What's wrapped up for you this year?

I am receiving so many messages that many of you will be receiving and iTouch under your trees or for Hanukah so I thought I would put some generic ideas down. These are just a few of my observations and/or ideas. It would be great if you all would share your ideas and impressions as well after the New Year.

First of all there is the speaker. The iTouch has a built in speaker that is decent. If you find you need additional volume you can purchase an external speaker. The iMaingo has a strap and a great speaker. The casing may or may not affect the touch for you. It can be purchased on Amazon and/or found at many local stores like Target or TJ Maxx. They should be $25-30.00 There are also small speakers you can attach to you iTouch that can be found at Big Lots or local gadget stores. People tell me you can find them for $5.00. I am not sure how good the quality will be but look around. If you happen to be using an iPhone the speaker on the phone should be enough.

The iTouch/iPod comes with the ability to use a key board on the Notes feature, and you can use the photos you store on it for conversational starters, details, or past recall of fun events. If you have difficulty with recall use the calendar on the device to keep track of what you have done and whom you did this with. For extra use you can purchase and then sync apps through the iTunes store.

I am trying to keep a list of apps I have seen or like on this blog so check here periodically and share the ones you like as well. Apps can be free, or range from $.99 to $200.00. Most are around $5.00 - $30.00. You can find them listed in categories such as entertainment, education, and organization. The great thing is they are activated with a selection so you are offered a visual display to make choices. Perfect for us.

Let’s talk about some that we have been using. There are some that allow for larger key boards (bigkeyemai). The speak it, and the Proloquo2go have a keyboard with voice output. There are also educational apps that assist you in showing that you know math facts (flashcards, basicmath,algebra101) and/or have basic literacy skills (ABCwords, xmasspell, hangman, adlib, wordmagic). There are also apps that use a multiple choice format to study and learn facts such as word definitions, state capitals, science facts, and other vocabulary exercises. Search through the educational sections periodically as new apps are listed daily.

For functional use there are apps for organizing you such as shopper which gives you a means to create a grocery list, there are also tip calculator and budgeting apps. Some apps are created so that you can create your own communication board like MyTalk, or flashcards like Flashcard. These take some prep but also allow you to customize to your wants and needs. Finally there is more and more coming out for communication. Some can be used for speech practice (Brocasvoice 300 sightwords), and some are useful as communication devices (Locabulary, iConverse, Looktolearn, Proloquo2go), and some are fun for socializing (doodlechat, facebook). You can go crazy buying apps so be a little picky and do a little reading before you make those purchases.

The best thing about the iTouch/iPhone is that you can purchase it online or at your local stores. This is because it is universal and everyone has a use for it. However the bad thing about the iTouch/iPhone is that it is universal and everyone has a use for it. So take some time to think about where you are taking it, who is in charge of it, and how you can make sure it isn’t left somewhere or out and not attended to, or stolen. You app purchases will remain in your iTune accounts so you wouldn’t have to repurchase them, but you still don’t want to have to replace your iTouch/iPhone.

I do hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, whichever you celebrate. And enjoy your new technology!!! Wishing you all the best in the New Year 2010.

Darlene