ZYGO Newsletter, Dec 2012

Chatter Newsletter (excerpt, below) — December 2012 (find it in its entirety, HERE)
  
Product Spotlight: PapooTouch
If you have not yet seen the PapooTouch, you should make a point to do so. It is stylish, portable, and functional, and lets you communicate easily with your friends and family while on the go. It’s a dedicated communication device with a range of installed apps, including Grid Player, with SymbolStix for symbol users, text for typists, and digital pictures for realistic active scene displays and photographs of real people...
 
AD Head Pointers with NEW iPad Tips!
Our three head pointers have just been upgraded to include a brand new tip that is intended for use with iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, as well as other touch screen tablets including Android and all other AAC dynamic display devices...
Grid 2 on Windows 8
As you may know, Windows 8 was released last month. You can continue using The Grid 2 on Windows 8 machines ...

ATIA Orlando
ZYGO-USA is heading back to Orlando next month for the ATIA 2013
conference being held at the Caribe Royale from January 30 to February 2, 2013. Come see us in Booth #408 and spend some time getting to know our lineup of new products we have this year.
Demo products and literature
We have demonstration devices in our loan bank. All of our products are available to SLP’s and AT Centers for evaluation demonstrations. We have special pricing if you would like to add our products to your AT Center. And let us know if you need any catalogs, or The Grid 2 demo CD’s, or other product literature to hand out.

From all of us at ZYGO-USA, Happy Holidays, and best wishes for a Happy New Year!

If you have any questions or need any support for our products, please contact me at Adam@zygo-usa.com, or by phone at (888) 321-6006, or any of our Customer Support representatives at zygo@zygo-usa.com, support@zygo-usa.com, or (800) 234-6006.

The Birth of Bliss Symbolics - Thanks Radiolab

Idealized languages in the news: Two stories this week

What a good listen! The Radiolab podcast brings you fantastic stories about all sorts of fascinating things (see our previous post on Radiolab's episode called Words). Their podcast this week explored stories of BLISS.  Among other stories, it includes the genesis of Bliss Symbols (read more HERE or HERE). It is an amazing reveal and poses a bizarre conundrum. I hope you that use Boardmaker Picture Communication Symbols or Symbol Stix might find an hour+ this holiday season to give a listen to this intriguing episode that touches on the early days of symbol-based communication.  Wow!

Listen to "Bliss" HERE, via Radiolab.

 

Read more about Charles K. Bliss on Wikipedia, HERE. There was a book, Mr. Symbol Man, published in 1975 that just now made it onto my Christmas List (if you're reading this, Santa. It's out of print and may require some pulling of strings...). Radiolab thanks National Film and Sound Archive of Australia for use of audio from the documentary Mr. Symbol Man, by Bob Kingsbury (1974). Let me know if you find out how to view this film or get a copy of this book. Fascinating story!

Another language-y story this week, "Utopian for Beginners," from the Annals of Linguistics via the New Yorker is in the Dec 24 & 31 issue (read it online, HERE) explores one idealistic, amateur linguist's invented language, a la Esperanto, called Ithkuil. Great reading!

Happy Holidays! Felicxa Ferio!

Using USB switch interfaces with switch accessible apps on your iPad

Re-Post: This is a very quick blog post to share a great resource from Bill Ziegler, Apple Distinguished Educator and Assistive Technology Consultant.

Bill has created a very informative Vimeo about how to use a USB switch interface for a computer to access switch accessible apps on your iPad. This is a question I often get asked about – and I’m so pleased that Bill has figured out how to do it and has also shared the solution with all of us. Please check out the video below!

http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/blog/new-technologies/switch-scanning-on-ipads-yes-well-sort-of/

Using BlueTooth Apps from Bill Ziegler on Vimeo.

Thanks Bill!

2013 TouchChat Webinars, Save the date(s)

TouchChat (35 min) and NOVA Chat (45 min) overview courses online from January through April. 

Also, Dec-Jan, one-hour, basic customization webinars ($40 for TouchChat, no price listed for NOVA Chat).

TouchChat Basic Customization Learning Outcomes:

1. Participants will be able to edit the settings and enable restrictions in order to meet their needs.
2. Participants will be able to locate the version of TouchChat they are running.
3. Participants will be able to perform simple editing tasks such as copying a file and editing buttons to customize a vocabulary set.
4. Participants will be able to explore use of SocialChat to share text with social networks.  

NOVA Chat Basic Customization Learning Outcomes:

1. Participants will be able to show two vocabulary options offered in the NovaChat.
2. Participants will experiment with vocabulary options that offer a core language system.
3. Participants will be able to complete basic editing tasks such as editing buttons to customize a vocabulary set.
4. Participants will be able to demonstrate how to create a new page and navigate to it.
5. Participants will be able to test file export/syncing with NovaChat editor and device.

App Donation Program: Proloquo2Go

We are happy to remind you that we have teamed up with Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region to offer our App Donation Program for those who cannot afford Proloquo2Go!

For more information and the policy for the Proloquo2Go App Donation Program, please email assistivetech@eastersealsdfvr.org

AAC Girls: QUICK! Holiday Apps & Ideas!

From AAC Girls: QUICK! Holiday Apps & Ideas! 
Fun app for taking a photo and adding Santa hat, beard, etc.
Idea:  I was working with a student working on access on her device.  We used hide / show to isolate GO & STOP.  Ex:  Okay, the beard (GO = make it bigger;  STOP = stop)

Christmas Sounds Free
Lots of sound effect apps but this one combines 16 good pics and interesting. sounds.
Idea:  We used this as impetus for a 'playlet' for a Communication Circle with a 5th grader using an AAC device.   Each student chose a sound, and wrote a line about it . . . using the device.  Then we performed it for family and friends.  FUN!

American Greetings eCard
Fantastic free app!  Great videos to watch & include.  Must be online to use videos.
Ideas:  Watch the video and comment, narrate, etc. before completing the card.

 I would love to have people share great Hanukkah or Kwanzaa apps that you've found.  ENJOY!!!

Women and Girls with Rett's: Access To Communication

Conference 2008, Chicago, IL Access to Communication: "Working Together Makes it Better"  Judy Lariviere, M.Ed., OTR/L Assistive Technology Specialist & Occupational Therapist
	Links to Ms. Lariviere's materials and video from the conference:
	View Powerpoint Presentation View Handouts Resources View First Conference Video View Second Conference Video View Third Conference Video View Fourth Conference Video View Fifth Conference Video View Sixth Conference Video  Spare time over the holidays? Be sure to watch IRSF’s webinar recording from Oct. 23rd of Jennifer Larimore, PhD, Agnes Scott College and IRSF funded investigator, presenting “From Mind to Molecules: Neurobiology of RTT." Fresh from the annual Society for Neurosciences meeting, we heard the latest news in easy to understand terms. Fact: did you know that in 2 minutes, your brain consumes more energy than your legs need to run a marathon? Nourish your brain with this webinar, and nourish those brains of our children with Rett syndrome by exposing them to an enriched and varied environment every day! CLICK HERE to register and view the webinar.