The Access Technology Blog

This Friday the Access Technology team presented to the parents of blind children at the Maryland State Convention in Ocean City, and we wanted to make some of the resources mentioned in that session available, not just to attendees, but to anyone who might be interested.

General NFB Access Technology Resources

Technology Center - http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Technology_Center.asp

Links to:

- The Technology Resource List

- The Access Technology Blog

- The Access Technology Tips

- The Access Technology team by email: access@nfb.org

Accessible Games

7-128 Software – http://www.7128.com/

Digital Talking Books

NLS BARD application – http://www.nlstalkingbooks.org/

Bookshare – http://www.bookshare.org/

RFB&D – http://www.rfbd.org/

Training Opportunities

Manufacturer resources:

• Freedom Scientific - http://www.freedomscientific.com/training/JAWS-training-hq.asp
• GW Micro Videos and Tutorials for Window-Eyes - http://www.gwmicro.com/Audio_Video_Archive/Window-Eyes_Tutorials/
• Humanware BrailleNote Nemeth Code Tutorial - http://www.humanware.com/en-usa/support/braillenote/nemeth_code_tutorial
• Main VoiceOver Page – http://www.apple.com/accessibility/voiceover
• The Maccessibility Network Guides and Tutorials Page – http://www.maccessibility.net/guides

 Other resources:

• Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped trainings (Computing, Basic Keyboarding, Zoomtext, Kurzweil 1000 and Introduction to Jaws)
• AT institute: online learning for Microsoft Office 2003,2007, Vista, ...; also textbooks (http://www.accesstechnologyinstitute.com/index.html)
• DeWitt & Associates (for trainers): http://www.4dewitt.com/; Word 2007 Using JAWS, Word 2007 Using MAGic, Word 2007 Using ZoomText, Internet Explorer Using JAWS
• And of course...your local affiliate and the NFB listservs (http://www.nfbnet.org/)

Tomorrow Anne Taylor, our Director of Access Technology, and Stephanie Cupp Weeks, Blackboard's Director of User Experience, will be presenting at the Accessing Higher Ground (AHG) conference in Westminster, Colorado. They will be showing the preliminary results of one the Access Tecnhology most exciting projects - accessibility in Blackboard Learn. Last year, when Anne, Preety Kumar from Deque Systems and I presented to a packed room at AHG about web accessibility, the question on everybody's lips was "what can you do to make Blackboard" - the country's most popular online learning platform - "accessible?" It is wonderful, then, to be able to return to Colorado a year later with such results in hand. Blackboard, partnering with Deque and the NFB to bring the changes about, has been a pleasure to work with, and all parties have much progress to show for their efforts. Blackboard has shown an in depth knowledge of the issues and a sincere commitment to the highest standard of accessibility, and we commend them for their undertaking.

Clara Van Gerven 

On November 10, 2009, Intel's Digital Health Group launched a device known as The Intel Reader.  This device is a face-up OCR solution that integrates a camera into a small, hand held computer that can optionally be placed into a docking station when reading large quantities of material.

In its handheld configuration, the Intel Reader is a small square device about the size of a paperback book.  Unlike most reading devices we have seen where a camera has either been affixed to an ultra-mobile computer or PDA or is a separate device attached to the processing unit by a cable, this unit integrates everything into its small plastic housing.  Also different from other reading systems, the device is held vertically, with the screen facing toward you as opposed to the screen facing upward like other similar products.

The Intel reader incorporates features that appeal to various markets.  For low-vision users, one can change the size of text that is displayed on the Reader's built-in screen.  In addition, you can either choose to view recognized text or the image that was snapped by the camera.  Two human-sounding voices are included with adjustable speech rate.  The reader also allows the saving of recognized files as DAISY or recorded audio.  Moreover, non-encrypted DAISY 3 titles can be placed on the reader for playback or can be launched from a connected USB flash drive.

One of the unique features of Intel's Reader is the "Capture Station".  This is a stand that folds up into a briefcase-sized enclosure for transport, and then expands into a large flat surface for placing the reading material.  An arm holds the Reader at the proper height to ensure that the picture is snapped correctly if the document is placed at the upper left of the reading surface.  A clear plastic strip can be placed over a book to hold it in place while still allowing a picture to be taken.  The Capture Station includes ports for connecting USB media and a power supply.  It also contains a small push button easily located on its front surface for snapping pictures while the Reader is secured in the stand.  If you prefer, you can still use all controls present on the reader just as if it was not docked.

Using the reader is similar to using other face-up OCR units.  If you are holding the reader in hand while seated, you should hold it so that its screen faces you and your arms are extended over the page with your elbows resting on the table.  Pressing the large shoot button in the upper right corner of the reader places the reader in shoot mode.  If you are reading with the reader secured in the Capture Station, the small button on the Capture Station can be used to perform this function.  While in shoot mode, you press the button to snap a picture. The reader plays a musical chime when it is ready to shoot the next picture.  This means that if you are scanning a long document, you can continually input pages until you are finished.  Processing takes place in the background as you continue to add pages.  You are given periodic processing messages.  When you want to read your processed pages, you press the "play" button to enter reading mode.  The play button is easily found, by following a small cut-out at the upper right corner of the screen that leads to the rectangular button.  If you are in reading mode, you will no longer receive any processing updates.

The Intel Reader sells for $1499 and comes with a Getting Started audio CD as well as print documentation and training materials.  The Capture Station is sold separately and retails for $300.  You can purchase the reader from Humanware at www.humanware.com or (800)-722-3393.

Wesley Majerus

It has been a while, but we have a new audio blog post, and it finds all of the Access Technology team, and one special guest, exploring one of our previous topics in a little more depth.

User experience comparison for Mac and PC

We hope that you will find it of interest!

Clara Van Gerven

The word has been out for a while, but today is the last day of registration for the Web Accessibility Training Day on September 22nd. The event, which the NFB is hosting with the Maryland Technology Assistance Program, with sponsorship from the Maryland Department of Information Technology, will be aimed at state, county and city professionals, as well as contractors, dealing with Web site accessibility. You can find the list of sessions and further information at www.nfb.org/webaccessibility.

The Web Accessibility Training Day will be the first event of its kind and based the tremendous interest we have seen we can look forward to seeing better informed government professionals, and hopefully better local government sites – for all users.

Clara Van Gerven

After months of planning the week had finally arrived. Two-hundred blind high school students, 70 mentors, and various others would descend on the University of Maryland College Park campus for a week of learning about Science, Technology, and Math. The students would learn that blind people could do anything with the right opportunities and training. They would be exposed to things many of them had not considered doing before.

Prior to the Youth Slam we made sure there would be access technology in place to support the students and staff. Freedom Scientific donated a network JAWS license wich would allow us to authorize JAWS on the computers we rented. We also set up three Braille embossers. On Monday, while the students were enjoying a welcome rally, myself and four members the NFB Internal Technology Team deployed the computers the students would be using.

My role at Youth Slam was pretty varied. I assisted with items ranging from technical support and troubleshooting to logistics, to marshalling students, to loading busses. It was fun to be around, see the students get excited about science, math, and their own abilities as blind people, and to help out wherever I was needed.

One of the areas I participated in was setting up the NFB Youth Slam Blog. This blog was established as part of the NFB Youth Slam News Track. This group of students had come to the Youth Slam to learn about journalism and produced blog articles, posts for the microblogging site Twitter, podcasts, written articles, and video content. There efforts provided a first-hand look at the Youth Slam while the event was happening.

Tuesday evening saw several students participating in a Star Party. This event provides a chance for blind students to see what a telescope is seeing. In order to accomplish this, a digital image is taken fron a telescope, converted on a computer to produce a negative image (the white places become black and the black places become white). The image is then printed on Swellform paper and fed through a Swellform machine. This combination provides a raised, tactile representation of whatever was printed on the paper in black ink (which is why a negative of the telescope image was produced). I worked on making sure that this conversion process ran smoothly. I also participated in the seminars we held on campus, providing information to the students on accessible technology they can use to be productive students as well as the tours held here at the NCB.

It was a fantastic experience to see these students learning that they could do what their sighted counterparts can and that the only barriers to their participating in the careers they want to have are the misconceptions of others. I look forward to participating in the next Youth Slam.

Tony Olivero

School may be out for some, but here at the National Center for the Blind July is easily the busiest month of the year. We had the National Convention in Detroit, and last week brought Youth Slam to Baltimore and College Park. The Access Technology team did its share, and presented on the History of Access Technology and on Access Technology for Students at the University of Maryland in College Park and here at the National Center. The team demonstrated everything from old and bulky OCR technology to the KNFB Reader and of course Youth Slam participants also got a chance to tour the International Braille and Technology Center and try out some of the technology themselves. There was no lack of enthusiasm – or expertise - on the part of the Youth Slam participants, and it was a pleasure to spend time with them. Tony Olivero spent most of the week at the College Park campus, so expect a report from the trenches from him soon.

Clara Van Gerven

When Apple announced that the new iPhone 3GS would include VoiceOver, the screen access software included on Macintosh computers, I began watching what other users were saying when they began receiving their phones. After seeing some positive reviews and listening to several podcasts discussing and demonstrating the phone, I decided to get one for myself.

Since the iPhone is primarily a touchscreen based interface (hardware buttons still remain for Home, volume, lock/unlock/power, and the Silent switch), Apple has developed a method of interacting with VoiceOver consisting of a set of gestures that, when performed on the screen, control the phone.

I received my iPhone 3GS last Friday. After spending about 12 hours trying to get it activated, including a trip to the local AT&T store because the SIM card that shipped with the phone was bad, I was finally up and running.

Having listened to several podcasts and read the information provided on Apple’s iPhone Accessibility page, I had an idea of the gestures that would be used to control this screen access program. Blind users can orient themselves to the active screen by touching the screen and hearing what their finger is on, sliding their finger around the screen to get an idea of the layout of the active application, or by tapping to establish a starting point and flicking a finger across the screen from left to right to move forward through all available controls. A gesture known as the Rotor Control is performed to change the method of navigation for the flick up, and flick down, gestures. The Rotor Control is turned by placing two fingers on the screen and turning them clockwise, or counterclockwise, as if one were turning the dial on a radio. In basic text entry controls, the rotor toggles between character and word navigation. In an HTML window, such as an e-mail or the Safari web browser, additional options including headings, links, form controls, unvisited links, visited links, and images, are present. Once the rotor control has been set to the desired option flicking one’s finger up or down will move to the previous or next element matching the setting of the Rotor.

Gestures are also available for scrolling sections of the interface. Placing three fingers on the display and sliding them down will  scroll a list toward the top, and sliding them up will scroll the list toward the bottom. A left or right three-fingered flick will result in switching between different pages of multi-page screens, such as the home screen. I was at first a little disoriented with the scroll up and down gestures, since it felt like I was going down to go to the top of the list, but once I realized I needed to think of it as pulling the top of the list down, or pushing it up, it made a little more sense.

If you want to begin reading and continue to the end of the document/screen, you simply swipe two fingers downward on the screen. Reading commences until you tap with two fingers to stop and keep your position, or perform another gesture to change focus.

So far, my biggest problems with the iPhone has been the on-screen keyboard and the battery life, both of which are common complaints from sighted users as well.

Typing on the iPhone keyboard is done in a similar way to the rest of the user interaction with the interface. You can slide your finger around the keyboard and double-tap to enter a letter. You can also use a two finger method of typing where one finger slides around the keyboard to locate a letter and a second finger taps the screen (while the first finger remains on the selected letter) and the character is entered.

This has been a brief introduction to the new iPhone. Please watch for a more in depth review coming in an upcoming issue of the Braille Monitor.

Tony Olivero

The Access Technology team has, as you might imagine, been watching the discussion surrounding Wes Majerus’s article about VoiceOver on the Mac with considerable interest. It was always going to be a controversial topic; but we certainly hope that it is also one which will open up opportunities for dialogue, and this post aims to be a part of that dialogue.

In general, it should be said about the article that it does approach VoiceOver from a “Windows” point of view. While this should perhaps have been stated more clearly, it is an unsurprising starting point in a field where, according to one recent survey of screen access software users, only 6% use VoiceOver and fewer than that use Linux-based screen access software. As a consequence, even factoring in new users, the majority of users trying out VoiceOver will already be familiar with Windows-based screen access software, and will use that as a reference point.

The NFB Jernigan Institute operates the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind to be an objective voice in the evaluation of technologies.  In our evaluations, we try to take into account the full range of blind individuals who may use a product.  In the VoiceOver debate, we have attempted to keep in mind that many families of newly blind individuals learn about VoiceOver and look on it as an integrated, cost-effective solution on a par, in term of ease of use, with a sighted user using a Mac with iPod and iTunes, when this is not always the case.  Accessibility, in order to be effective, should not be constructed in such a way that only very skilled technology users can quickly learn and manage the technology; and in some cases accessibility on the Mac is less than intuitive.

Perhaps the most important criticism we have seen of the article is that it fails to highlight certain options available to the users, and that it claims certain actions are not possible when in fact they are. This is a very important point, and one to which there is only one response – in testing VoiceOver, Wes thoroughly used the materials which Apple makes available to its users, that is to say, the manual, the built-in tutorial, and Apple’s support at any level he could get to. Since VoiceOver is part of Apple’s suite of software products, it seemed obvious to look to them for documentation, in the same manner as one would expect GE to document their overlay for a washer and dryer, and just as we expect Microsoft to document their accessibility features.

Finally, we continue to evaluate the Apple products, and welcome any input from the user group on this subject, especially given the limitations of the “official” documentation.

Anne Taylor
Director of Access Technology

In addition to the services offered by the Access Technology Team, including the Technology Resource List, Consumer Electronics Guide, and Access Technology Tips, the National Federation of the Blind offers a few additional electronic resources we want to make you aware of.

NFB ShareBraille is a service that allows you to post Braille materials you are no longer using (no library books please) and “share” them with others. The idea is someone browsing the site will decide they want to read the book you are no longer reading, and you can send it to them. You are able to take advantage of the US Post Office’s Free Matter for the Blind shipping and send books to other blind users at no cost.

NFB Newsline® Online provides a way to read Newsline® content through your web browser. You can additionally synchronize content to a number of portable devices and read on the go.

NFB Link can connect you with other blind people who can help answer questions you may have about how to do a certain job as a blind person, or other blindness related matters.

Check out NFBNet.org for a large number of mailing lists you can subscribe to. These lists are a place to discuss topics of interest such as student issues, blind parenting, and guide dogs, among many other special interest areas.

You can also read the current and back issues of the NFB flagship publication The Braille Monitor. Text versions of the Monitor are available online going back to 1987. Beginning with the February 2007 issue MP3 recordings of each article are available alongside the text. These are the same recordings you would receive with a cassette tape subscription to the publication. Each issue also includes the option to download all MP3 files for that issue in a zip file making it handy to put on a portable digital player.

Finally, the monthly Presidential Release, where Dr. Maurer informs the membership of current happenings in the organization can also be downloaded. If you are a chapter president who would prefer to use a digital playback device, or a member who misses a chapter meeting, you can use these downloads to keep abreast of events.