Vision - Accessible Apps for VIPS

Vision - Accessible Apps for VIPS

Note: this list is by no means comprehensive or exhaustive - I will only list apps here that I, colleagues or students have had experience using successfully . Here are some links to works by other teachers who have attempted to compile apps suitable for working with children who are blind or have low vision to supplement this document. All apps work with both voiceover and zoom unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Apps / Lists
Other lists	Why reinvent the wheel? Teacher's and educational consulting companies have put up lists that work for them with VIP kids- this is the place for themSpectronics List Free apps for students with visual or hearing impairmentsappadvice.com's list of apps for visually impaired people
Calculator (iOS) iTunes Link price: free, $4 for upgrade to scientific calculatorSuitable for Blind and Low Vision	Turns iPad into accessible calculator with colour grouped buttons, large print, talking with voiceover, the price of an accessible calculator is around $400 making this app and the iPad a highly cost effective purchase.
Reminders and Calendar (iOS) Price: FreeSuitable for Blind and Low Vision	Apple’s standard applications, Reminders and Calendar are accessible apps for the blind and allow our students to have an accessible diary + calendar for setting homework tasks and putting important dates with the calendar. You can also sync the students calendar with your school calendar depending on the software you are running your calendar with. How to sync with google calendar How to quickly add reminders to your calendar using voiceover
iBooks (iOS) Price: Free iTunes LinkSuitable for Blind and Low Vision	Any book purchased on iBooks or epub loaded into ibooks from itunes can become a talking, large print or even a Braille book with a braille display, making this app the preferred app for giving our students access to books. Guide for customising ibooks for print disabilities (relevant to low vision)
Evernote (iOS) iTunes link Price: Free, premium account available	Evernote is an accessible app that allows you to have a multimedia diary that is available across virtually any Operating system and as a web client. Evernote is extremely powerful, featuring a calendar, inbuilt OCR of images, time,date and location stamping. Accessible manual to get the most out of evernote!
Ariadne GPS (iOS) iTunes link Price $6.99	“In a world that relies on visual clues to navigate, exploring a city or taking a solo walk is no longer a challenge for the visually impaired. Ariadne GPS is a new app that brilliantly meets the needs of the blind in an easy to use interface. Talking maps allow you to explore the world around you by moving your finger around the map. While exploring, crossing a street is signaled by vibration. It has a favorites feature and can be used to announce stops on the bus or train. Rotating maps keep you centered, with territory behind the user on the bottom of the screen and what is ahead on the top portion. Available in multiple languages, Ariadne GPS works anywhere Google Maps are available. This is a must-have application for the visually impaired "For a detailed tutorial and rundown, visit the app website at http://www.ariadnegps.eu/features-detail/
Voice Brief (iOS)  iTunes link Price: $2.99	“Voice Brief is a great utility for anyone, but for     the vision impaired it is particularly useful. With   the touch of a button Voice Brief reads your   email, Twitter feed, weather, stock prices, RSS   and Facebook feeds. This time saving app is   fully configurable and works flawlessly. The   voices are natural and clear. Are you interested   but hesitant to spend the $3.99 on VoiceBrief?   Then we have great news! There is a free lite   version so give it a try at no risk.”
List Recorder (iOS) iTunes link Price:  free light version or 7.99 to buy	“This feature-rich application allows users to record and organize lists using audio or text. List Recorder is designed to integrate with VoiceOver as well as Braille displays. Replay, sort, delete or email recordings with ease using custom gestures such as tilt and tap. The recording quality is excellent and the app has options such as a level meter, optional stereo and your choice of recording formats. The light version, which limits the user to 10 seconds per recording, is a great way to test List Recorder. If you like it, you have the option of buying the full version for $7.99 as an in-app purchase.
oMoby  iTunes link (Free!)	Omoby is a free app that allows you to take photos of items and checks the photo with an internet database and tells you what item you are looking at within 5 seconds to a minute-  i have extensively tested this app with various items and it’s a very accurate and useful app.
Vizwiz (Free) iTunes link	VizWiz works similiarly to oMoby except that it allows you to attach a specific audio question to the photo you are taking such as “what SPF is this sunscreen?” “do my pants match my shirt?” “How much salt does this product contain” “which of these items is cheaper”.  The photo and the sound recording of your question are then sent to an internet database as well as volunteers- you can also link the app to a twitter or facebook account and recieve an answer very quickly.
Awareness! The headphone app iTunes link Pricee 6.99	Blind people who rely on their hearing for awareness and navigation risk losing themselves to the digital world when they wear their headphones- this app will feed audio through the iphone’s microphone from the environment so you will be able to hear sounds from the environment as well as the sounds from voiceover, music, or your app.