Assistive Technology: Great Ways to Use an iPod

The iPod Touch was released in 2007. After its launch, Apple has been on the continuous path to manufacture improved models by adding extra features. Features like wireless Internet, built-in microphone, downloadable applications, etc. have increased its usage in the classroom. Additionally, many educational applications are also available at Apple’s iTunes store to assist student from pre-school to university. Recently, an additional feature so that the iPod and assistive technology can be used in the classroom for children with disabilities has been added to the iPod.

 For those with visual impairments, iPod has come up with a feature that is known as Spoken Menus. This feature allows menus to be read to you, making it simpler to navigate around the menu without having to look at the menu screen. This feature has been extended to all metadata, making it easy to search and select a specific track, artist, or playlist without having to view the screen. Other messages like low battery are also verbalized.

This feature is implemented by using the text to speech technology at iTunes. All text is converted into sound files and loaded on the iPod. This might take some time when being loaded for the first time.

There is also a feature to change the size, color, layout, and background of the text. This is helpful for those with little or mild vision impairments. This feature allows them to read screens more comfortably. Many children find it fun to read a book on another device. This could be an interesting medium to do so. An enhanced audio recording feature is also available. This is a great way to make notes for personal use. Students in classrooms can do so to record notes that can be later heard at another time.

The above-mentioned features are of great interest to those with visual impairments. However, it is also helpful for those who have an adequate or 20/20 vision. There are many times when we are not able to access the iPod menu like when in a crowded train, or when we do not have glasses, or while driving, etc. In such situations, it is a benefit to be able to control the iPod with the Spoken Menu feature.

A function called Read2Me is available for purchase from the store for iPod Touch. This feature allows users to listen to e-text files using text-to-speech technology. This application was the first one to allow speech synthesis or artificial production of human speech. Thus, the application is helpful is changing .txt files into spoken text.

Students and others with hearing impairments can also benefit from the use of an iPod. The SoundAMP application is beneficial and turns the iPod into a hearing aid for individuals with hearing impairments. The built-in microphone captures the audio input and allows the listener to adjust the volumes as well. Additionally, a repeat feature is also available if the listener would like to replay the track.

An application is available to understand the sign language. iSign is an animated phrase book with a comprehensive list of American Sign Language actions. Each action or gesture is modeled with the help of three-dimensional characters. iPod models that support video can play both captioned and subtitled videos. Moreover, many videos and movies are available for sale in the iTunes Store.

iPod works well for those with communication impairments. Various applications are available that help aid this. These applications are similar to Voice output Aids that are helpful for individuals that suffer from autism and other communication related problems.

Expressionist is a product from AdastraSoft and helps students communicate through 120 commonly used expressions and 1000 nouns. The application uses pictures to illustrate a concept. The black and white character along with pictures helps students understand and communicate easily.

AssistiveWare came up with Proloquo2Go that provides a full-featured communication solution for communication solution for those that have a problem with speaking. The application uses a sounding text-to-speech voices and symbols to assist users with communication problems. The application contains a default vocabulary of over 7000 items.

The iPod has been used as an assistive technology in classrooms for students of all ages. The possibilities for customization are endless and the number of applications that can be downloaded are growing exponentially. The needs of each student is different and it is advisable for therapists, doctors, teachers, and parents to carefully analyze all assistive technology options and then choose the best for the child.