Lately, we’ve been noticing that the Special Education category in the App store has been filling up with some pretty incredible learning apps. We’ve already looked at a few of these apps in recent articles (see Starfall and Homer for more), but today we are looking at a learning app specifically designed for children with learning disabilities.

Otsimo is an award-winning special education app available for iOS and Android. And while it is designed for children with autism in mind, it can be helpful for students with a variety of challenges, including ADD/ADHD, Down Syndrome, speech challenges, aphasia, Asperger’s, as well as other learning differences.

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Kevin is a Workshop Facilitator with WorkBC Employment Services in Abbotsford, delivering presentations to clients in both English and French.

“Listening well is a very important part of understanding and communicating well with clients and teammates,” he says.

“After experiencing significant, sudden hearing loss, I really struggled when in a group of three or more participants. Some locations are more difficult than others due to poor acoustics, echo, etc, but I was struggling to catch parts of conversations.

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Christianne, who lives in Sandspit, works as a care home aid in long term care facilities and private homes.

She was born with hearing loss in her right ear, and had further hearing loss in her left ear after developing Bell’s Palsy.

Through WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, Christianne received funding for a pair of brand new hearing aids.

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Vinzenz works at a retirement resort in Kelowna as an executive chef, arranging schedules for chefs, planning the menus, and preparing bread, desserts, and main dishes for 150 residents.

He has hearing loss.

He learned about WorkBC Assistive Technology Services from his hearing clinic.

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The awareness and implementation of accessibility features within mainstream technology has been growing over the years, and Microsoft has recently made some big improvements to the overall accessibility of their products. Today we are going to talk about one of those newer features, the Microsoft 365 Accessibility checker. This tool is available to individuals using Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Visio, and it visible to web users as well as those using the full version of the app on PC or Mac.

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Tamara works as a receptionist in Port Moody, answering the phones, booking appointments, and opening and closing the office. She has fibromyalgia, arthritis, osteoarthritis, chronic pain, and learning difficulties.

“[I] can’t sit or stand for too long. Repetitive tasks cause pain and cramping,” she shares. “[My] reading and writing are very weak. I have got to go to school to help, but I learn a different way.”

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At this point we’ve covered more than a few learning apps, but the truth is, not all of these apps are truly accessible from the box. Today we are going to look at a learning app that takes accessibility seriously, so regardless of what platform you are accessing the app from, you’ll have more than a few options when it comes to tweaking the accessibility of your learning environment.

Starfall is learning/education app that covers pre-K to grade 3 and offers lessons and activities related to math, reading, music, English, and more. It offers a variety of reading activities including phonics, talking library, and other activities designed to teach the fundamentals of reading. The app also offers a variety of seasonal activities like Halloween fractions, Valentines Day card maker, songs about individuality, and more.

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Maureen works in the counselling office of a middle school in Lake Cowichan, helping students with their schoolwork and supporting them with issues like anxiety and social skills.

“I have hearing loss mostly in the area of hearing speech which makes it really hard to help students when I can’t hear soft voices,” she shares. “Without hearing aids, I have to continuously ask students to repeat themselves and even then, I miss a great deal of the conversation.”

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Calvin has over 35 years of experience as a carpenter. He does service work for a housing development in Kelowna, and recently became a licenced home inspector and started his own business.

Over the course of his career, Calvin has noticed a gradual loss of his hearing.

“Both positions dictate that I have direct personal contact on a daily basis,” he explains. “Discussions with trades, clients, homeowners and management were getting harder to understand if I did not have face to face communication.”

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We’ve already discussed high-tech devices for partially sighted users such as the Orcam MyEye in past e-bulletins, and while these are incredible pieces of technology, they typically cost between two and five thousand dollars, putting them out of reach for most users. Today, we are going to look at similar type of device that costs a fraction of that price but still offers some great features for individuals with low vision.

Relumino is a Samsung app that harnesses the power of Samsung Gear VR and turns it into an incredible piece of assistive technology. The Samsung Gear VR headset retails for about $60 CDN, and as long as you pair it with a Samsung Galaxy 8 or Note 7 (or above) then you can access this app. Please note that because this is a Samsung app, only Samsung smartphones are compatible. But, any model Samsung VR Gear will work, so you might be able to find an older headset for next to no cost.

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