Apps to help with teaching of blind children

By Unregistered User (not verified), 3 May, 2013

Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Hi I am a teacher of children who are blind and I was wondering if there were any Apps which I could use with them on an iPad? If there are enough and they work well with one particular child, I am hoping to invest in an IPad for her use. However, I don't want the Dept of Education to spend money that is not worthwhile. Many thanks Eileen

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By AnonyMouse on Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 04:52

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
Was wondering if you could be a more specific so that others could know exactly in what your needs are for? For example, what are the ages are you talking about that you would want suggestions for? Plus, do you have specific ideas what you are seeking for? Learning games, braille, and such? Thanks.

By Eileen on Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 04:52

Hi I am a mother of two sighted boys now 6 and 10 years old. I'm very sad to say that almost none of the apps ,i have purchased for their education are accessible with voice over. Many folks on this site have had luck getting developers to make apps more accessible. Compared to the price of the specialty blind educational items in catalogs, you could try dozens of IOS apps for the cost of just one blindness specialty item. When it comes to books and reading my Iphone paired with a braille display is an amazing tool for accessing both audio and braille books, and the internet. I have posted to this site, a few story apps that work well with voice over. We own an extensive library of Dr. Seus book apps. The story book apps work in a limitted way with the braille display. Each word is a button. Because voice over only displays one button on a line, the user can only see one word even if he owns a 40 cell braille display. I personally find the ipad frustrating because I am blind and it is easy to tap the wrong window on the ipad. I like my iphone better. For children I strongly recommenda rubber nonslip cover. Keep in mind that an I device is not just a tool for learning. There is a 99 cent money reader. Free bar code scanning apps. Free or low cost text scanning apps. Color and light detectors. The Iphone has opened up the world to me in a way that was never afordable to me before. And for the iphone there are free gps apps. My ten year old is very capable of using any or all of these apps to his baenefit if were blind and needed them. Eileen, Programmer in NJ

By Eileen on Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 04:52

Hi, It occurs to me that other teachers in your school may already own an I device. This might be a way for your learner to take a look and see if she can get anything out of some of the apps. If you can provide more detail as to your goals other folks might be able to jump in with their solutions. Other ways that I use my IPhone daily are as a clock, calculator, alarm, timer, stop watch, calendar, note taker, recorder and so on and so on. I think I speak for most other I device users when I say the Iphone has totally changed my expectations for accessibility. I obtained my IPhone through a good cell phone deal and I haven't regretted a penny of the money I spent.
Well just in case anyone is following this thread I did find two accessible apps listed right here on Apple Vis. Spelling B and Sight Words. Both support braille though it is necessary to move the focus manually. Also, as you type in spelling b the letter is announced but you have to press a routing button to refresh the braille display with the most recently typed characters.

By Kayla F on Saturday, July 25, 2015 - 04:52

In reply to by AnonyMouse

Hello, I am looking for similar information. I would like to know the apps that are most common for BVI youth. Specifically for ages under 13. What are some essential apps for them to use for navigating daily life to learning and development. Any suggestions are welcome
Thank you