The AT Bargain Basement

Marvin Williams, AT Specialist, Kent County ATRC

Hello, true believers, and welcome to the newest installment of the AT Bargain Basement. If you are a regular to the Basement, welcome back. If this is your first time, what took you so long?! All joking aside, this column is where I discuss different pieces of inexpensive assistive technology, or AT, that I have found for under $100. Previously, I only listed items you could get locally, but I just can’t pass up all of the bargains I find online. So, that being said, let’s get to the bargains!

Since school is back in session, I thought I would share some of my favorite educational bargains. Many of you may be familiar with the Franklin family of electronic dictionaries and thesauruses. Well, they have some nicely priced products that might give a poor speller that extra edge. The Speaking Homework Wiz ($49.95) and the Speaking Interactive Children’s Dictionary ($39.99) are both wonderful tools.

To use them, the student enters a word. The device then “checks” the word to see if it is spelled correctly. If the device finds the word is spelled incorrectly, it offers possible correct spellings. The student can then go through the word list and have the device say each word until the correct one is found. The device will also read the definition of the word to the student. Now, what about using these things in class? Won’t all of that talking be a distraction? Not to worry! There is a jack on the side of the dictionary so students can plug in their headphones and get help without disturbing others. All of the ATRCs have a Speaking Homework Wiz, but we do not have the Interactive Children’s Dictionary for demonstration/loan.

Besides helping with spelling, the Homework Wiz has some word games, as well as handwriting assistance both with printing and script. The devices can be found easily online at www.amazon.com as well as on a number of other websites. If you are looking for a local sales outlet, try Toys ‘R’ Us.

Our next bargain comes to us on the recommendation of our very own Beth Mineo, DATI Director. It is the Laser Lock ($9.99) by Kidpower Inc. The premise is simple—it’s a lock that uses a remote instead of a key or combination. This is a great little gadget for students who have difficulty remembering a combination or using key or combination locks. This is a nice little gizmo for the school locker.

Supposedly, the manufacturer, Kidpower Inc., has gone out of business. However, you can still find the Laser Lock for sale on the Internet at www.hearthsong.com. Since the manufacturer is gone, supplies would indeed be limited, so act quickly!

If you don’t want to fight the masses of Bargain Basement fans trying to get a Laser Lock, you may want to take a gander at another little gem. It is called the Wordlock ($5.98) and is available from Staples. It works like a combination lock, only instead of using numbers, the combination can be determined using letters to make a word. You rotate the letter rings until you make the word that is the combination for the lock. Each lock can be set using a list of four- or five-letter words provided by the manufacturer. If that’s not secure enough for you, you could come up with your own four- or five-letter combination out of the 10,000 possible.

That’s gonna do it for this installment of the AT Bargain Basement. I’d like to thank all of you for joining me in my quest to find those low-cost AT gems hidden in plain sight around us. As always, if you find a bargain or a great deal, drop me a line and let me know about it. I will be sure to credit you with your find.

So until next time, remember, just because it’s inexpensive doesn’t mean it’s cheap!

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