New AT FYI is available

The Region 5/7 AT committee has released the October AT FYI. Lots of good information on iOS (iPad / iPhone / iPod) apps.

Great website accessibility guide

The University of Illinois has a great website with resources on website accessibility. If you write web pages, or need to direct someone who does, this is a great resource!

AIMSweb ready for 2010-11 School year

The AIMSweb system is ready for the 2010-11 school year. Have at it!

New SpEd Forms User and Startup Guide

SpEd Forms has reworked the user guide. It's available via Google Docs and now contains a Teacher Startup Guide. Have a look!

SpEd Forms Updated

I've updated the SpEd Forms server. Here's a selected list of highlights:

Service plans
1. Unlimited reporting periods may now be added to the Progress Report. A new reporting period automatically appears after the existing reporting period is entered and saved.
2. The IFSP has been updated per changes released by the state.
3. In IFSP validation, a "Finalize IFSP DNQ" button to now allows users to finalize partially completed IFSPs for students that did not qualify for ECSE.
4. A field has been added to the IFSP "Student Information" page to "Document reason if the 45 day time line was not met".
5. Users can now order goals on the 2008 IFSP "Outcomes/goals" page.
6. The "Primary disability" is now required for the current IEP/ISP/IIIP validation.
7. On the current IFSP, "Document reason if the 45 day time line was not met:" has been added to the "Student Information" page and "Description of Outcome Progress:" has been added to the "Outcomes/goals" page.

Additional forms:
1. The current "Parental Consent/Objection" form can now be finalized.
2. The "Part B" and "Part C" check boxes have been removed from the "Parental Consent/Objection" form, the statements will only reflect wording for special education.
3. A new form has been added for "Medical Documentation: ADHD".
4. The "Manifestation Determination" has been updated.
5. The "Emergency Health Information Card" had been updated.

Evaluation report:
1. The "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" template has been updated.
2. "Sensory Integration" appears as a new category under SpEd Forms test templates and the "Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile" has been added to this category. "Sensory Processing Measure (SPM)", "Sensory Profile", "Sensory Profile School Companion" and "Short Sensory Profile" have also been moved from "Early Childhood" to this new category.
3. "Visual Puzzles" has been added to the (Intelligence) test template: "Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale - 4th Edition (WAIS IV)".
4. A new test template has been added to the "Achievement" category: "Weschler Individual Achievement Test - 3rd Edition (WIAT-III)".

MA forms:
1. The "Physician Statement of Need" has been completely updated.
2. The Physicians fax number has been added to the "MA Parental Consent".
3. Options have been added to the "Description of ACTUAL SERVICES provided" drop down list on the "Activity Log".
4. On the "Edit Claim" screen and on the "Activity Log", the "MA Setting" can be set for each individual claim/activity.
5. The electronic signature feature has been added to the supervisor's name of the "Activity Log". Once the supervisor has "signed" the log, users will no longer be able to add or edit activities.
6. The "MA Parental Consent" has been updated.

Other improvements:
1. The description of "Status" code [1] has been changed to "SpEd: Not Evaluated (New Referral, not EC)". To help administrators distinguish "Status" code [2], a new code of [93] ("SpEd: EC Evaluated") has been added just above the existing code of [2] ("EXIT: SpEd: Evaluated: does not need special education services"). When a MARSS extract is created, [93] will be automatically converted to [2] (the proper code for MARSS reporting).
2. The "Team member list" in "Your setup" has been updated to include fields for address, city, state, zip and email. A new "Select" pop-up link then makes use of these team member fields. This new "Select" pop-up appears on all pages that include a field for the case manager and their contact information.
3. Users will no longer see the "All students" checkbox on the "Special education" tab of the "Work with students" page. All students will be shown by default and users still have the option to select "Inactive" (students assigned to the user who are not currently in special education), "MA eligible" (those that have been marked as "Eligible" for MA services) and/or "Managed by me" (only those students that are directly managed by the user).
4. On the "Work with students" page, warning are available for students that are 21 years old. An orange face appears 90 days before their 21st birthday and a red face appears when they are 21 or over.
5. "Race/Ethnicity" information has been added to the bottom of the "Student Setup" page.

Proloquo2Go - AAC for $190 for iPhone or iPod

Proloquo2Go is an augmentative communication (AAC) app from AssistiveWare for the iPhone or iPod touch. At $190, it's competitively priced and seems like a serious player in the AAC space.

Don't want to lug around that brick of an AAC device? How about an iPod touch or iPhone instead. The app and the iPod for under $400!

Dragon for no cost?

Dragon Dictation is a new app for the iPod touch and iPhone. It does voice dictation, allowing you to correct the text, then send it on by email or text message.

The cost, you ask? (Wait for it) It's a freebie folks!

I've used it on my iPhone and it works remarkably well, even with zero training. Well worth the try if you have an iPod touch or iPhone.