We all like to have choices in life, and kids are no different. In 2023, there’s certainly no shortage of games and gaming platforms to choose from, and apps like Roblox see millions of users and new games added every single day. So why can’t we apply the same approach the educational content? Wouldn’t it be great for students to choose from as wide a range of educational content as possible? The developers of the app that we are looking at today clearly thought so!

MentalUp is an app-based gaming and learning platform which features thousands of games, hundreds of fitness exercises, tests, and much more. When you first turn on the app, you’ll be prompted to enter some information regarding your child’s age and learning needs. Once you’ve completed the initial set up, then you’ll find yourself in the MentalUp “galaxy” where you can choose from a variety of activities. To choose between categories of activities, users navigate to different “planets”.

• Read More

John is a veterinary technician working in Burnaby. His duties include working with pet owners to determine the animal’s medical history, as well as assisting the veterinarian during procedures like surgery. His job requires him to talk a lot on the phone.

He began having hearing difficulties in 2021, culminating with tinnitus in September of that year.

“[It] resulted in [me] losing 80% of my hearing. It was very challenging for me, it impacted me in a lot of ways I would have never imagined. Mentally, I felt left out,” he explains. “In terms of job searching, it was hard to find an employer who will understand my condition. (I’m glad I found a very supportive and caring team). Hearing plays a vital role in my daily life.”

• Read More

When it comes to successfully adopting assistive technology (AT) there’s a lot more that goes into it besides simply choosing the right technology. Developing and executing a successful AT plan takes planning, patience, and lots of adjustments along the way. That’s why we’ve developed specific techniques to ensure that you, your child, or your student can get the absolute most out of their AT adoption experience.

• Read More

Joanita works as a receptionist for a law firm, and has hearing loss in both ears.

“[I] could not perform tasks to the best of my ability due to loss of hearing,” she shares.

Her audiologist at NexGen Hearing referred her to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for funding for new hearing aids. She applied and was quickly approved, making it much easier to purchase her new hearing aids.

• Read More

Shelly is an office administrator in Nanaimo, and she has hearing loss.

“I am on the phone off and on all day long and work in an office of nine people in total,” she shares. “I talked loudly and could not hear a lot of what was being told to me from co-workers and customers.”

• Read More

For school-aged children (and even some adults) properly articulating sounds can be a real challenge. This is of course especially true for individuals with learning disabilities, or for those who struggle with auditory learning. For the most part, it’s always recommended to touch base with a certified Speech-Language Pathologist, but for individuals with minor speech related issues, there are apps available that are designed to teach and reinforce proper pronunciation/articulation.

Articulation Station is a speech practice app for iOS that allows you to explore and practice every sound used in the English language. The app is bright and colorful, very intuitively designed, and it offers a wide variety of articulation-based activities to choose from. The voices and articulations are high quality and very clear, making it easier for someone with auditory or hearing challenges to approach.

• Read More

Dhorea is working towards her goal of opening up a holistic recovery house for women in West Kelowna. A participant in Community Futures Central Okanagan’s self-employment program, she was accepted in the Okanagan Business Incubator to see her business idea come to fruition.

“Being a female, a woman of colour, and a Métis with a disability navigating the world of entrepreneurship is nothing short of being dropped in a new country where you do not speak the language and do not have a GPS, but are determined to get to your destination,” she shares.

Dhorea has PTSD, C3-C6 fractures, sleep apnea, and was recently diagnosed with ADHD.

• Read More

When it comes to learning, whether it’s math, social studies, language arts, or any other subject matter, we know that learning that topic in school is almost always the best approach. And we also know that having that information delivered by a teacher is over and above the best way to deliver instruction, for a variety of reasons.

But what about when it’s after hours, and the teacher is not available to answer a specific question? Or if the student is tasked with independently solving an extensive equation that includes steps or concepts that they don’t yet fully understand. Maybe there’s one small concept holding them back, but they are too shy to interrupt a busy classroom to re-visit the concept with which they are struggling. Of course, for those who can afford it, tutoring is probably the best option, because as we stated earlier, human based instruction is always ideal. But not everyone has the time or money for tutoring. So, what other options are there?

• Read More

Kelly is a sales manager consultant at a car dealership in the East Kootenay.

“I appraise used vehicles for trade in purposes, wholesale vehicles to brokers, work deals with customers and salespeople. I also manage the sales department and staff issues,” he says.

Kelly is a C4-C5 incomplete quadriplegic and uses a wheelchair.

• Read More

On today’s episode we are joined once again by our accessibility and tech guru, Nakia Singh. Join us as we talk about accessibility hacks for persons with visual impairments, dive into the implications of AI as an accessibility tool, review some in-depth AT case studies, and much more!

• Read More