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Technology Tuesday

A group of University of Colorado students in Professor Melinda Piket-May's Spring 2014 Engineering class worked on adaptive equipment projects for individuals served by Imagine!. Check out this video of some students explaining one of the projects, a jelly fish lamp, which is an accessible and fun way to increase mobility and to reinforce cause and effect relationships.

Can’t see the video? Click here. 

SmartHome Softball A Smash!

Saturday’s SmartHome v. SmartHome Softball Game was a huge hit (pun intended). More than 30 spectators showed up to see the “Silly Crazy 8s” (residents of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome) take on the “Longmont Trouble Makers” (residents of the Charles Family SmartHome). The game was an epic battle which ended in a 4-4 tie. More than a dozen volunteers from CU’s Alpha Kappa Psi, a coed professional business fraternity, helped out with making the game a fun experience for all. The game even included singing of the national anthem at the beginning, and a rousing version of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” between innings.

Anthony at bat 

Silly Crazy 8s (Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome) sign, words by Mandy 

Donna prepares to tag out Anthony 

With volunteer’s help, Gerald gets a hit 

Group action shot from the outfield 

Group photo after game 

Lana hits

 

National anthem 

Rae celebrates getting Stacey out at third base 

Rae hits 

The Mighty Stacey at the bat

Anthony Visits The Pirate's Cove!

Yesterday, Charles Family SmartHome resident Anthony and staff member Colleen Ryan got a chance to play with a fun new piece of technology. Pirates Cove is a computer pirate-themed game derived from Hangman, and can be played by one to eight players. Imagine!'s own tech superstar Chris Baumgart built the game by adapting communication device software. This game teaches players (either players who use a communication device, or those who do not) to practice skills that include, but are not limited to, turn-taking, letter recognition, word composition, and peer socialization. You can see a video of the game in action below.
 
 Can’t see the video? Click here.

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Scheduled to tour the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder today: Marilyn Wolf, the Rhesa "Ray" S. Farmer Distinguished Chair of Embedded Computing Systems and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Easter At The SmartHome

Here are a couple of photos from Easter at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder. Looks like they all had a great time!

Technology Tuesday

Today’s Technology Tuesday comes from Erika Schroeder, a Communications Teacher at Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source (CLS) department. Erika explains how CLS is using an iPad app to provide customized teaching opportunities for individuals served by Imagine!. 

“GoTalk Now” is a communication iPad app which allows the user to make unlimited customizable communication pages for whoever has the ability to point and learn! Using this low cost app is easy: just take a picture to set a background, which can then be manipulated to produce an response of your voice, or the student’s voice, after a single tap. Then, use the program to teach and test about the picture.

Here at CLS we are using the app to help some of our level one cooking class students. Currently we have pictures taken of “Dining Set-Up,” which is the placement of the fork, spoon, knife, plate, napkin, cup, and bowl when eating or setting the table. We also use an image of “Cooking Utensils,” a picture of actual materials used in our Monday morning cooking class’s kitchen, such as a frying pan, measuring cup, mixing bowl, oven mitt, can opener, peeler, cutting board, and spatula. Staff members utilize this app to test knowledge of students in the class, as well as practicing proper name identification (in some cases item introduction to the utensils), and safety skills.

An example run-through with a client:

Staff member - “Hey Stephanie! Can you find the plate?” 
Staff member gives Stephanie time to use her eyes to look then her finger to find the item. 
Stephanie clicks on the “plate.” After tapping the plate one time the program will say “plate” in the staff member’s voice. 
Staff member - “Way to go Stephanie! You found the plate!” 

SmartHome Vs. SmartHome Softball Challenge!

It is a SmartHome vs. SmartHome softball challenge! Residents and staff members from the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder will be competing against the residents and staff members from the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont in a friendly softball game this coming Saturday. If you would like to attend and cheer on both teams, then join them Saturday, April 26th from 1:30-3pm, at Martin Field located on 36th and Eastman St. in Boulder. Questions? Call (775)-230-1375.

Happy Easter From The SmartHomes

Rebecca and all of the residents and staff members at Imagine!’s SmartHomes wish you a happy Easter.

Trouble Champion!

Here's a good picture of Charles Family SmartHome resident Stacey and staff member Colleen Ryan playing Trouble yesterday. Stacey won the game, and quickly stated, "Watch out, I’m the Trouble champion!"

Cooking With Lana And Bob

Here’s a nice photo of Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Lana with Bob, who is volunteering at the home and helping residents cook meals. They made a delicious lunch with lots of veggies and Lana learned a new recipe.

Technology Tuesday

This week’s Technology Tuesday features another edition of “Stephanie’s High Five” – where Imagine!’s Assistive Technology Lab facilitator Stephanie Tilley shares five apps for tablets and mobile devices that may benefit individuals with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Stephanie is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist who has worked for Imagine! for more than 10 years, and is the author of “101 Adapted Games for Kids,” which provides adaptations for children’s activities to create inclusive activities and environments. 

 Stephanie’s High Five – April 15, 2014 

 Hungry Fish 

A fun and visual math activity with a fish! The fish has a number on it and the object is the feed the fish bubbles with that same number on them. Players must use hand/eye coordination to drag the bubble over to the fish to feed it while the fish is swimming around. Bubbles can be combined and added together by hovering the bubbles over each other to create a new number (i.e. - a bubble that has a 2 on it and a bubble that has a 3 on it to make a bubble with the number 5). The fish gets bigger each time it is fed and gets smaller when it is not. If the fish is not fed enough, it becomes too small to continue. The fish’s body and fins are color customizable. The free version of this app includes 18 addition levels with In-App purchases available for subtraction and negatives levels, or the full version of the app can be purchased for $5.99.

Endless Alphabet 

This engaging and interactive app works on letters, spelling, and defining words. Words are organized alphabetically. Little monsters run across the screen sending the letters of the word scattering across the screen. Players must drag the letters back to the word to spell the word again. Each letter makes its sound when touched and moved into place. Once the word is spelled a short animation takes place to show the meaning of the word and then a voice gives a brief definition. This app has a free and paid version. The free version has limited words and the full version cost $1.99 and has over 50 words and new words are added often.

Bob Books #1 & #2 – Reading Magic 

A must have early reading app and winner of 2001 Editor’s Choice Award and Children’s Technology Review, 2012 Parents Choice Approves, Parenting Magazine “Best App for Kids”, and 15 Great Apps for Kids by Babble.com. This app uses short sentences with fun animations. Players have the click on the words or pictures to spell the words. Once the main words in the sentence are spelled the picture turns from black and white to color and an animation occurs while the sentence is read aloud. There are 4 levels: matching letters, spelling the word in order, spelling without the visual hints, and picking letters to spell the words. This app works on letter sound correlation, sounding out letters, spelling, reading, and fine motor skills. Bob Books #1 has 12 scenes including 32 words and cost 3.99. Bob Books #2 has 12 scenes with over 50 words and also cost 3.99. There is a free version as well to try out the app before purchasing it.

Feel Electric 

This app helps with exploring emotions by working on building expressive vocabulary skills as well as understanding facial expressions. There are three sections. “My Life” has a mood character to create and change, mood tales (which are like Mad Libs), and moodosphere, where you choose words to describe how you are feeling. “My games” has matching of facial expressions to words in three different activities. “My Stuff” has my pictures, my music, and my videos which are all ways to show feelings or encourage healthy expression of feelings. There is also a digital diary and a glossary of 50 emotion words and definitions. This app is a 2012 Parent’s Choice Recommended and won the 2013 ON for Learning Award.

The Human Body 

Explore the human body systems in six interactive and animated layers. Each layer can all be put on the body individually or at once. There are interactive tools for each system, such as a feather or a needle with the nervous system. There are 6 systems - Nervous system, Respitory System, Skeletal System, Circulatory System, Digestive System, Muscular System. Many of the systems have a zoom in function to see exactly how the system is working, such as in the heart, lungs, or digestive system. Smart device features include a front camera view to demonstrate vision, a microphone to show how hearing works, photo and video libraries to demonstrate brain function, and device orientation to show the effect of gravity on the body. The app is multi user, so each person can choose and name their own body avatar from one of four characters. A 7th system, the urogenital system, is available through in-app purchase via the parent’s section. This app was voted App Store Best of 2013 with 4.9 million downloads.

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

 

Scheduled to tour the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont this Friday: Matt Eldred, new executive director of TLC Learning Center (formerly the Tiny Tim Center). 

Comfy Couch Donated To SmartHome

The residents at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder recently received a donation of a new couch (pictured with resident Chris). The donors are the parents of Shannon Bundy, who currently works at the home and will be the new Site Supervisor there when the current Site Supervisor, Chantelle Tweten, takes over as the Site Supervisor at Imagine!’s brand new Next Step Group Home in Broomfield.

Lana's Arts and Crafts

When she's not doing chores or helping out her housemates, Lana has been making a variety of critters as arts and crafts projects at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder. Here she is with a caterpillar, butterfly, grasshopper, dragon fly, and spider.

Toby Enjoys The Globetrotters

Last Saturday, Toby, who lives in the Charles Family SmartHome, went to a Harlem Globetrotters game with SmartHome staffer Isaac Marin. Toby had been looking forward to this game all year and had a great time watching the spectacular tricks and loved spending time at the big arena!

Technology Tuesday

Sri Kurniawan, Associate Professor at the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California Santa Cruz is collaborating with Imagine! by having some of her students help to create apps for Imagine! clients as part of a student project.

Last week we showed a video of the app being tested. Here’s another short video featuring Essie, who receives services from Imagine!, testing out one of the apps, which helps teach about colors, and offers individualized recognition for success (you can see she gets a clip of the Denver Broncos playing football when she answers the first question correctly). The app stores data on individual users, so it can establish a baseline of knowledge that can be built upon, as well as track progress as individuals get further in the game and increase their knowledge.

Can’t see the video? Click here. 

Game Night At The SmartHome

On Tuesdays and Saturdays, Victoria (second from left) comes to the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder to volunteer. Tuesday, April 1, was "Game Night," and in this game, Gerald, seated to Victoria's right, ended up with the high score. It was another cheerful night at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome.

Mandy's Easter Story

Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Mandy recently wrote this original Easter story. Enjoy!

Guess Who’s Touring The SmartHomes?

Representatives of East Carolina Behavioral Health are planning to visist Colorado on Thursday, June 5, to tour one of our SmartHomes and to learn more about Imagine!'s approach to applying technology, including consumer tech, remote monitoring, and enterprise technology.

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Scheduled to meet with Imagine! representatives and tour one of our SmartHomes in May: Rick Sebastian president of Utica, New York’s Human Technologies Corporation, along with some colleagues visiting from South Australia who provide support services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Technology Tuesday

Sri Kurniawan, Associate Professor at the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California Santa Cruz is collaborating with Imagine! by having some of her students help to create apps for Imagine! clients as part of a student project.

Here’s a short video of Imagine! SmartHome resident John testing out one of those apps, which helps teach basic financial literacy. The app stores data on individual users, so it can establish a baseline of knowledge that can be built upon, as well as track progress as individuals get further in the game and increase their knowledge.
 
Can’t see the video? Click here.