Spectronics - Inclusive Learning Technologies
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A.B.N. 15 011 046 585 Inclusive Learning Technologies PTY LTD

Archive for the ‘New Technologies’ Category

Mar
11
An image of the iZoom: A low cost alternative to ZoomText for people with low vision

At less than half the cost of ZoomText, iZoom is an exciting new option for people with low vision who need an easy-to-use program for magnifying text on their computer screens. Another big bonus is that iZoom speaks out the text using clear male and female Australian voices!

Other benefits of using iZoom?

  • The USB version of iZoom does not require you to install any software onto the computer at all. Just insert it into the USB drive and you are instantly up and running. Other programs, like ZoomText, need users to install a small file, effectively locking them out of any public computers (like those in libraries) and school or Uni/TAFE computers where students do not have administrator privileges.
  • Exceptionally easy to use interface.
  • Zoom scroll-bars appear on the side and bottom of the screen to assist users to know where they are on the screen once it is enlarged.
  • Font smoothing ensures clear, non-jaggy text when magnified.
  • SmartAlign technology makes viewing web pages, emails and documents that don’t fit on the screen much easier. No need to continuously scroll back and forward horizontally to read the text. With just one mouse click, SmartAlign will realign the text so that it fits on the screen allowing you to be more productive and reducing eye-strain.

The Spectronics team have just finished a new Comparison Chart reviewing the features of several magnification software programs. If you have any questions about iZoom or other screen magnification programs, the best person on our team to answer your queries is Anita Raftery, our new teacher, with many years experience in supporting students with vision impairment. Anita can be contacted in our Brisbane office on phone (07) 3808 6833 or by email at anitar@spectronicsinoz.com

Want to try the program for yourself? A 30-day trial version is downloadable from the Spectronics website but at a hefty 388 MB, it takes a while to download! So please feel free to contact Spectronics to have a copy of the trial version sent to you on CD. If you have enquiries about site licence options and pricing, we are also happy to assist.

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Posted in New Technologies

Feb
26
A wordle containing rearranged words from this blog about inclusive technologies

A wordle containing rearranged words from this blog about inclusive technologies

http://www.Wordle.net/. Images of Wordles are licensed .

I used Wordle to create the “word cloud” above using some of the text from this blog. Wordle is a great online tool to display your text in a different way, simply copy some text from a document or website, open up the Wordle webpage and paste in your text. Wordle generates “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share.

Ideas for using Wordle

  • create and print out book covers for school, home or work
  • Create a title page for a topic or assignment
  • Create personalised wrapping paper or cards
  • Display brainstorming ideas
  • Use as a starter at the beginning of a lesson, display on a Interactive White Board
  • Create a Wordle to check word frequency and the main ideas in a piece of writing
  • Use as a vocabulary enrichment resource in your classroom

Who could use Wordle:

Students who have poor fine motor skills, irregular handwriting, learning difficulties, or who have a physical disability leading to difficulties with writing, teachers can use Wordle too. Anyone can use Wordle and they’re fun to create!

shh top secret

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSST…  Bloggers out there can be the first to hear…

Spectronics has new screen magnification software available called iZoom. To help you compare the features of iZoom with other screen magnification software we’ve decided to create a “comparison chart” so you can look for the features you need and check what software packages include them.

Even better still, all the magnification software we’ve compared on the chart is also available to download as a demonstration version, so you can spend some time evaluating it yourself before making a choice! Have a look at the comparison chart at  http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/article/magnification-software-comparison-chart

You might also like to have a look at comparison charts we’ve created for other inclusive technologies by using this link  http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/library/comparison-charts

Posted in New Technologies, Resources, Web links

Sep
30
Barbara Landsbergby Barbara Landsberg

The Mac is back!

Image of Mac laptop with GhostReader, Read&Write GOLD for Mac and ClaroRead for Mac software

 

Over the past two years, we have noticed a marked increase in the number of Apple Mac related enquiries coming in to Spectronics’ advisory, training and technical support teams. So it may be of interest to you to be aware of a couple of new text-to-speech programs now available for the Mac platform. Read the rest of this entry…

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Posted in New Technologies

Sep
28

Image of the Chester Mouse
 

We are often asked about ways of assisting younger students learning to use the mouse – to avoid their confusion over using the right and left mouse buttons. Inadvertently clicking on the right mouse button can result in them opening up all sorts of unwanted menus – ending up with your students landing in areas of the computer you’d rather them not to be exploring! For this reason, the Chester Mouse has been very popular since we added it to the Spectronics website a few months ago. Read the rest of this entry…

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Posted in New Technologies

Sep
25
Image of WriteOnline

 

WriteOnline is a new concept – offering an online writing support tool which allows students the option to access their work from school, home, anywhere! It has been developed by Crick Software as a logical progression for older students who are ready to move on from using Clicker 5 as their writing support tool. Read the rest of this entry…

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Posted in New Technologies

Sep
14
Screenshot of the Ginger Software

Every now and then a really innovative new software concept for supporting struggling writers pops up. We think that Ginger fits into this category! It is a clever contextual spelling and grammar checker which automatically suggests corrections for even the most phonetically spelled sentences! It works with sentences written in Microsoft Word and in emails constructed within Microsoft Outlook. Read the rest of this entry…

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Posted in New Technologies

Sep
8
Image of the Proloquo2go on the iPhone

 

As you may already know, and as we announced in our last Spectronics emailed newsletter, Proloquo2Go is an exciting new AAC concept for use on the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch!

For the past few months, the Spectronics team has been working hard on configuring several flexible options for delivery of Proloquo2Go packages to users across Australia and New Zealand – ensuring that we are able to support you at the level you have come to expect from Spectronics.  Read the rest of this entry…

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Posted in New Technologies

Aug
12

Hi all,

I just wanted to let you know about some new assistive technology announced this week.

DynaVox Xpress – The new lightweight device from DynaVox-Mayer Johnson!

The DynaVox Xpress is a lightweight hand-held custom built speech generating device with a lot of power in a small package. Weighing less than 1kg and of durable construction, this new device has a lot of communication power. All the InterAACT page sets are included in the Xpress software and the device can be accessed via Touch Enter, Touch Exit, Scanning and Auditory Scanning. The 8GB flash drive not only increases the durability but also provides storage for photos and MP3s. Calendar, Contacts, MP3 Player and a Video Player also allow the device to be used for some PDA functions if desired. And an optional web browser also allows the user to take advantage of the built-in WiFi for surfing the internet and sending and receiving emails.

Communication page design can be done on any computer using the included Xpress Design software.

For more information please click here. The Xpress will be released in September and we should have pricing available soon.

Tobii SymbolMate

SymbolMate is new software from Tobii for designing and printing low tech communication boards, activity sheets and making other resources using SymbolStix. Including more than 15,000 SymbolStix symbols, the software can be used to design communication boards to assist people to engage users in daily conversations, exchange news and extend their vocabulary.

For more information click here. A 30 day demo can be downloaded via a link on this page. Pricing and release date also still to be finalised and will be updated on our website as they become available.

Please feel free to comment below if you have any questions or comments!

Cheers

Jane

Posted in New Technologies

Jul
6
Image of Capturatalk on a Windows Mobile phone in use

Another VERY cool new technology is CapturaTalk! This clever program allows your Window Mobile phone to take a photo of written text and then have it read aloud for you in a clear UK English voice! It will also read aloud text in documents on the phone – including emails and SMS messages received along with web pages visited. Read the rest of this entry…

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Posted in New Technologies

Jul
6
Image of the EyeMax mounted on the DynaVox V-MAX

At the recent AGOSCI Conference in Canberra, several eye gaze systems were on display – allowing users to control computers and/or speech generating devices simply through their eye movements. One of the newer systems featured was the DynaVox EyeMax accessory for the DynaVox Vmax speech generating device. The EyeMax enables users to control a DynaVox Vmax with their eyes. Read the rest of this entry…

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Posted in New Technologies