FREE AT For SLD
Frank Sapp AT and Training Coordinator www.TouchTheFuture.us
• “What surprises me most about people’s skills is how poor their writing and grammar are, even for college graduates. If we can’t get the basics right, there is a real problem.” • Eleonora Sharef • www.hireart.com Learning Disabilites and AT
Functional Areas
• Reading • Writing • Organization Reading
• Highlighting • Text To Speech • Note Taking • Bookmarking • Summarize • Color Tinting Highlighting
Text To Speech
• Text-to-Speech (TTS) or speech synthesizers receive information going to the screen in the form of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks, and then "speak" it out loud in a computerized voice. Using speech synthesizers allows computer users who are blind or who have learning difficulties to hear what they are typing and also provide a spoken voice for individuals who can not communicate orally, but can communicate their thoughts through typing. Text To Speech
• Voices • Phonics Voices
• Windows XP • Windows 7 • Other Voices Windows XP
• MIcrosoft Sam • Microsoft Mike and Mary MIcrosoft Sam
• Only voice included in Windows XP
Microsoft Mike and Mary
Windows 7
• Microsoft Anna Windows 8
• Microsoft David • Microsoft Hazel • Microsoft Sira Other Voices
• L&H • ATT Natural Voices L&H
• American English Voices - Free Download
ATT Natural Voices
• Approximately $35US Phonics
Note Taking
Bookmarking
Summarize
Color Tinting
Writing
• Spell Checking • Dictionary • Speech Recognition • Homophones • Word Prediction/Completion Spell Checking
Dictionary
Speech Recognition
• allow people to give commands and enter data using their voices rather than a mouse or keyboard. Voice recognition systems use a microphone attached to the computer, which can be used to create text documents such as letters or e-mail messages, browse the Internet, and navigate among applications and menus by voice. Speech Recognition
• Dragon • Windows Speech Recognition Homophones
• Often, when one is using the term homonym along with homophone (words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and meaning) and homograph (words that look the same, but differ in pronunciation and meaning, it is useful to consider homonyms as having the combined characteristics of both homophones and homographs. Word Prediction/Completion
Organization
• Time Management • Research Time Management
• Calendar • Task Management Research
• Note Taking • Citations Software
• Free • Commercial Free
• LibreOffice • Firefox • Zotero • Lingoes • XMind • Balabolka • Chandler • Bruce's Unusual Typing Wizard • Screen Overlays • Talking Calculator LibreOffice
• A credible rival to MS Office, LibreOffice includes powerful applications for making text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, diagrams, and databases, as well as HTML and XML documents. Not only does it let you edit basic documents, such as letters and faxes, it also handles equations and complex and multipart documents with bibliographies, reference tables, and indexes.
• http://www.libreoffice.org/default/
• Add Read Text addin to have text to speech capability. There is also a Zotero addin available. LibreOffice
• Extensions • NoteTaking Extensions
• Read Text • Language Tool Read Text
Language Tool
NoteTaking
• Outline • Highlighting/Extraction Highlighting/Extraction
• Select the text using the highlighter pen
• Use Find/Replace (Ctrl-H) to select highlighting by color (Fill)
• Close Find/Replace Window
• Use Ctrl-C which copies the selected text
• Open a new document (Ctrl-N)
• Use Ctrl-V to paste the highlighted/selected text into the new document. Firefox
• No longer a fledgling upstart, Firefox is the gold standard of alternatives to the still-dominant Internet Explorer. Firefox 3.6 is full-featured, lightning fast, and secure. Its killer selection of add-ons remains strong, with built-in support for the next generation of themes, called Personas, plus the latest update makes version 3.6 about 20 percent faster than version 3.5. However, competition is strong and it can no longer be said that Firefox is the fastest browser available.
• Firefox is also required to use Zotero Firefox
• Addons Addons
• Text To Voice • Zotero Text To Voice
• TS gives Firefox the power of speech. Select text, click the button on the bottom right of Firefox window and this add-on speaks the selected text for you. Isn't it brilliant? Audio is downloadable. Zotero
• This page provides word processor plugins for users of Zotero 3.0 and 4.0 for Firefox. Word processor plugins for Zotero Standalone can be installed from the Cite pane of the Zotero preferences. Users of Firefox beta releases should see the Firefox beta compatibility page.
• The word processor plugins are distributed as Firefox extensions, which provide word processor integration to Zotero and install the necessary components into the word processors. After you have installed a plugin from this page, Firefox will prompt you to install later versions automatically the same way that it does for the Zotero Firefox extension. Zotero
• FREE
• Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work—in the web browser itself. Aksi has plug-ins for OpenOffice.org and Microsoft Word
• http://www.zotero.org/
Lingoes
• Lingoes is an easy and intuitive dictionary and text translation software, It offers lookup dictionaries, full text translation, capture word on screen, translate selected text and pronunciation of words in over 80 languages. These language are English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Greek, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Arabic, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Thai and more...
• http://www.lingoes.net/
XMind
• FREE
• XMind was a commercial program until 2009. At that time, it was released as a free and open source program. There is a paid version which allows saving in additional formats and private sharing on the web. • The layout used here was developed using XMind.
• http://www.XMind.net
Balabolka
• Balabolka is a Text-To-Speech (TTS) program. All computer voices installed on your system are available to Balabolka. The on-screen text can be saved as a WAV, MP3, MP4, OGG or WMA file. The program can read the clipboard content, view the text from DOC, EPUB, FB2, HTML, ODT, PDF and RTF files, customize font and background colour, control reading from the system tray or by the global hotkeys. Balabolka uses various versions of Microsoft Speech API (SAPI); it allows to alter a voice's parameters, including rate and pitch. The user can apply a special substitution list to improve the quality of the voice's articulation. This feature is useful when you want to change the spelling of words. The rules for the pronunciation correction use the syntax of regular expressions.
• Balabolka can save the synchronized text in external LRC files or in MP3 tags inside the audio files. When an audio file is played with players on a computer or on modern digital audio players, the text is displayed synchronously (at the same way, as lyrics for songs).
• http://www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm Chandler
• FREE
• Chandler is an open source Note-to-Self Organizer. It features calendaring, task and note management and consists of a desktop application, web application and a free sharing and back-up service called Chandler Hub.
• http://chandlerproject.org/
Bruce's Unusual Typing Wizard
• FREE
• Bruce's Unusual Typing Wizard
Screen Overlays
• Screen Tinter • ssOverlay Screen Tinter
• Free
• Screen Tinter is a free utility which allows the screen foreground and background colours to be changed at the click of a button.
• http://www.thomson-software- solutions.com/html/screen_tinter.html ssOverlay
• Free
• Very similar to Dark Screen, ssOverlay (the ss stands for Scotopic Sensitivity), places a coloured overlay onto the screen. The colour and transparency levels can be adjusted to suit the user. Everything is controlled from the icon in the Notification area of the Taskbar (where the clock sits). Clicking this icon will open the menu which allows the selection of Multi Monitor Support, and the percentage of dimming of the screen Talking Calculator
Selly Selly
Touch The Future is a 501(c)3 For a $10 Donation and an emailed tax receipt Receive a CD with Balaboka, LibreOffice, Firefox, Zotero, Lingoes and Bruce’s Typing Tutor READY to install. AND Almost 50 Classic Books in ePub format Cash Check or Credit Cards Commercial
• WYNN • Read & Write • Microsoft Office • Kurzweil 3000 • Claro Read • Premier • WordQ • Inspiration/Kidspiration
Hardware
• PC • Digital Voice Recorder • iXXX • SmartPhone • Word Processors PC
• Laptop • Netbook • Desktop Laptop
Netbook
Desktop
Digital Voice Recorder
iXXX
• iPad • iPod iPad
iPod
SmartPhone
• iPhone • Android Phones iPhone
Android Phones
Word Processors
• Alpha Smart • Fusion Alpha Smart
Fusion
Accessible Materials
• Formats • Readers • Sources • Conversion Tools Formats
• txt • Mobi • ePub • DAISY • HTML • .doc/.docx • PDF txt
Mobi
ePub
DAISY
HTML
.doc/.docx
Readers
• Kindle • iBooks • Nook • Sony eReader Kindle
iBooks
Nook
Sony eReader
Sources
• Learning Ally (RFB&D) • Bookshare.org • Project Gutenberg.org • Georgia Instructional Materials Center • cK-12 • NLS • AMAC • Baen Books Learning Ally (RFB&D)
• Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic provides accessible materials for the print disabled. Students in K-12 are eligible for free registration.
• Shares registration information with Bookshare.org. Bookshare.org
• Bookshare is an online accessible digital library for print disabled readers. In 2007, it received an award of $32 million (over 5 years) from the US Government's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to make the service available for free to all print disabled students in the US. • Bookshare has over 80,000 books as of October 2010[3] in its collection, contributed by volunteers (who scan and upload the books to the site) and by major publishers (who send digital versions of their books to the collection). Bookshare has more than 100,000 users as of July 2010. • Bookshare is a project run by Benetech, which is a nonprofit based in Palo Alto, California.
• Bookshare can also coordinate registration with RFB&D. Project Gutenberg.org
• Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books. The project tries to make these as free as possible, in long-lasting, open formats that can be used on almost any computer. As of November 2010, Project Gutenberg claimed over 34,000 items in its collection. Project Gutenberg is affiliated with many projects that are independent organizations which share the same ideals, and have been given permission to use the Project Gutenberg trademark.
• Wherever possible, the releases are available in plain text, but other formats are included, such as HTML, PDF, EPUB, MOBI, and Plucker. Most releases are in the English language, but many non-English works are also available. There are multiple affiliated projects that are providing additional content, including regional and language-specific works. Project Gutenberg is also closely affiliated with Distributed Proofreaders, an internet-based community for proofreading scanned texts. Georgia Instructional Materials Center
cK-12
• FREE
• CK-12 is a non-profit that creates and aggregates high quality curated STEM content
NLS
• The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) is a free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail. People may be eligible for the program if they are blind or have a visual and/or physical disability. Persons with a reading disability may also qualify for this free program.[1] Library materials are distributed to regional and subregional libraries and are then circulated to eligible patrons. AMAC
• Alternative Media Access Center
• Funded under the Regents of the University of Georgia University System to provide access to alternative media for students with disabilities. Baen Books
• FREE
• Library of Sci Fi books made free to download by the publisher.
• http://www.baen.com/library/
Conversion Tools
• Audacity • Calibre • Scanning Audacity
• Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. Calibre
• calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books. It has a cornucopia of features divided into the following main categories:
• Library Management • E-book conversion • Syncing to e-book reader devices • Downloading news from the web and converting it into e- book form • Comprehensive e-book viewer • Content server for online access to your book collection Scanning
• Microsoft Document imaging • OCR Microsoft Document imaging
• To install Micrsoft Document Imaging (MODI) in Office 2007, go to control panel, select add/remove programs. Select Microsoft Office 2007 from the list, click the Change button. Select MODI from the list. MODI should be available in the Office Tools menu.
• Microsoft Documnet Imaging was removed from Office Tools in Office 2010. There is a scanning and OCR tool in OneNote, but to install MODI into Office 2010 follow the instruction in the Microsoft support article found here: • http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982760
• The same instructions will also OCR
www.TouchTheFuture.us