Posts Tagged ‘assistive technology’

Cynthia’s Home Office Accommodations Set Her Up for Employment

Cynthia at her new workstation.

Cynthia is looking for work, in particular, a customer service or teaching role, or something else she can do from home. However, she faces many barriers that make finding employment more difficult.

“I was diagnosed with a severely enlarged heart which leaves me very weak and arthritis in my low back, hips and legs. I have poor circulation and swelling in my lower legs and am in pain all the time. Since my mobility has been severely compromised, I use a cane around my home for support and a walker when I am out. I am only able to walk for about five minutes until I need to sit and rest,” she shares.

Neil Squire Prairie Region Donates Assistive Technology Kits for Students With Disabilities Across Saskatchewan

Chelsea, Amanda, and clinicians during a kit delivery.

With funds raised by our sixth annual Princess Ball, our Prairie Regional Office has donated four Assistive Technology Resource Kits — each containing upwards of $1,800 worth of specialized assistive technology — to support students with disabilities at Regina General Hospital and Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan through our Solutions for Schools initiative.

Over the past several weeks, our Prairie Region Solutions team, Amanda LaRose and Chelsea Osiowy, have been hard at work. From researching and planning to carefully selecting tools, building kits, and delivering them into the community, their focus has been on one goal: creating meaningful, accessible learning opportunities for students who need them most.

Putting Notetaking Apps to the Test: A Three-Author Experiment

Three colleagues collaborating over laptops and tablets in a modern office setting with natural light.

In this article, we’re doing something a bit different. Rather than our typical content that is normally written by a sole author (Seaver), we’ve invited our colleagues Rebekah and Louise to help us test out and give their thoughts on a variety of notetaking apps across a variety of devices.

Each of us will review three apps, and then we will give our opinions on what works, what doesn’t, where each app shines, and where each app struggles. We will be reviewing OneNote, Granola, Notability, Goodnotes, CollaNote, Mindgrasp, Genio (formerly Glean), Otter.ai, and Coconote. To test these apps, we will be using a wide variety of devices and tools, including laptops, iPads, iPhones, Microsoft Edge, and the Logitech pencil.

“The Assistive Technology Services Program Is So Empowering and Life Changing”

A caregiver pushes a person in a wheelchair.

Theresa works as a caregiver for a young adult with a disability, helping with personal care and daily tasks. She has hearing loss, which can make her job difficult.

She learned about WorkBC Assistive Technology Services from a friend and decided to apply for funding for the hearing aids she needs for work. “I received hearing aids that I never would have been able to afford,” she says.

“I Am More Easily Able to Communicate,” WorkBC Assistive Technology Services Helps Jane at Work

WorkBC Assistive Technology Services participant Jane.

Jane works as a customer service associate for a home improvement retail store, assisting customers in-person, online, and over the phone. She has mild to moderate hearing loss, with lower hearing in higher tones, and with specific letter sounds.

“My work environment has a great deal of noise — machinery operating, multiple conversations in a close proximity to me, speaking on the phone, noisy product carts moving through and around my workstation,” she shares. “My hearing loss often required me to ask people to repeat what they said for clarity, or to speak louder or come closer to me.”

Inq Smartpen: Powerful on Paper, Rough Around the Edges

The inq smartpen is designed to bring note taking, audio recording, and analysis into a single workflow. From my experience, it handled most of those core tasks well. However, I experienced enough hiccups along the way to say that my experience with this pen was not exactly perfect.

“It Has Leveled the Playing Field for Me,” WorkBC Assistive Technology Services Removes the Barriers to Full-Time Employment for Donovon

Coding being done on a laptop.

Donovon works as a Web Services Manager, which involves managing web services, extensive typing while communicating with clients, and precise mouse work for digital updates. He describes the role as “technically demanding and sedentary,” working up to nine hours a day at a workstation. However, arthritis in his shoulders, as well as ADD, anxiety, and depression, were making it difficult for him to work full-time.

Clever: Homework Helper AI

A person uses a smartphone while studying at a library.

Clever: Homework Helper AI is an AI-powered study app designed to support students with homework completion, revision, and content creation. Available on iOS, it brings together a range of tools that aim to simplify how learners interact with course material, particularly when working independently.

The core of the app is its ability to scan or upload homework questions or notes using your device’s camera or photo library. Once captured, the app analyzes the content and generates responses along with explanations. This can be especially helpful for students who need quick clarification or support outside of the classroom.

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