Commitment to Inclusion Award

The Office of Disability Resources is honoring exemplary staff and faculty for demonstrating a commitment to inclusion by going above and beyond in providing accomodations for students with disabilities. Award Recipients are selected by students based on the following criteria:

• Improving or enhancing the quality of the higher educational experience for students with disabilities.

• Contributing to outstanding and sustained improvement of Office of Disability Resources services, or their respective departments, with respect to students with disabilities.

This semester's award recipients were:

• Valerie Lorig

• Lynn DiLorenzo

• Gina Adams

Thank you for your dedication to all students on Naropa’s campuses!

Google releases Talkback on Android

Google has provided Talkback as a solution for accessibility in Android since early in Android's history.  Where it began as a way to make the Android OS accessible to blind users, it seems that Talkback is growing, and growth is good!

First off, developers have added a "Select to Speak" feature, which is an exciting addition for people with print disabilities.  This feature adds an always-on "badge" to your device.  Press the button, tap the text, or drag a selection-box over the text you wish to be read, and the phone will begin reading the selected text aloud. To enable this feature go to the Android settings, then under Accessibility enable "Select to Speak".

 Additionally, Talkback is adding verbosity settings for spoken feedback.This new version brings 6 new, natural-sounding voices to choose from.  There are 3 new female voices to join the already present female voice, and now includes 3 male voices.  Speech rate and pitch can be adjusted to suit personal needs and preferences.  The new set of voices adds a major improvement to the adaptive abilities of Android.  As I see it, this makes Talkback work for people with Dyslexia and other print disabilities too.

All the previous functions of Talkback are still in place, and some have been improved!  Keep in mind, to enable Talkback you will need to give the app permissions to access most of the content of the phone.  This includes texts, e-mails, credit card numbers and any other personal info placed on the device.  These permissions are necessary from an accessibility standpoint.  In order for the phone to read feedback and content, it needs to be able to "see" everything that you use on the device.

The ONE app that every student needs!

If there is one thing that nearly every student will do this year, what is it?... Give up yet?

Nearly every student uses a computer for classes and coursework.  And in all likelihood, the computer will be used at night at some point.  All-Nighters are common for many types of students.  The problem with them is that a lack of sleep can have dire consequences, especially on learning, focus and productivity.

Every LCD screen emits blue-light.  Humans have a natural response to blue light.  It wakes us up!  That's really nice during the day, but at night blue light degrades melatonin, a naturally occurring sleep hormone, and will prevent us from falling asleep.

F.lux on Windows 7

Now, the one app you need is called F.lux!  It's a screen filter which adds a red hue to the screen to reduce the amount of blue light being emitted.  It adjusts the intensity of the filter as the sun goes down, which helps your body maintain its normal sleep patterns.

Any student who occasionally pulls an all-nighter, listen up...  This isn't just about sleep, it reduces strain on the eyes caused by bright screens in dark spaces. This could even be a major help to gamers who are playing all night but still want to be able to sleep.

Speaking personally, I love this app.  I wear glasses, and my eyes can strain easily when I'm working on a bright screen.  F.lux helps me to work longer, and helps me to maintain my sleep hygiene once the work is done for the night.

Save your eyes, download F.lux!

April is Autism Awareness

Autism Awareness Brown Bag

The Office of Disability Resources is hosting a brown bag for staff, administration, and faculty about autism spectrum disorder in higher education on April 28^th, 2017 in Thalacker Conference Room. 

Email ktully@naropa.edu for more information or accomodations.

March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, incurable disease that affects 2.3 million people worldwide. Wear orange on Thursday, March 9th to show your support. 

Check out the following websites to read more about upcoming local events that support MS:

• Walk to create a world free of MS in Boulder on May 20th, 2017
• Bike MS: Colorado June 24-25, 2017
• MuckFest MS on July 15, 2017
• Challenge yourself to finish MS
• Learn more about MS

Change the Way you Write

Writing is an art form.  It can be a deeply personal process, which can bring the author to their greatest heights, or to their deepest truths...

At least that's true of traditional writing.  What happens when we are forced to use a word processor to write creatively?  Why are so many writing apps so clumsy, uninviting, distracting and frankly not pleasant to look at?  Why do some people feel they can't write?  Is the problem not in the writer's skills, but in the tools they have been given for writing?

Liberate the process.  Make electronic writing work for you.  Here are a few apps that I like recommending to students here at Naropa University.  Many have found new worlds to explore by engaging differently with their writing.

OmmWriter Dana II

OmmWriter Dana II

 If you are in a creative writing class of any kind, here is an app for you.  Typical word processors are distracting.  They fracture your focus by showing you spelling suggestions, a plethora of formatting options, and features that are completely unnecessary in creative writing or poetry.

OmmWriter Dana II is a revolution in apps for writing.  The app strips away the distraction by showing pleasant backgrounds, and by playing calming ambient sound and music.  It allows your writing to flow by taking out the cluttered formatting, giving you a few simple options.  Writing in this app is a real treat.

This application is available to purchase in a Pay-What-You-Like model for Windows, MacOS. There is a minimum price of $5.11 at the time of the writing of this post.

OmmWriter Dana II 

Mind Mapping

Is your mind more visual?  Do you have trouble with writing an outline when planning an essay assignment?  If organizing your writing is a challenge, you may find a lot of help in the next two apps.

MindMeister

This Mind-Mapping cloud app is great for making detailed mind-maps, web diagrams, project trackers, and much much more.  Their built-in templates will allow you to get started with a task quickly.  When you are finished with the diagram, click the Outline button to turn it all into text!

MindMeister is free to use, though you can only save 3 maps on your account without a subscription.  Educational discounts are available for students (requires an e-mail address ending in .edu).

MindMeister

 

Inspiration 9

Create a visual diagram of what you want to write, organize it however you like, add pictures, video and links, and turn the diagram into a written outline with one click!   

Inspiration is a standard one-time purchase, with download or CD-ROM available.

Inspiration 9

Ginger Grammar and Spelling Checker

 

To call Ginger a simple spell checker doesn't paint the full picture.  Ginger is what spell checkers should have always been!  Instead of checking words using a dictionary as most word processors do, Ginger looks at the context clues around the word, and determines the correct spelling.  Ginger solves the classic problem of when to use "there", "their", and "they're."  It will be able to tell when you've used the wrong spelling, even if the word you typed is in the dictionary.

As a grammar checker, Ginger will scan your writing sentence by sentence, and make useful suggestions for improving clarity, flow, and syntax.  Additionally, as you use the grammar check, Ginger saves mistakes you've made and assembles them into quiz so you can improve your writing.  This is very useful for students with disabilities, as well as those speaking English as a Second Language.

Ginger has recently expanded its products to include keyboards for mobile devices.  Now the power of Ginger can always help your writing, even on the go.

Ginger Software

In Closing...

This list only scrapes the surface of the hundreds of useful apps out there.  These are only a few of my favorites.  If there is one I have missed, leave a comment and let me know.  I love hearing about new apps.  If you have a question feel free to comment here.

Welcome to Naropa University's Office of Disability Resources Page! In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section #504 of the Rehabilitation Act,  Disability Resources provides full access to all educational, cultural, and other programs sponsored by the University for qualified students with disabilities.


 Here you will find information for students, faculty and staff with regards to disability-related services at Naropa. Please reach out to disability@naropa.edu with any questions or comments regarding information on this page.