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Applications (apps) for iOS devices change quickly, but I have compiled a list of apps for academic students with visual impairments. I have used many of these apps, however I have not used all of them personally. They have all been used by students who are blind or visually impaired, mostly Fifth Grade and up through college and university. I have been quizzing all of my students and other students whom I know, asking them about their favourite apps, how they use them / what they use them for, and they have to demonstrate to me the app in action. All of the apps on this list are rated highly by the students who use them.
Editor's Note: This is the first of two parts. For other lists of apps, click here to see Linda Mamer's other blog posts.
- Notetaking Apps
- Typing Apps
- Mind Webbing Apps
- OCR & Epub Conversion Apps
- Math Apps
- Art Apps
- Connections to Computers / Smart Boards Apps
- Text-to-Speech & Speech-to-Text Apps
- Social Skills Apps
Notetaking Apps
| Note-taker to sketch ideas, annotate documents, sign contracts, complete worksheets, keep a journal, record a lecture, jot travel notes, or teach a class. | |
| Take notes, snap photos, create to-do lists, scan business cards, and record voice reminders. | |
| Create reports, resumes, and documents, and with iCloud built in, your documents are kept up to date across all your devices. | |
| Text editor that utilizes advanced handwriting recognition input for the English language as well as the keyboard for text entry, and includes spell checker, context analyzer, and standard editing operations such as copy, cut, paste, etc. | |
| Take notes, write and edit text, convert documents to PDF and image files, open and print images/PDF/office document/iWorks document. | |
| This app allows users to edit and manage spreadsheet & rich text files. | |
| Presentation app that makes creating presentations simple using just touching and tapping, complete with animated charts and transitions. | |
| With this app users can ‘write’ anything on a photo such as text, signature, time, current location, etc. Move, orient and zoom each of these added items on the photo. Then share the resultant photo with friends, families, civic agencies through e-mail or social networking sites. |
Typing Apps
| Helps people of all ages learn to type with speed and accuracy. | |
| Keyboard, powered by patent pending technology that makes typing on any device fast and accurate. |
Mind Webbing Apps
| Build diagrams, graphic organizers and outlines with this app. | |
| Draw a diagram - mind map, concept map, or flow chart - and convert it to a text outline, and vice versa. Illustrate concepts, make lists and outlines, plan presentations, and create organizational charts. |
OCR & Epub Conversion Apps
| Editable and searchable text out of scanned documents and PDFs. | |
| Convert PDF to ePub. | |
| Mark up documents with highlights and handwriting, insert text and stamps, sign and merge PDFs. Fill out PDF forms right on the iPad and iPhone. | |
| Scan documents and convert them into PDF format,save them or send them by email, wifi or dropbox. | |
| This app reads PDF and Word documents, DRM-free EPUB and DAISY eBooks, and Web pages. Directly integrated with Bookshare, Dropbox, G-Drive, Evernote, Pocket, Instapaper, and Gutenberg. | |
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This app scans, translates and saves chosen text from virtually any printed material. |
| Photo-based scanner app that lets users scan and recognize text documents, business cards, and images, and then export them as PDF/Text, vCard, or JPEG/PNG. | |
| This app reads text from the camera on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Point the camera and sort through mail, read menus, cards, product packages, medication labels, and all kinds of other print. | |
| Annotate, mark up and save PDF files which are then fully compatible with Adobe Reader and other popular PDF apps. |
Math Apps
| A spreadsheet app ever designed for a mobile device. Features templates for home budget, checklist, invoice, mortgage calculator, and more. | |
| Perform mathematical operations naturally using handwriting. | |
| This is the first handwriting-based educational math app designed for teachers and students in grades 6-12 and applicable to pre-algebra through calculus courses. |
Art Apps
| Combine images, apply professional effects, and share results with friends and family through Facebook and Twitter. | |
| Capture ideas as sketches, diagrams, illustrations, notes or drawings and share them across the web. | |
| With this app users can ‘write’ anything on a photo such as text, signature, time, current location, etc. Move, orient and zoom each of these added items on the photo. Then share the resultant photo with friends, families, civic agencies through e-mail or social networking sites. | |
| This is a photo editor apthat contains the features of dozens of other photo editor apps combined. |
Connections to Computers / Smart Board Apps
| Users can access personal computers on the local network with video streaming performance. View and edit Microsoft Office and PDF files. Browse the web using IE, Chrome, and Firefox with full Flash and Java support. Play 3D PC and Mac games. Access your entire media library and documents. | |
| Access any file saved to personal Dropbox from all computers, iPhone, iPad, and the web. | |
| Presentation app complete with animated charts and transitions — as simple as touching and tapping. | |
| Join online meetings on the go. |
Text-to-Speech / Speech-to-Text Apps
| High-quality text-to-speech reader capable of speaking any accessible text with a range of human-sounding high-quality voices. | |
| Easy-to-use voice recognition app that allows users to easily speak and instantly see the text or email messages. | |
| Easy-to-use voice recognition application that allows users to easily speak and instantly see your text or email messages. | |
| This app reads PDF and Word documents, DRM-free EPUB and DAISY eBooks, and Web pages. Directly integrated with Bookshare, Dropbox, G-Drive, Evernote, Pocket, Instapaper, and Gutenberg. |
Social Skills Apps
| Game: Using glow lights to highlight the hockey game, easy to play, hard to master. | |
| Social media app. | |
| This app let you search and find YouTube playlists like music, TV episodes, cartoons, and much more. | |
| An unique ringtone with the ability to only be heard by teenagers due to the frequencies. |
Please note that you may need to check whether the app has been updated or whether it only works with certain operating systems. Please let us know if you have any information to share about any of the apps on this page! You can email us or leave a comment below.
