March 12, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
The amazing team at Spectronics has been presenting a terrific set of workshops on iPads for education and special needs. In this week’s featured video, Katie Lyons gives a thorough overview of the iPad and iOS 7. While it is great for people just getting started, there are enough handy tips to make it useful to experienced iPad users, too. We already shared it with a few families and colleagues and they’ve given it rave reviews. At the end of the video, Katie references a Spectronics Blog article by Charlene Cullen on switch use in iOS 7. You can get to that article here. Enjoy!
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: iOS, iPad, Katie Lyon, Spectronics
July 1, 2013
by Carole Zangari -
Looking for an AAC app for someone who reads and writes? Here are a few free ones that you can explore and use in your evaluations. 1. Verbally (Free): Plus a premium version for purchase that allows for more customization and prestored mesages for things the client may want to say over and over (e.g., What’s going on with the kids? Can you help me with something? I don’t agree with that. I need my pain medicine, It’s too cold in here. etc.) 2. Locabulary Lite 3. Phrase Board 4. Small Talk Conversational Phrases 5. Small Talk Daily Activities 6. Small Talk Pain Scale 7. Talk Assist Do you use one that didn’t make it onto our list? Please let us know.
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: free, iOS, iPad, print, text, text-to-speech
October 2, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve had concerns about the decision-making process around app selection, the paucity of apps that allow for children to learn true generative language, and a few other things. We continue to advocate for AAC app selection to occur within the context of a feature match process that gives appropriate attention to the full range of AAC options. In this mega-post we’ve included our most recent update of free and lite versions of AAC apps for iOS and Android plus a variety of additional resources related to AAC app selection. Tools to Use In Making Decisions About AAC Apps Feature match form developed by Jessica Gosnell at Boston Children’s Hospital Feature match checklist created by Scott Marfilius and Kelly Fonner Our supplemental rubric covering language and communication features, RELAAACs Places to... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: AAC checklist, AAC rubric, Android, Apps, free, iOS, iPad, lite, mobile device, RELAAACs
July 10, 2012
by Carole Zangari -
We’re back again with an updated list of free and lite versions of AAC apps that includes many additions for the Android platform. As in the past, we’re including some additional resources and excerpts from previous posts related to AAC app selection and the larger context of AAC assessment. We’ve appreciated the feedback on first draft of RELAAACs, our attempt to quantify some of what we look for when we try to compare AAC apps based on their language and communication features, and continue to welcome your suggestions. We do have plans to revise and update this once we get through the summer semester. (The trimester system is a killer!) —————————————————————————————————– – Thanks to all who’ve given us great feedback and suggestions on our list of free and lite AAC apps. If you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have mixed feelings about the AAC app revolution. More specifically, we’ve... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Android, Apps, assessment, checklist, feature match, free, iOS, resources, rubric, trial period