 3000. This workshop is sponsored by Cambium Learning Technologies. Registration fee $225.00. Putting LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) to Work: AAC Strategies to Promote Communication Friday, May 20, 2011, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mountain – PACER Center, Bloomington, MN, register Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) is a therapeutic approach based on neurological and motor learning principles.  The goal is to give individuals who are nonverbal or have limited verbal abilities or speech a method to independently and spontaneously express themselves.  This workshop is for parents, professionals, and SLPs and will give an overview of the LAMP treatment approach, discussion of the components of LAMP and how and why children with autism would benefit from using a voice output AAC device, and discussion of features that are beneficial for teaching language to children with autism and other disabilities.  Lunch will not be provided.  A one hour lunch break will be taken and maps to area restaurants will be provided.  This free workshop will offer 0.5 ASHA CEUs.

Welcome to the most complete website designed to help people with disabilities, seniors and their families to find a cell phone and service! CTIA-The Wireless Association® and the wireless industry created AccessWireless.org to be your “first stop” to learn about the ever-changing world of cell phones and wireless services, and discover those that meet your specific needs.

At first many blind people thought that the iPhone would never be accessible to them, with its flat glass screen. But the opposite has proved true.

Editor's Note: This review of the iPhone will probably be the deepest you'll ever read. Austin Seraphin is legally blind, though he can some light and color. He believes the device is the future of accessibility for the visually impaired. The powerful story he tells here explains why.

It is that time of year again, and the AbleGamers Foundation is proud to present our 2010 Holiday Shopping Guide.  Each year we gather the top accessible technology from around the world and put them all in one place to make shopping for your loved one as easy as possible.  Our staff is comprised of gamers with all sorts of disabilities – no matter what disability your loved one has; our list will show you exactly what to buy to make any gamers wish come true.

In a much anticipated release, at this year’s Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) conference HumanWare and Code Factory debuted Oratio for the BlackBerry, the first-ever screen reader for the visually impaired using this smart phone. Oratio uses text-to-speech technology to convert the visual information displayed on the BlackBerry screen into audio output. Finally, visually impaired persons who don’t have an iPhone can have an accessible experience (the iPhone uses Apple’s proprietary VoiceOver screen reader.)

Click here to download full flyer with registration information (PDF) What: The Northern Rockies Association for the Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind & Visually Impaired is holding its annual conference. Presentations include: Teaching Braille though Arts and Games ~ Jan Zollinger, Distinguished Educators of Blind Children Award, 2004 Stress and the Deaf-Blind Student: Enhancing the Work Environment ~ Robin Greenfield, Coordinator of the Idaho DeafBlind Project Using the Low Vision Assessment Effectively ~ a panel (O&M Specialist; Teacher of the Visually Impaired; etc.) Options for Driving with Optical Devices ~ Dr. Dwight Hansen, Low Vision Specialist Transition and Beyond ~ Dana Ard, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Blind Assistive Technology for Students with Multiply Impairments-Visual Impairments ~ Nora Jehn, Director of the Idaho Center for Assistive Technology Update on Accessible Technology for the Consumer (IPAD, Magnifiers, Notetaking Devices, Auditory Readers, etc.) Low Vision and Low Vision Devices American Printing House: new math and tactual graphics products Dog Guide Issues Where: Sun Valley Inn Ketchum, Idaho When: October 19-21, 2011

AbleGamers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advocating for game accessibility in the digital entertainment space. Really fancy words for: if you want to play video games and you can’t play or have trouble playing, we help you to do so.

iOS 8 is now available! Before you upgrade devices that are used by individuals with disabilities, check out our iOS 8 upgrade checklist tab to help you avoid any potential major issues.

Some key findings include the following: People with disabilities experience significant health disparities and barriers to health care, as compared with people who do not have disabilities. People with disabilities frequently lack either health insurance or coverage for necessary services, such as specialty care, long-term services, prescription medications, durable medical equipment, and assistive technologies. Most federally funded health disparities research does not recognize and include people with disabilities as a disparity population. The absence of professional training on disability competency issues for health care practitioners is one of the most significant barriers preventing people with disabilities from receiving appropriate and effective health care. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has had limited impact on how health care is delivered for people with disabilities. Significant architectural and programmatic accessibility barriers still remain, and health care providers continue to lack awareness about steps they are required to take to ensure that patients with disabilities have access to appropriate, culturally competent care.

Nov. 1, 2010: Tim Spofford presents a public lecture to the university community on the functional and legal importance of ensuring that university technology such as web pages and applications can be accessed by people with disabilities.

SAN FRANCISCO — Even as audio versions of best-sellers fill store shelves and new technology fuels the popularity of digitized books, the number of titles accessible to people who are blind or dyslexic is minuscule.A new service being announced Thursday by the nonprofit Internet Archive in San Francisco is trying to change that. The group has hired hundreds of people to scan thousands of books into its digital database — more than doubling the titles available to people who aren't able to read a hard copy.Brewster Kahle, the organization's founder, says the project will initially make 1 million books available to the visually impaired, using money from foundations, libraries, corporations and the government. He's hoping a subsequent book drive will add even more titles to the collection.

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic® (RFB&D®), the nation’s largest provider of educational audio textbooks, announced that its entire collection is now accessible on Mac as well as Windows operating systems through the introduction of RFB&D ReadHear,

The goal of the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) is to ensure that every person with combined hearing and vision loss has access to modern telecommunication tools and the training necessary to use them, granting every individual the opportunity to interact with the world as an involved, contributing member of society. The program — promoted by iCanConnect — provides outreach, assessments, telecommunications technology and training free of charge to those who meet federal eligibility guidelines. For more information about the NDBEDP, including the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) consumer guide and eligibility rules, visit www.fcc.gov/NDBEDP