Type in answers

Read questions with Text-to-Speech

Use Drawing Tools

Highlight text and circle numbers to answer questions

Use voice to answer question or to comment on pupil's work

Draw shapes and graphs

Measure dimensions and angles

Nearly 50 parents of children with additional support needs came to CALL on Saturday for our Parent Information Day on iPads.During the course of the day there was a series of presentations by CALL staff on different aspects of the use of the iPad to support learning and communication, along with exhibition space with various stands where visitors could have more in-depth discussions with CALL staff and browse through some of the extensive information downloadable from the internet on the use of iPads to support learning.Stuart and Paul provided an overview of the use of the iPad to read books available in different electronic formats (primarily ePub and PDF), using apps including iBooks, iWordQ and VoiceDream Reader.

In a parallel session, Sally demonstrated a number of picture-based apps that could be used to support communication, including BitsBoard, Book Creator, Sounding Board and GoTalk Now.

The morning finished with a presentation by Craig highlighting basic functions of the iPad, such as file management and the creation of folders, and the accessibility features of the iPad.After lunch there was time for people to browse through a vast array of information resources (listed in a handout) and to ask questions. Many people took the opportunity to buy CALL's book on the iPad, iPads for Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning, available as a free download, or to purchase in paper format from CALL.

What people thought of the Information Day

Here are some comments made by people attending the Information Day:

• "CALL is a brilliant discovery for us, and I feel it should be promoted to EVERY dyslexic kid as a matter of course - by law!"
• " I liked the depth & breadth of experience and approachability of presenters."

Earlier this year eight schools in Scotland participated in a study which asked “How does the use of tablet devices (e.g. the iPad) impact on teaching and learning?”

Given the huge interest in iPads, this is a good question to ask, and even  better to answer!

Researchers at the University of Hull have just published the project report here, and it makes interesting reading for anyone interested in iPads and tablet computers in schools. The Key Findings are reproduced below:

"1. Use of tablet devices such as the iPad was found to facilitate the achievement of many of the core elements required within the Curriculum for Excellence framework and could be further developed in order to achieve these aspirations.

2. The adoption of a personalised device such as an iPad significantly transforms access to and use of technology inside the classroom with many attendant benefits:

• Many teachers noted that ubiquitous access to the Internet and other knowledge tools associated with the iPad altered the dynamics of their classroom and enabled a wider range of learning activities to routinely occur than had been possible previously.
• The device also encouraged many teachers to explore alternative activities and forms of assessment for learning

Quite a few people have been asking if candidates can use iPads to complete the SQA Digital Question Papers. Previously, the answer was 'no' partly because SQA prohibited use of iPads in the same way they do not allow mobile phones in the exam room. However, this policy has now changed and some pupils at Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock did use their iPads to access the digital papers this year. 

PDF Expert

The SQA Digital Question Papers are PDF files which can be read using many different apps including, for example, iBooks and Adobe Reader, but for digital exams we suggest PDF Expert which is the only app we have found that actually lets you type your answers into the digital paper answer boxes. PDF Expert lets you open the digital paper, type into the answer boxes, highlight and underline text, and add drawings and notes to the exam paper. Completed papers can be printed, saved and emailed. Cedars used PDF Expert on their iPads for the 2012 exams.

The digital papers work very well for question and answer exam papers which require short text answers. The screen shot shows how text can be typed into the answer boxes on an Intermediate 1 Computing Paper. To 'tick' the answer box, you tap with your finger.

The answer boxes can only accept text and so maths and science, where the learner has to produce equations and formulae, can be tricky to do digitally. 

With a stylus, it is possible to draw diagrams, graphs and maths and science expressions on the digital paper although I still don't find it as easy as using a pencil and paper, personally (must be an age thing?). Note that candidates have the option of writing their drawings and equations on the digital paper, or on a paper copy.

The second screen shot shows my scrawled attempt to draw a graph and work through an equation with the stylus. 

Security

1.  
2. Back up the iPad. 
3. Delete all the apps on the iPad that are not required in the assessment. This leaves the apps required for the assessment (e.g. PDF Expert, maybe Pages etc,) plus the built-in Apps on the device. 
4. Delete all photos, music files, videos, contacts, reminders and other documents. Clear the browser history.
5. Go into Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars and delete all the accounts. This prevents access to Mail, Contacts and Calendar.
6. Remove any 3G SIM card.
7. Prevent access to the school Wi-Fi using the school network settings. Check that there are no other wi-fi internet access points available.  
8. Turn off Bluetooth: Settings > General > Bluetooth > Off.
9. Now you need to prevent access to the built-in Apps, which are Newsstand, iMessages, Mail, Safari, iBooks, FaceTime, PhotoBooth, Reminders, Photos, Music, Videos
10. Go to Settings > General > Restrictions.
11. Click on Enable Restrictions and enter a passcode
1. Turn off any apps that you don’t want the candidate to be able to access (i.e. all of them). This will remove the following apps from the iPad screen: Safari, YouTube, Camera, FaceTime, iTunes, Ping and installing and deleting apps. Note this still leaves Mail, iMessage, Calendar and Contacts that the pupil could access the internet to find previously hidden answers, which is why you need to prevent access to wi-fi or the internet.
12. Allow Changes: 
1. in Location, Don’t Allow Changes (this stops the iPad connecting to Wi-fi hotspots or devices)
2. In Accounts, Don’t Allow Changes (this prevents anyone adding a new mail or other account)
13. Turn off Auto-Correction and spellchecking (unless you have permission to use them):
1. Settings > General > Keyboard > Turn off Auto-Correction and Check Spelling
2. (Note that the candidate can easily turn them back on – we haven’t found a way to prevent this.)
14. You should now have an iPad with:
1. no stored files, emails, photos, videos, sound recordings or other documents;
2. only the apps which are required for the assessment;
3. no spellchecking or auto-correct;
4. no access to the internet or wi-fi;

and so the iPad should be secure.

If you have an iPad why not download some past papers from SQA's web site, try them out, and let us know what you think.

The eBook revolution continues apace in all sorts of ways, and more Scottish public libraries are joining in by lending eBooks and downloadable audiobooks, for us to borrow and read or listen to on our computers, iPhone or iPad, and Android devices. So far, five local authorities offer eBooks and downloadable audiobooks:

• Aberdeenshire
• Dundee
• East Renfrewshire
• Edinburgh
• South Ayrshire.

Yesterday Apple launched iBooks 2, a new version of the iBooks app for iThingys; iBooks Author, a program for the Mac which is for writing and designing iBooks, and a range of interactive textbooks. The video about the interactive textbooks video a well worth a look - very promotional but also inspiring, and particularly relevant for those of us involved in supporting students with print disabilities.

Coincidentally, yesterday we ran a course for the first time on eBooks, Kindles and iPads. Preparing for it was an educational experience for Stuart, Sandra, Craig and I, and we learned a lot about the features and also limitations of Kindles, iPads and commercial eBooks.

A few observations, just from this one course:

• Over half the teachers on the course owned a Kindle.
• A teacher from a Primary unit for pupils with visual impairment has 6 Kindles and she says she's almost stopped using paper large print completely - she emails the materials to the Kindles and the pupils use large font sizes on the devices instead. It saves a lot of paper, printing and therefore money, and the pupils prefer the Kindles to most (not all) of the paper large print books (books with large colour diagrams might not be that good on the Kindle screen). It's also a lot quicker - printing out 800 pages of 36 pt text takes a long time, whereas emailing the file to the Kindles takes seconds. 
• Another teacher on the course has a son who is dyslexic. He used to need coloured overlays to read books and was never a great reader, but he can see the Kindle screen display: she says he now spends hours reading books on the Kindle whereas before he never read for pleasure.   
• Participants generally felt that the Kindle, iPad, iPod etc have a considerable 'cool' factor, which is of course a big issue. And because they are mainstream devices, you don't look that different if you use one to read books.
• The eBook formats and readers are definitely becoming more accessible - bigger range of fonts, options to change colours and font sizes, better access with text-to-speech software.
• Some public libraries (Edinburgh, Dundee and South Ayrshire, at least) are now offering eBooks on loan. You can borrow a book and read it on your computer, iPod, iPad, Android device etc.
• The most exciting thing, for me, is the huge increase in the availability of books and materials - as well as Kindle, we have iBooks, WH Smith, Google Book store. Although the commercial eBook formats and readers may not give us everything we want in terms of accessibility (yet), they are getting there, and we are already seeing how the technology can give print disabled pupils access to learning materials in a way that is quicker, cheaper, easier and more independent than what we had before.

Jane Farrall in Melbourne Australia has just published on her blog a really useful step by step instructions for how to get a free book from the Tarheel Reader site into an iPad. Good way to make appropriate materials available without having to make them yourself. (You could also run the book online, which would be even quicker and easier, but downloading it as a powerpoint into iBooks means it can be always available and stay there for the child to enjoy again and again.

If you don't know about the TarheelReader site, go and have a look. There are many short and very simple stories there, freely useable and downloadable, made in Powerpoint, all with picture and speech support, one line of text, ideal for our emergent readers and learners with complex additional support needs. For example , see here, 'my cat is fat' (choose a voice on top left and off you go). (The quality can be a bit variable, so you do need to check before you select a book for a pupil. Some are a bit too 'American- mind you, there's nothing to stop us uploading our own books to the site, good idea!)

There's a very interesting article by Bradley Hodges on the AFB AccessWorld site. Bradley describes his first 24 hours with an iPad and the article is full of really interesting insights. From the Books for All perspective, I think this comment is very illuminating:

"There have been two transformative moments in my professional career that I associate with gaining equal access to the printed word. The first was in the mid-'90s, when, as a university researcher, my department obtained a braille embosser and access to the fledgling Internet. One afternoon, a graduate assistant who worked with me casually dropped a braille copy of the cover article from that week's Time magazine on my desk. For the first time, I could read the same text as my sighted colleagues at the same time they did.

The second transformative moment took place Monday evening, April 5, 2010. On that night, I purchased a book from a book store, exactly as my sighted neighbors and colleagues would. I then sat in my den and read that book on the same device as my sighted counterparts.

Just as the introduction of VoiceOver for the Mac and iPhone suddenly and dramatically changed our expectations for ourselves and for those who provide access technology to our community, I believe the advent of accessible iBooks will be viewed by future generations as one of the landmark events in the lives of the blind."

In previous posts I've noted that eBook readers and eBook formats both need to be accessible if there are to fulfil their potential to provide access to books for print disabled people. With the iPad and VoiceOver it looks like it's just happened! (Provided we can actually buy books from the iBookStore in the UK...there's always a fly in the ointment somewhere...)

eBooks have been around for some years now without making much impact but recently there has been a lot more buzz about them. There are a lot of interesting possibilities with eBooks for people with print disabilities but the main one is access to books: if accessible eBooks could be purchased direct from a publisher then we would no longer have to  contact the publisher to ask for a digital copy and wait while they find it, or rely on someone somewhere scanning the book into a digital format. For this to happen, we need accessible eBook readers and accessible eBooks.

The first eBook readers left a lot to be desired in terms of accessibilty, but the new Kindle devices (particularly the larger Kindle DX) looks more interesting. Amazon have been under pressure to improve the accessibility of the Kindle - for example the United States Justice Deptartment has agreed that three Universities will not buy or recommend the Kindle unless it is fully accessible.

On the new Kindle DX, it seems the text size can be up to about 20 point, and Kindle claim they are going to add a new font in the summer which will double this size (i.e. 40 point). Of course the Kindle can also read the text out using text-to-speech software: the voice is provided by Nuance and so it should be quite good (albeit American). A major limitation is that it can only read 'unprotected' eBooks, and most of the commercial books are protected to prevent them being copied. RNIB and others are lobbying for publishers to find a way to protect their interests and also make their books accessible, so we hope to see an improvement here.

The new Apple iPad also looks interesting because Apple says it can read out eBooks using 'VoiceOver', the iPad screen reader, and you can change the text size and also the font. We don't know yet if it will be able to read commercial eBooks, or if this function will be restricted, like the Kindle. To read more about the iPad accessibility features go to the iPad features web page on accessibility.

So it looks like things are moving fast in the world of accessible eBooks.

If you want to keep up to date with developments I recommend Denise Dwyer's Print for People blog. Denise is a Development Officer with RNIB and her blog is a really helpful up-to-date summary of accessibility developments in the publishing world.