tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29969327845963723762011-10-17T14:19:18.906-07:00About assistive technology written for the students who use it... the AT @ SOU blog gives you information on the latest updates in technology & disability at Southern Oregon University and beyond!Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.comBlogger601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-36713751957531992832011-07-26T07:55:00.000-07:002011-07-26T07:55:11.744-07:00

I got an email from someone not too long ago asking for more details on how to download a spreadsheet from Google Docs using a screenreader. (Not going to tell you who it is, since I don't have their permission, but it was someone I really rather admire in the accessibility field. Got all giddy about it and everything, 'cuz I'm just like that.) Thought I'd post it here in case anyone else needs

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-61338330772465457392011-03-30T11:58:00.000-07:002011-03-30T11:58:24.619-07:00

Other Stuff? What Other Stuff? In the Google Docs app grouping at the time of this writing there are a few other capabilities: Drawings, Collections, and Forms. We're going to tackle all three today. Drawings: Remember Microsoft Paint? Google has essentially brought a Paint-like basic image-creation tool to the web. Drawings currently exports in four formats: .png, .jpg, .svg, and .pdf.

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-15325244874450188312011-03-23T11:59:00.000-07:002011-03-23T11:59:34.005-07:00

Here we are again, looking at the accessibility of Google Apps (the Presentations section, this time) and how it can both be a benefit and a barrier for students with disabilities. This has become quite a hot topic since my last post, as the National Federation of the Blind has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the inaccessibility of Google Apps for users with vision

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-12458190033312212912011-02-23T16:44:00.000-08:002011-02-23T17:45:57.823-08:00

Google Spreadsheets has become much more feature-rich since its inception. It is now possible to do many of the things you'd do in Excel - including formulas and charts - with this free webapp. It has many of the same benefits and drawbacks that I highlighted last time about Google Documents. However, Spreadsheets does have some of its own unique benefits and barriers.Making the SwitchThere's a

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-74002122330540950842011-02-09T13:39:00.000-08:002011-02-09T16:24:37.062-08:00

Here's the dealio. Google Docs, at this point, incorporates word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and drawings. It's a big chunk 'o stuff, and frankly, I doubt anyone's got the patience to read through a blog post that covers the accessibility of them all. Today's post will tackle just Documents, the word processing portion of Google Docs. I'll get to the others in turn.

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-75630792444871542012011-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:002011-01-20T08:00:09.475-08:00

Last week, I posted about the benefits and barriers of Gmail for students with disabilities. This week's topic is Google Calendar- a webapp I love, love, love. Once again, we'll be taking a look at the ways that Google Calendar can make life easier for students with disabilities, as well as some of the need-to-know accessibility info.Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, however, let's spend a

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-23922745073511585512011-01-19T08:24:00.000-08:002011-01-19T08:47:38.487-08:00

Sometimes, the blog post you planned isn't the most important one to post. While I do have a post on accessibility and Google Calendar, I got information this morning that really needed to be shared first.The Kindle app for PC now includes text-to-speech. This is big, my friends. Let's hear it directly from Amazon:Amazon.com is releasing a new version of Kindle for PC that adds accessibility

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-52726639824485761392011-01-12T11:30:00.000-08:002011-01-12T14:14:23.796-08:00

In December, SOU switched student email accounts from NetMail to Gmail. Hopefully, this is not news to you, dear student, what with the news broadcasts and on big honkin' banners on campus.The switch affects more than just which email service you use, however. SOU students now have a huge number of tools and resources in the Google Apps for EDU umbrella, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-33760027134225396152011-01-03T16:18:00.000-08:002011-01-03T16:25:09.132-08:00

This post is thanks to another colleague question. She asked:"I have a student who has a DAISY player and needs his books in DAISY format. I checked with Bookshare and RFB&D and neither one of them has his needed books. Is there a simple process to convert a PDF into DAISY format?"Is there a simple process to convert PDF to DAISY? Yup - outsource it! I'm only partially kidding. Creating

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-227945393078195792010-09-08T08:25:00.001-07:002011-01-03T16:18:46.032-08:00

There's been a couple of developments I've been tracking in the alternate format text world that bear sharing today.The Good NewsO'Reilly Books, prolific and well-respected publisher of tech books often used for computer science courses, has for some time been providing all of their texts to Bookshare to create accessible versions. Today, O'Reilly announced that they will add text DAISY formats

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-88094632561103425372010-09-02T10:13:00.000-07:002010-09-02T10:20:46.098-07:00

Some exciting news on the library front. EBSCO, the company that supplies the article database most commonly used in the SOU Hannon Library, has decided to partner with NextUp. This is good news for students who can benefit from hearing as well as seeing print, as it means you can have articles read aloud to you from wherever you access the EBSCO database. Details are available from EBSCO's press

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-75645492152611664672010-07-01T12:19:00.000-07:002010-07-01T15:43:33.732-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for new and better ways to remove barriers. You may remember I posted (read, gushed) before about the Livescribe Pulse pen. We've run a pilot program with some students who replaced the traditional notetaking accommodation with the Pulse pen.They loved it. If it works, I reasoned, we should try it on a larger scale! So that's what we're doing. We now have 25 Livescribe

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-49802773350763459412010-06-28T07:46:00.000-07:002010-06-28T08:00:43.063-07:00

The tutorials are up! The tutorials are up!If you've wondered how to use AIMS, then wonder no longer. We've got video tutorials to make life easier for you. These tutorials cover everything from logging in for the first time to changing your accommodation requests to scheduling testing. Each is a step-by-step, narrated, and captioned screencast. Watch for them to be embedded in AIMS in the

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-18378110286872888262010-05-27T09:20:00.000-07:002010-05-27T16:07:48.562-07:00

Students, unless you want the skinny behind how alternate format text production actually works, y'alls can just skip this one. This post is in answer to a question I got from a friend at another university; she's just jumping in to this whole world of alt text production and needed a bit of an orientation. Not being one to waste a good long email, I've published it here for others. I had a ton

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-88162229438229584022010-05-14T11:04:00.000-07:002010-05-14T12:04:45.052-07:00

This is one of those situations where I went looking for directions to a specific task in order to give them to a student...and couldn't find them. Yet, this is a function I use fairly regularly and refer students to, so, gosh, wouldn't it be helpful to have those instructions available?Hence, this post.Skim is a fabulous free program for the Mac. All of the things that I would want to do with a

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-28513972917166275032010-05-07T13:01:00.000-07:002010-09-21T10:08:37.856-07:00

With the dawn of the iPad on the scene, some people are wondering why they'd bother with a Kindle. After all, the Kindle can't play games or surf the web (ok, it can, but it's k.l.u.n.k.y.)--or at least, not yet it can't. I've posted before about Kindle accessibility and the advantages and disadvantages of a Kindle for students with disabilities. There have been several pilot programs with the

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-2610368266696279502010-04-27T14:27:00.000-07:002010-04-27T14:31:06.316-07:00

Just a quick note this time.SOU and Landmark College are partnering to offer a high school summer program for students with learning challenges. There's a great article about it (especially the assistive technology aspects!) in today's Ashland Tidings.To find out more about the program, check out Landmark's site.See, told you it would be quick.

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-18537127025034178302010-03-26T16:07:00.000-07:002010-03-26T16:18:17.850-07:00

This is another colleague-question inspired post. She was looking for resources that would help her relative (who has learning disabilities) through law school. I figured... hey, what a good opportunity for a blog post!Text to speech programsThere are a number of text-to-speech programs out there that will, well, turn text into computerized speech. I've covered a number of these in some of my

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-54174483579565249702010-03-09T16:51:00.000-08:002010-03-09T18:26:08.300-08:00

Back in May and June of last year, I wrote a series of posts on the organization, writing, and research tools I'm using for my doctoral work. I've since winnowed that list down a bit and revised some of my processes. Since it's the time of the term when students are finishing up finals and perpetually looking ahead to next term to see what they can do better, this seemed like a good time to take

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-49765919683084701772010-02-18T13:29:00.000-08:002010-02-18T16:22:06.465-08:00

There was a cell phone company that, not long ago, had a commercial that gave stats on how many people were tweeting right now, then followed it with the number of people who had no idea what tweeting was. At first glance, Twitter seems rather self-promoting. You throw 140 characters of what you're thinking out into the world. However, there are great reasons for students to use Twitter; most of

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-42890072274611873542009-10-12T07:40:00.000-07:002009-10-12T07:54:23.723-07:00

Huge disclaimer: I didn't write this. But oh.... I wish I had. It's been around for quite awhile, but will probably be new to a number of readers of this blog. In honor of Disability Awareness in Employment Month, I am proud to present:What to do when you meet a sighted person People who use their eyes to acquire information about the world are called sighted people, or "people who are sighted".

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-66435065984401510432009-09-15T14:47:00.000-07:002009-09-15T15:54:48.353-07:00

Free.One of my favorite words, free. Definitely tops on my list of four-letter-words-that-begin-with-the-letter-F. And, I'm excited to report, a word that now applies to individual student memberships with RFB&D (Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic).Since 1951, RFB&D has been providing people with print disabilities access to human voice readings of books - especially textbooks. For years, SOU

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-35755660878773743942009-08-17T10:28:00.000-07:002010-09-21T10:09:25.380-07:00

If you follow accessibility news at all, you've probably heard some of the kerfuffle about the Amazon Kindle. For those who don't want to follow the link, I'll try to sum up the issues quickly:Starting with the Kindle 2, text-to-speech is available. This means that alternate format text is instantly available with no conversion, no extra cost, no extra time... to everyone who might benefit from

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-91457429102747371502009-06-01T14:30:00.001-07:002009-06-01T14:33:48.880-07:00

For those who are just now joining the conversation, this is the third in a series of tools I'm using in the pursuit of my Ph.D. Remember, my primary research computer is a Mac, so all of the tools below are Mac-friendly. If they also have a Windows version, are web-based, or have a mobile application, I've noted that in the cute little squiggly brackets {}.Research tools Bookends Bookends has a

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-74367035265937625662009-05-24T20:21:00.000-07:002009-05-24T20:28:12.003-07:00

My last post was on the organization tools I'm using to get (most) things done. This post will concentrate on the writing tools I'm using. Remember my criteria:My higher multiple intelligence points are: linguistic, visual, musical, logical/mathematical (which is weird, with my dyscalculia), and intrapersonal.My primary computer for this work is a Mac, but I work on multiple computers throughout

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-46406822465998411092009-05-18T15:00:00.000-07:002009-05-19T08:25:43.390-07:00

I thought it might be interesting for you to see some of the things I use in the course of my Ph.D. work. Keep in mind some of my requirements:My higher multiple intelligence points are: linguistic, visual, musical, logical/mathematical (which is weird, with my dyscalculia), and intrapersonal.My primary computer for this work is a Mac, but I work on multiple computers throughout the course of a

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-2862058053233018512009-03-03T11:05:00.000-08:002010-09-21T10:10:23.588-07:00

Dear Amazon.com,The community of people with print disabilities were all a-twitter about the Kindle 2. Readers who use their ears to read - those who are visually impaired, have learning disabilities, are learning English, or are functionally illiterate - were excited to finally have a mass-marketed, accessible device that allows them to read. No "special" devices. Books, newspapers, and

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-57075436833801586402009-01-29T14:36:00.000-08:002009-01-29T15:24:58.055-08:00

So, you're working on a paper. Chugging away, everything's going great... and then, since you have Facebook running in the background, one of those little popups comes up at the bottom of your screen. You stop writing to read it...(30 minutes later)Oh, yeah, you were writing a paper. Hmmm... train of thought has not only left the station, but it took all your baggage with it.There are some ways

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-80925565471892593102008-11-24T16:13:00.000-08:002008-11-24T16:54:14.219-08:00

Have you heard about Ginger?I was absolutely blown away by the demo at the AHEAD conference this summer. Ginger has the potential to completely change the way that students with dyslexia and other visual processing learning disabilities feel about writing."Why for how come so?" I hear you asking. Ginger takes the spelling and mechanics errors dyslexics can often make and corrects them by looking

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-36807119343849441912008-11-10T08:42:00.000-08:002008-11-10T09:57:20.423-08:00

I'm going to state up front that this is a shameless infomercial.Having said that, fellow learners of the world, here's the scoop. Once again this winter, I'm teaching Technology for Learning. It's designed to give every student, regardless of major, abilities, or learning style, technology tools they can use to be more effective and efficient. Besides, it's fun! My basic philosophy: if properly

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-1462428547198120412008-11-04T09:01:00.000-08:002008-11-04T09:24:14.564-08:00

I've blogged before about some of the great tools available at SOU in the Premier AT Suite. Last academic year, we had a little more room in the AT budget and were able to purchase a subscription to the Premier AT Home service, which allowed students to download as many of the tools in the suite as they liked, for free.Faithful readers of this blog will know how I like the word "free." It's right

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-56868260711676580122008-09-11T16:04:00.000-07:002008-09-11T16:58:51.474-07:00

In the three years that I've been with DSS (wow, is it that long?), there have been one constant in an environment of change.Paper.Oh, sure, we have a couple of online forms for notetaking and alternate format text, but for the majority of students, paper has been everywhere. Testing requests, checking out alt format or equipment, notetaker contracts, accommodation letters.... it's everywhere!

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-38781163475523305782008-08-06T08:40:00.000-07:002008-08-06T10:29:26.643-07:00

Any readers that are old enough to remember the mouse as a new invention (hey, I got my start on a Commodore 64) will already know that using keystrokes can be far faster than reaching over for the mouse. Many AT users are also heavy keyboard users; a friend of mine "tolerates no rodents" in his computing. All of the above, then, can celebrate the co-creation of Keyboardian and InftyReader...

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-74411475093226132532008-08-01T11:26:00.000-07:002008-08-01T12:09:21.046-07:00

This week, a colleague on a listserv was asking about AT software for Macs in a college setting. Specifically, he was asking about speech-to-text and text-to-speech programs. With a few cosmetic tweaks here and there, here's my response...The built-in stuffVoiceOver is a screenreader built in to the operating system. Like most screenreaders, there's a lot to learn in using it. For help, check out

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-76840452744314391642008-07-17T15:32:00.000-07:002008-07-17T15:41:26.040-07:00

While at the RFB&D booth at AHEAD, I heard the greatest news! RFB&D will begin offering downloadable books beginning August 1st. No specialized players needed, just download through your individual membership or via SOU's institutional membership. More details to come in the next few weeks.

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-91661233081063785622008-07-11T10:03:00.000-07:002008-07-11T10:11:00.013-07:00

It sounded to good to be true, so I bought one to test. By golly, it seems to work about as they said it would.The LiveScribe Pulse is an amazing little bundle of technology that looks like a fairly ordinary, if a bit pleasantly plump, pen. As a pen, it has an agreeable heft and feel in the hand, not too heavy or bulky. Writing is smooth and the ink flows well. All well and good - I expect these

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-86569622389761534932008-07-09T09:25:00.000-07:002008-07-09T10:05:14.665-07:00

I promised my next blog would be a review of the LiveScribe Pulse. But sometimes life, or death, can get in the way. I will be posting a review this week, but want to stop for a moment to honor my friend, Dick Banks, who died yesterday.The community of AT people is still a relatively small one. Many of us know one another or are interconnected through cyberfriends of cyberfriends.... if you

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-13079000748620896212008-06-27T15:43:00.000-07:002008-07-08T10:03:16.574-07:00

Ah, summer. The time when the academic year gets turned on its head and nothing is as it has been...Whether you're taking an accelerated class this summer (a full term of Stats in 4 weeks? Crazy!) or taking a break from academics, now's a good time to consider working on some success strategies. Notetaking is a great one to work on, because it's something you can benefit from both academically

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-79317678178125103492008-06-25T10:41:00.000-07:002008-06-25T10:57:13.509-07:00

Woohoo! Survey Monkey recently announced that they have made their web survey templates compliant with Section 508.Why is this such a big deal? Well, most survey tools are not designed for accessibility for people using assistive technology. In fact, most make it darn difficult to complete a survey using AT, especially using screenreaders. By actually gaining 3rd-party certification of their

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-35207110816510665162008-06-23T06:38:00.001-07:002008-07-11T10:18:24.124-07:00

For the past week, I've been on vacation. My family and I went camping in beautiful Morro Bay, California. My father-in-law proposed the radical rule for this week that we go non-electronic... no cell phones, no iPods, no laptop.We mostly did it. I claimed a bit of an exemption, since I'm taking an online class an needed to be able to access my class and do homework, and my sister-in-law,

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-19912424354184083492008-06-10T09:31:00.000-07:002008-06-10T09:52:00.743-07:00

Why on earth would a blog designed for college students be posting about a browser designed for children with autism? (The link leads you to an article from the Seattle times laying out the whole story.)Because this is one of those seemingly small, but potentially landscape-shifting, innovations. It's just one software company exec's attempt to make the Web more available to his grandson. But

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-36432269539637389262008-05-31T20:18:00.000-07:002008-05-31T20:56:18.422-07:00

Looking for a quick way to get a Braille or audio document? Don't have immediate access to Duxbury or text-to-speech software? Have no fear, Robobraille is here! I'm pretty quick on the short document conversions most of the time, folks, but this is way faster. Get your accessible file in just a few minutes. I sent a file of about 10 pages and got the MP3 back in 4 minutes. Your time will vary

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-70678178777401843712008-05-27T21:32:00.000-07:002008-05-29T15:55:53.602-07:00

Yes, I love the Mac. I've got four of them at home (and a new one coming in as soon!) and my desk in my office sports one, too. With the news that 40% of college students say their next computer purchase will be a Mac, it's apparent that students love them, too!With that, here's 5 free, cheap or built-in applications on the Mac that you might want to consider.GhostReader: easy text-to-speech I

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-72281695563092264952008-03-28T12:05:00.000-07:002008-05-27T16:31:55.038-07:00

Every once in awhile, I run across something that makes me smack my forehead and say, “Why didn’t I know about this before?!” Today was one of those days. I was cruising through the Net, looking for tools to include in my Technology for Learning class, when the skies opened, the sun shone, and a voice from my computer said, “Open Source Assistive Technology Software. OATS. Find it and you will be

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-83508419309044489572008-03-20T20:29:00.000-07:002008-05-27T16:29:55.968-07:00

For some reason, the hours between 3 and 5:30 seem to be a difficult time for me to actually stay asleep. But that’s good news, blog readers, because last night I had a wonderful time prancing around the ‘Net and found great blog fodder! Some of you may have already found Google Reader, another of the ever-growing number of free applications provided by the advertising geniuses at Google. Google

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-86567835045893923682008-02-18T10:52:00.000-08:002008-05-27T16:27:29.070-07:00

Loyal readers of this blog (there are a couple of you, right?) will know that I really like playing with new technology. Those of you who’ve been in my office will know that I really like explaining how it can work for you. So here’s your opportunity… Beginning Spring term, I’m teaching a 2 credit class called Technology for Learning. (That’s USEM 199 for those who want to find it in the class

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-2189218864502857522007-11-29T19:32:00.000-08:002008-05-27T16:25:42.124-07:00

If you are eligible for alternate format text, I’ve got some very exciting news for you! The U.S. Department of Education has granted Bookshare.org a rather generous amount - $32 million, to be exact. Why is this important for you? Well, this grant allows all United States colleges and universities a free membership to Bookshare.org… and any student with a print disability now has access to free

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-24722894062913848042007-11-13T14:40:00.000-08:002008-05-27T16:23:44.351-07:00

Ever come across a website that you think - wow, this is really innovative? Well, this one crossed my email awhile ago. I ran across it again today, as I was cleaning out the inbox. ReadThisToMe.org provides a FREE, on-demand reading service for people who are visually impaired. What makes this uniques is that, because it is staffed by humans instead of computers, the service makes available

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-16797264350272260632007-11-08T14:41:00.000-08:002008-05-27T16:22:28.551-07:00

New Academic Year’s Resolutions Everyone else makes New Year’s Resolutions, and never being one to follow a convention just because it exists, I’ve decided to make some New Academic Year’s Resolutions. I resolve to blog more often. (The nice thing about saying “more often” is that it’s nebulous and y’all can’t pin me down to specific timeframes.)I resolve - again - to look for more resources for

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-4342187626263564362007-05-31T11:36:00.000-07:002008-05-29T15:54:37.339-07:00

Almost the end of the traditional academic year, here, with only dead week and finals week to go! It’s a good time to think about what we’ve accomplished this year - or at least what stands out to me at the moment…. Technology - hardware you can kick and software you want to throw Began limited production of DAISY format alternate textsProduced an astounding 193 alternate format texts, up 169%

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-18874718340653208532007-05-08T11:57:00.001-07:002008-05-27T16:16:48.182-07:00

I must admit, I’m a bit of a web-addict. I love the fact that I have instant access to just about whatever information I might want, at whatever time I want to get to it. 2 in the morning and can’t sleep? Browse eMusic for new tunes - perhaps a little Mozart will help. Looking for a one-handed keyboard? Abledata has plenty. Want to re-read Pride and Prejudice for the 47th time, or finally get

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-13316621232995742092007-03-06T13:13:00.000-08:002008-05-27T16:15:01.959-07:00

Summary ToolEver wanted to skim an electronic document, without having to page through it? Now you can. Using the Premier Assistive Technology tools available on campus (Etext Reader, Universal Reader, Talking Word Processor), you can create a summary of the document with just two clicks. You can choose a percentage (default is 10%) of the document, or a specified number of sentences, and the

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-56725394721294602482007-01-12T16:16:00.000-08:002008-05-27T16:12:08.660-07:00

Mac users, rejoice! If you’ve ever had the hankering to create your own audiobooks, you can now do it quickly and inexpensively, with some of the best synthetic voices around. Enter TextParrot, the new text to speech application from AssistiveWare. Not only will it read most electronic documents aloud, with one click it exports your document as an audio track in iTunes. Quickly, too

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-91326449025932315622006-11-10T08:56:00.000-08:002008-05-27T16:09:07.486-07:00

As I sit here in the airport, I’m thinking about all those times when things don’t go as we expect. For example, I awoke at 3:45 this morning, expecting to leave from the Medford airport at 5:50 and arrive in Denver for the Accessing Higher Ground conference at 2:37 this afternoon. Instead, here I am in Eugene at 2:45, hoping that this flight will go as planned and I will indeed end up in Denver

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-34601142920968407042006-10-11T08:59:00.000-07:002008-05-27T16:06:33.938-07:00

If you think that this blog has had an unreasonable focus on alternate format texts, there is a reason. The number of alternate text requests for this fall has been just unbelievable, and so my mind has been very much upon the world of creating audio, etext, and Braille versions of textbooks and other readings. So far, we’ve had over 60 requests for individual texts. Compare that to

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-14113938160961268482006-09-25T19:41:00.000-07:002008-05-27T16:05:08.070-07:00

Hooray! For the first time ever, we have Braille production capabilities on the SOU campus! This summer, we purchased an Index Basic-D Braille embosser. As printers go, it’s really a beautifully engineered piece of equipment; quite sleek and impressive. Once we added Duxbury 10.6, an astoundingly quick text-to-Braille translator, we were off and running! Literally, actually, as I quite amused the

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-86343369894112816922006-09-08T21:02:00.000-07:002008-05-27T16:03:27.476-07:00

I downloaded the trial version of SayIt and played with it quite a bit. What follows is my personal review - your experience may vary! On the plus side, it does read text aloud, it is very inexpensive, and it’s one of very, very few Palm text-to-speech applications. For those who are looking for an equivalent experience to even inexpensive text-to-speech applications (such as Natural Reader,

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-38021800853131294972006-08-23T22:07:00.000-07:002008-05-27T16:01:47.611-07:00

I admit it - I’m addicted to my handheld computer. Currently, I have a fairly basic Palm Zire31 that I bought when my beloved Treo 90 bit the dust. (I seem to have a penchant for buying handhelds right before they are discontinued.) One of the things I love most about handhelds is the enormous number of applications you can find, with many of them being free or very inexpensive. Tonight I was

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-60917540874684297692006-08-23T15:52:00.000-07:002008-05-27T15:59:53.010-07:00

It’s the end of August, and our alternate text request list is really moving! We have over 30 texts that have been requested for fall term so far. With four weeks to go before the term starts, I expect to see quite a few more in the near future. It’s a diverse list, ranging from Introduction to Statistics to children’s literature. Because the conversion process often requires me to skim the text

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2996932784596372376.post-44200505816455537612006-07-06T16:04:00.000-07:002008-05-29T15:54:02.308-07:00

Welcome to the first post of the AT @ SOU blog! Expect updates weekly-ish once a month, depending on what’s going on and what’s new. I’m hoping to use this blog to discuss aspects of assistive/adaptive technology in general and at Southern Oregon University in particular. We’ve got a lot of great stuff here! In other new things, DSS just received 20 AlphaSmarts to add to our inventory. These

Shawn Fosterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14496015854405215710noreply@blogger.com0