Cosmonaut-Wide grip iPad stylus for small hands or other motor impairments

My last post dealt with how switch scanning in the new iOS opens up the iPad to people who couldn't previously use it due to physical motor limitations.  In that same vein, I wanted to briefly discuss the Cosmonaut Large Grip Stylus.  This was designed to feel more like a dry erase marker than a traditional pencil style stylus.  I think it is ideal for young children who can't really grasp a smaller stylus yet, as well as for young children who have not yet learned to only touch the screen with one finger at a time.  They can grip the stylus and then the stylus becomes that one point of touch screen contact.  (We've all been frustated by trying to tap somewhere on the screen with one finger and accidentally doing something weird when another finger made contact with the screen at the same time).  This stylus may work as well for older students who have problems extending just one finger to tap a touchscreen, or who cannot hold a teeny little stylus, but could control something a little bit bigger.  You can get more information at
http://www.studioneat.com/products/cosmonaut

Guided Access - iOS 6 accessibility feature

I will be the first to say that I love the impact iPads have made in education. I have, however, always been frustrated that it was so easy for a student to quit a chosen app simply by hitting the home button on the bottom of the device.  It can be VERY difficult to use an iPad effectively once a student figures out how easy it is to exit that math app and play Fruit Ninja instead!  It is also frustrating when a student keeps tapping the wrong place in an app (settings buttons, ad banners, volume switch, etc.) and disrupts the learning of himself or others.

With the upgrade to iOS 6, that problem has been solved for us!!  Apple has introduced an accessibility option called Guided Access.  Turning on Guided Access enables you to do two really great things:
1) Disable all the external buttons on the iPad, including the home button, volume buttons, sleep button, etc.  (no more hitting the home button to exit an app, changing the volume, etc.)
2) Disable certain areas of the touch screen when using a chosen app. (no more clicking on ad banners or in-app purchase buttons, etc.)

Click this link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wSuL-1TZro8#! to see a nice 3 minute video about Guided Access, or read on for more info.

This feature is accessed by tapping the Settings app, then tapping General-Accessibility-Guided Access.  Once you tap Guided Access, you will turn it on, and set a passcode (you will need to remember this passcode to get OUT of Guided Access once you've started it).

Then, get into an app, and Triple-click the home button.  This will bring up the guided access set up screen.  (NOTE: Guided access only works when you are already in an app, you can't get to it from the home screen of your iPad).  You can then draw a circle around certain portions of the screen you want to disable, as well as turn on/off access to the hardware buttons, touch screen itself, and the motion capability (shaking or rotating the device).

Once you have selected your options, hit Start in the top right corner of the screen to begin guided access.  Now you will NOT be able to exit the app by tapping the home button.  You will have to exit Guided Access by triple-clicking the home button, entering the passcode you set in the Guided Access settings, and tapping End in the top left corner of the screen.

Here's the link to the video again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wSuL-1TZro8#!

This is available on all iPads, iPod touches, and iPhones that will support iOS 6.  The iPad 1 and several older iPods/iPhones will NOT support iOS 6.  You can see a full list of iOS 6 supported devices here (scroll to bottom of page): http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/