Technology Workshop
We use technology, knowledge and passion to empower Canadians with disabilities
Table of Content
INTRODUCTION
 Neils Squire Society
 What is Assistive Technology
 NSS Focus of Service
READING
 Prizmo
 Natural Reader Free (Natural Reader Education version $69.95)
 IRISPen (Demo)
WRITTING
 SIRI
 Google Voice dictation
NOTE TAKING
 Smart Pen (Demo)
Who is Neil Squire?
Neil Squire, a student at the University of
Victoria, was 21 years old when a car
accident changed his life . He was left
with quadriplegia at the brainstem and
with no way to communicate. His uncle ,
Bill Cameron, developed a machine that
could translate his breath blasts in Morse
Code. Through this technology, Neil
found his "voice."
http://www.neilsquire.ca/about/timeline/
What is Assistive Technology
Assistive Technology (AT)
An item or piece of equipment used to
increase, maintain, or improve functional
capabilities. Also called adaptive technology or
AT.
AT promotes greater independence by enabling
people to perform tasks that they were formerly
unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty
accomplishing.
Focus of Service
• Education (K-12 and Post Secondary)
• Workplace
• Transition Planning
• Some Daily Living
(for specific programs)
AT Tools can assist with…
Task
Organization
Communication
Working Safely
Writing
i.e. Ergonomics
Reading
Reaching
or Accessing
Time
Management
Auditory
Alternative
Input
Memory
Vision
Note Taking
Problem Solving
TASK
CHALLENGE
Math
&
Numeracy
SOLUTION
PRIZMO
“Can you imagine not being able to read
printed words? What would your life be like if
books, newspapers, websites, email, and even
signs were all virtually incomprehensible to
you? How would you get through the day?
For up to one in five people like me with
dyslexia these are not hypothetical questions,
they are our reality. Yet, thanks to accessibility
technologies built into Apple's iPhone, iPad,
and Mac, it's a reality that can be challenged.``
-by Brian Meersa
Natural Reader
“ As a parent of a struggling Middle
School student with Dyslexia, reading has
always been a challenge. WE use Natural
Reader software and the MP3 export
feature almost daily to help him get
though lengthy reading assignments and
to help create study material he call listen
to on hi IPOD. Natural Reader has been
instrumental in helping him to excel in
school! While reading to learn, je can now
focus on learning the material at than
rather than being distracted by his
reading challenges. He is now an Honor
Roll student who has made tremendous
progress nice utilizing Natural Reade. We
highly recommend Natural Reader for any
student wo has difficulties with reading”
by Mary Hardin
• All basic text to speech functions
• Free to download and free to use
• Compatible with PDF, Word and
webpages
• Floating bar
• Change speaker and speed
• Windows and Mac versions
available
Natural Reader “Education” Version
 Designed for special education
 Help people with dyslexia, reading challenges or visual impairments.
 Highlights text when reading
 Large fonts
 High contrast color interface
 Typing Echo
 Spelling Check
 Word prediction
WWW.NEILSQUIRE.CA
Download Natural Reader
www.naturalreaders.com
SIRI (text to speech)
• Check that your device is compatible. The
iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2, and the iPod
Touch 1st-4th generation do not support Siri.
• Open the Settings app.
• Tap "General".
• Tap "Siri".
• Tap the "Siri" slider to toggle it on
• Enable "Hey Siri".
• Change Siri's settings
Dictation-Speech Recognition
Getting started with Dictation is simple!
• Download google chrome.
• Search: Dictation- Speech recognition (https://dictation.io/)
• Just plug in the microphone to your computer, click the Start
Dictation button and watch as your spoken words are magically
transformed into text.
• You can also use a few voice commands like: Say “new
sentence” to begin a new sentence. Dictation will automatically
add a period to the previous sentence and capitalizes the first
letter of your new sentence.
• Say “new paragraph” to move the cursor to the next paragraph.
• Say “stop listening” to exit the dictation mode. If you wish to
resume recording, hit the “Start” button again.
SMART PEN
Questions?
Please feel free to send me a email “[email protected]”