overTHERE iPhone app for locating places in your locality.

screengrab of overthere appThe free overTHERE iPhone app has been called a ‘game changer’ by Stuart Ball as it allows places to be located via their signs by holding the phone in a horizontal manner.  You can then simply turn around on the spot and listen as businesses/shops are brought to your attention.  It also tells you how far away they are from where you are standing. According to the app developer it is an “accessibility app that helps blind individuals explore and interact with the surrounding environment by using virtual audible signs.”

 

“When the phone is held vertically you can use the screen or VoiceOver to review the list of signs around you. By selecting a sign from the list you can access details about a location such as its address, phone number, or web site.”

The app grew out of Smith-Kettlewell’s Virtual Talking Signs Project.

Stuart Ball is an Assessor at the Cardiff Metropolitan University and we really love getting news about strategies that really work.  Thank you so much

Google Drive for online storage and collaboration

google drive

Google Drive is an online tool which uses your Google account to store files online and can also be used to share files with other people and work on projects together. Being able to join in with a few others to work on a project and be able to take a break and have work still done is really useful.

Google Drive is able to create files, even from your desktop, and pick the permissions of who is allowed to edit it. More than one person can work on the file at the same time and the service has a chat panel for the people working in it, so that they can communicate. Everyone working on the file is given a colour and it shows who is typing when multiple people are working. Google Drive can also use documents from other applications to help create a project such as Google docs and Google sheets.

Google Drive is compatible Windows Vista, XP, 7, 8
Mac, mavericks (10.9), Mountain Lion (10.8), Lion (10.7)
Linux can access Google Drive through the website but the software is not available on the system
android 4.0+ and iOS 7.0+ are able to use Google drive, android 2.3-3.2 and iOS 6.0+ Can only view the files
Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer run Google Drive but require Java script

Tom, Mathematics

Siri for Calendar and Time Management.

siri screengrab

Siri asked to check appointments on 22nd September

Siri is brilliant for calendar management and time/task management, but underused, you can verbally manage your calendar/ tasks which, I personally find reduces the burden on my working memory and is more intuitive .  The speed of which I can set myself a reminder by taking the phone out of my pocket rather than searching for a pen and paper which I inevitably end up losing anyway is astounding!  I really like iOS accessibility. I definitely find low maintenance strategies with gainful upsides work well.

Useful wikihow page on how to turn on Siri

John Hodgson
Study Needs Assessor

Note taking with a digital recorder

Edirol R-09HR digital recorder

Edirol R-09HR digital recorder

“I generally do not take notes in lectures, as I have this problem where I want my notes to make sense, so that if I was looking at them afresh, I would be able to understand them.  Also, I want to concentrate on what the lecturer is saying.  What I do is I use an Edirol R09HR digital audio recorder [now discontinued] to record the lectures, so that I can listen back to them if I did not get something the first time, and I also monitor the recording by using headphones, so it is almost like I am listening to the lecturer through a personal listening device.”

Sam – Live and Studio Sound

Several Olympus recorders offer audio feedback and audible navigational support when saving or erasing files – The RNIB offer a selection of suitable digital recorders.

Recent discussions (Feb 2013) about the use of a Dictaphone in lectures has been occurring on the Dis-forum mailing list (login required) and a useful link was provided to research on student attendance when recording lectures and other aspects of lecture capture provided by University College, London.

Listening to a webcast and taking notes on DraftPad on the IPhone or iPad

DarftPad for mobile“I can listen to a webcast and take notes.  Previously, this required getting transportation to the presentation and lugging a Braille notetaker.  Now I use my netbook for the webcast and my phone with external keyboard and the DraftPad app to take notes.”

DraftPad is free and offers a very accessible interface that can be used with VoiceOver or once the text has been copied, then select ‘Speak’.  It  allows you to send or share your notes via email, SMS and social networking sites as well as open them in other apps that may be on your device such as DocsToGo for more formatting, Evernote for linking with other notes, DropBox for sharing or backing up file.  The app also links with text speaking apps such as SpeakText Free.

This strategy came thanks to Pat Pound on My Life Simplified via Accessible Web and Apps!

Assistant App for organising your time with voice rather than typing

assistant appSandra sent an email about her work with links to her TeachTapin blog and there she mentioned her use of iPads and an iPhone   “Assistant App is a great new app powered by the Nuance voice technology used for Dragon and other applications.   It allows you to organise your time by way of a calendar with all dates and events now added by voice recording. As a dyslexic it allows me to take ownership in planning my time but also means that others can set me reminders.  Hearing a voice relay the information to me is a great help.”
Assistant App in the Apple store  £1.49 on this date – 50% off for a limited time.  There is a free Android ‘Assistant’ app that also works with voice but is mainly for opening other apps, answering questions etc.
Sandra Fox TeachTapin blog