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title page of the Five Little Ducks book with text, "Creating Accessible Books"

Creating Accessible Books Using Pages

Emerging readers should have access to fun digital books - just like their peers! The books can be read aloud to the student, the student can listen to the...
BrailleBuzz logo with text, "Beginning Braille App"

BrailleBuzz App Review

Teachers are buzzing about APH's new beginning braille letter app, BrailleBuzz! This is a sister app to the popular stand-alone BrailleBuzz toy. Both games...
Cartoon man with cape with logos (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) in background & text, "Preferred format: Remote Instruction"

Format for Remote Instruction Lessons

The demand for quality accessible lessons is at an all time high during remote instruction and hybrid classrooms. Paths to Technology is building a Lesson...
A page from the Rainbow Cat book with text, "This is Rainbow Cat" and image of painted ceramic cat.

Rainbow Cat Book: Emerging Reader

Emerging readers should be flooded with interesting books and these books should be available in various formats! Preschoolers love to do the same activity...
cartoon drawing of an iPad with a finger on the braille word "barn" on the answer sheet & text, "Braille Sheets: iPad Game".

ObjectiveEd: Braille Sheets

A combination of paper braille and technology? How cool is that!  Braille Sheets literacy tool that combines paper braille in tandem with with a fun app! In...
Screenshot of video: Graphic, "The Kindergarten Sight Word Dance Song" and Sight Word Lesson.

Kindergarten and First Grade Sight Words Lesson

Remote instruction activities can be challenging for young students to sit through. We know that early elementary students have trouble sitting still in class...
Screenshot of my maps.google.com with tabs: Owned, Not-owned and text, "Editing Maps"

Editing a Non-Visual Digital Map from the Map Library

You found a map in the new Map Library on Paths to Technology - but what if you want to make some changes to the map? The university maps are detailed; a...
Young girl reading a teacher-created print/braille book with her hands on the braille.

Teacher-Created Resource Library!

Finding Solutions Students in today's classrooms are using digital educational materials - especially now with remote instruction, online courses and virtual...
Colorful US map with states and capital labeled and text, "Accessible State Capitals lesson"

State Capitals Lesson: Non-Visual Digital Maps

Students typically learn the 50 state capitals as part of the 4th grade curriculum. This is a fun digital map lesson that can even be taught remotely!...
Seesaw logo and text, "Remote Instruction"

Remote Instruction using Seesaw for Dual Media Learner

Seesaw is an online platform that had been used by schools prior to COVID- 19 in New Hampshire to communicate with parents and share student work. Once schools...
Screenshot of NIU university map with the virtual cane focus on Holmes Student Center, Bearing 2 O'clock, distance 397 yards.

How to Create Accessible Digital Maps Using SAS Graphics Accelerator and Google Maps

This post was updated on July 3, 2020. Summary This post explains how to create non-visual digital maps that contain points of interest such as intersections...
Photo of Victor sitting in a car drawing a campus map using the Sensational BlackBoard tactile drawing tool.

Concept Development: Drawing

In a recent series on Remote O&M Instruction for Students Transitioning to College, Victor, a rising college freshman, applied his strong O&M skills to...
2 Screenshots of Elon Campus: One is a visual map (Google Maps) and & the other is a non-visual map made from Google Maps data.

Getting Started with Non-Visual Digital Maps

Since I lost my vision, I have not had access to maps. It is true that I get my hands on a good tactile map from time to time. However, those instances are...
Coverof the Vegetables book with pepper, zucchini, and carrots with the text “Vegetables” and red speaker icon.

Adapted Books for Student with CVI: Fruits and Vegetables

As the school year comes to an end, I wanted to share the last two digital books I created for my student with CVI who is working on scanning and visual...
Project Inspire Logo and text, "Recruiting for Project Inspire Free Summer Courses"

Recruiting for Project Inspire Summer Courses

Good afternoon! I am delighted that we are ready to begin recruiting for the summer Project INSPIRE courses that will begin on June 22, 2020 and end on July 31...
Black background with red bubbled words, "Creating CVI-Friendly Videos"

Creating CVI-Friendly Videos using PowerPoint

Who knew that these CVI-friendly videos were so simple to make?!? All you need is a little imagination, PowerPoint and two free web applications. These web...
Text, "Coding in Swift Playgrounds while using VoiceOver on iPad. Tech with Tyler"

Swift Playgrounds Video

Hi! My name is Tyler Sheft. Today, I want to show you how you can code in Swift Playgrounds while using VoiceOver. VoiceOver is Apple’s screen reader that...
Cover page of Ocean Animals ePub with swimming dolphin, red speaker icon and text, "CVI-friendly ePub and PDF"

Adapted Ocean Animal Book for Student with CVI

For remote instruction, my student with multiple disabilities and CVI receives materials via Google Classroom. Service providers post short videos of fine...
Screenshot of .html map file being uploaded into SAS Graphics Accelerator. Text "Student uploading accessible SASGA maps".

SAS Graphics Accelerator Maps: Student Uploading and Accessing Maps

In his post, How to Create Accessible Digital Maps Using SAS Graphics Accelerator and Google Maps, Ed shared how to create accessible digital maps. In this...
3D printed map of NIU with sidewalks, roads and buildings around Graham Hall and text, "Touch Mapper: 3D Printed Maps"

How to Create 3D Printable Maps Using Touch Mapper

Summary This blog post will explain how to use Touch Mapper to create maps that can be printed on a 3D printer. Touch Mapper is a website that enables you to...
Screenshot of Level 2: Drag Astronaut Tommy to tick 2 on the number line ranging 0-5. Text, "Number Line App"

Cosmic Numbers: Accessible Number Line App Semester 2

The Cosmic Numbers App is a fully accessible iOS app designed to teach a variety of number line skills to students with visual impairments. I'm very excited...
No-tech solutions for drawing graphs with low vision and dysgraphia. www.veroniiiica.com

No-Tech Solutions for Drawing Graphs with Low Vision and Dysgraphia

For some of the practice problems in my classes, I have to draw graphs or plot points by hand, a task that can be difficult as a person with low vision and...
Little girl leaning over and counting wrapped candies on the floor and text, "Math Apps Summary Post for K-3rd Grade"

Math Apps Summary Post for Students K-3rd Grade

In the last several weeks, I have received numerous questions about accessible digital math options for K-3rd grade students who rely on a screen reader. With...
Orbit Reader beside tablet both showing "Hello", "Hi"; text, Orbit Teacher App"

Orbit Teacher App: Remote Learning

The Orbit Reader Teacher app is a free app available for Android devices and Windows computers. Here is what Igor Feinberg wrote about how the Orbit Reader...
Image: computer monitor displaying a Google Map and text, "Map Webinar".

Webinar: Creating Accessible Maps Using SAS Graphics Accelerator and Google Maps

Updated 06.10.20 to include the recorded webinar! About the Webinar  Are you a person with a visual impairment or blindness who would like to access online...
Photo of hands on a braille display and open app on iPhone with text, "Remote Braille Instruction: Braille AI Tutor"

ObjectiveEd and Microsoft Help Students Practice Braille During Pandemic

Thanks to a grant from Microsoft’s AI for Accessibility program, ObjectiveEd has developed Braille AI Tutor – an innovative system to enable students to...
Logos: Voice Dream Reader and Claro PDF and text, "Convert to Accessible PDFs & Images"

Inaccessible vs. Accessible PDFs: Making All PDFs Accessible!

During this crazy time of school closures and virtual instruction, educators are scrambling to find digital resources. Often general education teachers are...
Photo of a duck in water and CVI-bubbled "duckling" with text, CVI-Friendly Videos Part 2"

CVI-Friendly Videos Part 2: Resources for Students with CVI

Remote instruction has been challenging for educators and families with students who require unique learning materials, such as students with CVI. Full of...
Scribe logo and text, "Free Accessible Materials On-Demand".

Scribe for Education: Free Accessible Documents On-Demand

Here is another company which is stepping up to actively support teachers during the COVID-19 school closures! Pneuma Solutions is offering FREE accessible...
Image of an iPhone with the Notes App with options to Scan, take photo or library and text, "Scan Documents: Notes app".

Create Higher Quality Digital Materials for Remote Learning

Classroom teachers are working hard to transition to remote instruction, including converting print worksheets to digital materials that can be shared on...
Photo of Egg Hunt book cover (two bright Easter eggs with background of green field and blue sky and text,"CVI: Visual Scanning"

Remote Learning Materials: Student with CVI and Multiple Disabilities

As we all begin providing remote instruction to students with visual impairments, we may find it challenging to meet the needs of our students with CVI and...
Screenshot of CVI-Friendly Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video with outlined A, B, C and palm tree.

CVI-Friendly Videos: Resources for Students with CVI

With the recent - and sudden! - school closures due to COVID-19, educators are scrambling to create materials that can be used at home. TVIs have diverse...
Screenshot of Word Melodies Home screen with cartoon animals, musical notes and text, "Accessible Emerging Reader App"

Word Melodies: Emerging Reading and Writing App

Update: 4/8/20 Word Melodies version 1.0.1 is now available in Google Play as well as in the App Store. This new release fixed the bugs mentioned below. I am...
Cartoon image of smiling boy laying a couch at home holding an iPad.

Objective Ed: How it works

To help students with visual impairments during this crisis, ObjectiveEd is providing free access to their digital curriculum to schools and teachers to use...
Image of red Help button and text, "Connecting families/students with volunteers to access curriculum during school closures."

Working Together to Support Students with Visual Impairments to Access Curriculum

The Idea We know that there are students with visual impairments who do not have full access to online curriculum, supplemental activities, or resources...
Cartoon girl with clasped praying hands showing distress in front of a computer with text, "Homework hotline"

Homework Hotline for Blind and Visually Impaired Students

In response to the wave of K-12 school closures across the United States due to COVID-19, a few concerned teachers of the blind and advocates got together to...
Tactile manipulative of print/braille letters, Delete and Backspace keys, & cursor used to teach cursor & screen reader concepts

Understanding the Text Cursor and JAWS

Working in a text document is a common starting place when introducing young students to a screen reader on a computer. It is a safe, yet feature rich...
Photo of Canute 360 braille e-reader and text, "Canute 360"

Canute 360: Multi-Line Braille e-Reader

The Canute 360 is a standalone desktop multi-line Braille e-reader. Yes, "360" means 360 braille cells: 9 lines with 40 characters per line. There are two...
How to create accessible classroom posters for students with visual impairments. www.veroniiiica.com

How to Create Accessible Classroom Posters for Students with Visual Impairments

Educational posters are common fixtures in K-12 classrooms, as teachers love to find ways to present information in a fun and visual way that students can...
Screenshot of Where Do Commas belong? worksheet with fun sentences with missing commas like, "Let's eat Grandma!"

Where Do Commas Belong? Grammar Activity

All students need to learn to use commas and have opportunities to practice using commas. Quite often braille students who are pulled out for language arts,...

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