Adventures in Assistive Technology

Join Disability Services for Students for a special Technology Week presentation that will focus on open source and inexpensive assistive technologies that work effectively while putting less stress on your wallet.

When?
Friday, November 5th from 11:00 - 12:00pm.

Where?
Gwenna Moss Centre 50.12

Open to UofS students, staff, and faculty. Registration is not required.

For more information, contact Chasity Berast, DSS Assistive Technology Advisor at dssassistivetech@usask.ca

Posted by cab870 at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

eType is a program auto-completes your words as you type them, similar to WordQ. Word predication programs such as these can enable students to type faster which then boosts their level of confidence in their writing. According to the eType website, the program works with almost every program, browser and Web site, including: Microsoft Word, Outlook, Gmail, Facebook and Twitter. The website also boasts that eType is an online multi-language dictionary that can give translations and word substitutes to virtually any language in the world.The best part about eType is that it is free! You can download it from the eType website, but you must become a member first. Check it out by clicking on the link below, or check out the demo video first.

http://www.etype.com/Default.aspx#

Posted by cab870 at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently took an assistive technology course that focused on speech-to-text. For one assignment we were asked to compare two different voice recognition software, and I chose Dragon Naturally Speaking and Windows Speech. I chose these tow because I already had DNS installed on my computer, and because the Windows Speech is a freebie built-in to Windows. The results for DNS were as expected as this is the premier speech recognition software; however, I was pleasantly surprised by Windows Speech.

It was easy to use, the commands were straight-forward, and best of all it is included with Windows. Comparing the amount of training I put into this program to the amount I have put into DNS, I would definitely recommend this program in place of Dragon Naturally Speaking, especially if you are on a budget. The only problem with this program is that it doesn’t run on the newest (2007) version of MS Office, so make sure you have the 2003 version installed as well.

If you want to read my full comparison results, check out the link below.
Download file

Posted by cab870 at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PowerTalk is a free program that automatically speaks any presentation or slide show running in Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows. Just download and install PowerTalk, and when you open and run the presentation as usual, it will speak the text on your slides. PowerTalk is also able to speak hidden text attached to images.The speech that is provided by the standard synthesized computer voices are those that are provided with Windows.

Download PowerTalk from the Oats website by clicking on the link below.

http://www.oatsoft.org/Software/PowerTalk

Posted by cab870 at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Assignment Calculator Tool from the University of Minnesota Libraries is a time management tool that breaks down research assignments into a series of manageable steps, while providing expert tips for success. All you need to do is enter the assignment start date, due date, and the subject of the paper, and it will give an outline of what needs to be done when. It also lets you print the schedule and sign up to receive email reminders to help keep you on track. Check it out by clicking on the link below.

http://www.lib.umn.edu/help/calculator/

Posted by cab870 at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Below is more of free and budget AT software.

WordWeb
WordWeb is an online dictionary and thesaurus that has a free version and an upgraded version. This dictionary has some really cool features, but the main drawback is that it doesn't read the definition, just the word. But, you can use Natural Reader with this program, and this combo will read the definitions.
http://wordweb.info/free/

They also talked about Free Mind, a free mind-mapping software that I blogged about on March 10th. Check out the entry below.

http://blogs.usask.ca/AAT/2009/03/free_mindmappin.html

Posted by cab870 at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, today was the last day of the conference. One of the sessions I attended was all about free and low-budget programs for students with disabilities. They featured TTS software, mind-mapping software, and dictionaries. These have been tested by the presenters, and they recommend them to their students, so they should be good. Here are the highlights:

D-Speech (by Dimio)
This a free TTS software that allows the user to save the output as a Wav or Mp3 file. You can also select different voices and to combine them between themselves, in order to create dialogues between some voices. The interface is user-friendly, so even beginners will have an esy time with this. One drawback is that the D-Speech screen always has to open, and it will not read text that is outside of the program. This program also topped their list of MP3 conversion programs.
http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/

Natural Reader
This TTS program has a free version and an upgraded version available. The free version works really well, and a bonus is that it has a mini-read bar that can be positioned anywhere on the screen, so it can read any document you have open. The drawback with this one is that it doesn't highlight when it reads.

http://www.naturalreaders.com/

Posted by cab870 at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently came across FreeMind, an open source (free) mind-mapping software. As with other mind-mapping software, FreeMind allows you to edit sets of ideas around a central concept. It has a non-linear approach that assists with brainstorming new outlines and projects as ideas are added around the original mind map. The software is written in Java, so it is usable with multiple platforms, including MAC OS.

Go to the FreeMind Wiki for more information and to download the program.

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Posted by cab870 at 01:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)