I have heard others state that there was not enough upgrades in the new iPad 3 to warrant buying it. Depending on the population of student you work with that might be true. However, working with students with learning disabilities and looking for assistive technology to support their inclusion has made me anxiously await the purchase of an iPad 3. Some of the features of the New iPad features that I have looked forward to include:
- Voice recognition embedded in the keyboard in other apps
- 5 Megapixel camera
- Retina display
Although for some this is not a deal breaker but I believe for some of our LD students this is a huge deal! Why?
- Using voice recognition in apps such as ClaroSpeak, Dream Voice Reader or with apps as Poplet, or Tools 4 Teachers among countless other apps that integrate use of the iPad keyboard with speech to text capabilties embedded. This feature allows students who have the thoughts but can’t get them down on paper. Is the voice recognition perfect, no, but getting much, much more accurate!
- Greater resolution of images taken with the camera. So big deal? Yah it’s a big deal. If you have been using apps such as Prizmo
or other OCR/scanning apps to import text or for reading or importing into e-books for students with a learning disability having a good camera is essential. The New iPad produces pictures with high resolution allowing those pictures to be used with OCR software more accurately, matter of fact significantly better (pending quality of original copy, size of print or images on it, etc). Consider the following two texts taken in the same lighting, same hard copy text, same techniques using an iPad 2 and iPad 3 respectively. Neither was edited – which one would you prefer to read with text to speech tools or edit prior to offering it to a student to access iPad?
|
iPad 2 with Prizmo |
iPad 3 with Prizmo |
| I Why am I having an evaluaUon from ATR?-‘~ a DVR cli(~nL you have been referred to ATR by your ~unse]o~ to alse~s your m*stlve technology needs ASSlS~ ~chrm,*ogy con rn~e c~v~’es or se,Y, ces that ere used ~ ma~ta~. ~creese or ~mprove the ~rr~,~?~ ca~t~es of ~,~due,~ wiU~ ¢ f~.eb ~iL~s. Ou~ goa] is to help Irnpm~o you~ capebL~tms in ar~ thai presenl a c~aLk~ge to your occupaUon {academic work. in home c~ on ~ Job eml:doyment )2* Wh~t are the qua,flcatJonB of ATR’s Evalu=tom?ATR’S E~luato~s are licensed Occupa~al Therapists who hsve addi~onm ce,~ca ns as Adeptive Technology F’~fession~ls, Ergonom~c ,Speciar~. end have yeans ~f expenen~ bn t~e field of adapL~l~ techrm~gy end v,~ddng ind~duals w~h a w~Je v~lety of d[Sabl~s3. What could asslstJve technology Include?Assls~e technology recommenda’dons may Inc~ucre soll~a re. hardware or m (~dn~ng, Ins~Jla~on, ~mputer upgradeS, set up of equipment) Ass~.e tecS~4ogy ~n ~nge ~ row technology to high ~echnotogy dependent on the cr, e~s reeds Rec~mmendatmns are based on Vocational related needs, not desires¸ -Made with Prizmo | 1. Why am I having an evaluation from ATR? As a DVR client, you have been referred to ATR by your counselor to assess your assistive technology needs. Assistive technology can involve devices or services that are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. Our goal is to help improve your capabilities in areas that present a challenge to your occupation (academic work, in home or on the job employment).2. What are the qualifications of ATR’s Evaluators? ATR’s Evaluators are licensed Occupational Therapists who have additional certifications as Adaptive Technology Professionals, Ergonomic Specialists, and have years of experience in the field of adaptive technology and working with individuals with a wide variety of disabilities.3. What could assistive technology include? Assistive technology recommendations may include software, hardware or services (training, installation, computer upgrades, set up of equipment). Assistive technology can range from low technology to high technology dependent on the client’s needs.Recommendations are based on vocational related needs, not desires.— Made with Prizmo. |
Remarkable, right? The accuracy of the text on the right is dependent on the quality of the picture and camera capabilities, not due to Prizmo OCR capabilities as seen in the above two examples. I have been using Prizmo
for a while and anxiously awaited trialing it on the New iPad 3. My experience has been very positive with improved OCR accuracy as noted above due to continual app improvement as well as device improvements as with the high resolution camera found in the iPad 3. It may not have the exact accuracy that the KNFB Reader has, but it is remarkably good when you have a clean copy of just text, a steady hand, and good lighting. I am really excited that OCR capabilities are becoming better on the iPad3 and that this technology is becoming possible for some tasks for print disabled individuals.
I will mention that Prizmo
capabilities have continued to improve. A year ago I was disappointed with the app, but currently I use it frequently to import text into digital books with less and less editing needed. Among many of Prizmo’s user friendly features is a Speak option, providing text to speech capabilities available within the app that can be used within the apps after OCR processing has occurred. Prizmo
allows image and text editing and provides the ability to save within the app. The quality of the text to speech voice is good for being a $9.99 app.
So, for me and the needs I have with students with learning disability that I am deploying iPads to the New iPad3 features are a boon and essential features on my OT iTool Kit!
What do you think?
Carol
OT's with Apps & Technology 