Apps – WINAHEAD

Ava: App That Helps Deaf & Hard Of Hearing People Follow Group Conversations

For deaf people, participating in a group conversation, where there’s constant chatter going on among multiple people, can sometimes be painful. Reading lips, trying to hear with a lot of background noise, and keeping track of who is saying what can get tricky, and in many cases, deaf people may either give up on the conversation or just pretend that they are listening.

Ava, an app for deaf and hard of hearing people, makes it easier for them to follow group conversations and keep track of who is saying what without worrying about reading lips or excessive background noise.

The app was released in 2016, and is available for iOS and Android and can be downloaded at ava.me.

The Assistive Technology Blog has a review of the app, as does TechCrunch.

Apps for Academics: Mobile Websites and Apps

Looking for suggestions for apps students will find helpful for their classes and research? MIT libraries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has put together a series of libguides featuring useful apps for academics

The lists feature assistive technology apps and tools, many of which are free. Each listed app is briefly described and links to down the app and/or learn more are included. The apps are organized by the following categories:

Faculty and staff will also find many of apps featured useful.

Augsburg College Recommends: Free and Low-Cost Assistive Technology

Is This Location Accessible? Check it with AccessNow

At the Assistive Technology Blog, Venkat Rao writes about assistive technology, mostly about concepts/ devices that are still in prototype stages, but would be possibly mass marketed in the future. He also write about mobile apps/ software that make life easier for people with disabilities.

A recent post discusses AccessNow, an interactive map tool that tells users whether locations they are wanting to visit are accessible or not, and if they are, how accessible are they (fully, partially, patio accessible, no accessibility). As Rao notes:

“A big hurdle for people in wheelchairs is that they need accessibility (ramps, automatic doors, alternative entrances) to enter buildings conveniently. They may be familiar with accessibility options at places they frequent but how about a new location they need to visit? A new restaurant or business establishment? An office location where they have a job interview? Are those locations accessible? If they can find out about accessibility options prior to reaching those locations, it can save them from going through the trouble and frustration of finding alternate entrances and workarounds to get accommodated.