Taking notes manually can be a frustrating and imperfect process. It’s often difficult to keep up with the speaker, and most serious note-taking sessions result in cramped hands and hastily-written, hard to read notes.Now, with advent of digital note-taking technology, the process of taking notes can be much simpler, not to mention easier on the wrists. Anyone with a smartphone has access to digital note-taking technology; users simply need to go to their respective app store and choose from any number of free audio recording apps. Now imagine taking that audio recording a step further by adding typed or dictated notes, supplementary images, and color codes to your recording.

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Apple has a well-deserved reputation for offering universally designed products that come packed with accessibility features right out of the box. The iPad is a great example of this, and since its launch in 2010, the iPad has dominated the tablet market by creating easy-to-use and accessible products that range in application from casual use in one’s home to a more fast-paced, professional environment.

The newest iteration of the iPad, the iPad Pro, caters more to professional use, offering a larger, more powerful device that is supported by the accessory that we are going to be focusing on today: The Apple Pencil.

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For visual learners, mind mapping is often the most effective way of breaking down complex concepts. And while there is no shortage of good options available, Inspiration Maps has typically been our top choice for this type of software. However, we’ve recently become aware of a new contender in the arena of mind mapping that bears discussion.

Ideaphora takes the basic concept of mind mapping software a step further by integrating media directly into the content of the diagram, providing learners with a more diverse and multi-media approach to study that supports multiple means of expression. The only downside to this approach is that Ideaphora ends up being less user-friendly than its competitors, trading simplicity for depth of content.

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Creating accessible content isn’t always easy, but, alternative solutions to traditional media are needed in order to ensure that individuals with disabilities are able to make use of that content. Granted, the acceptance and implementation of universal design philosophy is making a huge impact in this regard, with companies such as Google and Amazon offering universally designed products out of the box. However, for smaller organizations, non-profit groups, and educational institutions, creating content that is universally designed can be cost-prohibitive and extremely time consuming. However there is a service available online which is tackling this issue head on, and in today’s e-bulletin we’re going to look a bit closer at this service and see how it could be used to create cost-effective and accessible content.

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In this e-bulletin, we’re going to put the spotlight on an incredible new piece of assistive technology: The OrCam MyEye 2.0. Designed for blind and partially sighted users, this device employs a lightweight smart camera that’s been designed to read text aloud and to recognize faces, products and money, allowing users to independently interact with the world around them in a way that wasn’t possible before the advent of this technology.

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ClaroRead is an advanced text-to-speech/writing/OCR program for PC that helps users read, write, and study with confidence. Recently, version 7.3 was released, and it’s packed with improvements and new features. Let’s take a look at some of these improvements in this newest version of ClaroRead.

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Today we sit down with Courtney Cameron, a Halifax-based Assistive Technology Specialist with Neil Squire Society, and get the inside scoop on Acadia University’s first annual buildathon featuring the LipSync device.

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Gordon was involved in a car accident around five years ago, and sustained damage to his back and neck. After that, he experienced two strokes which left him with 20% paralysis on his right side, no vision in his right eye, and 75% vision in his left eye.

After being unemployed on and off for a few years, he started working as a designer for solar power systems for houses, businesses, and farms in 2017. Since he didn’t have an ergonomic setup, he found it painful to work at his desk. “I couldn’t sit for more than 10 minutes. I was in a lot of pain in my back,” Gordon recalls. He contacted the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, who referred him to the Neil Squire Society.

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Donna was involved in two motor vehicle accidents nine years apart. Both incidents contributed to significant upper neck and back injuries and frequent migraine headaches.

In the past, Donna worked as a part-time Medical Office Assistant, where being on the phone and typing simultaneously was a painful task. Repetition, ill-fitting chairs, or static posture would intensify her pain. “My days off were often spent incapacitated with stress-induced headaches. Life being like a ‘yo-yo’ forced me to accept the problems of being employed,” she says.

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We’ve covered the various ways in which a smart phone can be used hands-free, and the ways in which that can serve as assistive technology. But what if there was a device that was designed to be activated and used almost exclusively via voice commands? Enter the home assistant, a new and revolutionary type of virtual assistant that’s already been adopted by millions of households worldwide! Because these devices were created with universal design in mind, they are highly accessible and easy to use; in fact, the vast majority of those users do not actually require assistive technology.

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