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

CALL Scotland has been organising the FREE annual ICT and Inclusion road-show since 2001. It provides people with an opportunity to see and compare the latest software and technology to support students with additional support needs from most of the leading UK companies.

Location and dates for the exhibitions are:

• CALL Scotland, Edinburgh - 18 June 2013
• Thistle Hotel, Glasgow - 19 June 2013

Suppliers will describe their key products in timetabled sessions and there will also be short presentations by staff from CALL Scotland.

The exhibitions will be open from 9.00 am until 4.00 pm.

Free Lunch! A free buffet lunch is provided at each of the three venues. It is therefore important that people register for the exhibition in advance so we have an idea of numbers before the day. Please indicate when you book a place if you wish to stay for lunch.

To find out more and to book online, go to the ICT and Inclusion web page or telephone CALL Scotland on 0131 651 6235 to book a place.

Congratulations to the winners of the Scottish Book Awards for 2012, which were announced today in Dundee. The winners were:

• 3 - 7 years - John Fardell for The Day Louis Got Eaten
• 8 - 11 years - Jonathan Meres for The World of Norm: May Contain Nuts
• 12 - 16 years - Barry Hutchison for The 13th Horseman

Over 30,000 children in schools throughout Scotland voted for their favourite new book to decide the winner of each category.

CALL Scotland's Books for All project provided copies of the books in electronic accessible formats for 55 pupils with a print disability in schools throughout Scotland to allow them to join their friends in voting for their favourite book.

Load2Learn is a database of downloadable accessible textbooks and images that has been set up by RNIB and Dyslexia Action with funding from the Department for Education. It's similar to the Books for All Database (we gave them some input and it's actually hosted by Scran, same as B4A) but when it was first set up, there was a membership subscription. Happily, it's now FREE! and so anyone who is working in schools with print-disabled pupils should join immediately and start getting access to more accessible titles.

To join, one member of staff in a school or service applies for membership to create a School group and then invites other staff to join the group. Then members of the group can search for and download books and images.

Since it's funded by the Department for Education, many of the secondary school books are the (English and Welsh) National Curriculum - AQA, GCSE etc - and so not relevant for most Scottish schools, but there are also many titles which are.

For example, Nelson Thornes have made a lot of their books available as PDFs - New Maths in Action; Scientifica, and there are many novels and primary textbooks available too.

Recently I was looking for accessible digital copies of Kes and Blood Brothers for a pupil and neither were available on B4A or Seeing Ear, but both are on Load2Learn.

The Load2Learn titles are offered in a range of different formats:

• PDFs, which look just like the paper book and so will suit some learners;
• Word files, which can be read on screen or converted into other formats such as Large print or Braille;
• ePUB, which can be read on iPads, tablets and smartphones;
• audio books. 

• The Books for All Database
• The Seeing Ear
• Load2Learn

plus of course commercial eBook venders such as Amazon, Waterstones, WH Smith and the iBook Store.

New Guidance

SQA have published new guidance documents for schools who intend to use the SQA Digital Question Papers and Digital Answer Booklets in this year's exam diet. They have up to date advice on how to set up computers and software, and revised guidance for candidates:

• ‘Digital Question Papers: Guidance for Centres’ 
• ‘Digital Question Papers: Guidance for Candidates’.

and can be downloaded from the SQA web site.

There are also new versions of the Digital Answer Booklets. These are used by candidates answering 'question only' papers (i.e. papers that do not have the red answer boxes - mostly for Standard Grade Credit, Intermediate 2, Higher and Advanced Higher papers). Most of the Answer Booklets in Word format are now single pages that expand as the candidate writes (saving paper when they are printed, because there will be fewer blank pages at the end), and there are new booklets for maths and business management.

The Answer booklets are available in PDF and Word formats. Most candidates will probably be best to use the Word versions because:

• the Word formatting and editing tools are better;
• text flows from page to page;
• writing support tools such as word prediction and speech recognition are more reliable;
• learners can use equation editors such as Efofex to create scientific and mathematical formulae, and graphs.

Data Booklets

Digital Data Booklets in PDF are now available for Chemistry, Physics and TechnologicalStudies. The booklets have bookmarks (table of contents) so that candidates can easily find their way to the relevant tables. These should be particularly helpful for candidates with physical disabilities who may find it hard to handle the paper booklets, or those with visual impairment, who will be able to magnify the data on the screen.

I got myself a Kindle Fire HD earlier this week as it is hard to respond to inquiries about a piece of equipment that we haven't seen. Interestingly, Amazon could not deliver until the middle of February so I got one from our local branch of Argos for the same price - sometimes it pays to shop local!

The Kindle Fire (bottom left in the photo), with a 7" screen is roughly the same size as the old keyboard Kindle (bottom right), just a fraction wider), but it is nearly twice as heavy. It is significantly smaller and lighter than the iPad (top). The display has a very decent resolution (1,280 x 800 pixels) and is clear and sharp.

The onscreen keyboard is as good as most others and works in either portrait or landscape orientation, with white lettering on black keys. There is built-in word rediction, with predicted words appearing in a row above the keyboard.

Reading eBooks on the Kindle Fire

The Kindle Fire can access the same Kindle library as other Kindle devices, but the colour screen makes children's picture books much more inviting. Some picture books have been provided with 'popups', enlarging small passages of text in a box with a cream background, using a standard, slightly enlarged, serif font to replace the various more graphical fonts used in picture books. Unfortunately, in the book I tried ('Twas the Night Before Christmas') it was not possible to further enlarge this text, or have it read out loud by the Kindle. I could not find any books in the Picture Book section of the Amazon Shop which claimed to be 'speech enabled'.

Books made up primarily of text can be read the same way as in earlier Kindles, with options to change line spacing, style and size of the text. Six fonts are available. Given that that the more 'traditional' Kindles available from Amazon (basic Kindle and Paperwhite) no longer provide text to speech support for reading eBooks, I was particularly keen to see how this performed on the Kindle Fire. To turn speech on, simply tap on the screen to bring up the Menu and choose Settings, then turn Text-to-Speech on. Tap again and press the Play icon at the bottom left of the screen to listen to the speech. Speech quality is better than on the earlier Kindles, but still isn't great.

I was disappointed to find that Immersion Reading is not yet available in the UK. This has been introduced for Kindle readers in the USA, allowing people to link their Kindle eBook to an audio book downloaded from Audible.com. Books can be read with a human voice (generally the author, or an actor), with text highlighted on screen as the words are spoken. When I tried to find out whether this would become available for the UK, the response from Amazon Support was somewhat cryptic: "We've made no announcement about implementing Immersion Reading in the UK, so unfortunately I can't answer your question."

What else does the Kindle Fire have?

The Kindle Fire HD has a dual-band Wi-Fi connection, which I have found to be pretty fast. The web browser is OK, but pretty basic, without any facilities for improving accessibility. You can connect to email, Facebook and Twitter accounts

Though the Kindle Fire uses the Android operating system, you are restricted to using apps available from the Amazon App Store. There's a good selection of mainstream apps available, many of which are free, but there's a shortage of the more specialist apps. Anybody looking for a budget communication aid will be disappointed.

The Kindle Fire has a built-in front facing HD video camera, aimed primarily at people using video chat - it can be used to take photographs, but it is awkward as you cannot see what you are taking a picture of.

Although it isn't documented, it is possible to take a screenshot of the Kindle screen by simultaneously pressing the Lower Volume and Power buttons. This can be tricky as it is easy to get it slightly wrong and just get the Volume Bar, or the Shut Down menu on screen.

The Fire can be connected to an external display, e.g. a data projector, by means of a micro HDMI cable (not supplied, but very cheap)

Overall Impressions

Basically, I like the Fire - screen quality is good, it is portable and has access to a wide range of facilities. Some tasks are pretty fiddly (like taking a screenshot) and I was a bit disappointed with the text-to-speech quality - and the absence of Immersion Reading, but overall I was pretty impressed, especially as it only cost £159.

We've been distributing CDs with accessible versions of the shortlisted titles for this year's Scottish Book Trust's Scottish Children's Book Awards for the last couple of weeks. (See previous Blog for details of the Awards and the shortlisted titles.)

• Bookbug Readers (3 - 7 years)
• Younger Readers (8 - 11 years)
• Older Readers (12 - 16 years)

Pupils with a print disability (e.g. visual impairment, dyslexia, some physical disabilities) who are not able to use standard books can benefit from having the books in an accessible electronic format available from CALL Scotland. This year, we have made the books available in the following formats:

BookBug Readers - PowerPoint and PDF. The PowerPoint files have recorded narration, i.e. children will hear a human voice reading the text on a page when they turn it. There are PowerPoint files specially set up for children using a switch. The PDF files have been set up so that the text can be read out loud by computer using either Adobe Reader and Read OutLoud, or Nook Study. Instructions for both are provided. We recommend using either of the Scottish Voices, Stuart or Heather, available for schools and parents from the Scottish Voice web site.

Younger Readers - Standard and Large Print (18 point) PDF and Daisy. Again, there are instructions for reading the PDFs using Adobe Reader or Nook Study. AMIS Daisy Reader software is provided for reading the Daisy versions.

Older Readers - Standard and Large Print (18 point) PDF and Daisy. Full instructions are provided.

Getting Accessible Copies of the Shortlisted Books

If you need an accessible copy of the books for a particular pupil, go to the CALL Scotland Books for All web site and fill in the form giving your name, the pupil name and letting us know which set of books is required. We'll send you the books on a CD.

Taking Part

Schools wanting to take part in deciding the winners in each category have to register with the Scottish Book Trust by 31st December and pupils can vote for their favourite book until 8th February.

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."

The British Dyslexia Association have recently published some new books covering different aspects of dyslexia. The full list is available from the store on their web site. We have purchased six of the new titles for the CALL Library:

• Dyslexia and Useful Technology, edited by EA Draffen
• Dyslexia in Education: A Guide for Teachers and Teaching Assistants, by Sue Thurtle
• Dyslexia and Parents, by Margaret Malpas
• Dyslexia: Early Intervention by Judith Stansfield
• Maths Learning Difficulties, Dyslexia and Dyscalculia, by Steve Chinn
• Dyslexia Friendly Schools: Good Practice Guide, edited by Katrina Cochrane and Kate Saunders

CALL Scotland has a reference library, generally open between 9am and 5pm, available to teachers, therapists, students and anyone else with an interest in augmentative communication, assistive technology and education. It is best to phone beforehand to make sure that the Information Officer will be available to give you any help you need. Tel 0131 651 6235.

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

Last week a colleague in a local authority got a quote for a single licence for Acrobat Pro from his Procurement department, for £480.  

This is not good use of public money, given that you can get it for £58.58 per licence, plus £20 for the DVD, from Education Scotland (ex VAT). (Note that their web site is out of date and still has Acrobat Pro 9 but when you order, you get Pro X.)

Or, try Academia who apparently have it for £56.70 plus £17.40 for the CD (plus VAT).

So, if you want to save some money, get your procurement department to order Acrobat Pro from one of these suppliers and save yourself £400 a pop. 

(Thanks to Sandra O'Neill for getting the current prices.)

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has published new guidance on the reasonable adjustments duty on auxiliary aids and services for disabled pupils. This duty duty took effect from 1 September 2012 in the UK, although the new guidance applies only in Scotland. The guidance is designed to help school leaders and education authorities comply with the reasonable adjustments duty, with a particular focus on the new auxiliary aids and services provision. It will also help disabled pupils and their parents understand the duty.

The practical examples included are designed to illustrate what would be expected of schools responding to and anticipating the support needs of disabled pupils for whom schools have to make reasonable adjustments. It includes practical case studies showing how the duty can be applied in contexts which will be familiar to teachers.

Many of the examples do indicate an awareness of, and draw on evidence for, the important role that ICT can play in providing assistive technology to help pupils to access the four capacities of Curriculum for Excellence. As many schools may find it difficult or slow to access the EHRC website directly we've provided a direct link to the Guidance document itself which is in Microsoft Word (.doc) format.

A well hidden feature in Microsoft Office 2010 is the option to speak text out. Yes, MS Office 2010 includes a text-to-speech feature. It is pretty basic but it is available.

As MS Office is integrated with Windows it means that whichever voice is selected in that computer's Control Panel will be used when you select Speak. If you have Heather or Stuart or both installed you can choose one or other of these high quality Scottish voices to speak the text. (You do this via the Control Panels rather in Word itself [Control Panels > Speech Recognition > Text-to-Speech, selecting the preferred voice from the drop down list.]

Because it is part of MS Word you can assign a Keyboard Shortcut to start and stop speaking text. This is very useful for pupils with a visual impairment, poor mouse control or simply because the pupil finds it quicker to use keyboard commands rather than mouse clicking.

MS Word is just one of the Office Programs that the Speak feature works with. It can also be made available to use with PowerPoint (yes talking PowerPoint), Excel and OneNote (one of our favourite programs that deserves more widespread use in schools). You follow the same steps to add the Speak feature in each program. 

You can also add Speak to the Quick Access Toolbar and position the toolbar below the Ribbon to simplify the interface for pupils. 

WordTalk versus Speak

So how does Speak, the MS Office 2010 text-to-speech feature compare with WordTalk, the toolbar designed to use with MS Word versions from Word 97 onwards?

In favour of Speak are the fact that it is built in not just to Word but to other MS Office 2010 software. It uses whichever voice is the Default voice used by the computer. Speak offers a range of text-to-speech options - by word, paragraph etc. A big advantage is that you can add Speak to the Quick Access toolbar, position the Quick Access toolbar below the Ribbon, and then Minimise the Ribbon (Right click on Ribbon > select Minimise). The pupil can then attend more easily to what he or she is reading or writing. Another advantage is that because it is a Microsoft product it should work smoothly with future updates to MS Office 2010 (and 2013).

Because WordTalk was designed by a teacher to support a pupil with severe dyslexia (who went on to achieve Highers), it includes features that teachers often find useful: Save as MP3 or Wav audio for listening to later; talking dictionary; an easy way to turn on and off keyboard shortcuts - a must for pupils who find it difficult to control a mouse or who just like to be able to access features quickly. The biggest advantage with WordTalk is that pupils who prefer to have text highlighted so that they can follow the text and listen to the spoken version can do so. They can also change the highlighting and text colour – useful for pupils with scotopic sensitivity problems.

Find out more

We’ve prepared a Quick Guide on Finding and Installing the Speak Text feature in MS Word 2010. The Quick Guide covers finding and adding the Speak button, assigning a Keyboard Shortcut, how to add the Speak button to the Quick Access Toolbar and how to position the toolbar below the Ribbon.

To find out about using the Speak facility in additional languages visit Microsoft’s language site. 

Once installed because the Speak feature is integrated with Windows it will recognise the language used within the text and read out in that language – provided the speech engine for the language is installed.

 Well done Microsoft…now please bring back Large Icons!

We’ve given Microsoft major pats on the back for providing an option to Speak text in Word documents (and in Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote). It would be great if they would bring back a couple of really useful features from MS Office 2003.

We think Microsoft made a huge own goal by not providing a much used feature in MS Word 2003, PowerPoint, Excel - the option to use Large Icons in the toolbar. 

The facility to record voice comments or voice notes is also available in MS Word 2007 and 2010 but it does not have the simplicity of MS Word 2003 – a feature that for many pupils was the difference between handing in work that they had produced themselves (recording their spoken answers in the document) or having to rely on scribing. MS Word 2007 and 2010 do provide this feature but for the pupils who are likely to benefit most, it is too difficult to access. 

The shortlisted titles for this year's Scottish Book Awards were announced last week by the Scottish Book Trust. There are three categories for the awards: Bookbug Readers (3 - 7 years); Younger Readers (8 - 11 years) and Older Readers (12 - 16 years). The shortlisted books in each category are:

Bookbug Readers

• Solomon Crocodile by Catherine Rayner
• The Day Louis got Eaten by John Fardell
• Jack and the Flumflum Tree by Julia Donaldson

Younger Readers

• Out of the Depths by Cathy MacPhail
• Soldier's Game by James Killgore
• The World of Norm: May Contain Nuts by Jonathan Meres

Older Readers

• The 13th Horseman by Barry Hutchison
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• The Prince who Walked with Lions by Elizabeth Laird

Accessible Versions of the Books

For the fourth year in a row, CALL will be producing accessible versions of the books in a variety of formats for pupils with a print disability who are unable to access traditional book formats. We plan to make the books available in the following formats:

Bookbug Readers

• Digital files with human narration for Powerpoint and Clicker

Younger Readers and Older Readers

• Accessible PDF
• Microsoft Word files, allowing people to convert them to Large Print or Braille
• Daisy (full text and audio) for iPad
• Daisy (text only for PC with Amis)

We are currently getting copies of electronic files from the publishers of the books and hope to have the accessible format files ready by the end of the summer.

Taking Part in the Awards Scheme

Pupils in schools throughout Scotland are encouraged to take part in the Awards scheme by voting for their favourite book in their age category. Last year more than 23,000 pupils from throughout Scotland voted for their favourite book. Schools are invited to register to take part by 31st December 2012, with the deadline for voting set as 8th February 2013. Further information is available from the Scottish Book Trust.