MTR Update June 2016
Welcome to the first Monthly Mobile Technology Resource Update.
The aim of the Mobile Technology Resource is to collate the training materials, user guides, the apps and any other resources that are used in one place. Enabling people to share resources that they are going to create, or already have created.
There is a wealth of knowledge within the network. There are people and organisations that are doing amazing work and using mobile technology in innovative ways – it would be a shame not to share to the benefit of all.
The Mobile Technology Resource is a living resource, so if you have any suggestions, requests or content to add or update please do so. Either by contacting me directly or by accessing the Mobile Technology Resource.
There are currently 153 registered users on the Mobile Technology Resource. You can access the Mobile Technology Resource by going to the Karten Network website (https://karten-network.org.uk/) and entering your login details in the login block located on the left-hand-side of the page. The Mobile Technology Resource can be found under the “Members” tab. If you are not logged in and click on that link it will prompt you to login.
If you have forgotten your password you can create a new password. You do this by going to: https://karten-network.org.uk/wp-login.php?action=lostpassword
and entering either your user name or e-mail address.
If you have not been added as a user to the Mobile Technology Resource or wish to have additional logins for your organisation, please contact me.
One of the recent issues which a number of organisations within the Network seems to be struggling with is the transfer of photos and videos from iPads to computers. At the Seashell Trust they make extensive use of the Photo Transfer App. Details of the app can be found in the “Apps” section of the Mobile Technology Resource. There is also a quick reference guide which includes instructions on how to use the photo transfer app in the “User Guides” section.
A similar app is AirMore, a free app for both iOS and Android. Details can also be found in the “Apps” section of the Mobile Technology Resource.
What apps do you use? Do you have any guides or other resources that the can be shared with the network? Please add them to the Mobile Technology Resource, or send them to me to add them.
Should you require an help, or have any questions or comments please feel free to e-mail me: martin@karten-network.org.uk
Until next month, best wishes,
Martin
Karten Network Mobile Technology Advisor
App of the Month
Every month we will be sharing what apps people in the Network are using by publicising an App of the Month.
So far we have:
October 2016: Talking Mats
Talking Mats is an innovative, award-winning communication tool that supports adults and children with communication difficulties to express their views. It helps them understand and consider a range of topics and say what they feel in a visual way that can be easily recorded.
September 2016: Puppet Pals HD
Create your own unique shows with animation and audio in real time! Simply pick out your actors and backdrops, drag them on to the stage, and tap record. Your movements and audio will be recorded in real time for playback later. This app is as fun as your own creativity. Act out a story of Pirates on the high seas, fight as scary monsters, or play the part of a Wild West bandit on the loose. You can even combine any characters however you want! Your creations are only limited by your imagination.
August 2016: Pictello
Everyone loves to tell fun, engaging, and imaginative stories. Go ahead and make a social story or visual schedule for a child with autism or a slide show of holiday pictures for your friends – Pictello makes it a breeze to create and share! Whether you use the included natural-sounding Text to Speech voices, or record your own voice, Pictello is the perfect tool for visual storytelling.
Each page in a Pictello story consists of a photo or video and some text, which can be read aloud by a Text to Speech voice or your own recorded audio.
July 2013: Aura
The Aura App has recently arrived at Derwen College. The App is similar to a QR code, an image which triggers a link to something from an image or object. Using an iPad you record a demonstration video. In our case we recorded a video of how to deal with a paper jam on our large printer. You then create a new ‘Aura’, using the app, by taking a photo of the printer and the App then links the video to the photo!
This means we can make short videos on how to use all of our equipment and demonstrations of how to undertake tasks. Our students can use the iPad to trigger a video by holding it in front of the equipment.
It is great making short videos in our Karten Bureau and watching them automatically play when the student hold the iPad in front of the chosen equipment! What a good idea! I hope to use it more and make a ‘how to’ for each piece of equipment to help the students become more independent in our CTEC centre!
September 2013: Talktablet and Scene and Heard
Penny at Landmarks has been using the Talktablet app with S as an additional way for him to communicate. This app has sets of programmable linked ‘grids’ of symbols with a voice output for saying sentences. He has learned how to use the programme very quickly and has also learned to programme new vocabulary in himself with minimal support. He is using it as a ’therapy aid’ at the moment as he makes a sentence on the tablet, listens to the voice then says the whole sentence himself. He has also used it spontaneously for ‘functional’ communication to tell staff specific information. Her next step is to work with his tutors to develop content which will help him respond to questions in sessions eg for course assessment.
Penny has also used ‘Scene and Heard’. This app allows you to very quickly make a photo story with a spoken voice output commentary and symbols.
End of an Era
The Trustees are sad to announce the death of Mildred Karten on 1st January 2013
Mildred in her beautiful garden, with 2 of the many dogs who were lucky enough to live with them
Since Ian’s death, Mildred had taken a more active role in Trustee’s meetings, and it will be very strange to have neither Ian nor Mildred present. We hope, however, that family involvement will continue.
We will all miss her enormously, and send our condolences to Mildred’s family and friends.
Ian Karten MBE, 1920 -2011
It is with deep regret that we have to announce that Ian Karten MBE passed away peacefully on Sunday 8th May.
Ian’s vision and commitment to changing the lives of disabled people has been – and will continue to be – an inspiration to us all. Only 3 weeks ago a lunch was held for Ian and his wife Mildred to celebrate the achievements of the Ian Karten Charitable Trust at Wisley Gardens – a lovely sunny day in beautiful surroundings, with lots of happy memories. So many people have sent moving tributes to Ian, so many comments on the legacy he leaves. And so many pledges to continue the work that Ian started.
We remember Mildred in our thoughts and prayers, and send her our most sincere condolences.
Karten Bloggers at Beaumont
In the Karten Centre at Beaumont College, learners are practicing their literacy skills in a way that engages their interest in a way that more traditional techniques sometimes fail to do. The College has implemented a safe, internally hosted blogging system – Powerful Voices. It is safe – only staff and learners can access it. The interface has been streamlined so that learners can access it directly. Each blog is stamped with the email address of the person posting it. But it means that learners can blog on issues that are of interest to them, and include pictures, videos and music. People are keen to log on and read the latest! And staff are taking every opportunity to embed numeracy and IT skills as well as literacy. The tutors monitor the posts, and pick up the issues that the learner needs to work on, and feed this back into learning objectives.
This innovation has been picked up by the Skills for Life Update, who are featuring it as one of their case studies in the summer edition.