Working around Worksheets- Two Free Apps to Help Gain Access

If you have ever worked with, had, or was a student with terrible handwriting or who couldn't physically access the worksheets to which they/you were handed, then you may want to try a combination of two free apps: Paper Port Notes and CamScanner.  Separately, the apps are pretty awesome.  But with their powers combined, a worksheet can be made a little more accessible.  What the apps do is create an editable PDF (or Portable Document Format).  In a nutshell, you take a picture of the worksheet, then the user can input the answers via the onscreen keyboards, with a stylus or even his or her finger.


The following is a step by step account for using the apps.  Don't get overwhelmed by the number of steps, because it is actually easier than it seems. But I know when I am learning how to use a new program, I like to know exactly which buttons and at what points to use them.

Once you download the apps:

1. First open Cam Scanner 

2. On the right hand side of the screen there is a camera icon, press it.  this will open up the camera feature

3. Make sure you have good lighting and take a picture of the document you want to work on

4. Press done

5. When you press done, it will show 8 dots. By moving the dots you will be able to adjust and make sure you have just the document you want to work on

6. Once cropped, press next step and it will show the cropped section

7. Press Next Step again which will open up a new doc, press on that.

8. Now press on the three dot icon  (...) and select OPEN IN (select PDF FILE) then select Open in Notes that looks like the Paperport app

9.  Now the document is in the Paperport notes app 

10. If the sidebar is showing, just tap on sidebar and it will go away.

11. At this point, there are a variety of editing buttons in the top right hand corner. T for creating text, the Pencil for circling/drawing, the Highlighter to highlight facts, and Eraser to erase stuff

      (11 a.) To type on the document, press the T. Then use your finger to touch and drag along the area on which you want to type to create a text box.  If you want the font to be bigger, create a taller box by dragging your finger up or down while you are dragging across.  When you are done typing, just touch the T again and it will close out the option.

      (11 b.) To circle answers or draw on the document, tap on the Pencil icon then go to work on your touchscreen.  When you are done drawing, tap on the Pencil icon again to close the option.

      (11 c.) To highlight information, tap on the Highlight icon then go to work on your touchscreen.  When you are done drawing, tap on the Highlighter icon again to close the option.

      (11 d.) To Erase things you have marked accidentally, tap on the Eraser icon then go to work on your touchscreen.  When you are done erasing, tap on the Eraser icon again to close the option.

12. When you are done working on the document, there are a few options.  Touch Menu at the top left corner.  Select the document you wish to share.  If you have access to a wireless printer, select the document, Share Selected and choose print. If not, sending the document as a PDF may be an alternative option.  

13. Select Share

14. Select the document you want to share

15. Protect (enter a password... I would make it something simple and that you can always use like the child's name or a number, making sure you tell the person receiving it the appropriate password)

16. Share Selected

17. Select EMAIL and send to your desired recipient.

I know this looks horrendous. But I swear, it isn't.  I have been training an amazing first grader how to use it.  So if that student can do it, you should give it a try.  

There are a couple of barriers you may come across.  First, if you do not have a wi-fi connection, you will not be able to send the document at that time.  And you will have to figure out how to orient the camera so you don't get stuck with an upside down document.  You also need to make sure you iDevice has an email account set up on it.  But there are also a ton of great features including uploading to Google Drive and DropBox.

Paper Port Notes by Nuance and Cam Scanner are available through the Apple App Store for FREE.  I am an Apple girl, and though Cam Scanner is available on the Android platform, I don't believe Paper Ports is.  And I am not sure if or how they would work together in non-iOS devices.    So if you have experience or feedback, please share!

These are a few of my favorite things for Back to School- btw I know you are singing just like Julie Andrews

With just one week to go before the start of school, I was perusing some of my older posts and decided to do a little best-of products and ideas summation.

Favorite Lunch Box:Planet Box
We are now on our third year of using Planet Boxes.  These are stainless steel meal boxes that might remind you of an old-school frozen dinner plate.  But it is much more than that.  Using the Planet Boxes has made making lunches sooo much easier and quicker.  It helps to create a balanced tray that doesn't look visually cluttered or overwhelming.  Since their inception into our daily routine, my picky eaters come home with empty lunch boxes; which did not happen before.  Though expensive initially, the Planet Box has probably saved me more money in food waste and a gave me a priceless peace of mind that I am making my kids balanced eaters.  Not only that, I have not had to purchase another lunch box for school.  I just purchase new magnets for $3.95 for the beginning of school and the boys are thrilled. Since my first post about this lifestyle change, they have added another version, the Shuttle, which is slightly smaller and would be perfect for preschool and daycare.  I have the Launch, and the boys have the Rover. I get lots of comments at work while I am eating (and logging my treatments).   These are truly an investment for building solid eating habits and organization.  Bonus factor, kiddos with fine motor challenges or sensory challenges can easily access these boxes to open and shut them.

Favorite App:Writing Wizard
L'escapadou hit the ball out of the park with this app.  It is still my favorite app to support good handwriting habits.  The customizability of this app is outstanding.  Many of the teachers that I have introduced to it have incorporated it into independent work stations and vocabulary lessons.  Because you can easily input words and record the pronunciation, it provides a multi sensory learning experience for those with learning challenges.  But because it is visually fun without being nauseating, kids enjoy using the app.  What I especially love about the app is that during the tracing activity, it prompts correct letter starting points and formation.  Though I use Handwriting without Tears formation, the app has D'Nealian and Zane-Bloser formation too so you can choose what works for your classroom.  Overall, this app is well worth the $2.99

Favorite Office Supply:3M Post Its.
I put them on my forehead, my shirt, my IEPS, my computer, basically anywhere I need the cue to remember to do something.  But I also came across Avery See Through sticky notes which are so convenient to have around to help visually highlight reading words or math problems so that homework doesn't seem so overwhelming.

Favorite Math Game: Think Fun! Math Dice
Any version of this game is a great go to for independent or group stations. It is easily differentiated for all levels of learners and abilities. From Math Dice Jr. to Math Dice Tournament Kit, students will be immersed with skills from number recognition to exponents.

Favorite Reading/Language Game- Think Fun! Zingo
Zingo! is bingo with an (educational) twist.  Early readers can benefit and begin to associate words and pictures as they match the tiles to the boards. Or for emergent readers, and even for small group resource time, use Sight Word Zingo to increase and fluency with sight words.

Favorite Mom Item- True Lemon, Lime and Orange

Nope, not coffee. But these True Lemon packets make me drink.  I have to be motivated to drink water. So when I finally added these little packets of bliss into my Thermos, my hydration levels improved. I don't need it sweet; I just need a little essence of citrus to make me suck it down. So not only is a caffeinated mommy a happy mommy, so is a hydrated one.

What are your favorites back to school things?

'Appy Hour Review: Write Room

I found Write Room, by Hog Bay Software, for free on Apps gone Free. Normally $4.99, I couldn't not try it.

Write Room is a super cool app that is easily modifiable to those with visual impairments, visual attention, or to those who just prefer working in a different font and background.

When comparing Write Room to Notes, issued standard on iPhone and iPad, there are notable differences. The background in Write Words is very customizable, as is the font. You are able to adjust size, color, and style all within the app.

It is set up with limited distractions visually. Similarly to Notes on the iPhones, there are no lines.  However, it takes just a quick tap on the title line to pull up options to print, email or rename.  Also, it has a word count and sync option within that feature.

Like Notes, you are able to create new documents and folders. You can send your documents via email or to your wireless printer.  Unlike Notes, you are unable to send it as a text message, which I hope is an option in their upgrade attempts.

This entire blog was type written using Write Room with yellow font on black background. I loved the high contrast. Maybe because my eyes are getting older or I just have this personal preference, the option to easily access a high contrast typing app is wonderful.

I think I am a convert from using Notes to using Write Room as my go to quick note taker. Take a chance and try it as well, while it is free.  Who knows, you just might like it as well.  And if you like working on it, there are versions for other Mac products, too.

As of this post, Write Room is still free while they work on updates, so download it now.

'Appy Hour Review: Dragon Dictation

Dragon Dication by Nuance

"Welcome to happy hour review on Dragon dictation by Nuance. For giggles I am actually going to dictate part of the blog  on Dragon dictation app. Just to see how well it comes out. I am going to leave in all of the hum all of the errors to see how accurate this app really is. 

One of the things I've noticed is that next week is pretty accurate when I was playing with last time however OT often comes out it's own cheese oh well.

One of the very interesting ways to use this app is to practice articulation.  It forces the speaker to speak slowly and clearly. It's quite funny to try this with the dysarthric five year old. The stories that he was trying to tell came out horribly wrong and it did get a laugh.

Unfortunately what I have noticed is that the app frequently freezes one after I am mailing the intended notes to myself so that I can for the type it in my blog. The other thing I don't like is that it doesn't have a save feature. When I first started using it I would talk at length and close out.  and when I went to go send it to myself again it wasn't there so if you do not e-mail or text it or posted immediately after your completed with your dictation then it's not going to save it for you and you've lost your entire conversation with yourself.

I have to say though for a free app it's incredibly accurate. Comparing it to Dragon dictation for the computer which is generally a multi hundred dollar program it is a phenomenal find and peace assisted technology that can be incorporated into classroom use as long as the person has a quiet carrier to dictate."

As you can see, Dragon Dictation Free is pretty useful if you don't already have Siri, which I do not.  And as long as you are in a quiet area to speak, the notes are often spot on.  You do have to remember to state "period" or other sentence markers, or you will end up editing post dictation.  Also, you must be aware of the length of the time you are speaking.  After a few minutes of speaking, the app needs to process the information into text, which may result in the loss of train of thought.  For someone with dysgraphia or the average person with an older iPhone, this speech to text app can mean improved written output on the go.  

'Appy Hour: Writing Wizard

'Appy Hour is going to include reviews of educational, special needs, and just for fun apps.  Many of these apps I find by subscribing to a variety of app developers such as Grasshopper Apps that does a Free The App option, by checking Bridging Apps a great website that has a search engine based on skills, and Apps Gone Free, an app that provides daily "free" apps for short periods of time.

Today's review was discovered on Apps Gone Free a few weeks ago: Writing Wizard by L'Escapadou.  Normally $2.99, I found it for free via AGF.  And it is now on my go-to list of apps for handwriting support.

This app is worth every penny with a cherry on top.  Having tried apps including Handwriting Without Tears (for $6.99 mind you and that will come in a later review), I have been very leery with writing apps for their customizability, visuals, and overall usability.  But Writing Wizard has met these criteria, hands down.

First,  this app is quite customizable.   Not only do you have the option in handwriting formats including D'Nealian, Zaner-Bloser and Handwriting without Tears, but you have access to capitals, letters, numbers and words.  You also have the option to create reports of tracing history to examine accuracy of motor planning over time.

Under section "For Parents", after you answer a quick math question to unlock parental control~ a cute feature~ it describes how to add words to the "My Words" list.  This can be incredibly helpful for spelling practice, reading practice, or name writing.  It also provides instructions how to use their "5 Star" Mode during which the practice becomes more challenging; and when the child meet the criteria they get a start.

Visuals and Audio.  This app is really appealing. First the child is given a demonstration as well as the name of the letter and its letter sound.  As the child traces within the given parameter, cool pictures like tiger heads, flowers, and cupcakes act as the line.  After the letter is completed, a cool and kinda trippy thing will happen, reinforcing the letter building.  This app does not have over powering backgrounds or background sounds, which I find incredibly useful in the therapeutic and educational setting.

Lastly, overall usability.  I have used this app with children pre-K to 5th grade with a variety of special needs including Downs Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Delay, and ADHD.  This is a kid and adult friendly app.  My students with and without disabilities, and my own children, enjoy exploring the letters.  They find it highly motivating and engaging.  And when paired with paper/pencil tasks, I have noticed improvement with behavior, completion, attention and visual motor skills.

I have to say, it was also very refreshing for the app developers to state to use a stylus.  This is a pet peeve of mine.  Using a stylus is incredibly important to build the dexterity for writing and coloring with tools.  We don't write with our finger tips on paper, so please get a stylus to promote good habits.

When compared to other writing apps out there, this is by far one of my favorites.  I would recommend it to teachers, therapists and parents as another way in addition to paper/pencil task, to engage their early learners in another writing skill development.  Kudos, L'Escapadou!

Click here for the YouTube video by L'Escapadou.