Search Paths to Technology

Desmos logo with text, "Exploring Math with Desmos: Getting Started"

Exploring Math with Demos: Getting Started

TVIs - our mission is to help our students learn math and to love learning math! What mainstream, approved digital math tools are you teaching your students?...
Scribe logo and text, "Accessible 'real time' PowerPoints during Zoom Meetings!"

Scribe for Meetings

Zoom meetings have become the "new normal" for businesses and for classes. Scribe for Meetings is a new tool that enables the meeting host to upload PowerPoint...
image of waves and sun with text, Seas the day. "Puns: Comprehension Activity"

Winter Puns: Comprehension Activity

When reading, some students breeze over the words without truly understanding the meaning - missing many of the humorous lines that are weaved into the story....
Cartoon girl with clasped praying hands showing distress in front of a computer with text, "Homework hotline"

National Homework Hotline for Blind or Visually Impaired Students: Part 2

The National Homework Hotline for Blind and Visually Impaired students (NHH-BVI) was created in response to the school closures due to COVID. (See Homework...
Cartoon images: Ghost, Turkey, and Santa with text, "Reading Comprehension Activities"

Gus the Ghost and Thanksgiving Poem: Reading Comprehension Activities

What happens when Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all mixed together? Find out in this whacky poem! These activities can be done on any device; the...
Screenshot of iPhone phone app displaying a numpad and text, "Numpad Layout"

Learning Numeric Keypad Layout: Activities

What do calculators, extended keyboards, bank machines, adding machines, checkout at registers, door locks, and phone have in common? Numpads! (Also known as...
Kids Listen logo for the Activity Podcast; text, "Fun & Educational Podcasts"

Kids Listen: Free Podcasts for Kids!

While looking for public fall-themed educational activities, I came across Kids Listen, podcasts for kids. Kids Listen is unique in that all the content is...
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...
3 images of tech: Ruby, ZoomText, Magnifier and text, "Tech: Transition Students"

Our Cooking Adventure is Done... So Now What??

Assistive Tech for The Win! Up to this point, the content we’ve put out on this blog page has mostly about cooking. However, our wonderful meal kit delivery...
screenshot of zoom meeting with Dr. Kapperman holding a $20 bill & Dr. Kelly identifying the bill. Text, "How do you use Zoom?"

Using Zoom Video Conferencing Platform to Provide People with Visual Impairments Instant Access to Visual Information

Zoom is becoming a leader in video conferencing worldwide and features an accessible interface for use by people who are visually impaired. Zoom can be used...
Cartoon image of hands on a computer displaying Video conference and text, "Zoom 101 Video Tutorials"

Zoom 101: Basic Steps for Using Zoom

In recent times, there has been a huge increase in the use of video conferencing software.  So many educators and other professionals have been required to...
screenshot of 8 Audible book covers and text, " Amazon's Free Books"

Amazon Children's Books and Audio Stories are Free

During COVID-19 school closures, Amazon has made their books and audio stories for children and students of all ages FREE - no subscription! Books can be...
Logos for 3 companies: Dream Vision Group, Accessibyte Online, and Epic; text, "Tech Support and Free Subscriptions"

Companies/Organizations Providing Support and Free Subscriptions during School Closure

As each state embarks on providing remote instruction to students, many companies are providing free training through video conferencing and webinars, as well...
Graduate in cap and gown with electronic devices he used to learn and graduate, phone, computer, etc.

Learning Management Systems in the Age of Pandemic

Learning Management Systems for the BVI in the Age of Pandemic With the new forced paradigm in this world of distance learning, our school, like almost every...
Screenshot of Connecting a computer to join conferencing call and text, "Remote Learning"

Preparing Middle School and High School Students with VIB for Remote Learning

Since our state has moved to remote learning while all public schools are closed for a minimum of three weeks because of the Coronavirus, students have had to...
Screenshot of a keynote slide template with parrot and "my presentation"; additional text, "Virtual Tech Lesson" Presentations"

Tech Lesson Week #1: Presentations (PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote)

This is a perfect time for students with visual impairments to learn and master new tech skills; having strong tech skills will have a significant, lasting...
Zoom logo with "Video Conferencing" and text, "Virtual Instruction"

Virtual Instruction: Zoom Video Conferencing Platform

Zoom is a leader in accessible video and audio conferencing. With school closures, educators are turning to Zoom as a means to provide virtual instruction....
Cartoon image of two teachers standing behind a student who is using a computer; text: "Tech Standards"

Tech Standards for Students with VIB: What's Happening

Students with visual impairments and blindness are successfully using technology in the classroom and it is exciting to see how technology has a positive...
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,...
A to Z Assistive Technology for Low Vision. www.veroniiiica.com

A to Z of Assistive Technology for Low Vision

When I first started exploring the world of assistive technology, I found myself getting frequently overwhelmed with how many different items were available...
Cartoon student sitting at a desk looking at a bar chart on his computer.

Moving Forward with Accessible Digital Math: Part 1

There are digital tools available that enable students with visual impairments to access digital math and more resources are being developed! As educators, we...
Reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh through the starry night and text, "'Twas the Night Before: Comprehension"

'Twas the Night Before Christmas: Teaching Comprehension

As educators, we often teach basic reading skills, such as identifying letters, words, building vocabulary and spelling. However, when was the last time you...
Active Braille, a concave 40-cell refreshable braille display with cursor router keys, a Perkin’s style keyboard with a bar keys

Active Braille

The Active Braille is a forty-cell refreshable braille display with cursor router keys, a Perkin’s style keyboard, two triple action keys, and two spacebar...
Glad I am not a turkey poem.

Screen Reader Tech Activities: Thanksgiving Lesson Plan

How do you start teaching digital literacy skills to young students who are learning technology?  Memorizing a list of commands is B-O-R-I-N-G! How about...
WebAIM logo that includes "WebAIM: web accessibility in Mind" and "Survey #8 Results"

WEbAIM Screen Reader User Survey #8 Results

WebAIM is a non-profit organization with a mission to expand the potential of the web for people with disabilities by providing the knowledge, technical skills...
APH's Crossword puzzle logo and text, "App Review"

APH Accessible Crossword Puzzle App Review

Update 9/4/2019 APH recently updated their APH Crossword  web-browser game. There are several noteable updates, including: Letters are larger -  match the...
High school student wearing glasses typing with one hand while leaning close to view a computer screen.

Preparing a Low Vision Student to Use a Screen Reader

This is the second post in the screen reader for low vision series. The first post, Screen Reader for Low Vision Students? Includes common indicators that a...
Ipad displaying Chapter 3 of A Very Wimpy Kid with two-fingers making the Read All VoiceOver gesture.

Screen Reader for Low Vision Students?

For a variety of reasons, students who have functional vision are often resistant to using a screen reader. Should these students be introduced to a screen...
Cartoon man holding a tablet & scratching his head with bubble sad, happy & neutral faces & check boxes; "Screen Reader Survey"

WebAIM Screen Reader Survey #8

Accessing the web is a critical component in today's classroom. WebAIM's goal is to help make the web more accessible to individuals with disabilities by...
computer screenshot of book cover image, Frank and Beans, in a Word document with alt text pane open

Adding Alt Text to an Image in Word for Office 365

Alt Text description of book on the post's featured image: "Microsoft Word document displaying the image of the book cover Frank and Beanswith an alt text pane...
Photo of Braille Beetle and text, "So Many Braille Displays, Which One is Right for My Student? Smart Beetle.

So Many Braille Displays, Which One is Right for My Student? Part Four

NOTE: Please see other posts in this series including So Many Braille Displays Part One (focusing on the Brailliant BI 40 and BI 80 models) So Many Braille...
Photo of Smiling man sitting at the help desk with text, "Sam's Story: Tech Support"

Be My Eyes: Microsoft Tech Support Story

Sam is a tech support agent at the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk, where he answers calls from customers who are blind or have low-vision calling through the...
4 photos of hands holding devices with text, "I have VI technology, now what? Finding solutions for learning how to use tech."

I Have VI Technology, Now What?

I had the pleasure of presenting at the 2019 DC/MD annual AER conference.  My presentation focused on common issues that TVIs and service providers faced when...
2 braille displays & text, "So many braille displays: which one is right for my Student? Brailliant BI 14 & Braille Trail Reader

So Many Braille Displays, Which One is Right for My Student? Part Two

NOTE: Please see other posts in this series including So Many Braille Displays Part One (focusing on the Brailliant BI 40 and BI 80 models) So Many Braille...
Photo of person's feet with slippers lounging next to table with coffee & smart phone lit up on table in front of the fireplace

Reading Efficiently with a Screen Reader: Reading by Paragraphs

Just as there are many types of books to read, there are also many reasons to read. Reading a textbook or technical article for school/work requires full...
Photo of Easter basket and colorful eggs and text, "Easter Wrting/Tech Activities"

Easter Writing/Tech Activities for Students Who Use Screen Readers

Are you looking for some fun Easter-themed activities? Use these activities to practice tech skills! This is a great way to review tech skills in preparation...
Book cover with colorful Easter eggs and title, " Why the Easter Bunny Brings Eggs" and text, "iBook/PDF".

Why the Easter Bunny Brings Easter Eggs: Folktale

This fun European folktale is one explanation of why a bunny brings eggs at Easter. A folktale is a legend or tale that has a moral or lesson and is typically...
Screenshot of Headings setting in the rotor.

Reading Efficiently with a Screen Reader: Headings

Educational content is strategicially organized and formatted into sections. This helps readers to quickly find specific things and to mentally organize the...
Keyboard with text, "All about that Base(line): Strategies on Getting your student's baseline typing speed."

All About that Base(Line): Strategies on Getting your Student's Baseline Typing Speed

NOTE: Please see these related articles on touch typing skills and resources: Starting from Scratch: Where Do I Start When Teaching My Visually Impaired...
Image of a stop watch with text, "Teaching 600 WPM: Part 4".

How to teach your students to read at 600 words per minute – Part 4

Let the student drive It is important to let your student be the person interacting with the device during practice sessions. The ability to control when...

Pages