CViConnect vs CodeQuest

Who is the app for? CVi Connect is an iPad application intended to support parents, and teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs), who work with children who have Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). The app can be used by parents, TVIs and anyone else who works with children who have CVI. CVi Connect's goal is to aid in the process of improving the visual impairment with this iPad application, and grow the awareness of CVI as a whole and provide educational content related to CVI. What does it do? The application guides the user through exercises of varying difficulty that are intended to help the child's eye focus on graphics on the screen, which stimulates the area of the brain that is most affected by CVI. By stimulating this area of the brain we can support the improvement of the child's vision. Over time the exercises are tailored to each child based on the data that is collected while the child and parent use the application. How does it work? Using the front-facing camera in the iPad the application can measure facts about how the child is responding to the exercises. All of these expertly-determined facts can then be graphed and analyzed by the educator, in whole or in part, across all training sessions. For example, it is possible to graph the time spent, on average, on training sessions combined with the number of times a sprite is touched, showing ways of measuring improvement in visual acuity as well as allowing a teacher to tailor future lesson plans to better match the needs of the student. In addition to analyzing favorite and least favorite lessons, the CVI system has the ability to use information from the training sessions to automatically generate new training sessions that are best for the student. As an example, the system can detect highly touched areas of the iPad and where sprites are commonly touched. Using this information, the system can automatically generate new lesson plans that focus the attention specifically on these areas as well as specifically AWAY from these areas to improve acuity. The system can use facts about the lengths of time spent on average by the user on training sessions to tailor the length of time a typical training session should take place. Where can I get help if I need it? CVi Connect maintains a support forum where users of the app (parents, TVI's and CVI professionals) are supported by leading CVI professionals and CVi Connect technical staff. Users can asks questions and provide feedback in this forum, which adds to the CVi community as a whole by serving as a place where CVI discussions can take place.

CodeQuest is an interactive game designed to teach coding logic to preschool and early elementary students. Students learn new skills as they navigate a series of grids that increase in difficulty as the game progresses. CodeQuest was created for use by blind, visually impaired, and sighted students alike, making it ideal for use by an entire class! CodeQuest is easy to learn. Players help an astronaut return to his ship by devising a series of commands to guide him. The solution with the least number of steps earns the highest possible score. The grids get increasingly complex as the game progresses. This allows for the introduction of concepts like sequencing and looping. In addition to all the game fun and coding concepts, students also benefit from the computational thinking used throughout CodeQuest. This includes the ability to: develop a solution to a problem; to recognize patterns and trends; and to identify the best among multiple possible solutions to a problem. Tactile graphic design files of the grids are available for download. Go to www.aph.org and search “CodeQuest” to find them. You will also find design files of three tactile grid boards and several manipulatives including the astronaut, rocket ship, alien, and arrow tiles that can be laser-cut or 3D-printed. Features: * Fun and easy to use for young students. * Fully compatible with VoiceOver. * Integrates fundamental coding concepts such as sequencing and looping into game play. * Allows students to work on orientation concepts including up, down, left, and right. * Motivates students to practice problem solving, planning, and computational thinking skills. * Great for visually impaired students to learn access technology through game play. * Great for blind students to practice tactile graphic reading skills.