Seen at BETT – Software

Before I start with interesting software I saw at BETT there is one development I didn’t mention in the hardware post:

Livescribe Sound Stickers

Livescribe Smartpens are a great note taking tool; recording audio and linking it to your written notes.  There are some strange and confusing add-ons for the pen (see the Geometric Ruler App instructions for instance) so I was a little skeptical when I saw the Livescribe Sound Stickers.  These sticky dots are recognised by the Livescribe pen in the same way as the paper in the Livescribe notebooks.  You tap a sound sticker with the pen and then record a message.  The next time you tap that dot, the message is played back.

Seen at BETT – Hardware

Last week I spent one and a half days at BETT; the biggest education technology exhibition in the UK.  There are many large exhibitors (Google, Microsoft etc.) who have spent thousands on their stands and are all amplifying their presentations so they can be heard over each other.  However the really interesting stands – as far as Assistive Technology is concerned – are tucked away up on the balcony or in the SEN Zone which is right at the back of the hall.

This post will focus on interesting new hardware developments and I’ll write in the near future about software developments.  Click on any images for a larger view.

Educational Support Workers: Professional Development Opportunities

Educational Support Workers perform a vital role in education, and opportunities to acknowledge and develop ESW skills are vital in an inclusive environment.

BRITE now offers an accredited in-depth course, specifically tailored to the professional development needs of those working in a support role. This course, Educational Support Worker: Professionalism in Practice, is offered both online and face-to-face. Full details can be found on our website.

For those of you seeking a brief introduction to the key skills involved in educational support work, we are offering two half day seminars on this topic. If after attending one of these seminars you decide to progress onto the formal ESW: Professionalism in Practice course (commencing autumn 2012) you’ll receive a 10% discount on the fee. Full details of these seminars follow…

Piloting iPads for Additional Support Needs in a College

As a result of a conversation at the Tablet Tools seminar in November, BRITE linked up with Motherwell College to run a pilot iPad loan scheme for students with Additional Support Needs.  Fil McIntyre, one of BRITE’s Assistive Technologists, will be consulting with staff from Motherwell College to set up and roll out the iPads and gather feedback from students and staff.

Fil will be documenting the process, his report from the set-up day is below:

I should start by apologising to the Motherwell college staff for my enthusiasm when so many problems arose during this set-up session.  I was eagerly noting down (on my iPad of course) any issues which we came across so that others may not have to experience them.  The Motherwell team were good-natured though and didn’t kick me out the door.  Stephen from IT Support should also be thanked for his willingness to assist.

Tablet Tools Seminar

Wednesday 23rd November saw the first run of BRITE’s Tablet Tools seminar.  This was hosted at Motherwell College and delivered by Niall Hardie and Fil McIntyre.  The main tablet used was the iPad, but other tablets such as those using Android were also discussed.

Many topics were covered including accessibility, note taking and voice recognition, but what participants said they valued most was getting some hands-on experience with an iPad and discussing how it might support students in their studies.  Ninety percent of participants had not touched an iPad before the seminar so after a short introduction they were encouraged to try the device out for themselves.

With that base of knowledge the participants were taken through a range of apps for note taking, organisation, reading and voice input/output.  Discussions were led around where tablets fit in to education, what situations are suitable for their use and how do we assess student need?

This seminar proved to be very popular and was over-subscribed.  We’ll be running this session again in 2012, so keep an eye on the Seminar page of the BRITE website for further details.  To receive the latest seminar news, sign up to the BRITE eNews via our home page.

How does a BRITE mentor help you to reach your professional development goal?

Typically when pursuing a professional qualification, you attend lectures, do the background reading, complete an assignment, or sit an exam – fairly standard stuff.

BRITE likes to do things differently!

Should you participate in BRITE’s Needs Assessment Practice (NAP) course – sometimes referred to as Module 4 – you’ll enjoy the added value of being assigned an experienced mentor to provide individualised guidance and supervision.

But what does “being mentored” actually involve? BRITE team member, Carol Boyle, talks us through her approach to mentoring, and what makes for a successful mentor/mentee relationship.

Mouse Solutions

Using a mouse can be difficult for many students, but before you spend money on alternative devices try the following:

Check if the student is right or left handed. This sounds obvious, but many left-handers will use the mouse with their right hand because the mouse is typically placed to the right of the keyboard.

Slow down the mouse pointer speed so that the movement of the pointer is easier to control. This is also an important thing to do when using rollerballs or joysticks.

• In Windows go to Control Panel then Mouse. Click the Pointer Options tab then move the slider left or right to adjust the speed.
• On a Mac go to System Preferences then Keyboard and Mouse. Click the Mouse tab then move the Tracking Speed slider left or right to adjust the speed.

(Semi) Automatic Captioning Using YouTube

Automatic captioning (also known a sub-titling) of videos to make them accessible to Deaf or hearing impaired viewers – sounds great doesn’t it? Google has recently introduced a system on YouTube which claims to auto-caption any English speech using in-built speech recognition.  

Captioning a video can be a long and expensive process, so an automatic method should ensure more videos can be captioned. One of BRITE’s assistive technologists, Fil McIntyre, reports his findings and provides tips to get started with captioning…

I tested a few videos but found the results were far from satisfactory and could not be relied upon for giving an accurate transcript of the speech.  It seems that unless the speaker has very clear and precise speech (Barrack Obama is a good example) the auto captioning is inaccurate.  Any background noise can also affect the accuracy. But all is not lost!  There is a semi-automatic method to caption videos. 

Resource Round-up: Supporting Communication

The way we use language and communicate significantly shapes how we engage with learning. Some students may experience difficulty understanding certain concepts, while others may use alternatives to speech.

If you support students who have communication difficulties, or you would just like to learn more, some new resources provide background information and examples of support strategies.

The Hello campaign marks 2011 as the national year of communication. Hello is a campaign to increase understanding of how important it is for young people to develop good communication skills.

A number of resources have been made available on the Hello website. While the focus is often on children, many of the resources have relevance to those working with school leavers.

ICT and Inclusion 2011

In June, CALL Scotland, BRITE and JISC RSC Scotland North and East worked together to offer two days of free exhibitions and demonstrations of technology for students with additional support needs.

Attendees, including many colleagues from the further education sector, enjoyed the opportunity to see a large range of resources all in one place. There was also a chance to meet suppliers, ask questions and gain more in-depth information where required.

In addition to a timetable of supplier sessions focusing on key products, members of the BRITE team joined CALL, JISC and local practitioners to deliver presentations looking at ways in which technology may be used to create more inclusive learning environments.

Sessions were very well-attended, in some instances there was standing room only! Read on for summaries of the BRITE workshops, including useful links.