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Wish List Wednesday
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Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
SmartHomes Update
Recently, Imagine! Foundation grant writer Christina Craigo prepared a report on the progress of Imagine!’s SmartHomes for one of the funders of the project, The Collins Foundation. The report is a great overview of how far the SmartHomes have come, as well as what’s coming next. We thought it would be worth sharing with our blog readers.
Brief overview of the progress of the project.
The first goal of Imagine!’s SmartHomes Project (which includes both the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome and a second home – the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont) is to strengthen Imagine!’s capacity to meet the need for comprehensive care for local individuals with I/DD. Objectives related to this goal include: a) to increase the amount of appropriate and maintainable local housing for people with I/DD; and b) to identify fourteen individuals with I/DD who would benefit from living in a home equipped with adaptive and assistive technologies and move them to the SmartHomes.
These objectives were met. Construction of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome was completed in June 2009. Assistive technology systems were installed soon after, and in July, the SmartHome’s eight residents moved in and began to get accustomed to their new home. Since that time, Imagine! staff members have been refining the technologies to better meet the needs of the individual residents, training the residents to use the systems, and using the SmartHome as a site for testing, modifying, and adapting technologies and technology strategies for use in other environments. The residents of the SmartHome continue to flourish, as described below.
As mentioned previously, the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome sustained significant damage during the flood last September. We are pleased to report that the cost of repairs was covered with funding from a variety of sources including the ANCOR Foundation, Boulder County Worthy Cause, the Foothills Flood Relief Fund, and individuals. In other general news, Ingrid Winter, who has been bringing her therapy dog Raven to the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome every week for the past two years, was selected as a 7Everyday Hero by Denver’s 7 News. Please visit http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/7everyday-hero/volunteer-takes-therapy-dog-to-people-in-group-homes-across-boulder-county to see Ingrid and Raven interact with SmartHome residents.
How many individuals and/or families have benefited from this investment? What have been the most significant results?
Eight vulnerable individuals and their families have benefited directly from this investment, and many others have benefited indirectly. The second goal of the SmartHomes Project is to create, test, and share innovative technologies and technology strategies to address the nationwide crisis in available services for people with I/DD and similar populations. The first objective relating to this goal is to maximize SmartHome residents’ self-sufficiency and ability to engage with the community. Imagine! continues to make progress toward this objective. Residents use their accessible Email system (Endeavor) and an accessible Facebook application developed recently by AbleLink to stay connected with family and friends. They have enjoyed learning to cook with the help of AbleLink’s task prompting system.
Imagine! staff members are working directly to adapt applications and tools to further residents’ self-sufficiency, including an interactive tool for adding and subtracting prices of ingredients for meals, a literacy game, a computer-based medication task minder, and a game for multiple players called “Pirate’s Cove.” This game teaches players (some of whom use AAC devices) to practice skills including taking turns, recognizing letters, and composing words. One resident at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome is now using an application called Interactive Ledger to gain more independence in money management. Staff members are also working with an engineer from Plexus to help create a prototype of a mobile sensor system that could set up a perimeter, or an “invisible wall,” that could send notifications to caregivers when the perimeter is breached. This could be especially useful for individuals who are prone to elopement or for individuals who aren’t able to use certain appliances (such as stoves or ovens) safely.
The second objective relating to this goal was to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of caregivers in the home. Again, Imagine! is continuing to make progress toward this goal. For example, Imagine! has begun providing training to Direct Service Professionals (DSPs) on how to encourage individuals receiving services to handle an increasing array of tasks on their own. Examples of lessons include “How to Reinforce Skill Development,” “Ways to Facilitate Task Independence,” and “Ways to Determine Needed Support Levels.” Video tutorials on teaching clients to care for themselves to the extent possible are being developed and will be accessible to DSPs via Imagine!’s online training system in 2015.
The third objective relating to this goal was to show through the SmartHomes how technology can increase energy efficiency and lower costs and carbon footprint. As reported previously, this objective has been achieved. The SmartHome’s solar PV system has been in operation for nearly 20,000 hours and has reduced the home’s CO2 emissions by an incredible 28 tons to date! Its geothermal system continues to reduce natural gas costs significantly.
The fourth objective relating to this goal was to move successful technologies and technology strategies into Imagine! residential care facilities, day programs, and family homes. Imagine! continues to make progress toward this objective. Examples of recent activities in this area include the completion of a new Assistive Technology Laboratory at CORE/Labor Source’s location in Longmont (equipped for clients who are non-verbal and have very limited mobility), the installation of an interactive multi-user computer station in Imagine!’s Manhattan Group Home to facilitate educational activities and communication with friends and family, and the provision of iPads to individuals in day programs and residential settings. Please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8OiK0cEWNo&feature=youtu.be to see the impact of technology on a client who moved to Imagine!’s 19th Street Group Home after nearly 50 years at the Wheat Ridge Regional Center.
The fifth objective relating to this goal was to share the current and future benefits of technology for comprehensive care and family home care. Since the SmartHome Project’s inception, Imagine! staff members have made presentations and/or served on panels at 54 conferences for providers of residential services to this and similar populations. Recent additions to this list include:
In related news, last April, SmartHomes Project Team members provided guidance to The Community Life Project, a local parent-organized group interested in developing a nonprofit housing cooperative for adults with autism, including those who aren't eligible for developmental disability services or who are on a waiting list, and those who receive services but need more support. Last November, Greg Wellems was quoted in an article in the Hartford Business Journal about changes in the healthcare industry and how technology can be used to help aging adults continue to live a high-quality, meaningful life in environments of their own choosing.
Over the years, Imagine! has given more than 170 tours of its SmartHomes and hosted more than 1,200 individuals from around the country as well as several international guests. Recent visitors (to the Charles Family SmartHome and/or the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder) included the Director of the Colorado Department of Human Services; the Director of Colorado’s Office of Community Access and Independence; representatives from the Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing and the Colorado Department of Developmental Disabilities; three State Senators and three State Representatives; the President of Thrive Communities; the Executive Director of TLC Learning Center (formerly the Tiny Tim Center); the Executive Director of Cheyenne Village; the President of the Human Technologies Corporation, the Mental Health Program Manager from North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, five students from Longmont High School; a group of nonprofit professionals from Cameroon, Hungary, Kenya, Oman, and Saudi Arabia; and representatives from East Carolina Behavioral Health, Extreme Sports Camp (which serves individuals with Autism Spectrum disorders), and I-Reach 2, Inc.
Imagine! has also expanded its collaborations with universities. Its work with the University of Colorado has continued and deepened, with engineering students producing a wide array of adaptive devices to benefit Imagine! clients, including SmartHome residents. Recent projects have included (for example) a Wheel-of-Fortune based game; interactive mazes, activity boards, puzzles, art boards, and games; a wheelchair arm stop; an accessible universal remote control device; and light panels, hanging lamps, and floor lamps. Some are geared toward helping clients improve fine motor skills, counting skills, literacy skills, or social skills; others solve particular problems, such as a client’s inability to move his arm back into his wheelchair if it fell outside the chair. CU PhD student Jeff Hoel is working closely with Imagine! clients in his research, which he describes as follows: “My research is basically in trying to find ways to make the Internet and the web easier to use for people with cognitive disabilities of all levels. And part of it is if we can look at that, we can find solutions that help a lot of other populations that we’re not necessarily focusing on – this is our universal design approach. So, for example, how are senior users or elderly users using the web, and what’s holding them back and how we can make that easier? …As we know, the web is being used more and more by everyone for more things, from getting news and shopping online to connecting with friends and making plans…So if we can help lower those barriers of entry to Internet use we can help people live more inclusive lives.” (A Daily Camera article about Hoel’s research can be found at http://bcove.me/fbmgkm5n.)
Recently, Imagine! launched a similar collaboration with students at the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California Santa Cruz. Students are helping to create apps for Imagine! clients as part of their classwork. The applications must store data on individual users, building a baseline of knowledge and tracking progress with a range of skills such as color and shape identification and basic financial literacy. Last fall, Imagine! also partnered with University of Wyoming students, who created devices including modular, adjustable tables for wheelchair users and a robot arm and wrist support for people who use wheelchairs as well as AAC devices.
Brief overview of the progress of the project.
The first goal of Imagine!’s SmartHomes Project (which includes both the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome and a second home – the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont) is to strengthen Imagine!’s capacity to meet the need for comprehensive care for local individuals with I/DD. Objectives related to this goal include: a) to increase the amount of appropriate and maintainable local housing for people with I/DD; and b) to identify fourteen individuals with I/DD who would benefit from living in a home equipped with adaptive and assistive technologies and move them to the SmartHomes.
These objectives were met. Construction of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome was completed in June 2009. Assistive technology systems were installed soon after, and in July, the SmartHome’s eight residents moved in and began to get accustomed to their new home. Since that time, Imagine! staff members have been refining the technologies to better meet the needs of the individual residents, training the residents to use the systems, and using the SmartHome as a site for testing, modifying, and adapting technologies and technology strategies for use in other environments. The residents of the SmartHome continue to flourish, as described below.
As mentioned previously, the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome sustained significant damage during the flood last September. We are pleased to report that the cost of repairs was covered with funding from a variety of sources including the ANCOR Foundation, Boulder County Worthy Cause, the Foothills Flood Relief Fund, and individuals. In other general news, Ingrid Winter, who has been bringing her therapy dog Raven to the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome every week for the past two years, was selected as a 7Everyday Hero by Denver’s 7 News. Please visit http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/7everyday-hero/volunteer-takes-therapy-dog-to-people-in-group-homes-across-boulder-county to see Ingrid and Raven interact with SmartHome residents.
How many individuals and/or families have benefited from this investment? What have been the most significant results?
Eight vulnerable individuals and their families have benefited directly from this investment, and many others have benefited indirectly. The second goal of the SmartHomes Project is to create, test, and share innovative technologies and technology strategies to address the nationwide crisis in available services for people with I/DD and similar populations. The first objective relating to this goal is to maximize SmartHome residents’ self-sufficiency and ability to engage with the community. Imagine! continues to make progress toward this objective. Residents use their accessible Email system (Endeavor) and an accessible Facebook application developed recently by AbleLink to stay connected with family and friends. They have enjoyed learning to cook with the help of AbleLink’s task prompting system.
Imagine! staff members are working directly to adapt applications and tools to further residents’ self-sufficiency, including an interactive tool for adding and subtracting prices of ingredients for meals, a literacy game, a computer-based medication task minder, and a game for multiple players called “Pirate’s Cove.” This game teaches players (some of whom use AAC devices) to practice skills including taking turns, recognizing letters, and composing words. One resident at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome is now using an application called Interactive Ledger to gain more independence in money management. Staff members are also working with an engineer from Plexus to help create a prototype of a mobile sensor system that could set up a perimeter, or an “invisible wall,” that could send notifications to caregivers when the perimeter is breached. This could be especially useful for individuals who are prone to elopement or for individuals who aren’t able to use certain appliances (such as stoves or ovens) safely.
The second objective relating to this goal was to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of caregivers in the home. Again, Imagine! is continuing to make progress toward this goal. For example, Imagine! has begun providing training to Direct Service Professionals (DSPs) on how to encourage individuals receiving services to handle an increasing array of tasks on their own. Examples of lessons include “How to Reinforce Skill Development,” “Ways to Facilitate Task Independence,” and “Ways to Determine Needed Support Levels.” Video tutorials on teaching clients to care for themselves to the extent possible are being developed and will be accessible to DSPs via Imagine!’s online training system in 2015.
The third objective relating to this goal was to show through the SmartHomes how technology can increase energy efficiency and lower costs and carbon footprint. As reported previously, this objective has been achieved. The SmartHome’s solar PV system has been in operation for nearly 20,000 hours and has reduced the home’s CO2 emissions by an incredible 28 tons to date! Its geothermal system continues to reduce natural gas costs significantly.
The fourth objective relating to this goal was to move successful technologies and technology strategies into Imagine! residential care facilities, day programs, and family homes. Imagine! continues to make progress toward this objective. Examples of recent activities in this area include the completion of a new Assistive Technology Laboratory at CORE/Labor Source’s location in Longmont (equipped for clients who are non-verbal and have very limited mobility), the installation of an interactive multi-user computer station in Imagine!’s Manhattan Group Home to facilitate educational activities and communication with friends and family, and the provision of iPads to individuals in day programs and residential settings. Please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8OiK0cEWNo&feature=youtu.be to see the impact of technology on a client who moved to Imagine!’s 19th Street Group Home after nearly 50 years at the Wheat Ridge Regional Center.
The fifth objective relating to this goal was to share the current and future benefits of technology for comprehensive care and family home care. Since the SmartHome Project’s inception, Imagine! staff members have made presentations and/or served on panels at 54 conferences for providers of residential services to this and similar populations. Recent additions to this list include:
- The Interagency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies (IAC) Technology Conference in New York – speakers;
- The 2013 Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities’ National Conference – speaker, with University of Colorado Professor Melinda Piket-May (“Building Community Through Collaboration”);
- Technology Best Practices Provider Meeting (in conjunction with the 2013 Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities’ National Conference) – hosts/facilitators;
- South Dakota Council on Developmental Disabilities Conference – keynote address (“Creating Possibilities: Where the Rubber Meets the Road”); and
- Alliance 2014 Summit – speaker (“Technology COPs – An arresting presentation on how three organizations from around the country are working together to improve services and supports”).
In related news, last April, SmartHomes Project Team members provided guidance to The Community Life Project, a local parent-organized group interested in developing a nonprofit housing cooperative for adults with autism, including those who aren't eligible for developmental disability services or who are on a waiting list, and those who receive services but need more support. Last November, Greg Wellems was quoted in an article in the Hartford Business Journal about changes in the healthcare industry and how technology can be used to help aging adults continue to live a high-quality, meaningful life in environments of their own choosing.
Over the years, Imagine! has given more than 170 tours of its SmartHomes and hosted more than 1,200 individuals from around the country as well as several international guests. Recent visitors (to the Charles Family SmartHome and/or the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder) included the Director of the Colorado Department of Human Services; the Director of Colorado’s Office of Community Access and Independence; representatives from the Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing and the Colorado Department of Developmental Disabilities; three State Senators and three State Representatives; the President of Thrive Communities; the Executive Director of TLC Learning Center (formerly the Tiny Tim Center); the Executive Director of Cheyenne Village; the President of the Human Technologies Corporation, the Mental Health Program Manager from North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, five students from Longmont High School; a group of nonprofit professionals from Cameroon, Hungary, Kenya, Oman, and Saudi Arabia; and representatives from East Carolina Behavioral Health, Extreme Sports Camp (which serves individuals with Autism Spectrum disorders), and I-Reach 2, Inc.
Imagine! has also expanded its collaborations with universities. Its work with the University of Colorado has continued and deepened, with engineering students producing a wide array of adaptive devices to benefit Imagine! clients, including SmartHome residents. Recent projects have included (for example) a Wheel-of-Fortune based game; interactive mazes, activity boards, puzzles, art boards, and games; a wheelchair arm stop; an accessible universal remote control device; and light panels, hanging lamps, and floor lamps. Some are geared toward helping clients improve fine motor skills, counting skills, literacy skills, or social skills; others solve particular problems, such as a client’s inability to move his arm back into his wheelchair if it fell outside the chair. CU PhD student Jeff Hoel is working closely with Imagine! clients in his research, which he describes as follows: “My research is basically in trying to find ways to make the Internet and the web easier to use for people with cognitive disabilities of all levels. And part of it is if we can look at that, we can find solutions that help a lot of other populations that we’re not necessarily focusing on – this is our universal design approach. So, for example, how are senior users or elderly users using the web, and what’s holding them back and how we can make that easier? …As we know, the web is being used more and more by everyone for more things, from getting news and shopping online to connecting with friends and making plans…So if we can help lower those barriers of entry to Internet use we can help people live more inclusive lives.” (A Daily Camera article about Hoel’s research can be found at http://bcove.me/fbmgkm5n.)
Recently, Imagine! launched a similar collaboration with students at the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California Santa Cruz. Students are helping to create apps for Imagine! clients as part of their classwork. The applications must store data on individual users, building a baseline of knowledge and tracking progress with a range of skills such as color and shape identification and basic financial literacy. Last fall, Imagine! also partnered with University of Wyoming students, who created devices including modular, adjustable tables for wheelchair users and a robot arm and wrist support for people who use wheelchairs as well as AAC devices.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Technology Tuesday
You can see the progress of this collaboration here, here, and here.
Here is the latest update.
Professor Kurniawan has engaged students in her summer classes in the project, and they are working on the following reviews: shapes, money addition, lowercase letters, and uppercase letters. One of the students is also looking into developing a street signs review, and there are plans for digital and analog time reviews.
Testing on these apps is scheduled for the end of summer. We’ll keep you posted!
Monday, July 28, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Join SmartHome Residents At Millennium FAC Aug. 1
Next Friday, August 1, Imagine! will be the featured non-profit at the Boulder Millennium Harvest House’s “Notorious FAC.” Imagine! will have an information booth and a booth for kids (and the young at heart) to paint or create their own sculptures with some ready bake clay. Several residents of Imagine!’s SmartHomes are planning on attending, and we’d love to have you join us! Details below.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Register For 2014 ANCOR Technology Summit and Showcase
Click here to register or for more details.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Presentable
Reinventing Quality is a biennial conference showcasing best-practices in supports and services for people with disabilities. The 2014 Reinventing Quality Conference is jointly hosted by the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS), Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota, Human Services Research Institute (HSRI), University of Delaware National Leadership Consortium, American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), and American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD).
Greg’s panel will cover the topic of “Integrated Data Systems To Improve Quality.” Other panelists include Ann Hardiman, New York State Association of Community and Residential Agencies, Katherine Bishop, New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, Beth Mathis, The Council on Quality and Leadership, Tiffany Mecan, Liberty ARC, Carrie-Ann Schmidt, Liberty ARC, Crystal Officer, National Children’s Center, Jamal Malone, National Children’s Center, and Charmaine Pillay, Delmarva Foundation.
Good luck, Greg!
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Technology Tuesday
Chris’s Corner
Still in the Corner
Welcome to Imagine!’s new Interactive Ledger! Many of the people we serve are looking to increase their independence around money management. Donna, who lives at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder, is now using the Interactive Ledger to do just that. The Interactive Ledger uses both visual and auditory feedback which prompts individuals to enter in all the important information they need in order to maintain an effective ledger. In addition, the Interactive Ledger provides opportunities for individuals to develop advanced math skills when calculating new Ledger amounts. In the event that someone needs additional support when adding or subtracting new amounts, the Ledger will announce whether or not a total is too high, as well as by how much, and will provide a calculator if necessary.
Using this tool, people are able to manage their money with greater independence, providing opportunities to develop skills such as budgeting and future planning, as well as high level addition and subtraction skills.
Stay tuned for future updates on the new Interactive Ledger!
Can’t see the video? Click here.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Finding Opportunity In Tragedy
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| Aaron Tuneberg |
Friday, July 18, 2014
Congrats, Max!
Max Gatz, a Counselor at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder, is this month’s Imagine! Innovations Hero. Max is dedicated to Saturday community outings where he sometimes takes all of the residents out for an activity by himself. Max recently planned and handled all of the details of a zoo trip, and the residents who went indicated that they enjoyed seeing the zebras and elephants and had a very good time.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Rhythm on the River
Last Saturday, residents from the Charles Family SmartHome attended the Rhythm on the River Festival in Longmont. They had great live music and all kinds of games, food, and fun. Everyone had a fantastic time together! A big thanks to Site Supervisor Chris DiRosa for sharing the photos, as well as to the house staff teammates who made this possible!
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
SmartHomes In The News
Click here to read a great story about Imagine!’s SmartHomes on RE/MAX of Boulder’s BoulderSource website.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Technology Tuesday
One of the main goals of Imagine!’s services, whether they involve technology or not, is to provide opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to develop the skills and tools they need to become fully engaged in their communities.Therefore, Imagine! employees are at their best when they act as teachers – not just providing care but providing learning opportunities so the individuals they serve can develop needed skills and tools. But being an effective teacher isn’t always something that comes naturally. So Imagine! has a long history of providing employees with opportunities to learn and improve their abilities as teachers, so they can then be more effective in their interactions with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Imagine! is embracing technology to help prepare Imagine! employees to be teachers. We are currently creating a series of ten online modules design to impart the “Principles of Learning and Teaching.” The reasons for developing this training online reflects the realities of an organization like Imagine!. We operate in a 24/7 environment across a relatively large geographic area, making large group employee trainings impractical and expensive propositions.
By placing the trainings online, employees are able to access them at a time and a place that is convenient, making it easier for everyone, while at the same time leaving plenty of opportunity for individual and personalized employee development.
The various online modules of “Principles of Learning and Teaching” will include lessons on important topics including: How to Reinforce Skill Development; Aversion Control and How to Avoid It; Ways to Facilitate Task Independence: and Ways to Determine Needed Support Levels.
The more skills and tools Imagine! employees have to help them embrace the teaching aspects of being a Direct Support Professional, the more skills and tools they will be able to impart on those we serve. This is a win-win situation that we hope will have long term benefits for all, and simple online technology is making that possible.
Monday, July 14, 2014
A New July Declaration
July seems like an appropriate month to remind people of the declaration on the Rights of People with Cognitive Disabilities to Technology and Information Access. Read more at Imagine! CEO Mark Emery’s blog or on the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities website, and if you haven’t already, endorse this declaration and let the world know that you agree that individuals with intellectual disabilities have the same rights as everyone else when it comes to technology access.
Click on the image for a larger view.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Rebecca's Reunion
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Game Helps John Improve His Money And Math Skills
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Technology Tuesday
The video below isn’t actually about technology specifically, but shows how technology is becoming more and more an integral part of all services at Imagine!. This video was produced by the Colorado Department of Human Services and features the story of Bobby, who receives services from Imagine!. Early in the video (starting around 1.09), Bobby’s mom makes an offhand remark about Bobby communicating through an iPad. Her sense of amazement at that technology is palpable. The rest of the video is quite fascinating as well, so check it out!
Can’t see the video? Click here.
Can’t see the video? Click here.
Monday, July 7, 2014
More Pics Of Gerald And Hick
Last week we showed you a photo of Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Gerald meeting with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper at a recent Boulder Chamber of Commerce event held at Twisted Pine Brewery. Here are two more photos from the event, courtesy of Ryan Trupp Photography. Looks like everyone had a great time!
Friday, July 4, 2014
Happy 4th of July!
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Stacey To Perform This Weekend
Stacey, a resident at the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont, will be playing the guitar this Sunday, July 6, at New Horizons Christian Church in Dacono, which Stacey and her housemates regularly attend and are welcomed. This FREE 4th of July Celebration, 10 am – 12:30 pm, is open to everyone and will have music activities including Elvis Presley tribute artist Steve Creason, a BBQ, games, dancing, and church.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Gerald Meets Hick!
In June, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce hosted a “Hoppy” Hour with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper at Twisted Pine Brewery. This exclusive Boulder Chamber event featured an opportunity for top-tier business leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and local elected leaders to interact with the Governor, who is also a brewing entrepreneur.
Imagine! SmartHome resident Gerald, who has worked at Twisted Pine for several years, spent a little quality time with the Governor during the event. Way to go, G.!
Thanks to Ryan Trupp Photography for sharing the photo.
Thanks to Ryan Trupp Photography for sharing the photo.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Technology Tuesday
Chris’s Corner
Yep—Still in the Corner
Can’t see the video? Click here.
When watching this video clip, it’s easy to wonder what you’re seeing. A post-apocalyptic wasteland where mechanized creatures are placed in a ring solely for the purpose of fighting at the whim and amusement of some unseen overlord? Not quite. A bizarre time rift that has somehow sent mechanical creatures from across millennia of existence to battle one another in an arena whose terms of victory and defeat are nebulous and ill-defined? Hardly. And maybe it’s time to ease up on the action flicks.
Is it some kind of mechanized tete-a-tete omelette of amazing drizzled in a caramelized awesome sauce? Absolutely. And you’re probably hungry. To put a finer point on it, this is the newest Educational Activity soon to be rolled out in the Imagine! CORE/Labor Source Communications class taught by our own Suzanne Phillips.
Here’s how it works. DynaVox communication devices support environmental controls, which in essence turns the DynaVox into a learning universal remote. This allows people to use these devices not only to communicate thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs, but remotely control the environment around them. Essentially any Infrared-controlled device can be controlled by the DynaVox device, from TV and home entertainment, to lights, to…well…dinosaurs and dancing robots. This activity provides an opportunity to learn a number of skills, from device navigation skills to directional navigation and peer socialization, to general mechanized mayhem. And it is way fun!
Stay tuned to see more of the action!
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