1. Intro
    Thank you for joining the Idaho Assistive Technology Project for the first in our series of webinars on Apple devices and Apps. I will be your presenter today. My name is Dan Dyer and I work for the Idaho Assistive Technology Project at the Boise resource center.
  2. IATP Information
    The Idaho Assistive Technology Project is a federally funded program administered by the Center on Disabilities and Human Development at the University of Idaho. Our goal is to increase the availability of assistive technology devices and services to Idahoans with disabilities. Assistive technology is tools that can help a person do a task they would otherwise find difficult or impossible to complete due to a disability. Apple products like the iPad can be considered assistive technology for two reasons: because they come installed with accessibility features, and because downloadable programs or Apps can be installed on them that are accessible, or that are themselves assistive. The IATP provides many services, some of which you can see on your screen. Included in them are, assessment services for individuals with a disability to provide them with recommendations of technology that may help them. The IATP also offers a low-interest loan program to help Idahoans buy technology. The IATP also offers regional lending libraries where any Idahoan can loan assistive devices like the iPad for a trial period free of cost.
  3. Apple makes several portable devices. For the purpose of this presentation, we will focus on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. All three devices have similar functionality, yet each has one or more key features that the other 2 lack.
    Apple devices are growing in popularity. Their flexible multi-use ability and mainstream appeal makes them exceptional tools for implementation in a special education or other disability related setting.
    I have worked with children in the past who would not consider using an Alphasmart, bulky communication device, or other assistive tool because of the fear that they would stand out. The availability of these Apple devices, and the fact that they are universally designed with accessibility in mind, gives students and others a way to benefit from assistive tools while not standing out.
    The most requested of these 3 devices is the iPad. The iPad does have some great features, like its large touch screen and large-onscreen keyboard. It is important to consider the iPhone and iPod touch when implementing an Apple device, as they may fit the end user needs better.
    The focus on the specific end-users needs is very important when implementing any assistive technology. No one tool will fit all users. Just because an iPad may be the perfect tool for one person, doesn’t mean it will work for another person, even if they have the same disability.

Blue-tooth is a way devices can communicate wirelessly. The most common Blue-tooth device is the ear piece commonly used by individuals to talk on their phones while driving. Blue-tooth can be used to connect external switches to an Apple device. A switch user is usually a person with a severe physical disability that makes it difficult or impossible for them to access a computer in the normal fashion. Unlike other access tools on Apple devices like magnification and zoom, switch access is not supported. There are a few Apps available now that support switch access, and actually you can use the iPad as a switch itself!

  1. So this App is an example of the flexibility of the iPad and its multiple uses. When the App is running it can be used as a single or double switch to run a Mac or PC computer through blue-tooth. To put this into price context, the App costs $4.99, and if I wanted to buy dedicated hardware to do the same function as this App, it would cost at least $100. So while the iPad is a bit expensive, its various uses and the low-price of its Apps can be very appealing to individuals with disabilities, especially people who are alternative communication users.
  2. iOS 5

Includes gestures and shortcuts to help you get around on your iPad. The coolest of these I think is the ability to swipe between Apps!

Notification center is a place that you can access and view all of your upcoming appointments and messages.

iMessage is a free texting service that allows you to text between Apple devices for free.

There are also new accessibility features that will be reviewed in a minute.

  1. iPhone

Can call/text, use the internet and run Apps. It has pretty good speakers and a much better camera than the iPod Touch and a slightly better camera than the new iPad.

The one feature that really stands out on the iPhone is the digital assistant called Siri and its speech-to-text feature built into its keyboard. These are new features and allow voice access to basically everything on the iPhone. You can ask Siri to complete tasks for you, and instead of using the devices onscreen keyboard, simply speak.

The iPhone is the only Apple device that will provide vibrating Alerts. The iPad and iPod Touch only have sound and visual alerting function.

The iPhone, like the iPad, connects to cell service and can therefore access the internet wherever there is a cell signal.
Disadvantages 
Small screen size that makes typing difficult
Will not run iPad Apps

Thicker body than iPod Touch

  1. These devices are very easy to break. Even with a case on your device it may still break if dropped just right.
  2. Get a case! They come with screen protectors that can protect your device.
  3. Who should use the iPhone:
    Those who need the ability to easily make calls and send text-messages. There are ways to send text-messages on the other devices, but the ease is reduced.

iPhone users may also be people who spend time outside of wifi hot-spots, but still need to access the internet. The ability to access the internet on the go can be beneficial for people with cognitive impairments or a visual disability. There are Apps that can be downloaded that provide directions back to your car or house and can provide blind individuals with spoken walking directions. There are even Apps that use the iPhone camera and GPS location to tell users where they are and what surrounds them. GPS can also be used for reminders. When you enter a building you can set a reminder for your phone to tell you to ‘pick up milk.’ This reminder will go off only when you leave the building or general area.

You should use the iPhone if you can benefit from Siri. This would include individuals who have a hard time accessing the iPhone screen, those with reading/writing disabilities, and blind users.

Blind users also benefit from the portability of using the iPhone or iPod touch, as they do not need the large screen on the iPad.

  1. Siri:
    “Siri on iPhone 4S lets you use your voice to send messages, place phone calls, schedule meetings, and set reminders. You can ask Siri to do things for you by talking the way you talk. Siri understands what you say, and talks back. It’s the intelligent assistant that’s there to help with the things you do every day. iPhone 4S also takes dictation. Instead of typing, tap the microphone button on the keyboard, speak your words, numbers, or sentences out loud, and let iPhone convert your words into text (
  2. iPod touch specs:
    iPod Touch gives access to the internet and Apps. Like the other devices, it has the FaceTime app (which is pictured), that allows for video conferencing using one of the iPods 2 cameras.

The iPod touch is similar to the iPhone, except that it only has wifi connectivity and lacks Siri.

The iPod Touch may not have Siri, but it does have some basic voice control. You can use Voice Control on iPod touch to initiate a FaceTime call over Wi-Fi. Just say “FaceTime Jason on his mobile,” and iPod touch makes the call for you.

Disadvantages 
Lower quality speakers than iPad
Small screen size that makes typing difficult
Wifi only (no 3G cell signal)

Will not run iPad Apps

  1. Who should use the iPod touch:

Those who need a very compact device (even slimmer than iPhone), but do not need to make phone-calls or text. It will run all of the useful apps the iPhone will and is perfect for people who need a portable calendaring tool/reminding tool.

  1. iPad specs:

Now I’ll attempt to play a brief video by one of my favorite British TV personalities talking about his love for the iPad.
So the IPad Can receive either only internet, or internet and cell phone service.

Screen size/resolution and the fact it has its own Apps make it amazing

Disadvantages 
Price
Not as portable as iPod/iPhone
Does not have full functions of a laptop

  1. Less memory and RAMM
  2. No USB/printer ports
  3. Not ideal for word processing
  4. Difficult to manage files
  1. Who should use the iPad:
    Many people can benefit from using the iPad. Its intuitive design and fun appeal can make it an ideal teaching tool. There are Apps for nearly all educational and life-skill tasks, as well as assistive Apps geared for nearly every disability.
    Those who need to do a lot of word-processing and editing are better served with a traditional computer. Those who need access through switch use should be very wary of the iPad in its current state of development. Those who need a dedicated or fully restricted device that performs limited functions should not use the iPad.
  2. New iPad
    Buy the new iPad only if you:
    play graphics-intensive games,
    If you read books and magazines on the iPad,
    If you plan to do a lot of photo and video editing on the iPad,
    If you plan to use the iPad as a digital camera or video camera, or plan on using magnification Apps
    if you use the internet a lot outside of a wifi environment.
    If you have trouble with spelling or composition, the new iPad’s built-in voice dictation can be a great reason to upgrade to the new ipad

Or of course if you use your iPad all day long everyday or are OCD about Apple products.

  1. Cost
  2. Need help selecting the proper device?
  3. Learn the Physical features:
    Home button and top buttons.
    The home button is the only button on the face of the device. It exits out of Apps and will take you back to the start screen.
    The top of the device houses the headphone plug-in, mic and sleep button. The sleep button puts the device to sleep in a low-power usage mode. If you Press the sleep and home button simultaneously, a screen-shot will be taken. I used this method to create most of the pictures in this presentation.

The sleep button can also be held, to completely power off the device. This feature can become important as your device ages and the battery life decreases.

  1. Learn the Physical Features

The side of the device houses the volume up/down switch and the lock tab. The lock tab can be used to mute your device or stop your screen from re-orientating.
The face and back of the device each have a camera.
The bottom of the device has speakers and the charging port.

  1. Learn the basics - Home screen

What you see on your home screen isan assortment of Apps.

The red circle shows the ‘pages’ available on the device. Get to the different pages by swiping left or right. The blue box shows the taskbar of the device. The apps placed on the task bar are always visible no matter what page you’re on.

  1. Change pages by swiping:
    This is an example of changing pages. As you can see, the picture on the left shows the first page and the picture on the right shows the second page. Change between them by swiping with one finger left or right. The dots in the blue-circle show what page you’re currently on.
    It may help to think of the iPad as a book, and like books, it has pages. The difference is, a book stores words on its pages, whereas the iPad stores Apps on its different pages.
  2. What is an App?
    We’ve touched on it briefly and you’ve undoubtedly heard the word.
  3. This is the search area of the device.
    If you swipe left with one finger through all the pages, the search page will appear. This page shows your keyboard and allows you to search the iPad for any App or file. If you click one of the buttons in red it will either hide the keyboard, or change the keyboard to the number keys.
  4. Keywords
    Shortcuts can be assigned to reduce the amount of type required. In this example, by typing OMW, the phrase on my way was input into the device. This feature can be beneficial to reduce the amount of typing required for individuals with fine-motor disabilities and to speed up device access.
  5. Zoom in/out
  6. Zoom in/out
    You can also use the ‘Zoom’ accessibility feature to zoom in/out anywhere on the iPad. We’ll go over that feature later.
  7. Notifications and open Apps:
    If you swipe up with 4 fingers, or double click the home button a new bottom bar will appear. This bar displays all of the Apps (or programs) you have recently used. From here you can re-open any of these apps and continuing working where you left off. This is also how you can close Apps running in the background. Reasons for doing this are similar to closing and re-opening a computer program. If you touch the top bar on your screen and swipe down it will show any pending notifications such as emails or reminders.
  8. Notifications:
    In the settings menu, you can adjust how you want to view notifications. You can either turn off notifications completely, set them to a banner style that is not obtrusive and that hide-automatically, or set them to Alerts that pop up in the middle of the screen and require you to click to hide them. Using alerts is good for people with memory issues. The type of alert can be set specifically to each App. You could have messages Apps as alerts, while you may want your emails to appear as banners.

“Notification center

You get all kinds of notifications on your iOS device: new email, texts, friend requests, and more. With Notification Center, you can keep track of them all in one convenient location. Just swipe down from the top of any screen to enter Notification Center. Choose which notifications you want to see. Even see a stock ticker and the current weather. New notifications appear briefly at the top of your screen, without interrupting what you’re doing. And the Lock screen displays notifications so you can act on them with just a swipe. Notification Center is the best way to stay on top of your life’s breaking news (

  1. How to change settings
  2. Settings menu
    From this menu you can customize all the settings on the iPad, and change some App settings. From this screen you can connect to the internet through wifi or 3g. You can change the screen brightness, set up your iMessage account and email account.
    The most important tab in the settings menu is the ‘General’ tab. From the general tab you can connect a blue-tooth device, set a pass code to protect your device, access accessibility functions and set restrictions.
    Restrictions are a very important feature if you’re using the iPad with someone who is prone to access or change things on the iPad that they shouldn’t. From the restrictions tab, you can disable a host of features such as the web-browser, YouTube and allow or disallow the deleting or installing of Apps altogether. Disabling the installation or deletion of Apps can save you a lot of heartache and even money. For example, if a child is using your iPad and the iPad has the install App function turned on, the child could download thousands of dollars worth of Apps or in App purchases without your knowledge. On the other hand, if the deleting App function is active, and an App that you have stored a lot of content in is deleted, you may lose all of that data forever. To help this problem, you can backup some apps to your computer or to Apple’s online server called iClould, or just disable the deleting of Apps from this menu.

You can also set allowed content, which will restrict access to inappropriate content on the iPad for various ages.