Transcript Using Mobile Technology to Promote Independence for

Jamie Coccarelli, M.Ed
Rebecca Sitton, ATP, RET

You are a small disability services office
and want to provide better
accommodations for your students with
ADHD and/or Learning Disabilities.

You want to learn more about technology
to assist students with ADHD and/or
Learning Disabilities.

Gain an understanding of the functional
limitations of students with ADHD and
Learning Disabilities.

Take away some free or low cost
technology tools to accommodate those
functional limitations in the classroom.

Fall 2008: 584 students registered with
DSO on the 12th day of class.=

Fall 2013: 1021 students registered with
DSO on the 12th day of class
78.4% increase in students with no
increase in staff

Share common functional limitations of:
 Organization & Executive Function
 Sustained Attention and Concentration
 Reading
 Writing
Missing assignment/project due dates
 Setting unrealistic goals for
assignment/project completion (i.e. one night
for 10 page paper).
 Not following the given rubric
 Losing notes from lecture
 Missing class
 Missing registration dates


Unable to focus in lecture
 Missing notes on the board/power point
 Not listening to the auditory portion of class
(lecture)

Unable to focus while studying at home
 Get distracted by pictures in text, advertisements
on websites
 Get distracted by roommates, TV, electronics



Word reading (dyslexia)
Reading fluency
Reading comprehension
 Task persistence: a skill that is especially
important for successful reading of expository
text, such as history and science textbooks,
newspapers, and voter pamphlets.


Written expression
Dysgraphia
 Visual-spatial difficulties: trouble processing
what the eye sees
 Language processing difficulty: trouble
processing and making sense of what the ear
hears


Laptops

Phones
 MacBook AIR
 iPhone
 Netbooks/PC’s
 Android
Tablets
 Windows
 iPads
 Kindles
 Surface
Come in the form of:
 Built in OS features
 Software
 Apps
 Browser Add-On’s or Extensions
Accessibility features already in your
technology that can assist students.

Apple Accessibility
Features
 Dictionary
 Text to Seech
 Word Completion
 Voice Recognition
 Contrast
 VoiceOver

Windows
Accessibility
Features
 Voice Recognition
 Narrator
 Contrast

Chromebook
Accessibility
Features
 Speech to text

iOS Accessibility
Features
 Speech to Text
 Voice Over
 Speech Selection

Video and Auditory Engagement
 Apps and software for reading digital text
aloud (with/without highlighting)

Diagnosed LD – meet the requirements of organic
impairment
 Bookshare
 Learning Ally

ADHD – and general assistance
 CourseSmart
 eBooks (Adobe Digital Edition)
 Kindle
 ibooks
Natural Reader
(Free)
 Available in PC &
MAC Download, iOS,
Android, Google Play


Speak Selection
(iOS) built into
accessibility features

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Voice Reading
IVONA:
Moon+Reader
CoolReader
Webpage Reader

Voice Reading

Webpage Reader
What are Extensions? Some of my Favorites:
Small programs that add  TLDR
new features to your
 Clearly
browser and personalize
 SpeakIt
your browsing experience.
 Cruxlight
 Grammarly
 Chrome Web Store
 Readability


Solutions for helping students capture
content to process at a later time .
 Audio Recordings
▪ Livescribe Pen
▪ Recording Apps on Tablets
 Collaborative Notes
▪ Google Docs
▪ Evernote
▪ OneNote

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Every student can benefit from using this
technology (exception could be student
with significant hearing impairments)
Visual and Auditory Tool
Ability to change playback speed to adjust
for audio processing skills
3 pens currently on the market – Echo,
Sky, Smartpen 3

Notability
 App records audio
 Imports PDF’s
 Imports PowerPoints
 Annotate on imports
 Add pictures and web
clippings

MindMapping Software
 An alternate to collect and visualize ideas.
Mindmeister –Cloud based, Google Play & iOS app
available.
Xmind – MAC, PC, Linux
MindMaple – MAC, PC, iOS

Grammar Checking
 Tools to independently check for Grammatical errors.
▪ Grammarly – Cloud Based (also Chrome Extension)
▪ Grammarbase – Cloud Based (Dyslexia friendly)

Voice Recognition is a good tool for students
with Written Expression Disorders
 Allows a student to vocalize their thoughts and
have them written out.
 Great tool for spelling issues and dysgraphia.
 Available in Windows, Mac, iOS, and Google

How to set up
Windows Speech
Recognition

How to set up Mac
Speech

Build into
iPhones/iPads
QUIZLET
STUDYBLUE
 Paper Planners
 Digital Planners/Apps
 Mobile Alerts
 Focus Reminders
 List Apps/Features

Cloud Based so
accessible across
devices.
• Studious
• Android App Only
• Phone silencer
during class
• Manage study
schedule.
• Reminders for
assignments and
tests
Apple App
 Note taking with Recording
 Date Organizer for
Homework, assignments
and exams, to do list with
notifications
 Import PDFs and other
docs from the web and from
email attachments
 Generate and print your
weekly class schedule
Assignment Calculators
University of Toronto
SELF CONTROL APP
•
•
MAC COMPUTER
ONLY
ONCE SET – NO WAY
TO GET ACCESS TO
WEBSITES UNTIL
TIME IS UP
Stay Focused – Chrome Extension
Cold Turkey - Windows