Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Question from a Teacher of a Vision Impaired Student (self.Blind)
submitted 7y ago by CallMeBoo
Hello, I think I'm supposed to say I've posted the same question elsewhere. Which I have over in the sub for Vision Impaired, but I'd like to ask here as well.
My student is a girl in grade one. Our school just received a Mac Book Air laptop for her to use. We are learning to use Read-Write Voice over and to monkey around with the settings.
My question is: can anyone recommend Apps for this laptop that would be suitable, or specially created, for a visually impaired student? I am looking mostly for language and math, but science would be terrific too.
My student is a girl in grade one. Our school just received a Mac Book Air laptop for her to use. We are learning to use Read-Write Voice over and to monkey around with the settings.
My question is: can anyone recommend Apps for this laptop that would be suitable, or specially created, for a visually impaired student? I am looking mostly for language and math, but science would be terrific too.
geoffisblind 1 points
I would definitely look at BookShare, it is very useful to me. In grade 1 it may not be as big a deal, but later it will be huge. It saves me a lot of money on textbooks and they come in all kinds of accessible formats which is awesome. My Psych book is on BookShare and I haven't even bothered trying to work with my print copy because BookShare does it so well digitally.
Other than that, I can offer advice on things to look into to start getting exposure to, some of this will probably only be applicable later on, but maybe one of these things will be useful now, or will give you an idea. I should also note that I am primarily a PC user so compatibility may or may not be an issue.
For math, I would look into getting a fully fledged calculator, Texas Instruments has emulators that you can put on a computer, and you should be able to find one on the Mac App Store as well.
In terms of English, I would make sure she is proficient in typing. When I was in grade 1 I was taught on a program called Type To Learn. I was having less issues with my eyes at the time though so this may or may not work. You should definitely find her a program to get her typing proficiently, that skill has been the most valuable skill I have when working with a computer as a visually impaired person. You can also look at Dragon Dictation which I have used and liked, but I ended up sticking to typing in the long run.
For science, I can't think of anything that would be super useful at her age. In high school level junior and senior sciences (Chemistry and AP Physics I) I've been introduced to software called LoggerPro, and next semester (my last semester of high school) I am receiving some instruction on Matlab.
LoggerPro is for data analysis and graphing from sensors like a photogate or digital thermometer. Matlab, from what I understand is a programmable, customization data analysis calculation platform that is used in lots of STEM education and in most of the STEM fields on a professional level. I can't imagine a 1st grader getting into all of that quite yet, but perhaps some of these will be a good jumping off point.
Anyway, hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions :)
Other than that, I can offer advice on things to look into to start getting exposure to, some of this will probably only be applicable later on, but maybe one of these things will be useful now, or will give you an idea. I should also note that I am primarily a PC user so compatibility may or may not be an issue.
For math, I would look into getting a fully fledged calculator, Texas Instruments has emulators that you can put on a computer, and you should be able to find one on the Mac App Store as well.
In terms of English, I would make sure she is proficient in typing. When I was in grade 1 I was taught on a program called Type To Learn. I was having less issues with my eyes at the time though so this may or may not work. You should definitely find her a program to get her typing proficiently, that skill has been the most valuable skill I have when working with a computer as a visually impaired person. You can also look at Dragon Dictation which I have used and liked, but I ended up sticking to typing in the long run.
For science, I can't think of anything that would be super useful at her age. In high school level junior and senior sciences (Chemistry and AP Physics I) I've been introduced to software called LoggerPro, and next semester (my last semester of high school) I am receiving some instruction on Matlab.
LoggerPro is for data analysis and graphing from sensors like a photogate or digital thermometer. Matlab, from what I understand is a programmable, customization data analysis calculation platform that is used in lots of STEM education and in most of the STEM fields on a professional level. I can't imagine a 1st grader getting into all of that quite yet, but perhaps some of these will be a good jumping off point.
Anyway, hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions :)
CallMeBoo [OP] 1 points
Thank you for your reply. I've heard of the typing program you mentioned and we are setting that up. I've put a request into our tech people for Bookshare because I'm not allowed to download anything, which is ridiculous but also another story. Dragon Dictation would be good because she has an iPad at home. I've always had that app, but never bothered to try it out. I need to get busy.
geoffisblind 1 points
I use BookShare through their website and download the content to my computer if that helps you get around the whole IT thing.
stupidpoopoohead 1 points
Does she have any functional vision? In theory all apps should be accessible if they're in the apple store but that's not always the case. Does she have a BookShare account? If so the read to go app will allow her to read her books on her iPad in large print, audio, or in braille if she has a refreshable braille display linked.
CallMeBoo [OP] 1 points
She has some functional vision. She can see 60 font bold print. The laptop is new to us this last couple of days, so I don't know yet about BookShare. That would be an app already on the laptop? I'm new to apple, so this is one of the reasons I'm looking for information.
stupidpoopoohead 1 points
Book share is a website that some districts maintain a subscription with for their students. It's a good way to insure that kids have accessible leisure reading material. It's good for the kids because it allows them to check out the same books their peers have access to in the school library. It's pretty cheap for what you get too.
Read2Go is the app that you have to use to access the books on bookshare on an Ipad, you can access the site through your browser on a laptop but the app is much easier to use so I would suggest downloading it even if you aren't using a tablet.
I would post this same question on the NOPBC facebook page. They have 1000's of members who are parents and teachers of the blind and and many blind adults and students who could point you in the right direction. It's really really active and the people in that group know their tech inside and out. I'll PM you a link.
Read2Go is the app that you have to use to access the books on bookshare on an Ipad, you can access the site through your browser on a laptop but the app is much easier to use so I would suggest downloading it even if you aren't using a tablet.
I would post this same question on the NOPBC facebook page. They have 1000's of members who are parents and teachers of the blind and and many blind adults and students who could point you in the right direction. It's really really active and the people in that group know their tech inside and out. I'll PM you a link.
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