Five Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Dedicated eReader

I have been using eReaders for some time now and really enjoy the convenience and ease of use of these dedicated devices. In my travels to schools, I am beginning to see more and more schools pilot eReaders in the classroom, especially for students who struggle or who are unmotivated to read. Teachers see the value of students being able to change the size of the font and easy access to the dictionary feature. For many students who struggle in reading many are now more motivated to read on an eReader device as compared to a traditional book. Students can also peruse the Electronic Bookstore and of course with teacher permission download sample chapters from books to see if it will pique their curiosity to engage them in the reading process. But before you go out and purchase an eReader here are some questions you should think about:

1) Do I have access to WiFi in my school or building?

Many of the eReader's support WiFi as well as 3G which will enable you to download books directly to the device without the need to use a computer. If your school has a good WiFi infrastructure then you can save a considerable amount of money by buying the WiFi model of the eReader. For example the  Amazon Kindle Touch with WiFi is $99 dollars compared to the Amazon Touch WiFi/3G model which is $149  dollars. If your schools doesn't support WiFi then you should consider the Kindle Touch WiFi/3G model which would allow you to download books over the air using the 3G network. There is no extra data costs associated with using the Kindle Touch WiFi/3G model for downloading books to the devices.

2) How long can  I expect my dedicated eReader to stay charged?

Many of the dedicated eReaders that utilize E Ink technology can stay charged for long periods of time under normal use. The E Ink technology mirrors that of a traditional page and uses minimal battery life to render the black text on a white background. eReaders like the Kindle Touch and Nook that utilize E Ink technology can stay charged for up to 2 months- which is really incredible if you will be using in a school setting. eReaders that utilize E Ink technology assume that you will be reading the book with a lot of ambient light available.

3) Where can I purchase my books?

All of the major re-sellers of eReaders like Amazon, Bares & Noble, & Kobo provide the user with one stop shopping in their online book store. The online bookstore can be accessed from the devices and books can be quickly downloaded to the devices over WiFi or the 3G network. If you are purchasing books for a school you should investigate getting a corporate or school account with the companies so that you can purchase books with a school Purchase Order

4) Can I read other materials beside books on the dedicated eReader?

In addition to books many of the eReaders also support reading magazines, newspapers, blogs as well as your own personal documents in various formats ie. PDF & Word. When you purchase an Amazon Kindle you are provided with unique email address that you can send Word or PDF documents to, which can be delivered to your Kindle over the WiFi network. This feature is handy for students who want to read their documents on their eReaders

5) How important is having audio and Text to Speech capabilities on my eReader?

While eReaders are great for reading books some eReaders like the Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Touch also support playing audio books from Audible.com as well as reading text on the screen if the Text to Speech capabilities have been enabled by the book publisher. For students with reading disabilities or for those who struggle to read having the text to speech capabilities is a great feature.Likewise, being able to listen to a professionally narrated book from Audible can be very motivating for students who need to reengage with text.

I hope these questions and answers have provided you with some food for thought when you are planning to purchase eReaders. If you have any questions about eReaders, please feel free to email me. If you are interested I am available to run workshops on using eReaders in the classroom.

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Waiting for Kindle Fire to Land

When Amazon announced the Kindle Fire in September, I quickly pre-ordered the device knowing that it would be a big seller. If all goes well I should have the Kindle Fire in had some time tomorrow so that I can share that experience with you. I have been using a Kindle for some time now and really enjoy reading on the device and look forward to experiencing reading on the Kindle Fire. Amazon relying on their Cloud Services has made it really easy to access my ebooks from the many devices that I use. As a company Amazon gets high grades from me for customer support and when my Kindle Reader arrives it will be registered and ready to use with my account. Amazon has done a marvelous job with the integration of their Whispernet network and I cam looking forward to a seamless experience with my Kindle Fire out of the box. More details in the coming days!

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Great Sound from Jawbone Jambox

I ended the weekend at a soiree that my daughter was singing at which was a fund raiser for a local New York City Ballet Company and as luck would have it there was a Silent Auction included in the night's activities. As I scoped out the items, my eyes caught a shiny box with a Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker that I had read about in the tech blogs. The Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker have a retail value of $199 dollars and when the auction opened it started at $125 dollars which was a steal at that price. While I paid a little more for the Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speakers when the auction closed- they are well worth it when I'm listening to my music from my iPohne 4S. The Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker includes some really interesting speech technology which lets you know when the speaker is in pairing mode. Pairing the Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker with my iPhone was a cinch and the sound is really awesome. The speaker is extremely loud but the driving bass really sounds great listening to the Allman Brothers. The Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker comes with everything you need to use the system including a power adapter to charge the lithium battery, USB charging cable, mini- RCA jack and a carrying case. You can use the Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker with any device that has Bluetooth or if you want you can use it as an external speaker with the included RCA jack by plugging it into any audio output. As I sit here writing this blog I'm relishing in the sound of my iPhone and the Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speakers.

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Just Released: IPad™: Enhancing Learning & Communication for Students with Special Needs

I am happy to announce the release of my latest reference guide: 
IPad™: Enhancing Learning & Communication for Students with Special Needs

The reference guide is 6 pages - three hole punched and laminated and is a great resource if you are just getting started or thinking about using the iPad in your classroom. Both authors are special educators as well as assistive technology specialist who designed the card for ease of use. The laminated reference guide is chock full of ideas and tips and tricks on how to best use the iPad in the classroom with recommendations for some of the leading apps for students with special needs.


The iPad™ is a revolutionary technology for use in our 21st century classrooms. It is profoundly changing both the manner in which teachers present instructional content, as well as the way students process and learn new information. The multi-sensory design of the iPad™ makes it an ideal tool for teaching students with special needs. This laminated reference guide provides valuable information on the use of the iPad™ in classroom settings to reach students with diverse learning styles and who have limited functional communication abilities. Proloquo2Go, iCommunicate and other types of applications (Apps) to enhance language development are presented in an easy-to-understand format. An ideal resource for teachers, speech therapists and other educators who work with students who have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), learning disabilities or other language-related challenges.


If you are interested in purchasing this laminated reference guide please email me for a quote. Volume pricing is available and school purchase orders are accepted.


To purchase:


  

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Free Upcoming eSeminars - Adobe Captivate & eLearning Suite

Adobe’s series of free eSeminars on Adobe Captivate and eLearning Suite continues into November – this month’s featured sessions focus on publishing and packaging. Please note the next eSeminar, covering the Multi-SCO Packager, is tomorrow, Nov. 10, at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern.

   

Using Multi-SCO Packager to Create a Single Course out of SCOs from Captivate, Flash and Dreamweaver

Thursday, Nov. 10 – 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET

Join Vish and Dr. Pooja Jaisingh to learn how to combine SWF and PDF from Captivate, Learning interactions SWF from Flash and Course Builder SCOs from Dreamweaver into a single course. You will also learn about using Learning Interactions in Flash and Course Builder in Dreamweaver.

Mobile Publishing Options in Adobe Captivate and eLearning Suite

Wednesday, Nov. 16 – 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET

Join RJ Jacquez, Adobe eLearning Senior Product Evangelist, to learn how Adobe is helping advance Mobile Learning (mLearning) through various technologies, including Flash, HTML5 and native mobile apps.

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MatchWare Launches MindView 4 Mac, Mind Mapping Software for OS X Lion

Today MatchWare (http://www.matchware.com) announces the release of MindView 4 Mac, a professional mind mapping software ideal for optimizing brainstorming sessions, creating visually driven presentations and displaying project plans in an easy-to-overview timeline. Thomas Henriksen, MatchWare’s Product Manager, explains, “Our user feedback was very clear, Mac customers want a professional mind mapping tool to visually overview ideas and improve communication, collaboration and innovation. MindView 4 Mac provides the professional feature set to drive productivity through seamless integration with Microsoft Office and a cutting-edge presentation mode that ensures brainstorming, organizing and presenting ideas has never been easier.”

The enhanced Microsoft Office integration and ready-to-use templates enable users to effortlessly export their mind maps as professionally formatted Microsoft® Word documents and PowerPoint presentations. With 7 dynamic viewing options including a timeline, new map styles, and innovative presentation options, MindView 4 Mac continues to take mind mapping to the next level. Additional new features include a new formatting toolbar, the ability to record audio commentary as a sound note and attach the file to a mind map branch, open MindView 4 for PC files and the option to export a mind map as a PDF.

MindView 4 Mac’s new presentation mode displays information one branch at a time, enabling users to deliver dynamic, interactive presentations directly from the mind map. Focus mode empowers users to zoom-in on specific areas of the map, allowing participants a clear view of the specific information presented. MindView 4 Mac enables users to customize the placement of branch pictures; further enhancing the capability to provide clear, visual displays to improve the understanding of complex topics.
“I have tested MindView 4 Mac on OS X Lion and the new Presentation Mode and Focus Mode are extremely helpful when presenting my mind maps during meetings. I like the fact that the Focus Mode lets me zoom in automatically on branches in a non-linear way so people in the back of the room easily can see and contribute to brainstorming sessions,” says Frans Merrild, C.E.O of Tell-It Online.

MindView’s unique Timeline view delivers a powerful, visual overview to improve any project planning process and enhance the study of historical and future events. By adding dates or times to the mind map branches, users can simply switch to the Timeline view to instantly display information on a horizontal time axis.

MindView 4 dramatically improves the ability of professionals to capture and share information in one click from a mind map to Microsoft Office, a timeline, a PDF document or a HTML website. Mac users now have a professional productivity tool for turning ideas into action plans.
MindView 4 Mac is available for purchase at http://www.MatchWare.com and the Mac App Store for the upgrade price of 149 USD or 249 USD for a single user license. For more information about MindView, visit http://www.MatchWare.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Contact us for multi-user and educational discounts.

About MindView
MatchWare MindView is professional mind mapping software that allows you to optimize brainstorming sessions and present ideas visually. MindView's mind mapping capabilities provide an effective way to organize and develop ideas, outline reports, and streamline decision making. MindView’s visual hierarchy and professionally designed export templates convert your mind map into a polished presentation with the click of a mouse. Brainstorm topics, storyboard presentations and enhance meeting discussions. Attach pictures and videos, take notes or add hyperlinks – everything will be included in your export.

About MatchWare
Founded in 1992, MatchWare is a leader in intuitive Mind Mapping and multimedia authoring tools for enhancing individuals’ ability to create, visualize, manage and distribute information. The company’s award-winning software packages, MindView, Mediator, and ScreenCorder, offer highly intuitive user interfaces and powerful features at affordable prices. Headquartered in Denmark, MatchWare has subsidiaries in the UK, the USA, Germany, France and Sweden.

• MatchWare, MindView, MatchWare Mediator, MatchWare ScreenCorder are trademarks or registered trademarks of MatchWare A/S. All other trademarks and registered trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective companies.

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A Busy Month

October has been an incredibly busy month for me and so my blog posts have slowed down. Between presentations, workshops, and teaching my days have been full. Of course there is always time for new technologies and just last week my iPhone 4S arrived on the scene. It is an incredible device and with the large number of apps it is overwhelming-even for me.

Setting up the iPhone was quick and easy to do, and once I connected it to my Google account, my contacts and schedule came streaming in. Talk about smooth integration. As much I will become wedded to my iPhone 4S, thinking about the whole category of smartphones for students with disabilities is really intriguing. Just last week I did a demo of Siri, Apple's integrated assistant for my graduate students and was thinking about all of the applications for students that we work with executive functioning disorder. With Siri it is possible to create Reminders easily using your voice as well as enter Events directly into the calendar. Apple has once again taken the initiative to build a speech recognition engine into the iPhone 4S which allows users to use natural language to control certain aspects of the phone. I'm sure over time new functionality will be added that will even take the Siri technology even further. In fact, Apple has integrated speech recognition into all aspects of the iOS 5 which I have found works really great. Simply click on the microphone which is located on the onscreen keyboard and start dictating. You will find the speech recognition to be highly accurate and a great tool for instant messaging and for composing emails. Have to run but look for more posts about using the iPhone with your students with Executive Functioning Disorder- coming soon!

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Amazon Announces the Kindle Fire for $199

Wow! Amazon announced today that they will be shipping on November 15th the Kindle Fire with a 7 inch color multi-touch screen for $199 dollars. With all the speculation it looks like they delivered on their promise of a highly functional reader complete with access to the web, ebooks, apps, music, and streaming video. At $199 dollars  they will carve out a niche for those consumers who were waiting on the sideline to jump into purchasing a tablet of their own. The Kindle Fire will be powered by a dual core processor and host a multi-touch screen (7" multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors) and come standard with Wi-Fi and a USB 2.0 Micro-B connector along with a the built-in Amazon Silk browser for fast web surfacing. The Kindle Fire is reported to be able to run for 8 hours on a full charge and can be charged with the wall AC Adapter or via a USB connection to a computer. The Kindle Fire will ship with has a native email client that can support Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL etc. Of course you will have access to the entire Amazon collection of music, videos, apps, and music which you can purchase for their store. This looks like the Amazon Kindle Fire will hit that sweet spot for a powerful but easy to use device that can serve as portable  tool when we are away from our desks. For now the Kindle Fire only support Wi-Fi,  but I would imagine if it is a success in the marketplace that we will see a 3G version as well. From the likes of it, it doesn't look like the Kindle Fire supports Bluetooth- but I will have to delve into that a little more. Amazon has put on their boxing gloves and looks to be in for the long haul as they position the Kindle Fire as an  alternative to Apple's iPad. At a price point of $199 dollars the Kindle Fire is sure to be a winner for consumers. The Kindle Fire can be pre-ordered now from Amazon for a mid November delivery.

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Magic Whiteboard Now Available from AssistiveTek!

It is easy to capture our students' imagination and attention when we use visuals in our teaching. Of all the things we can do in the classroom non-linguistic representation of ideas has been demonstrated to be linked to achievement and retention of information. In this day and age of computers and technology it is quite liberating to touch a marker to whiteboard. Now imagine if any wall or blackboard or desk could be turned into a writing surface with a simple and easy to use product. Well your quest has been answered, you see, Magic Whiteboard was just recently launched in the United States and AssistiveTek, LLC is one of the premier resellers of the product. 

Magic Whiteboard is a supercharged whiteboard on a roll that can be put up anywhere in seconds, and sticks with static. The magic lies in the statically charged polypropylene film that clings to almost any flat surface.  This film can be written on with standard dry erase markers and erased just like a standard whiteboard. Magic Whiteboard is portable and reusable making your investment cost effective. This easy to use solution requires no special set up or installation-simply peel a sheet off the roll, adhere to a wall and start writing. You can use standard dry erase markers to draw with and erasing is simple and easy.

If you are looking for a cost effective tool to engage your students in their learning then take a look at Magic Whiteboard- you will be happy you did. Magic Whiteboard is $56.99 for a roll of 25 perforated sheets which gives you over 65 feet of whiteboard writing surface. Order your Magic Whiteboard today and get started with this exciting new product. 


Click this link to watch a video about the product.

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Amazon To Make Big Kindle Announcement this Wednesday

Jeff Bezos will take the stage this coming Wednesday at 10:00 am in NYC and will unveil the latest Kindle offering. From following the bloggers, it looks like we will see a 7 inch back-lit touch screen color Kindle that will be running a customized version of the Android operating system. The color Kindle will be positioned as a ebook reader very much like the Nook Color has for the past couple of years. However, the color Kindle will offer you rich media through the Amazon Store where you can download and play songs, movies and of course download your books. The color Kindle will support WiFi at this time and will come with a Browser giving you access to the web and the full range of Amazon Store services. What is really exciting is the price point that everyone n the web has been has been speculating about. Some have shared that they believe the new Kindle Color Reader will be priced below $250 dollars which will certainly get everyone excited about the potential for this tablet/ereading device. Having access to a color eReader like the Kindle Color with good performance and access to the web could certainly shake up the tablet market. So I know I will stay tuned to the announcement this Wednesday to find out all of the details. We certainly live in exciting times! So check back here next week for the Kindle Color update.

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Free Adobe eSeminars for Captivate 5.5

While Adobe Captivate 5.5 is an easy to use tool- it is great that Adobe will be offering free eSeminars to walk you through the finer points.  To register for one of the seminars just click in the link. Enjoy! Brian

Alternate Reporting and Quiz Result Analyzer in Adobe Captivate 5.5

Thursday, Sept. 22 – 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET

Join Dr. Pooja Jaisingh and Vish to learn about the alternate options available for quiz reporting like Acrobat.com and Internal Server. They will also show you how to analyze the results using Adobe Captivate Quiz Results Analyzer.

Let’s Explore the Branching View in Adobe Captivate 5.5

Thursday, Sept. 29 – 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET

Join Vish and Dr. Pooja Jaisingh to learn how to use the Branching panel effectively in Adobe Captivate 5.5.

Deep Dive: Effective Soft Skills Training in Adobe Captivate: Part 3

Wednesday, Oct. 12 – 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET

Join Dr. Allen Partridge for Part 3 of an advanced tutorial on creating soft skills simulations with Adobe Captivate. This session is recommended for intermediate and advanced users and assumes fundamental awareness of Adobe Captivate. Dr. Partridge will demonstrate and break-down the elements commonly used in creating soft skills simulations. This will be a technically oriented session focused on advanced actions and creating the logical decision trees and complementary functions to make advanced branching dependent projects really sing.

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Kindle eBooks from Public Library are Now Available

One of the shortcomings of the Kindle platform is that it does not support the ever popular ePub format which made it next to impossible to borrow ebooks from the public library. But all that has changed and as of today, patrons of the public library can now take out Kindle eBooks which can be delivered over a WiFi connection or via a USB download.

I decided to give it a try and so I  logged into Overdrive and searched for my Public Library which was quickly found. I then logged into the digital library with my Patron Number and clicked in the Kindle books library which allowed me to search for a book. Once I found a book I wanted, I clicked on Add to Cart and when I checked out- I was redirected to the Amazon Kindle page where I could send it to my Kindle. Once I turned on my Kindle the book was automatically delivered over my WiFi connection and I was up and reading in no time. The process was fast and efficient. Having access to the eBooks from my Public Library  library will open up all kinds of possibilities now for reading adventures using my Kindle.

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Mindjet MindManager 2012 Professional for Windows!

San Francisco – September 13, 2011 — Mindjet®, the company that improves how people work together, today announced the release of Mindjet MindManager® 2012 Professional for Windows®, the most powerful version of the world’s leading visual information software. MindManager 2012 is designed for today’s professionals who need to spark ideas and collaborate with their teams for more productive outcomes.

MindManager 2012 is the most significant release in the product’s history including real-time co-editing, enhanced information maps and new desktop interface, plus new brainstorming features that guide users to unleash their team’s creativity. The innovative feature directs teams to:

• Utilize predefined challenge questions to promote different ways of thinking about the subject
• Use inspiration cards to generate hundreds of fresh ideas
• Leverages MindManager’s powerful visual experience to refine concepts and plans

"MindManager 2012 has been designed to meet the needs of today’s professional who are constantly barraged with new opportunities and pressing business challenges,” said Blaine Mathieu, chief products officer, Mindjet. “The new guided brainstorming feature organizes an outpouring of ideas that can be quickly honed into real solutions for real business needs.”

In addition, MindManager 2012 integrates with Mindjet Connect®, Mindjet’s cloud-based service (see separate release) to provide open and full sharing of MindManager maps with anyone, anywhere, on any device.

“Through the Connect cloud-based service, MindManager 2012 customers can freely collaborate on maps with anyone,” said Mathieu. “The combination of MindManager 2012 and Connect is nothing short of the future of the collaboration for teams and businesses.”

MindManager 2012 is available on September 22nd for the upgrade price of $179 USD and $399 USD for new customers at http://www.mindjet.com/mindmanager-pricing.

For more information about MindManager 2012 visit the Mindjet blog athttp://blog.mindjet.com.

About Mindjet:

Two million individuals, small businesses and Fortune 1000® companies using Mindjet understand that working visually and collaboratively brings results. We set the standard in mind mapping and now our focus is to provide collaborative work management solutions that dramatically improve how people can work better together, accomplish goals more successfully and be more productive.

Forty-six of BusinessWeek®’s "World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies" rely on Mindjet to see the big picture – let us show you too

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