Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Cool online programs from Fran

Just added a new item in Links to Resources section. Lots of computer activities from Northridge Elementary grades K-6. This is the town where CSUN is located.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Adapting battery operated toys for switch users

A question was asked recently about adapting battery operated toys for switch users vs. buying them already adapted. Any battery operated toy can be quickly and easily adapted for a switch with a Battery Device Adapter (creative name, eh?). Many vendors carry them for around $12 each. They come in AA or D size. Navigate to the Links to Resources section and check out Battery Device Adapters. The link is to ABLEDATA, a database of AT related equipment - not a vendor. ABLEDATA is sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), part of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) of the U.S. Department of Education.

Region 1A reminders

I've put a section for Region 1A information and will post agendas here - see "Where in the World?"
Meetings are scheduled as follows:
October 24 - Computer lab
November 14 - Room C
December 12 - Room A
January 23 - Computer lab
February 13 - Room A
March 27 - Room C
April 17 - Room C
May 8 - Room B

Has everyone created a gmail account? Please forward your gmail address to me if you have.

I tried to put the color coded UDL handout in google docs to share that way, but google docs does not support Publisher files. Does anyone know a way for me to add it to the blog?

Enjoy Fall Equinox tonight!

Google Calendar

We have discovered Google calendar! We have created our calendars and can "share" them (see each others). It's a pretty handy tool if you are always trying to schedule around other people. When items are scheduled, you can invite others to attend and you will get an email every morning with your schedule for the day. Just sign in to your google account and go to the Calendar tab. We will show you how we've done ours at the next meeting!

Dragon Naturally Speaking V10

Dragon was discussed at our Region 1A meeting earlier this month and I mentioned that we had just upgraded to V10. Well, as it turns out, this version will not run on most of the computers at the schools. We tried using it on a relatively new machine but had trouble installing it. I am in the process of returning all 9 of our upgrades. Luckily I was within the 30 day return period. Nuance will not replace with V9 as they no longer sell it. I believe I can get the upgrade to V9 through Lab Resources. Specs for V10 include:
DVD-ROM drive (required for installation)
L2 Cache: 512 KB