MyStudyBar

Supporting e-inclusion

MyStudyBar is a suite of portable open source and freeware applications to support learners with literacy difficulties although MyStudy Bar is beneficial to all learners and all aspects of e-learning.

Download MyStudyBar and tutorials

You can now download the beta version of MyStudyBar and view a comprehensive set of tutorials to get you up and running in no time at all.

To find out more visit the Resources section of the e-inclusion blog

I know I’m always harking on about how good the voice recognition is in Windows Vista and Windows 7 – well here’s the proof of the pudding! A quick screencast which covers some of the main features of Windows Speech Recognition.  I’m sure you’ll agree, it is very powerful!

View the Windows Speech Recognition screencast

MyStudy Bar designed to work with Windows Vista and Windows 7.

I thought you might be interested in something I’ve been working on recently – MyStudy Bar. It is essentially a floating toolbar which is similar to some of the popular commercial products such as Read & Write Gold and ClaroRead. To a great extent MyStudy Bar also offers a similar range of tools, e.g., screen masking, talking dictionary, mind mapping, text-to-speech, save text to MP 3 etc. except that MyStudy Bar consists of portable open source and freeware applications.

MyStudy Bar is still in ‘beta’ mode and is designed to work with Windows Vista and WIndows 7, mainly because of the speech recognition. It will work on XP but unless there’s a decent synthetic voice installed, the text-to-speech will sound naff and the speech recognition won’t work.

For a sneak preview (and apologies for the poor commentary) select this link to view the MyStudy Bar video.

New video resources

There are some excellent new TextHelp and ClaroRead training videos in the ‘Resources’ section of the blog.

Navigation

And with the new navigation ‘Contents’ menu on each page it’s easier than ever to search and find information.

Happy New Year! To celebrate the start of 2010 I’ve redesigned the blog, given it a new name, a new URL – the e-inclusion blog.

On reflection 2009 was a particularly successful year for all things access and inclusion at the RSC Scotland North & East. However, I don’t want to rest on my laurels and I have some new exciting and innovative projects planned for 2010!

AccessApps

At the top of the list of 2009 was the continued success of AccessApps which won major awards at both national and international levels. December 2009 also marked the 10,000th download of AccessApps from our EduApps site. We receive emails on a daily basis from people all over the world with queries, requests for more apps and letters of appreciation for such a great resource.

AddApps

I’ve also had a great deal of interest regarding the AddApps project which is similar to AccessApps but with programs more suitable for learners with complex learning needs. The interface is switch accessible and supported with open source symbols. The project is ongoing but has received a significant number of downloads, mostly from schools but I have some big plans for future developments.

e-Quality Newsletter

The newsletter e-Quality increasingly grew in popularity with over 300 subscribers and loads of downloads – particularly in alternative formats. I also spent a great deal of time ensuring that the newsletter, which is also available in PDF format, was accessible and inclusive for all, with appropriate heading and image tags. With over 20 contributors and an average of 30 pages per newsletter I’d like to thank everyone for its continued success. It’s possible that 2010 will see the newsletter develop into a national resource with support from JISC TechDis and other RSCs.

RSC Access and Inclusion Online Forum

Another success was the development of the RSC Access and Inclusion Online Forum. The forum now has over 250 members and a range of interest groups, such as assistive technology, e-inclusion research, open source etc. It’s an extremely lively and informative forum with member posting articles on a number of e-inclusion related issues. The online forum also won a prestigious award – runner up “The Best Educational use of a Social Networking site”. If you’d like to join the forum then please get in touch – leave a comment in the comment box below to let me know.

Windows Vista Ease of Access Centre Guide

The Windows Vista Ease of Access Centre Guide was well received judging from the amount of downloads and email queries. In terms of providing access to a computer for learners with addtional support needs the Ease of Access Centre is big improvement on some of the access tools in Windows XP – but thankfully it still retains some of the old favourites such as StickyKeys and FilterKeys. However, the real jewel in the crown of the Ease of Access Centre is Windows Speech Recognition which offers great voice recognition accuracy and allows users to control the Windows environment with voice commands. The good news is that I’m in the process of updating the Guide for Windows 7 which has improved access features such as full screen magnification, scalable on-screen keyboard and even better voice recognition!

Inclusive eLearning for All

To be honest I was really surprised at the impact this publication had on the FE and HE sector.  I wrote it in response to a query from a college to provide advice for their accessible ICT strategy – I never believed for a moment that some of the ideas and recommendations in the publication would be adopted and implemented by the college. Other colleges have since used some of the recommendations and suggestions to enhance their ICT strategy. With the release of Windows 7 I’ll make sure this is updated and improved for 2010.

Xerte Sandpit

With the good work of JISC TechDis and the developers from the University of Nottingham (and my colleague Carol) we now have our very own Xerte sandpit. If you’re unfamiliar with Xerte it can be best described as a learning authoring tool for creating accessible and inclusive multimedia and interactive learning content. But one of the best things about Xerte is that it is open source – it’s free! I launched the sandpit back in November of 2009 but I have some exciting ideas to extend its so that colleges and learners can benefit from the potential Xerte has to offer.

The DSA Assessor’s Guide to Feeware and Open Source Applications

The DSA Assessor’s Guide to Freeware and Open Source Applications is an initiative which followed from a presentation to members of the Scottish Government and the Disabled Stakeholders Group. The aim of the presentation was to highlight the potential of open source and freeware assistive technologies as an alternative to commercial software. This seemed to strike a chord with the audience who requested that I compile a Guide for DSA Assessors which would form part of the DSA Toolkit. The Guide is an ongoing project which will be updated on a regular basis.

And the rest…

These are just some from a selection of successful projects and innovations from your local RSC. As well as our workshops and other activities remember the RSC Scotland North & East is your first point of contact regarding elearning, accessibility and inclusion. With your help and continued support (and ideas) we will hopefully be expanding the projects to ensure that access and inclusion in e-learning is a reality for all.

Best wishes for 2010

Audrey Graham e-learning advisor for curriculum and access at the RSC

Thanks to Audrey (RSC ni) for this post:

JISC TechDis and RScni held an Accessibility and Inclusion Regional Event in the Northern Regional College on 3rd December 2009. Representatives from all the Area Based Colleges in N Ireland as well as  Stranmillis Teaching College attended.

Dr Simon Ball from JISC TechDis gave talks on Everyday Accessibility:  using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, and PDFs, to Maximize Accessibility. This was very beneficial, pointing out simple changes we could adapt to make our teaching more accessible.

Simon’s second talk focused on Achievable Technology: making teaching more inclusive using simple techniques such as Podcasting and Screen Capture.
Lastly, Simon looked at Accessibility: Roles and Responsibilities – whose job is it anyway? This emphasised the fact that it was indeed the responsibility of us all.

Craig Mill from RSC Scotland North and East expertly demonstrated some of the more common AccessApps – over 60 free and Open Source portable applications covering a range of assistive technologies from  word processors and text-to-speech software to the  innovative application where typing of text and manipulation of the menu  bar was controlled by voice commands.

Finally, I introduced Xerte, an easy to use, Open Source tool used to create accessible interactive learning content.

All in all, the day was a great success, and judging from the feedback, many of the delegates will be putting into practice many of the tools discussed.

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Keep a look out for the launch of the new e-inclusion blog – a new accessible design, a new URL, new features, resources and more!