Tap-It: Touch Point Technology

Tap-It is the SmartBoard for special populations that can't easily move to and/or access the wall-mount or chalkboard-mounted S.B. due to wheelchairs, walkers or other mobility devices.  The Tap-It is a  42" interactive LCD panel that can be tilted from 0 - 90 degrees; it's mobile (on wheels), tilt-able, raise it/lower it, touchscreen interface that's not susceptible to leaning, for any computer software is both beautiful and accessible.  It's an acronym: Touch Accessible Platform for Interactive Technology (Tap-It), and it lowers to 8" of the floor, at your preferred angle. Try doing that, Smartboard! (P.S. it costs significantly more than a SmartBoard) Cable to your laptop, which can also be safely attached/stowed on the base stand, and sweep the entire rig around the room to each of your students (with a sturdy, long extension cord tethering it safely to the outlet).

Tap-It in the CSUN exhibit hall this week.

30% off at Mayer-Johnson, thru 3/6/11

Mayer-Johnson asks, "Can you keep a secret?"...the answer is NO!

Take 30% Off Everything* We've saved our best deals for our best customers. Enjoy exclusive access to huge savings at mayer-johnson.com or call 1­-800­-588­-4548 to save today. PROMO CODE: PVT30 *Good through March 6, 2012. Offer valid on Mayer-Johnson products only. Not available on volume discount purchases and not available to re-sellers or outside the U.S. or Canada. Offer cannot be combined with any other Mayer-Johnson discount. Program subject to change at any time. Excludes Boardmaker Studio, Boardmaker Pre-made Activities, Boardmaker Activity Pad, all Assessments and Assistive Technology products, Subscriptions, Upgrades and Apps.

160 iPads for Autism Grant - through 3/7/12

Technology Grant

Autism Speaks iPad 2 Technology Grant

Through the generosity of Wyndham Worldwide, the Pickle Foundation, and Heather Nix of Washington, Autism Speaks will select 160 individuals with autism to receive an Apple iPad 2!

Eligible applicants are individuals who:
- Have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder by a licensed professional,
- Reside in the United States,
- Have limited income and cannot afford to purchase an iPad.

*Note: If you already submitted an application for the HP Slate 2 grant in December 2011, you will automatically be considered for the iPad 2 grant and there is no need to re-apply.

Technology Grant Timeline

February 29: Online Application Opens
March 7: Application Closes
March 8-29: Review Committee Selects Recipients
March 30: Recipients Announced!!

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted by the person with autism or an immediate family member of the person with autism. The Technology Grant Review Committee will review eligible applications based on established criteria and select the iPad grant recipients. Some applicants will be contacted by staff for follow up information. All applicants selected to receive an iPad 2 will be contacted on March 30. Others will receive an email informing them of their status.

Click here to apply! You must create a login and select AutismCares iPad 2 Grant.

Autism Apps!

We are also thrilled to announce that Brain Parade™ has partnered with Autism Speaks to provide each iPad 2 recipient with a copy of their See.Touch.Learn.™ Pro 2012 app.

Brain Parade has also arranged with developers in the Moms with Apps collaborative to donate hundreds of copies of their family friendly apps. Together they are providing 1,120 free apps to the iPad 2 recipients!

Click here for details about Brain Parade and the apps provided.

Click here to see a list of Autism Apps in the Autism Speaks Resource Library!

Questions or comments? Contact Serena Selkin, Family Services Grants Manager at sselkin@autismspeaks.org or (917) 475-5059.

Giveaways! CSUN Exhibit Hall

Stop by the Exhibit Hall at the CSUN 27th Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference for some great drawings:

- Win an iPad 2 from Cadan Computers Technology for Education (somehow related to Technology for Education??), booth 627 on the back wall

- Win Boardmaker Studio from Mayer-Johnson/Dynavox in the entry-way (can't miss them)

Exhibitors are not selling products on-site (something to do with sales tax), but are taking orders and many offer conference discounts and/or free shipping, so don't forget to ask!

Minspeak E-Newsletter, Issue 44- 2/29/12

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Send to Friend February 29, 2012 Intervention Planning: Review the Intervention Plan for asking “what” questions. Plan to complete 1 or 2 activities this month from this plan. Teaching Materials Exchange: Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Be a little Irish with your students on St. Patrick's Day. Use either the Powerpoint Show (which has 1 slide with animation) or the PDF Book and learn a little about St. Patrick’s Day. The Show and Book are coded with Pixons and icon sequences from Unity®45, Unity®60, Unity®84, and Unity®144. Teaching Tip: At DeSoto Trail Elementary School is Tallahassee, Florida, Ms. Ashley Bennett, the teacher, mounted her Pixon wall chart on her classroom whiteboard using magnets. One way to do this is to attach adhesive business card magnets to the back of the Pixon wall chart. Simply remove the release liner on the front side of the business card magnet and attach to the back of the finished wall chart. These types of business card magnets can be purchased online or at office supply stores, such as Office Depot®. Use enough of the magnets to hold the wall chart securely and to sustain the weight of the remove-able Pixons. Pittsburgh Language Seminar Series: Check your calendars to see whether or not you can attend one of the upcoming seminar series. March 13-15 features Jane Odom as the guest speaker, April 17-19 features Marilyn Buzolich, and May 22-24 features Gail Van Tatenhove. June will be the last of the seminars until they start up again in September 2012. All of these seminars are provided free of charge, with meals and lodging provided. Contact Renee McGough immediately at 412-885-8541 or email her at rmcgough@minspeak.com to register. Announcements: Don’t forget to register for the ISAAC conference! Benefits of Minspeak Using multi-meaning icons. The power of motor automaticity. Use of Minspeak Minspeak systems with different disabilities. Minspeak and cultural-linguistic diversity. The Power of Minspeak Minspeak, language and literacy development. Using Minspeak in the classroom. Support of Minspeak Strategies to support use of Minspeak. Minspeak teaching materials. Visit us online www.minspeak.com © Semantic Compaction Systems 2009 1000 Killarney Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15234, USA. Tel. 412.885.8541 Fax 412.885.8548 This message was intended for: gmeier@villaesperanzaservices.org Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails. Unsubscribe

Blog Stats: Thanks for reading

First initiated in July 2011, the Southern California AAC Network blog has received between 200-600 page views per month - and climbing! If you have any AAC-related resource, strategy, training or tip to share about, please do not hesitate to pass the word along to us at socalaacnetwork@gmail.com. And don't forget to friend us on facebook (our name is a little strange) SoCal Aac Scaac-n

 

SCAAC-N, Two Years Strong

It was February 27, 2010, that the Southern California AAC Network held its first ever event entitled "AAC: A Framework for Applying the Latest Technology." This 6-hour workshop hosted in Pasadena was the brainchild of Anne Davis, Gwendolyn Meier, and Sharon Rogers as members of the the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association (CSHA), District 7 advisory council. Along with our district head, Sonia Aller, we organized the content and presenters for over a number of months, and have been pleased to see the group grow and flourish over these past two years!

We hope that you will keep in touch via our free, quarterly, networking meetings, this blog, our facebook page, and gmail. Your contributions and your participation are very welcome!