SEEKING A UNIFIED READING ENVIRONMENT

FOR ALL PRINT DISABILITIES

Patrick BurkeCoordinator of Disabilities and

Computing ProgramUniversity of California, Los Angeles

(UCLA)

Kevin PriceAssistive Technology Specialist

University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

Overview

• Advantages and Disadvantages of using iOS applications versus Standard Assistive Technology Applications

• Explore Voice Dream iOS application and its possibilities and limitations

• Compare and Demonstrate VoiceDream and other iOS applications including iReadWrite and ClaroSpeak for the iPad

• Group Discussion of iOS Success Stories

Advantages and Disadvantages of using iOS applications versus Standard Assistive Technology Applications

• Advantages– Less Expensive–Many Have iOS iPhones and iPads–No Stigma (cool factor)–Mobile technology goes with the user–May be simpler to use for users

Advantages and Disadvantages of using iOS applications versus Standard Assistive Technology Applications (continued)

• Disadvantages– Less features than many Assistive Technologies– May have less support– No Refunds– Insurance may not cover– Have to deal with iOS proprietary environment

Overview of Voice Dream ($9.99)

• Innovative Development• Winston Chen, developer; first release, Feb.,

2012; new features launching faster than I can test...

• Controls/gestures modeled on MP3 players• Fast Forward/Rewind can be set to

paragraph, bookmarks, or various time units• Organize by folder or playlist• Combines blind-friendly and LD-friendly

features

Overview of Voice Dream (cont.)

• 78 voices/languages free in iOS7• enhanced for Voiceover• Text-to-Speech with Dual Color Highlighting• font selection; Focused Reading mode • Easy Integration with other Apps• Dropbox, Evernote, Instapaper, Gutenberg• Imports PDF, HTML, DOC/X, PPT/X, Pages,

Keynote, non-DRM ePub, txt-DAISY, Bookshare• Doesn't have LD writing support.• Text Editor allows editing of text to be

saved/exported.

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Demonstration of Voice Dream

Overview of iReadWrite ($19.99)

– Text-to-Speech with Dual Color Highlighting– Contextual Word Prediction– Phonetic Spell Checker– Sounds Like and Confusable Word Checker– Text and Picture Dictionary– Customizable Background and Text Colors– Choice of Voices and Fonts– Import Documents– Share, Print, and Export Documents

Demonstration of iReadwrite

Demonstration of iReadwrite

Demonstration of iReadwrite

Overview of ClaroSpeak ($6.99)

– Text-to-Speech– High Quality Voices– Word Prediction– Visual Highlighting– Save to Audio– Send Text– Dropbox Integration– Spell Check– Dictate– Speak in Background– Language Learning

Demonstration of Clarospeak for iPad

Demonstration of Clarospeak for iPad

Demonstration of Clarospeak for iPad

Demonstration of Clarospeak for iPad

Demonstration of Clarospeak for iPad

Other Notable iOS Applications

• Co:Writer for iOS ($17.99)• Notability ($2.99)• AI Squared ZoomReader ($19.99)• Learning Ally, Kurzweil Firefly, Blio (Free)• Read2Go ($19.99)• Inspiration Maps ($9.99, free lite)• Dragon Dictation (Free)• Panther Writer ($19.99)

Group Discussion of iOS

• What other apps have you found success using to replace traditional assistive technology?

• What feature of traditional assistive technologies are you missing in iOS?

• Are the disadvantages of iOS applications overcome by the advantages such as price and mobility?

• Do you have any success stories of people using iOS with the new assistive applications?

• Do you believe that future of assistive technology access to be brighter with the advent of iOS applications?

Thank you!

• Patrick Burke• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)• Email: burke@ucla.edu• • Kevin Price• University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)• Email: pricek@uic.edu