Azu Ike

Making text accessible for students with "Print Disabilities" has become one of the cornerstones of the work that I do day in and day out. By being able to provide students with accessible text, they can know with confidence that they will be able to keep up with the work load in their respective classes. Utilizing services like Bookshare has really made a significant difference in the lives of students that I have worked with, but it is still incredible when I realize just how many parents, students and educators are unaware of the service. As I continue to go out into the educational community and share this information one of the things I have learned in my years in the field of assistive technology is that: the technology has to be dead simple to use and access. If there are any kinks in the process there is a real likelihood that the technology just will not be utilized. In this respect with the release of the Bookshare Web Reader, Bookshare has taken the necessary step ...

Apple has added a number of new Accessibility features in iOS 6 which makes the iPad even easier to use for students with reading disabilities. In the latest version of the iOS students can now turn on the Highlight Word feature which will highlight the words as they are being read on the screen. Being able to synchronize the highlighting of text on the screen is an invaluable feature and one that many students with reading and attentional difficulties will find to be extremely helpful. Remember that this feature is part of the iOS-so as long as you are able to select text on the screen it will work in most apps. This feature is also great as an editing tool for students when they are doing writing. I have embedded a short video demonstrating how to turn on this feature.