The latest technology has made learning a little easier for unique students at any grade level with a physical or learning disability. Whether it’s software that adapts to their reading level, a tablet application to provide mobility, or having various resources at their fingertips, there’s something for all students to help them learn and communicate more effectively.
AT Kid System
Cosmo Learning System
This software was made for students ages 2-to-8 with and without disabilities to incorporate computer skills into daily learning. It provides developmentally-appropriate activities that are interactive and accessible to children, and provides skill-specific goals for users. Cosmo’s Play and Learn automatically collects data, and allows an educator or therapist to adapt the software to each individual child.
www.atkidsystems.com
Learning Ally
Audiobooks
This non-profit program helps teachers integrate audiobooks into a whole class, small group, or in individualized learning environments. Its online library of 75,000 audio textbooks and literature titles support students with reading disabilities, including blindness, visual impairment, and dyslexia. Students can browse the library, order and download audiobooks, and listen or study on PCs and Mac computers, Apple mobile devices, and on specialized assistive technology devices.
www.learningally.org
Bookshare
Bookshare Web Library
This online library of digital books is for students with learning disabilities, as well as physical and visual impairments. Bookshare Members can download books, textbooks, and newspapers and then read the material using adaptive technology, such as software that reads the book aloud and/or displays the text of the book on a computer screen. Bookshare can also connect to Braille access devices, such as refreshable Braille displays, which help blind students read on a computer.
www.bookshare.org
Orbit
Orion TI-84 Plus
Created to work with the TI-84 Plus calculator from Texas Instruments, this accessory was made for students who are blind and visually impaired. Attached to the top of the TI-84 Plus, the Orion TI-84 Plus enables blind students to interact with the TI-84 Plus using speech, audio, and haptic (vibration) feedback. All textual and symbolic information on the screen and each key press is spoken using high-quality synthesized speech.
www.orbitresearch.com
Saltillo
NOVA Chat 7
This communication device is for people with speech disabilities and offers chat software on an Android platform. Various vocabulary symbols and pictures can be added to best fit the needs of each user. It comes with a 7-inch screen and weighs only 1.44 pounds, and its touchscreen is accessible by finger touch or an included stylus. A rubberized shield protects the system, while color shells give it an up-to-date style.
www.saltillo.com
Magnifying America
VTI 900 VGA system
This magnification system connects to a computer to make words and images on a screen easy to read for vision-disabled students. Horizontal and vertical split-screen modes allow users to read magnified printed material simultaneously with a computer’s original image. The system includes a footswitch, so users can see a full-screen magnified image from the original image.
www.magnifyingcenter.com
Kurzweil Educational Systems
Firefly iPad App
This app provides mobile access to digital content and literacy tools for students with the cognitive ability, but not the literacy skills, to achieve academic and personal goals. It delivers text-to-speech reading functions with speed, voice, and pacing accommodations. The program is particularly appropriate for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, those who require reading intervention, students struggling with reading comprehension, and English Language Learners.
www.kurzweiledu.com
DynaVox Solutions
DynaVox Maestro
This communication system is for students who are unable to express their opinions using speech, gestures, or body language and allows users to communicate using symbols, photos, words or letters, exclusively or in combination. Integrated USB and switch ports enable the device to connect to other technology, and the integrated Bluetooth supports using wireless accessories such as printers, keyboards, headsets, and switches.
www.dynavoxtech.com
Monarch Teaching Technologies
VizZle
This web-based tool allows educators to create a fun, interactive, visually-supported curriculum customized to the needs of children with autism and other learning challenges. Using any of the thousands of VizZle’s pre-made lessons and thousands of imported images, audio and video clips, teachers can track improved student outcomes by goals or any state standard.
www.monarchteachtech.com
Amdi
iAdapter 4
Made from high-impact plastic designed to protect an iPad from damage, the iAdapter allows the tablet to be mounted to a wheelchair or a table stand, and can be carried with either the molded handle or shoulder strap. Its sliding cover on the front conceals the iPad’s “home button” and prevents roaming fingers from accidentally closing running applications. Accessible openings for both iPad cameras are also provided to offer unobstructed views in picture and video mode.
www.amdi.net
