There is news on the horizon for those who are profoundly or severely deaf.
Several years ago, the cochlea implant was heralded as breakthrough and innovative. However, the promise of this procedure also had limitations.
Overcoming these limitations is exactly what is being heralded in the latest progress in auditory nerve implants. Read the full report in WebWire at:
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=38547
This latest news is being reported by scientists at the University of Michigan’s Kresge Hearing Research Institute. They recently announced that they have successfully implanted an ultra-thin electrode array in the auditory nerves of animals. The implants have been successful in transmitting a wide spectrum of sounds to the animals’ brains. The next logical step is to do more animal testing, as well as with people who are deaf.
One researcher said that the new implants work better than cochlear implants, in nearly “every measure.”
According to the WebWire article linked above, if the procedure proves successful in subsequent tests, “profoundly and severely deaf people would have another option that could allow them to hear low-pitched sounds common in speech, converse in a noisy room, identify high and low voices, and appreciate music — areas where cochlea implants, though a boon, have significant limitations.”
The article also states that, “The possible auditory nerve implants likely would be suitable for the same people who are candidates today for cochlear implants: the profoundly deaf, who can’t hear at all, and the severely deaf, whose hearing ability is greatly reduced. Also, the animal studies suggest that implantation of the devices has little impact on normal hearing, offering the possibility of restoring sensitivity to high frequencies while preserving remaining low-frequency hearing.”
Monday, June 11, 2007
Friday, June 01, 2007
Nova Scotia college says "Assistive technology for all!"
The forward-thinking folks at Nova Scotia Community College are setting a new precedent in assistive technology.
Instead of having a special pathway, the use of particular assistive technology being made exclusively available to only students with disabilities, they are
making assistive technology available to all NSCC students.
After limiting use of the Premiere Assistive Key to Access software to only students with disabilities this past academic year, NSCC will be allowing access to the software to all students in the coming 2007-08 school year.
According to the article linked above, “With this new technology, students can order books in digital format, have software pick out the main points in a text and read it, and create audio study guides so they can learn on the go.”
Maybe, just maybe, people are coming to understand that there are a variety of learning styles and that this is true in the general population of students, not only those with disabilities.
I don’t know about you, but I sort of like this reverse application of universal design. Instead of making the mainstream classroom accessible, they are realizing the broader application of assistive technology, and letting it be used by the whole population. Instead of assistive technology being a special-use on-ramp for information, that ramp is now open to the public.
Instead of having a special pathway, the use of particular assistive technology being made exclusively available to only students with disabilities, they are
making assistive technology available to all NSCC students.
After limiting use of the Premiere Assistive Key to Access software to only students with disabilities this past academic year, NSCC will be allowing access to the software to all students in the coming 2007-08 school year.
According to the article linked above, “With this new technology, students can order books in digital format, have software pick out the main points in a text and read it, and create audio study guides so they can learn on the go.”
Maybe, just maybe, people are coming to understand that there are a variety of learning styles and that this is true in the general population of students, not only those with disabilities.
I don’t know about you, but I sort of like this reverse application of universal design. Instead of making the mainstream classroom accessible, they are realizing the broader application of assistive technology, and letting it be used by the whole population. Instead of assistive technology being a special-use on-ramp for information, that ramp is now open to the public.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Census Bureau informational statistics about Americans with disabilities
In case you have missed it, the U.S. Census Bureau has released an updated set of
Informational statistics about Americans with disabilities.
So, if you are conducting research or preparing a report needing the latest general statistics on Americans with disabilities, it is now available.
FYI, that report claims that, as of the 2003-04 school year, there were 2.2 million undergraduates with a disability, representing 11 percent of all undergrads.
Informational statistics about Americans with disabilities.
So, if you are conducting research or preparing a report needing the latest general statistics on Americans with disabilities, it is now available.
FYI, that report claims that, as of the 2003-04 school year, there were 2.2 million undergraduates with a disability, representing 11 percent of all undergrads.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Good article about Disability Service and Mental Health professionals
In the days following the shootings at Virginia Tech, I found myself trying to compose some thoughts on the matter to post here. However, each time, I felt intrusive on the survivors of that tragedy and my words were not near as clear as they were in my mind. As a result, I deleted each attempt, feeling inadequate to express the words that needed to be said.
The compulsion to write about that subject was prompted by the shooter in that event reminding me of the type of students Disability Support Service professionals are periodically alerted to, either as one of the students on their caseload, or one which a faculty member inquires about. I've met a couple of these types and recall the gut response from many of the involved staff and faculty.
Many who have served in the DSS role for any reasonable amount of time have known at least one of these incidents. It prompts a spectrum of emotions and reactions ranging from sincere concern to a hyperactive fear. Striking the proper response is the key.
There is a good piece on this very subject written by a clinical psychologist in the Times Community Newspapers, titled
Are you Seung-Hui Cho's keeper?
Being that the article is written by a mental health professional, it is presented with a good understanding of the ADA and HIPPA and the restraints these laws have on universities.
Without spoiling the body of this well written article, I’d like to share the two closing paragraphs.
“Am I my brother's or sister's keeper? Is it my business if I notice that a fellow human being is having difficulty coping with life? Intruding in one's personal affairs is not always the easiest or wisest thing to do.”
“Nothing in life is guaranteed. We might ask ourselves, however, if there was the slightest possibility that having done so might not only have saved Cho's life, but the life of over 30 others as well.”
The article magnifies the positive alliances that can be achieved when the DSS office maintains open lines of communication with trained mental health professionals. I urge you to click the above link and read the entire piece. It says a lot, the meat of which I had been attempting to grasp and put into words.
The compulsion to write about that subject was prompted by the shooter in that event reminding me of the type of students Disability Support Service professionals are periodically alerted to, either as one of the students on their caseload, or one which a faculty member inquires about. I've met a couple of these types and recall the gut response from many of the involved staff and faculty.
Many who have served in the DSS role for any reasonable amount of time have known at least one of these incidents. It prompts a spectrum of emotions and reactions ranging from sincere concern to a hyperactive fear. Striking the proper response is the key.
There is a good piece on this very subject written by a clinical psychologist in the Times Community Newspapers, titled
Are you Seung-Hui Cho's keeper?
Being that the article is written by a mental health professional, it is presented with a good understanding of the ADA and HIPPA and the restraints these laws have on universities.
Without spoiling the body of this well written article, I’d like to share the two closing paragraphs.
“Am I my brother's or sister's keeper? Is it my business if I notice that a fellow human being is having difficulty coping with life? Intruding in one's personal affairs is not always the easiest or wisest thing to do.”
“Nothing in life is guaranteed. We might ask ourselves, however, if there was the slightest possibility that having done so might not only have saved Cho's life, but the life of over 30 others as well.”
The article magnifies the positive alliances that can be achieved when the DSS office maintains open lines of communication with trained mental health professionals. I urge you to click the above link and read the entire piece. It says a lot, the meat of which I had been attempting to grasp and put into words.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Welcome back and another accessibility roundup
Last you read here, Access Ability was going into stealth mode while I took a few days to examine a university web site for accessibility. Unfortunately, that task ran longer than I had anticipated and hence, it has been more than two weeks since I’ve posted anything here.
Well, to quote an old cliché…”I’m back!”
I feel that it would also be most appropriate to toss out some related links to the very subject that was the cause for my absence, web accessibility. Maybe it was coincidence or just plain karma, but there was an abundance of accessibility related news in the last two weeks. Go figure.
In an interesting undertaking, a digital instructional design professional at Kansas State University is taking a first-hand look at using assistive technology to access technology dependent classes. In the
Instructional Design Open Studio blog,
on the May 17 post titled Accessibility in eLearning, this person writes that (s)he is taking two versions of the same class, one will be online and the other on-campus, but both are mediated via technology, which the user is going to access with assistive technology and blog the experience.
I hope the site’s author will try to use JAWS to access the information and see the navigation headaches that the blog's employed Flash feature creates. With JAWS, they might also notice the indication of headings on each and every line of the posts in that Flash presentation. It is just a guess, but I don’t think that the user intended each line to be noted as a heading.
Nonetheless, the effort to take the classes with assistive technology by somebody who is not usually an AT user is a good and worthwhile effort and I commend the undertaking. I’ll be interested to see what the findings are.
In another recent finding, I noticed that on
Duff Johnson’s PDF Perspective,
A blog targeting the production of pdf documents, there was the May 14 post about the recent AGI Acrobat PDF Conference. In it, the writer discusses how he worked to make accessible pdf production interesting. He also offers a download of his presentation. Of course, it is in pdf format!
I have read a previous post by Duff Johnson on that blog concerning accessibility and have it bookmarked as a site for research. It is good to see professionals in the production world continue to take note of the importance of accessibility.
If you are interacting with a web developer about accessibility and the discussion of web applications versus web pages has ever come up, you may be interested in what
Christian Heilmann wrote in his May 20 post, titled How to Make Your Web Applications Accessible – The Human Way.
In that piece, Heilmann shoots down what is apparently a common developer’s defense that what they have created is a web application, not a web page. Heilmann asserts that “web applications should be more accessible than web sites.”
I like the logic in that statement. Now, if we can just get the developers to buy into it. Keep pushing, Christian!
Finally, in keeping with my personal philosophy of not griping without offering solution, I present the following information for authoring accessible web content. There is a review of
Immediacy CMS
on the latest pages of
IT-Director.com
In this review, Peter Abrahams says that Immediacy is an easy to use content creation tool which creates both accessible content and compliant code.
He adds that, “Immediacy provide a variety of plug-ins to provide specific website functionality; one of these is an accessibility plug-in. This plug-in enables a user to change the overall text size and the background-foreground colour combinations these changes can be important to people with visual impairments or dyslexia.”
He presents a specific list of qualities that the software gives that makes content creation sound easy to do.
Additionally, the IT-Director.com site also has other helpful and informative links concerning accessibility. In particular, there is a link on the latest update on the review of web accessibility 2.0.
Now that I’m back, I’ll soon be posting more regularly. Thanks to all of you that have maintained a vigil on this site.
Well, to quote an old cliché…”I’m back!”
I feel that it would also be most appropriate to toss out some related links to the very subject that was the cause for my absence, web accessibility. Maybe it was coincidence or just plain karma, but there was an abundance of accessibility related news in the last two weeks. Go figure.
In an interesting undertaking, a digital instructional design professional at Kansas State University is taking a first-hand look at using assistive technology to access technology dependent classes. In the
Instructional Design Open Studio blog,
on the May 17 post titled Accessibility in eLearning, this person writes that (s)he is taking two versions of the same class, one will be online and the other on-campus, but both are mediated via technology, which the user is going to access with assistive technology and blog the experience.
I hope the site’s author will try to use JAWS to access the information and see the navigation headaches that the blog's employed Flash feature creates. With JAWS, they might also notice the indication of headings on each and every line of the posts in that Flash presentation. It is just a guess, but I don’t think that the user intended each line to be noted as a heading.
Nonetheless, the effort to take the classes with assistive technology by somebody who is not usually an AT user is a good and worthwhile effort and I commend the undertaking. I’ll be interested to see what the findings are.
In another recent finding, I noticed that on
Duff Johnson’s PDF Perspective,
A blog targeting the production of pdf documents, there was the May 14 post about the recent AGI Acrobat PDF Conference. In it, the writer discusses how he worked to make accessible pdf production interesting. He also offers a download of his presentation. Of course, it is in pdf format!
I have read a previous post by Duff Johnson on that blog concerning accessibility and have it bookmarked as a site for research. It is good to see professionals in the production world continue to take note of the importance of accessibility.
If you are interacting with a web developer about accessibility and the discussion of web applications versus web pages has ever come up, you may be interested in what
Christian Heilmann wrote in his May 20 post, titled How to Make Your Web Applications Accessible – The Human Way.
In that piece, Heilmann shoots down what is apparently a common developer’s defense that what they have created is a web application, not a web page. Heilmann asserts that “web applications should be more accessible than web sites.”
I like the logic in that statement. Now, if we can just get the developers to buy into it. Keep pushing, Christian!
Finally, in keeping with my personal philosophy of not griping without offering solution, I present the following information for authoring accessible web content. There is a review of
Immediacy CMS
on the latest pages of
IT-Director.com
In this review, Peter Abrahams says that Immediacy is an easy to use content creation tool which creates both accessible content and compliant code.
He adds that, “Immediacy provide a variety of plug-ins to provide specific website functionality; one of these is an accessibility plug-in. This plug-in enables a user to change the overall text size and the background-foreground colour combinations these changes can be important to people with visual impairments or dyslexia.”
He presents a specific list of qualities that the software gives that makes content creation sound easy to do.
Additionally, the IT-Director.com site also has other helpful and informative links concerning accessibility. In particular, there is a link on the latest update on the review of web accessibility 2.0.
Now that I’m back, I’ll soon be posting more regularly. Thanks to all of you that have maintained a vigil on this site.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Web Accessibility: Its two, two, two posts in one
As promised, I’m back with more on web accessibility. However, I’m combining the two posts I mentioned into this one today, as the common theme is web accessibility.
Let me begin by saying up front that I readily admit that I am not a geek. While I believe I am somewhat computer savvy, I cannot wear the badge of geek. I know the difference between accessible and inaccessible web sites and software, very often, only by personal experience. I know the particular mechanics of what makes the web page accessible no better than I know what makes the mechanics of a garbage disposal operate. However, I do not have to know what makes them work to understand when they are not working for me.
However, Jeremy Keith is a web developer in Brighton, England, and I think he would fit whatever the criteria is to be a geek. (Mr. Keith, I use the term “geek” with all due reverence. Web developers know and do things I cannot even dream of.)
On his,
Adactio Journal,
Mr. Keith recently penned a very good post about
The Language of Accessibility,
Where he reflects upon a recent conference he attended in Germany.
His discussion takes us down the path of what accessibility means. In some pretty good layman’s language, he talks about things like markup language, which non-techies like myself may not know much about, but the results of which we know very well. His words in the two paragraphs below say a lot.
“Far from being something that is added to a site, accessibility is something we need to ensure isn’t removed. From that perspective, the phrase “making a site accessible” isn’t accurate.”
“Just as “progressive enhancement” sounds better than “graceful degradation”, talking about accessibility as something that needs to be added onto a website isn’t doing us any favours. Accessibility is not a plug-in. It’s not something that can be bolted onto a site after the fact.”
Mr. Keith goes on to suggest that web designers follow his new understanding: he will talk about keeping a site accessible rather than talking about making a site accessible”
That truly does sound like the language of accessibility. Thanks for sharing it with us, Mr. Keith.
I have only offered a bit of Mr. Keith's words and insight here. Do check out his post and also check out the speech made by the speaker at the conference he attended. Those words are the foundation for the piece and will ring just as true with you.
And, for today’s second feature presentation, I offer this posting from the
FinaBlog,
Titled The State of the Art of Interactive Design.
The piece starts with a simple, but fairly accurate assessment of the progression of the internet, finishing up with a projection with where it may lead. It then weaves in the need for accessibility as an essential element, stating, “Accessibility has become one of the driving forces in web design.”
Hmmm. I’m not sure that I totally agree with that statement, but it is a nice thought.
And, maybe the writer of that piece doesn’t totally agree with that thought either, because he soon follows it by saying, “Unfortunately, most websites have accessibility barriers that make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to use the Web.”
Then, when he begins to speak to web developers and what they can do to make web content accessible, he also begins to use the techie lingo I’m not fully fluent in, but understand what they mean to accessibility. These include the need for developers to use XHTML and CSS. He further adds further incentive for developers to use these techniques as they aid in optimizing the site for search engines. If somebody is going to create web content, it makes sense that they would want the search engines to be able to find it.
As with Mr. Keith’s post, I have only presented a small portion of what the writer presents. This one is truly worth investing the time to read the full post. And, also like Mr. Keith’s post, worth sharing with your colleagues in web development.
Like I said earlier, I don’t have to understand what these web development techniques are to understand their impact. Describing inaccessible web content for me is much like that one judge said about pornography, I may not be able to tell you exactly what it is, but I know it when I see it. Being I’m totally blind, maybe the more accurate way of wording that phrase would be to say, “I know it when I don’t see it.”
Let me begin by saying up front that I readily admit that I am not a geek. While I believe I am somewhat computer savvy, I cannot wear the badge of geek. I know the difference between accessible and inaccessible web sites and software, very often, only by personal experience. I know the particular mechanics of what makes the web page accessible no better than I know what makes the mechanics of a garbage disposal operate. However, I do not have to know what makes them work to understand when they are not working for me.
However, Jeremy Keith is a web developer in Brighton, England, and I think he would fit whatever the criteria is to be a geek. (Mr. Keith, I use the term “geek” with all due reverence. Web developers know and do things I cannot even dream of.)
On his,
Adactio Journal,
Mr. Keith recently penned a very good post about
The Language of Accessibility,
Where he reflects upon a recent conference he attended in Germany.
His discussion takes us down the path of what accessibility means. In some pretty good layman’s language, he talks about things like markup language, which non-techies like myself may not know much about, but the results of which we know very well. His words in the two paragraphs below say a lot.
“Far from being something that is added to a site, accessibility is something we need to ensure isn’t removed. From that perspective, the phrase “making a site accessible” isn’t accurate.”
“Just as “progressive enhancement” sounds better than “graceful degradation”, talking about accessibility as something that needs to be added onto a website isn’t doing us any favours. Accessibility is not a plug-in. It’s not something that can be bolted onto a site after the fact.”
Mr. Keith goes on to suggest that web designers follow his new understanding: he will talk about keeping a site accessible rather than talking about making a site accessible”
That truly does sound like the language of accessibility. Thanks for sharing it with us, Mr. Keith.
I have only offered a bit of Mr. Keith's words and insight here. Do check out his post and also check out the speech made by the speaker at the conference he attended. Those words are the foundation for the piece and will ring just as true with you.
And, for today’s second feature presentation, I offer this posting from the
FinaBlog,
Titled The State of the Art of Interactive Design.
The piece starts with a simple, but fairly accurate assessment of the progression of the internet, finishing up with a projection with where it may lead. It then weaves in the need for accessibility as an essential element, stating, “Accessibility has become one of the driving forces in web design.”
Hmmm. I’m not sure that I totally agree with that statement, but it is a nice thought.
And, maybe the writer of that piece doesn’t totally agree with that thought either, because he soon follows it by saying, “Unfortunately, most websites have accessibility barriers that make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to use the Web.”
Then, when he begins to speak to web developers and what they can do to make web content accessible, he also begins to use the techie lingo I’m not fully fluent in, but understand what they mean to accessibility. These include the need for developers to use XHTML and CSS. He further adds further incentive for developers to use these techniques as they aid in optimizing the site for search engines. If somebody is going to create web content, it makes sense that they would want the search engines to be able to find it.
As with Mr. Keith’s post, I have only presented a small portion of what the writer presents. This one is truly worth investing the time to read the full post. And, also like Mr. Keith’s post, worth sharing with your colleagues in web development.
Like I said earlier, I don’t have to understand what these web development techniques are to understand their impact. Describing inaccessible web content for me is much like that one judge said about pornography, I may not be able to tell you exactly what it is, but I know it when I see it. Being I’m totally blind, maybe the more accurate way of wording that phrase would be to say, “I know it when I don’t see it.”
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Request for feedback
I have a request of any of the readers who are willing to take a moment and share your thoughts with me.
The Access Ability blog has been in operation since late July, 2006 and I have personally written and posted 118 posts here. In all that, I have received minimal feedback on what is posted here. Specifically, I have received, minus the several spam replies, less than five comments to these posts.
I seek feedback from you, the readers that I know are out there. I understand that the comment method here on Blogger is not the most user-friendly way to share your thoughts. In that light, I am asking for you to
Email me your comments.
Please share your thoughts with me concerning this blog. I would like to know what types of news or resources you have found most helpful or would like to see more of. I can’t read your mind, so hit that link above and it will instantly bring up an email message ready for you to fill out. I promise that I will not share your email information with anybody.
I sincerely appreciate the readership that has grown steadily since I first launched this blog just over nine months ago. I am working in a vacuum, though, and am only writing about those things I believe might interest you. Take a moment and let me know how to better serve you.
Thanks,
RG
The Access Ability blog has been in operation since late July, 2006 and I have personally written and posted 118 posts here. In all that, I have received minimal feedback on what is posted here. Specifically, I have received, minus the several spam replies, less than five comments to these posts.
I seek feedback from you, the readers that I know are out there. I understand that the comment method here on Blogger is not the most user-friendly way to share your thoughts. In that light, I am asking for you to
Email me your comments.
Please share your thoughts with me concerning this blog. I would like to know what types of news or resources you have found most helpful or would like to see more of. I can’t read your mind, so hit that link above and it will instantly bring up an email message ready for you to fill out. I promise that I will not share your email information with anybody.
I sincerely appreciate the readership that has grown steadily since I first launched this blog just over nine months ago. I am working in a vacuum, though, and am only writing about those things I believe might interest you. Take a moment and let me know how to better serve you.
Thanks,
RG
Web access: Head's up on time-consuming project and GAID initiative
I will be meeting with a colleague and the head of his university’s web site portal in the coming days. In preparation for this meeting, I will be examining the university’s web content. This will include examining the least prefered design route the university has taken, offering text-only pages, which were recently offered as an accessible alternative to meet the letter of the law in Section 508 compliance...Grrr. Additionally, I will also be looking at web sites being offered by other school’s in the same university system.
My reason for telling you this is to give you a head’s up that posting may be a little on the light side here at Access Ability for the next few days, due to the time commitment I will need to review the large amount of web pages.
I’m not one to leave you hanging high and dry, though. Below is a recent news item related to this very subject of accessibility to web content for people with disabilities who use assistive technology. I will also follow up this with a couple more posts related to this subject before knuckling down on the research for my pending project.
An interesting article in
EContentMag
Reports on the latest efforts of the United Nations’
Global alliance working to bridge the information divide.
This article informs readers about the goals of the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID),which has global players from academia, governments, the private sector, and civil society. A strong demonstration of the commitment from the technological industry can be sensed just by noting that the current GAID chairman is Craig Barrett, the chairman of Intel.
GAID’s primary objectives span a wide spectrum, but two areas of the groups interest are discussed in the article; gaining more saturated broadband penetration in Africa and developing better technology solutions to assist people with disabilities in information access.
Explaining the group’s methodology, Sarbuland Khan, GAID's executive coordinator, said, "The goal is not that we, the UN, do it, but we try to get the partners to do it themselves and show that the UN can catalyze. We don't have the resources or the expertise, but we can convene the right people around the right table to work on these issues.”
Another source cited in the article is Daniel Aghion, executive director and co-founder of the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i), which has been working with GAID since its days as the UN’s ICT Task Force, the predecessor to GAID. In December, 2006, the United Nations adopted a convention protecting the rights of people with disabilities to education, health, labor, and other needs. The UN has encouraged all 192 of its member states to ratify this convention, because, according to Aghion, approximately ten percent of the global population has some impairment keeping them from accessing information technology.
As for the United States, Aghion says, "In the U.S., some policies have been set to address that community and are embedded in the Americans with Disabilities Act, but—as far as information technology is concerned—they have not been very actively enforced."
This goes back to the adage about laws only being as good as their enforcement. If things work as planned, the proposals GAID has set out offer some teeth for accountability towards the end of enforcement.
Again, as I’ve posted previously, the United States has yet to sign this UN convention. Please take an active role and contact the White House and your legislators, encouraging our country to sign off on this potential powerful tool for accessibility.
My reason for telling you this is to give you a head’s up that posting may be a little on the light side here at Access Ability for the next few days, due to the time commitment I will need to review the large amount of web pages.
I’m not one to leave you hanging high and dry, though. Below is a recent news item related to this very subject of accessibility to web content for people with disabilities who use assistive technology. I will also follow up this with a couple more posts related to this subject before knuckling down on the research for my pending project.
An interesting article in
EContentMag
Reports on the latest efforts of the United Nations’
Global alliance working to bridge the information divide.
This article informs readers about the goals of the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID),which has global players from academia, governments, the private sector, and civil society. A strong demonstration of the commitment from the technological industry can be sensed just by noting that the current GAID chairman is Craig Barrett, the chairman of Intel.
GAID’s primary objectives span a wide spectrum, but two areas of the groups interest are discussed in the article; gaining more saturated broadband penetration in Africa and developing better technology solutions to assist people with disabilities in information access.
Explaining the group’s methodology, Sarbuland Khan, GAID's executive coordinator, said, "The goal is not that we, the UN, do it, but we try to get the partners to do it themselves and show that the UN can catalyze. We don't have the resources or the expertise, but we can convene the right people around the right table to work on these issues.”
Another source cited in the article is Daniel Aghion, executive director and co-founder of the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i), which has been working with GAID since its days as the UN’s ICT Task Force, the predecessor to GAID. In December, 2006, the United Nations adopted a convention protecting the rights of people with disabilities to education, health, labor, and other needs. The UN has encouraged all 192 of its member states to ratify this convention, because, according to Aghion, approximately ten percent of the global population has some impairment keeping them from accessing information technology.
As for the United States, Aghion says, "In the U.S., some policies have been set to address that community and are embedded in the Americans with Disabilities Act, but—as far as information technology is concerned—they have not been very actively enforced."
This goes back to the adage about laws only being as good as their enforcement. If things work as planned, the proposals GAID has set out offer some teeth for accountability towards the end of enforcement.
Again, as I’ve posted previously, the United States has yet to sign this UN convention. Please take an active role and contact the White House and your legislators, encouraging our country to sign off on this potential powerful tool for accessibility.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
May is Better Speech and Hearing Month
May 1 is often referred to as May Day. This is not to be confused with a mayday distress call or the fictional Sam “Mayday” Malone character from the TV sitcom Cheers.
May 1 is also the beginning of Better Speech and Hearing Month, according to an audiologist who wrote a letter in April to the newspaper columnist
Hints from Heloise.
While she doesn’t cite her source, this audiologist gives a figure that, if true, we should all pay attention to: about 30 million Americans have hearing loss.
Additionally, while she shares with Heloise these five low-tech tips for those who use hearing aids, they give some good guidance for all. Everybody can learn to be more aware when dealing with people who use hearing aids.
1. Listening in noisy environments is difficult. Move closer, and turn off the TV or radio before talking. (Hearing in noisy environments is the No. 1 complaint of those with hearing loss/hearing aids.)
2. Get attention. Make sure your face is visible, and avoid talking from another room.
3. Practice clear speech. Speak in a natural way, pronouncing each syllable. This automatically slows your speech and gives the listener more time to process your information.
4. Avoid cross talk when in a group. In restaurants, request that background music be turned down or off.
5. Teach children to use their "big girl/boy" voices. Lower-pitched voices are easier to hear.
Disability service professionals work with people who have a variety of disabilities including hearing loss. We should set the example and be aware of these things that make for better communication. Share these with your faculty and students.
Got any more to add to this list?
May 1 is also the beginning of Better Speech and Hearing Month, according to an audiologist who wrote a letter in April to the newspaper columnist
Hints from Heloise.
While she doesn’t cite her source, this audiologist gives a figure that, if true, we should all pay attention to: about 30 million Americans have hearing loss.
Additionally, while she shares with Heloise these five low-tech tips for those who use hearing aids, they give some good guidance for all. Everybody can learn to be more aware when dealing with people who use hearing aids.
1. Listening in noisy environments is difficult. Move closer, and turn off the TV or radio before talking. (Hearing in noisy environments is the No. 1 complaint of those with hearing loss/hearing aids.)
2. Get attention. Make sure your face is visible, and avoid talking from another room.
3. Practice clear speech. Speak in a natural way, pronouncing each syllable. This automatically slows your speech and gives the listener more time to process your information.
4. Avoid cross talk when in a group. In restaurants, request that background music be turned down or off.
5. Teach children to use their "big girl/boy" voices. Lower-pitched voices are easier to hear.
Disability service professionals work with people who have a variety of disabilities including hearing loss. We should set the example and be aware of these things that make for better communication. Share these with your faculty and students.
Got any more to add to this list?
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Interesting diversion: Assistive Technology trainer reports on adventures in Ghana
I offer a slight diversion today, kind of. Instead of offering information or resources, I want to share an on-going profile of a person who is providing disability services. However, this person is not working in DSS at a postsecondary institution. Instead, she is traveling around the African countryside near Ghana, where she is conducting assistive technology training and other related activities promoting individual advancement with blind residents and reporting her adventures on her blog.
On the pages of the
Ghana 2006-2007 Blog,
Akuwa reports on her interactions with locals as her travels take her to different points of interest.
Akuwa‘s writings are smart and intelligently written, but most of all they are interesting, particularly the April 27 post titled “The Last Few Months,” in which she tells about her most recent adventures. There are several pictures also posted on the same date individually above that post. For sighted readers, these may prove informative and interesting, especially the voodoo chief’s palace or the motorcycle driver’s voodoo paraphernalia.
I know, this is a little stretch of serving the needs of postsecondary disability support services, but it is definitely an interesting sidestreet to venture down. I’ll soon return with more of the standard fare.
On the pages of the
Ghana 2006-2007 Blog,
Akuwa reports on her interactions with locals as her travels take her to different points of interest.
Akuwa‘s writings are smart and intelligently written, but most of all they are interesting, particularly the April 27 post titled “The Last Few Months,” in which she tells about her most recent adventures. There are several pictures also posted on the same date individually above that post. For sighted readers, these may prove informative and interesting, especially the voodoo chief’s palace or the motorcycle driver’s voodoo paraphernalia.
I know, this is a little stretch of serving the needs of postsecondary disability support services, but it is definitely an interesting sidestreet to venture down. I’ll soon return with more of the standard fare.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Article offers good information about managing dyslexia
There was a recent New York Times article about dyslexia which clearly illustrated the plight of a child struggling through, and ultimately learning the resources and tools to manage this disability. It also emphasized a point I’ve often cited, that a person with a disability does not function in a vacuum. In this case, the parents of the young lady with dyslexia were also impacted, having to learn the limitations of her disability and assist her, as she grew into an understanding and acceptance of her dyslexia and what it would take to succeed despite the dyslexia.
Aptly titled
A family’s experience with dyslexia,
The article aemphasizes some statistics about dyslexia and specific tools that this family used to manage the limitations.
Some of the statistics highlighted:
*Studies have shown that dyslexic students have significantly more academic and behavioral problems than children without learning disabilities.
*One 1996 study found that 2 percent of those with learning disabilities go on to a four-year college.
*Studies have also found that adult dyslexics have a lower satisfaction with health and friends, and exhibit more psychiatric problems than non-dyslexics.
*Fewer are employed and, even if employed, hold jobs that are part-time, minimum wage and unskilled.
Some of the tools discussed for managing dyslexia included the traditional electronic speller and word processer. However, the article also praised the use of tools such as recorded textbooks from
Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic
And also using the
Write:OutLoud
Computer Program.
Aside from providing a good discussion of the progression of understanding dyslexia and what it would take for the young lady to manage it, the article paints a clear picture of what advances the skills and tools brought her in terms of comprehension and the decrease of time needed to complete her reading and writing projects.
The article offers a good general discussion on dyslexia and research currently underway to understand the cognitive functioning that goes on during reading. It also shows what a strong will and determination can bring when augmented with the right tools.
Personal footnote:
I believe the PDF Equalizer I wrote about yesterday would be another great tool to put in the tool box for a person with dyslexia. This program’s ability to convert pdf files into mp3 files would serve the same function for a student reading pdf documents as those served by the RFB&D textbooks. There seems to be a growing use of pdf documents, especially for official government reports and the like, and this would only empower students’ when researching information for class projects and papers.
Aptly titled
A family’s experience with dyslexia,
The article aemphasizes some statistics about dyslexia and specific tools that this family used to manage the limitations.
Some of the statistics highlighted:
*Studies have shown that dyslexic students have significantly more academic and behavioral problems than children without learning disabilities.
*One 1996 study found that 2 percent of those with learning disabilities go on to a four-year college.
*Studies have also found that adult dyslexics have a lower satisfaction with health and friends, and exhibit more psychiatric problems than non-dyslexics.
*Fewer are employed and, even if employed, hold jobs that are part-time, minimum wage and unskilled.
Some of the tools discussed for managing dyslexia included the traditional electronic speller and word processer. However, the article also praised the use of tools such as recorded textbooks from
Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic
And also using the
Write:OutLoud
Computer Program.
Aside from providing a good discussion of the progression of understanding dyslexia and what it would take for the young lady to manage it, the article paints a clear picture of what advances the skills and tools brought her in terms of comprehension and the decrease of time needed to complete her reading and writing projects.
The article offers a good general discussion on dyslexia and research currently underway to understand the cognitive functioning that goes on during reading. It also shows what a strong will and determination can bring when augmented with the right tools.
Personal footnote:
I believe the PDF Equalizer I wrote about yesterday would be another great tool to put in the tool box for a person with dyslexia. This program’s ability to convert pdf files into mp3 files would serve the same function for a student reading pdf documents as those served by the RFB&D textbooks. There seems to be a growing use of pdf documents, especially for official government reports and the like, and this would only empower students’ when researching information for class projects and papers.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Web site is rich resource for assistive technology
In one of my news alerts today, I found a good general listing of assistive technology. The link I've created doesn't open the page correctly, but the web site's URL is
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/assistive_tech.htm,
so copy it and check it out as it is a rich on-line resource of assistive technology.
Even though the web site’s name indicates that the targeted audience is disability service folks in the elementary and secondary school sector, the resources are useful for those serving the postsecondary student population as well.
The listed resources are useful for students with a wide variety of disabilities, including visual, hearing and learning disabilities. Make sure you have some time when you go to this site as it is brimming over with information and you’ll need that time just to look over the list, much less check out some of the linked web sites.
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/assistive_tech.htm,
so copy it and check it out as it is a rich on-line resource of assistive technology.
Even though the web site’s name indicates that the targeted audience is disability service folks in the elementary and secondary school sector, the resources are useful for those serving the postsecondary student population as well.
The listed resources are useful for students with a wide variety of disabilities, including visual, hearing and learning disabilities. Make sure you have some time when you go to this site as it is brimming over with information and you’ll need that time just to look over the list, much less check out some of the linked web sites.
PDF Equalizer makes Google Books accessible
You’ve got to hand it to the folks at
Premiere Assistive Technology
as they’ve made inroads for accessibility once again.
According to a press release for PDF Equalizer, it is easy to understand the powerful functionality of this latest offering from Premiere Assistive Technology.
From the press release:
“PDF Equalizer is a tool that can open and read aloud PDF Files in their original format without any required file conversion. It is designed so that individuals who use electronic documents can have the true "equal access" to those who use the printed version, plus a few extras. PDF Equalizer allows individuals to select and control what is being read aloud as simply as using your mouse to select the text to be read. If listening to audio of the text is beneficial to you, PDF Equalizer can also turn a PDF Document into MP3 files that individuals can listen to on their MP3/MP4 players. PDF Equalizer can convert each PDF page into a separate MP3 file so it is easy to navigate or create a playlist of the pages you want to hear.”
“PDF Equalizer is a "must have" tool for those who take distant learning classes. The superior note taking capability in PDF Equalizer is unmatched. Notes are automatically synchronized with the PDF page to help keep them organized. At any time, the user can extract all notes into a single Microsoft Word document. If you have too much to read and need to condense the amount of material, use the powerful built-in "content summarization" feature. You can summarize a single topic or an entire book. If you can't find a publication in your native language, don't worry, the translation feature built into PDF Equalizer can translate text on the fly. You can also imbed hyperlinks for direct access to the Internet and there is an integrated dictionary that allows you to immediately lookup definitions.”
This useful piece of assistive technology does more than just make access to pdf documents easy. It also makes
Google Books
Accessible. This feature alone makes the PDF Equalizer's functionality stand out alone in the field of assistive technology. No other pdf reader on the market that I am aware of does this.
If you’re not already familiar with it, check out Google Books and see what a powerful research tool it can be for students.
Google Books has been around for a little while, letting users read passages of print books on their computers, yet also protecting the publisher’s copyrights by not allowing the screen to be printed. In the past, however, it has been completely inaccessible to those who could not read the picture of the text displayed on the screen.
Now, with PDF Equalizer, all those who have been previously excluded from this rich resource can now read the print material via the web…without having to purchase the whole book.
And, like so many other titles from Premiere Assistive, PDF Equalizer is available for free as a fully functional demo so you can try it out. I’m guessing that if you try it, you’ll make that purchase. The price, like so many others from Premiere Assistive, is also reasonable—only $89.95.
If you want more information on this product, check out the official
PDF Equalizer page
On Premiere Assistive’s web site.
Finally, also from that press release, I gleaned an interesting statistic from
the National Institute for Literacy--
nearly 42 million Americans struggle with literacy.
I’m just curious how many of these people are going to college and have a diagnosis of some type of disability. My guess would be a good number of them. Even if just one percent of these were college students, that is still more than 400,000 people. And, this is yet one more tool to help provide access to material which has been previously inaccessible.
Premiere Assistive Technology
as they’ve made inroads for accessibility once again.
According to a press release for PDF Equalizer, it is easy to understand the powerful functionality of this latest offering from Premiere Assistive Technology.
From the press release:
“PDF Equalizer is a tool that can open and read aloud PDF Files in their original format without any required file conversion. It is designed so that individuals who use electronic documents can have the true "equal access" to those who use the printed version, plus a few extras. PDF Equalizer allows individuals to select and control what is being read aloud as simply as using your mouse to select the text to be read. If listening to audio of the text is beneficial to you, PDF Equalizer can also turn a PDF Document into MP3 files that individuals can listen to on their MP3/MP4 players. PDF Equalizer can convert each PDF page into a separate MP3 file so it is easy to navigate or create a playlist of the pages you want to hear.”
“PDF Equalizer is a "must have" tool for those who take distant learning classes. The superior note taking capability in PDF Equalizer is unmatched. Notes are automatically synchronized with the PDF page to help keep them organized. At any time, the user can extract all notes into a single Microsoft Word document. If you have too much to read and need to condense the amount of material, use the powerful built-in "content summarization" feature. You can summarize a single topic or an entire book. If you can't find a publication in your native language, don't worry, the translation feature built into PDF Equalizer can translate text on the fly. You can also imbed hyperlinks for direct access to the Internet and there is an integrated dictionary that allows you to immediately lookup definitions.”
This useful piece of assistive technology does more than just make access to pdf documents easy. It also makes
Google Books
Accessible. This feature alone makes the PDF Equalizer's functionality stand out alone in the field of assistive technology. No other pdf reader on the market that I am aware of does this.
If you’re not already familiar with it, check out Google Books and see what a powerful research tool it can be for students.
Google Books has been around for a little while, letting users read passages of print books on their computers, yet also protecting the publisher’s copyrights by not allowing the screen to be printed. In the past, however, it has been completely inaccessible to those who could not read the picture of the text displayed on the screen.
Now, with PDF Equalizer, all those who have been previously excluded from this rich resource can now read the print material via the web…without having to purchase the whole book.
And, like so many other titles from Premiere Assistive, PDF Equalizer is available for free as a fully functional demo so you can try it out. I’m guessing that if you try it, you’ll make that purchase. The price, like so many others from Premiere Assistive, is also reasonable—only $89.95.
If you want more information on this product, check out the official
PDF Equalizer page
On Premiere Assistive’s web site.
Finally, also from that press release, I gleaned an interesting statistic from
the National Institute for Literacy--
nearly 42 million Americans struggle with literacy.
I’m just curious how many of these people are going to college and have a diagnosis of some type of disability. My guess would be a good number of them. Even if just one percent of these were college students, that is still more than 400,000 people. And, this is yet one more tool to help provide access to material which has been previously inaccessible.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Resource explaining Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
A good primer on universal design for learning (UDL) is available as a podcast from the
Texas Assistive Technology Regional Conference 2006 Blog.
While this blog appears targeted towards special education professionals in the public school system, the offered information can be applied to a broader audience to include postsecondary education. The fundamentals of universal design are very well outlined in the
April 20 podcast.
If one changes the setting to postsecondary education, the basics of universal design can still be applied very aptly. The podcast would make a good resource to share with faculty members, especially those who want to maximally assist their students with disabilities. It also makes a sound argument the DSS staff can make to those faculty members who are a bit resistant to embracing alternative format, either delivering handouts to students in alternative methods or by accepting modifications to what expectations would constitute reasonable accommodations in the work the students submit.
The concept of universal design is one that our society as a whole can learn to embrace much better. Having this podcast as a guide supporting this argument only serves to broaden minds.
Check out the blog and see if there is any other information that you can apply to your school. There are other podcasts, including one for meeting math needs for students with a variety of learning styles. Now, I know that’s something DSS professionals can definitely relate to.
Texas Assistive Technology Regional Conference 2006 Blog.
While this blog appears targeted towards special education professionals in the public school system, the offered information can be applied to a broader audience to include postsecondary education. The fundamentals of universal design are very well outlined in the
April 20 podcast.
If one changes the setting to postsecondary education, the basics of universal design can still be applied very aptly. The podcast would make a good resource to share with faculty members, especially those who want to maximally assist their students with disabilities. It also makes a sound argument the DSS staff can make to those faculty members who are a bit resistant to embracing alternative format, either delivering handouts to students in alternative methods or by accepting modifications to what expectations would constitute reasonable accommodations in the work the students submit.
The concept of universal design is one that our society as a whole can learn to embrace much better. Having this podcast as a guide supporting this argument only serves to broaden minds.
Check out the blog and see if there is any other information that you can apply to your school. There are other podcasts, including one for meeting math needs for students with a variety of learning styles. Now, I know that’s something DSS professionals can definitely relate to.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Ebiblio Collection -- Another accessible research resource tool
I have previously posted about accessible texts available on-line. I want to add to this today by providing another resource for on-line research material that is also accessible.
Today, I want to tell you about the
Ebiblio Collection.
It is a searchable database which claims to be “the public’s library and digital archive.”
It is a collaboration of the Center for the Public Domain and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Material on this site can be located by using search terms or by categorically perusing the site’s offerings by the Universal Decimal Classification. The material the site locates is then made available by a link.
What it actually offers up is a gathering of websites that offer resources, such as the
Library of Southern Literature
and
Project Gutenberg,
Among several other sources under the American Literature heading.
I randomly explored several of the scores of headings to see what was offered on each linked page. I found from as few as three linked listings to more than ten. There was something under each heading that I checked. If that holds true for the entire site, they have indeed done some serious work in putting this site together.
This site has a solid foundation in place that gives it the potential to grow into a very strong resource for on-line research. It will be interesting to watch it grow over time.
Today, I want to tell you about the
Ebiblio Collection.
It is a searchable database which claims to be “the public’s library and digital archive.”
It is a collaboration of the Center for the Public Domain and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Material on this site can be located by using search terms or by categorically perusing the site’s offerings by the Universal Decimal Classification. The material the site locates is then made available by a link.
What it actually offers up is a gathering of websites that offer resources, such as the
Library of Southern Literature
and
Project Gutenberg,
Among several other sources under the American Literature heading.
I randomly explored several of the scores of headings to see what was offered on each linked page. I found from as few as three linked listings to more than ten. There was something under each heading that I checked. If that holds true for the entire site, they have indeed done some serious work in putting this site together.
This site has a solid foundation in place that gives it the potential to grow into a very strong resource for on-line research. It will be interesting to watch it grow over time.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Free conference--United Spinal Association
How about a free professional conference?
Well, let me restate, it is free if you preregister.
The United Spinal Association is offering that great deal for the upcoming
2007 North American Spinal Cord Injury Conference & Disability Expo,
, which will take place August 27-29 in Orlando.
Granted, this conference is for a particular target audience, but this may be of interest to some readers specifically. And, can’t we all stand to expand our horizons?
If you are not interested, or are not able to attend, but know somebody who may be, please share this information with them.
The conference will be featuring the following organizations and the programs listed:
*American Paraplegia Society
53RD Annual Conference -
* American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses
Embracing New Horizons In SCI Nursing -
*American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists & Social Workers
21ST Annual Conference -
* Therapy Leadership Council In Spinal Cord Injury
Reaching New Heights In SCI Therapy -
For more information on the participating organizations , or to preregister, go to the web site linked above.
Well, let me restate, it is free if you preregister.
The United Spinal Association is offering that great deal for the upcoming
2007 North American Spinal Cord Injury Conference & Disability Expo,
, which will take place August 27-29 in Orlando.
Granted, this conference is for a particular target audience, but this may be of interest to some readers specifically. And, can’t we all stand to expand our horizons?
If you are not interested, or are not able to attend, but know somebody who may be, please share this information with them.
The conference will be featuring the following organizations and the programs listed:
*American Paraplegia Society
53RD Annual Conference -
* American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses
Embracing New Horizons In SCI Nursing -
*American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists & Social Workers
21ST Annual Conference -
* Therapy Leadership Council In Spinal Cord Injury
Reaching New Heights In SCI Therapy -
For more information on the participating organizations , or to preregister, go to the web site linked above.
Updated: Attitudes towards people with disabilities-- Like We're Not Even Here
There is an interesting article in the
Government Technology magazine,
titled
Like We’re Not Even Here.
In it, the writer discusses the attitude of some people towards others who have visible disabilities—they talk about us like “we’re not even here.”
I think the article speaks clearly about a particular group of people, unfortunately found too often in the service industry such as cab drivers, wait staff at restaurants or hotel desk clerks. This aggravating and disrespectful attitude is displayed when the service person does not speak to the person with a disability, instead talking to the person who happens to be with him or her.
People in service professions still routinely ask the accompanying person questions such as, What would he like to drink?” or “Will she need anything special for her guide dog?” It is the unspoken attitude that the person with a disability is not capable of speaking for himself.
Whether the attitude is intentional or if it is being subconsciously voiced doesn’t really matter. It still exists.
The heart of the matter is to recognize that it exists. Only then can we change attitudes.
As a footnote to this post, when I attempted to leave a comment on the publication’s web site regarding the attitude expressed in the article, I was unable to do so. The site, like many others employs a screening technology called Captcha to filter spam from reader replies. Captcha uses a graphical image to show letters and numbers that the reader must enter into an edit field to demonstrate it is an actual person, not a spam bot, that is posting to the site. Unfortunately, screen readers, such as JAWS, do not decipher any letters or numbers. Screen readers only see a graphical image—a picture – instead of text.
Isn’t it ironic that a magazine targeted towards government technology workers, who one would think would be fully cognizant of the requirements of Section 508, has a web site that does not allow access to blind readers?
Like we're not even here.
UPDATE: 04/19/07
I emailed Gina Scott, the writer of that article and received a prompt and professional response later that same day. She acknowledged the accessibility concerns and was clear that she did not want to come across as hypocritical. It was her hope that, despite the accessibility concerns, by raising the issue, she would get the word out to "those in government who were not even aware of the issues"
No problem, Ms. Scott. I don't believe you came across as hypocritical in any manner. Enlightenment is a wonderful thing.
She was also forwarding my concerns and suggested solutions to her IT department for consideration as they are in the process of updating their web site. Here's hoping that the IT folks follow up!
I thank Ms. Scott for her time, concern, and insight.
Lastly, I received a comment that the link to the story does not work, so here is the URL to read that story:
www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=104996
(I Have tried to correct the link, but am still unable to make it work, but provide the complete URL so that readers can read Ms. Scott's meaningful article. Copy the address and paste it into your web browser. The article will then load correctly.)
Government Technology magazine,
titled
Like We’re Not Even Here.
In it, the writer discusses the attitude of some people towards others who have visible disabilities—they talk about us like “we’re not even here.”
I think the article speaks clearly about a particular group of people, unfortunately found too often in the service industry such as cab drivers, wait staff at restaurants or hotel desk clerks. This aggravating and disrespectful attitude is displayed when the service person does not speak to the person with a disability, instead talking to the person who happens to be with him or her.
People in service professions still routinely ask the accompanying person questions such as, What would he like to drink?” or “Will she need anything special for her guide dog?” It is the unspoken attitude that the person with a disability is not capable of speaking for himself.
Whether the attitude is intentional or if it is being subconsciously voiced doesn’t really matter. It still exists.
The heart of the matter is to recognize that it exists. Only then can we change attitudes.
As a footnote to this post, when I attempted to leave a comment on the publication’s web site regarding the attitude expressed in the article, I was unable to do so. The site, like many others employs a screening technology called Captcha to filter spam from reader replies. Captcha uses a graphical image to show letters and numbers that the reader must enter into an edit field to demonstrate it is an actual person, not a spam bot, that is posting to the site. Unfortunately, screen readers, such as JAWS, do not decipher any letters or numbers. Screen readers only see a graphical image—a picture – instead of text.
Isn’t it ironic that a magazine targeted towards government technology workers, who one would think would be fully cognizant of the requirements of Section 508, has a web site that does not allow access to blind readers?
Like we're not even here.
UPDATE: 04/19/07
I emailed Gina Scott, the writer of that article and received a prompt and professional response later that same day. She acknowledged the accessibility concerns and was clear that she did not want to come across as hypocritical. It was her hope that, despite the accessibility concerns, by raising the issue, she would get the word out to "those in government who were not even aware of the issues"
No problem, Ms. Scott. I don't believe you came across as hypocritical in any manner. Enlightenment is a wonderful thing.
She was also forwarding my concerns and suggested solutions to her IT department for consideration as they are in the process of updating their web site. Here's hoping that the IT folks follow up!
I thank Ms. Scott for her time, concern, and insight.
Lastly, I received a comment that the link to the story does not work, so here is the URL to read that story:
www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=104996
(I Have tried to correct the link, but am still unable to make it work, but provide the complete URL so that readers can read Ms. Scott's meaningful article. Copy the address and paste it into your web browser. The article will then load correctly.)
Monday, April 16, 2007
Job interview tips for soon to be graduates
In today’s Houston Chronicle, there is an Associated Press story titled
How to interview like a champ.
The target audience of this article, and the book it references, is soon-to-be college graduates entering the job market. The book, New Rules at Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead, by Barbara Pachter, gives advice for preparing for that all-important interview.
While I have not read the book itself, I would venture to guess that it does not address people with disabilities and the additional steps they might need to address. However, the following techniques mentioned in the article are good, practical advice for all job seekers, whether they have a disability or not.
• Be prepared. Know how to relate your relevant experience.
• Make a strong first impression. "It's more than just clothes. Do you look the person in the eye? Do you shake hands?"
• Fake it until you feel it. Behave confidently even if your knees are knocking; your interviewer won't know the difference.
• Send a thank-you note. Even a small touch can set you apart.
Those first three tips should be magnified for anybody with a disability, especially if it is a visible one.
Now, to that short list, I would like to add the following suggestions.
The first impression is so important. The emphasis on conveying confidence at that point is critical. You are asking this person to believe in you enough to select you as the most qualified candidate. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect the interviewer to do that?
Dress for success. It is much better to overdress for an interview than to underdress. Even if the job’s dress code is office casual, nobody will fault you if you interview in a sharp, pressed suit.
If your disability keeps you from doing something during the interview, such as shaking hands, don’t feel awkward about it. The interviewer may be a little uncomfortable at first, and that is when your confidence in handling these situations must be conveyed. Use your confidence as a catalyst to put the interviewer at ease.
Posture can not be overstated. Stand and sit upright, as much as your disability allows.
Be aware of any nervous habits you have and avoid these during an interview. Do not sit there picking at your nails fingers, or other areas, no matter how insignificant you think that behavior is. The interviewer is watching you to see not only what you say, but also how you respond under stress.
Visual impairments have their own unique challenges and being proactive in planning how to deal with these will give you more confidence in handling what could otherwise be awkward moments.
When you first introduce yourself to the interviewer, extend your hand to shake (if you are able). The interviewer will reach to meet your hand. This keeps the interviewer from trying to figure out how you will know his hand is extended, waiting to shake.
Eye contact is important, even if you can’t see. If a person has a visual disability, directing one’s gaze in the direction of the interviewer is still important to the interviewer.
Hand in hand with the above comment about eye contact, remember that facial expressions accompany that eye contact. It is okay to show facial expressions as you interact with the interviewer. It is okay to laugh at appropriate times. These expressions can help the interviewer look beyond the obvious and see the person, not the disability.
Finally, the last tip cited in the article-- yes, the one about sending a thank you note – applies to interviewees with disabilities as well. That can help you make an even stronger and lasting, final impression on the interviewer. Don’t delay in doing this, either. If possible, do it the evening of the day of the interview. If you need somebody to help write the note, then do it. Whatever it takes, get that final point made.
How to interview like a champ.
The target audience of this article, and the book it references, is soon-to-be college graduates entering the job market. The book, New Rules at Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead, by Barbara Pachter, gives advice for preparing for that all-important interview.
While I have not read the book itself, I would venture to guess that it does not address people with disabilities and the additional steps they might need to address. However, the following techniques mentioned in the article are good, practical advice for all job seekers, whether they have a disability or not.
• Be prepared. Know how to relate your relevant experience.
• Make a strong first impression. "It's more than just clothes. Do you look the person in the eye? Do you shake hands?"
• Fake it until you feel it. Behave confidently even if your knees are knocking; your interviewer won't know the difference.
• Send a thank-you note. Even a small touch can set you apart.
Those first three tips should be magnified for anybody with a disability, especially if it is a visible one.
Now, to that short list, I would like to add the following suggestions.
The first impression is so important. The emphasis on conveying confidence at that point is critical. You are asking this person to believe in you enough to select you as the most qualified candidate. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect the interviewer to do that?
Dress for success. It is much better to overdress for an interview than to underdress. Even if the job’s dress code is office casual, nobody will fault you if you interview in a sharp, pressed suit.
If your disability keeps you from doing something during the interview, such as shaking hands, don’t feel awkward about it. The interviewer may be a little uncomfortable at first, and that is when your confidence in handling these situations must be conveyed. Use your confidence as a catalyst to put the interviewer at ease.
Posture can not be overstated. Stand and sit upright, as much as your disability allows.
Be aware of any nervous habits you have and avoid these during an interview. Do not sit there picking at your nails fingers, or other areas, no matter how insignificant you think that behavior is. The interviewer is watching you to see not only what you say, but also how you respond under stress.
Visual impairments have their own unique challenges and being proactive in planning how to deal with these will give you more confidence in handling what could otherwise be awkward moments.
When you first introduce yourself to the interviewer, extend your hand to shake (if you are able). The interviewer will reach to meet your hand. This keeps the interviewer from trying to figure out how you will know his hand is extended, waiting to shake.
Eye contact is important, even if you can’t see. If a person has a visual disability, directing one’s gaze in the direction of the interviewer is still important to the interviewer.
Hand in hand with the above comment about eye contact, remember that facial expressions accompany that eye contact. It is okay to show facial expressions as you interact with the interviewer. It is okay to laugh at appropriate times. These expressions can help the interviewer look beyond the obvious and see the person, not the disability.
Finally, the last tip cited in the article-- yes, the one about sending a thank you note – applies to interviewees with disabilities as well. That can help you make an even stronger and lasting, final impression on the interviewer. Don’t delay in doing this, either. If possible, do it the evening of the day of the interview. If you need somebody to help write the note, then do it. Whatever it takes, get that final point made.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Texas student wins battle over accessible dorm room
A recent article on the
Campus Progress
Web site Titled
Separate but Unequal Dorms
tells about the victory of a Texas State University student who uses a wheelchair after she had to pay higher costs than other first-year students just so she could live in an accessible dorm room.
Bailey Gosda is a sophomore at TSU who uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. She has been in a nearly two-year fight with the university, in which she has contended that the university overcharged her several thousands of dollars so that she could live in a dorm room with wheelchair access. This would be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA).
In 2005, Ms. Gosda visited the campus and Residence Life told her they did not know where to house her. She asked to live in Smith Building, the traditional and most affordable dorm, but there were no rooms in the building that were wheelchair accessible. The university moved her to a single room in a more expensive dorm, explaining that she and her equipment would foreclude the possibility of having a roommate. The result was that she paid more than twice what most first-year students did.
With the assistance of an attorney from
Advocacy Inc.,
a non-profit disability rights organization based in Austin, Ms. Gosda began to take on the university.
In the article, her attorney stated that, “under the ADA, Gosda should only have to pay for what she requested—a dormitory room in a traditional building with a roommate—even if there was not a wheelchair accessible room available that fit that description.” Her attorney asked the school to repay Ms. Gosda the difference.”
This seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? It was not that simple, though, as Texas State officials drug out their opposition. Read the article linked above to understand the battles this young lady had to undertake to be proven right.
Last month, Ms. Gosda was vindicated in her battle when the euniversity offered to refund the $6,000 it had overcharged her.
Hopefully, the university administration has learned a legal lesson on providing access. That was a cheap way out for them. Had she taken this matter to court and been successful, the university could have faced more severe financial penalties.
We often sit back and naively believe we are living in enlightened times when cases such as this are no longer taking place. It is a reflection of attitude towards the law and that is as subjective as any individual. The case of Ms. Gosda could have happened at any college or university. All it takes is the right situation, such as the lack of accessible rooms in the traditional dorm, and the subsequent boneheaded ignorance taken by somebody withing the university to not see the right thing to do, in this case it was to give her the accessible room at the rate of the traditional dorm room.
It is the responsibility of all DSS professionals to educate and enlighten. I would hope that the university consulted their ADA coordinator for an opinion before taking such a foolish and indefensible stance. It doesn't sound like they did, though.
Campus Progress
Web site Titled
Separate but Unequal Dorms
tells about the victory of a Texas State University student who uses a wheelchair after she had to pay higher costs than other first-year students just so she could live in an accessible dorm room.
Bailey Gosda is a sophomore at TSU who uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. She has been in a nearly two-year fight with the university, in which she has contended that the university overcharged her several thousands of dollars so that she could live in a dorm room with wheelchair access. This would be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA).
In 2005, Ms. Gosda visited the campus and Residence Life told her they did not know where to house her. She asked to live in Smith Building, the traditional and most affordable dorm, but there were no rooms in the building that were wheelchair accessible. The university moved her to a single room in a more expensive dorm, explaining that she and her equipment would foreclude the possibility of having a roommate. The result was that she paid more than twice what most first-year students did.
With the assistance of an attorney from
Advocacy Inc.,
a non-profit disability rights organization based in Austin, Ms. Gosda began to take on the university.
In the article, her attorney stated that, “under the ADA, Gosda should only have to pay for what she requested—a dormitory room in a traditional building with a roommate—even if there was not a wheelchair accessible room available that fit that description.” Her attorney asked the school to repay Ms. Gosda the difference.”
This seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? It was not that simple, though, as Texas State officials drug out their opposition. Read the article linked above to understand the battles this young lady had to undertake to be proven right.
Last month, Ms. Gosda was vindicated in her battle when the euniversity offered to refund the $6,000 it had overcharged her.
Hopefully, the university administration has learned a legal lesson on providing access. That was a cheap way out for them. Had she taken this matter to court and been successful, the university could have faced more severe financial penalties.
We often sit back and naively believe we are living in enlightened times when cases such as this are no longer taking place. It is a reflection of attitude towards the law and that is as subjective as any individual. The case of Ms. Gosda could have happened at any college or university. All it takes is the right situation, such as the lack of accessible rooms in the traditional dorm, and the subsequent boneheaded ignorance taken by somebody withing the university to not see the right thing to do, in this case it was to give her the accessible room at the rate of the traditional dorm room.
It is the responsibility of all DSS professionals to educate and enlighten. I would hope that the university consulted their ADA coordinator for an opinion before taking such a foolish and indefensible stance. It doesn't sound like they did, though.
Library site aware of need to address accessible web content
On a blog named
Library Stories,
Which is targeted towards library professionals, there was a recent post about
Web content and meeting the needs of students with disabilities,
particularly pointing out the need for compliance to Section 508.
The author of that post had the insight to point out that students needing consideration in web content are not only blind, but that list includes students whose disabilities are:
• Blindness / low vision
• Dyslexia
• Deaf / hard of hearing
• Limited Mobility
• Epilepsy
• Cognitive impairments
Whatever trends develop over the course of the coming years, one constant will remain-- students with disabilities will continue to go to college and need accommodations at their school’s library. Accessible texts and web sites are two of the primary concerns that will continue to need to be addressed.
Library Stories,
Which is targeted towards library professionals, there was a recent post about
Web content and meeting the needs of students with disabilities,
particularly pointing out the need for compliance to Section 508.
The author of that post had the insight to point out that students needing consideration in web content are not only blind, but that list includes students whose disabilities are:
• Blindness / low vision
• Dyslexia
• Deaf / hard of hearing
• Limited Mobility
• Epilepsy
• Cognitive impairments
Whatever trends develop over the course of the coming years, one constant will remain-- students with disabilities will continue to go to college and need accommodations at their school’s library. Accessible texts and web sites are two of the primary concerns that will continue to need to be addressed.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Second part of Marcus Engel interview is now posted
Okay, so you went to the
Disability 411
Site a couple of weeks ago and downloaded the interview I did with
Marcus Engel,
Or at least downloaded the transcript to see what Marcus is all about. Then, you felt like you were left hanging on a cliff because it suddenly ended, all due to the interviewer, namely me, running long on the interview.
Never fear. Beth Case has been busily working and you can now go to the
Disability 411
Site and get the second part of that interview.
Now that you see how easy it is to conduct and submit an interview or product review, why don’t you take Beth up on her offer and submit one to Disability 411 yourself. I think she would appreciate a variety of topics and is giving a lot of latitude for submissions. Besides, it is your shot at getting your moment in the sun. And, who knows, you might tap into an interest that you didn’t know you were good at until you did that submission.
Disability 411
Site a couple of weeks ago and downloaded the interview I did with
Marcus Engel,
Or at least downloaded the transcript to see what Marcus is all about. Then, you felt like you were left hanging on a cliff because it suddenly ended, all due to the interviewer, namely me, running long on the interview.
Never fear. Beth Case has been busily working and you can now go to the
Disability 411
Site and get the second part of that interview.
Now that you see how easy it is to conduct and submit an interview or product review, why don’t you take Beth up on her offer and submit one to Disability 411 yourself. I think she would appreciate a variety of topics and is giving a lot of latitude for submissions. Besides, it is your shot at getting your moment in the sun. And, who knows, you might tap into an interest that you didn’t know you were good at until you did that submission.
Medicare and power wheelchairs
There is an interesting article posted on
AlterNet.org
About
Medicare keeping the door shut on the disabled.
The gist of the article concerns Medicare and its policy to either pay or not pay for power wheelchairs. The answer lies in the results of a strict checklist. The bone of contention is that “it boils down to one question: Does the patient need a wheelchair inside the home?”
According to the article, “If you can limp 10 feet to the bathroom, or move from the refrigerator to the sink to make dinner, then Medicare will not cover a power wheelchair, even if you can't walk down the block to the grocery store for the food in the first place.”
This approach seems almost like a silly argument, one that makes no sense in the broader scope of individual needs. If a person is barely functional in their home, but can manage just a little bit, then Medicare says, “Well then…you certainly don’t need a power wheelchair,” even though providing such an assistive device may enable the person to get out of the house and get a job.
Compound this with individual pride and the innate quality of people trying to show they can do as much as they can, demonstrating their will to be strong in light of a disabling condition, even when this demonstration of will is at the reviewing athority who will report their findings of the individual's ability/disability to Medicare? When showing they can walk ten feet, no matter how much is done with a limp or the level of pain they endure when doing this, will be the very deciding factor that will shoot that person in their all-------too-able foot.
Wouldn’t it make sense to empower a person by providing the tool that would give him the potential to go to work and have private employer-provided health insurance, getting him off of Medicare as a result?
I don’t consider myself a liberal, nor a bleeding heart, but I am a passionate defender of rights of people with disabilities. However, I am also a tax-paying citizen and also understand the need for Medicare to protect its budgetary constraints, carefully scrutinizing the criteria for incidents when they will pay for a person’s expensive piece of assistive technology. However, there should be a more common sense review to consider when Medicare will fund these items.
The article illustrates clearly that items such as this which Medicare reigns over with a tight fist often goes unnoticed by legislators, as it is not a big hit on the political radar screen. In time, though, I believe this will change with the graying boomer population and the effects of this aging bringing on a variety of disabling conditions. Medicare’s ability to be so stringent in its governance for power wheelchairs may change as does the age of our population.
AlterNet.org
About
Medicare keeping the door shut on the disabled.
The gist of the article concerns Medicare and its policy to either pay or not pay for power wheelchairs. The answer lies in the results of a strict checklist. The bone of contention is that “it boils down to one question: Does the patient need a wheelchair inside the home?”
According to the article, “If you can limp 10 feet to the bathroom, or move from the refrigerator to the sink to make dinner, then Medicare will not cover a power wheelchair, even if you can't walk down the block to the grocery store for the food in the first place.”
This approach seems almost like a silly argument, one that makes no sense in the broader scope of individual needs. If a person is barely functional in their home, but can manage just a little bit, then Medicare says, “Well then…you certainly don’t need a power wheelchair,” even though providing such an assistive device may enable the person to get out of the house and get a job.
Compound this with individual pride and the innate quality of people trying to show they can do as much as they can, demonstrating their will to be strong in light of a disabling condition, even when this demonstration of will is at the reviewing athority who will report their findings of the individual's ability/disability to Medicare? When showing they can walk ten feet, no matter how much is done with a limp or the level of pain they endure when doing this, will be the very deciding factor that will shoot that person in their all-------too-able foot.
Wouldn’t it make sense to empower a person by providing the tool that would give him the potential to go to work and have private employer-provided health insurance, getting him off of Medicare as a result?
I don’t consider myself a liberal, nor a bleeding heart, but I am a passionate defender of rights of people with disabilities. However, I am also a tax-paying citizen and also understand the need for Medicare to protect its budgetary constraints, carefully scrutinizing the criteria for incidents when they will pay for a person’s expensive piece of assistive technology. However, there should be a more common sense review to consider when Medicare will fund these items.
The article illustrates clearly that items such as this which Medicare reigns over with a tight fist often goes unnoticed by legislators, as it is not a big hit on the political radar screen. In time, though, I believe this will change with the graying boomer population and the effects of this aging bringing on a variety of disabling conditions. Medicare’s ability to be so stringent in its governance for power wheelchairs may change as does the age of our population.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Resources for accessible, alternative texts
I want to share a gathering of sources for accessible, alternative texts.
For a broad catalog of texts in the public domain, there is always,
Project Gutenberg,
The “first producer of free electronic books (ebooks).”
Did you know that Project Gutenberg has 20,000 books in its on-line book catalog?
Did you know that more than two million electronic books are downloaded each month from the Project Gutenberg web site?
If you don’t want to download the books individually from Project Gutenberg, you can always do like the New York Times reporter did and pay to get a
CD of more than 10,000 books.
(Of course, you are very likely to wind up like the reporter and have a lot more books than the ones you originally wanted, and many in languages other than that which you speak.)
Additionally, there is also the
Internet Archive,
A web-based warehouse of multi-media internet information, including offerings from several libraries that includes more than 100,000 books.
As an alternative to accessible text, there is also,
LibriVox,
A web site providing free audio books from the public domain.
Whichever method you get them, just know that these resources are available for finding accessible, alternative format texts.
For a broad catalog of texts in the public domain, there is always,
Project Gutenberg,
The “first producer of free electronic books (ebooks).”
Did you know that Project Gutenberg has 20,000 books in its on-line book catalog?
Did you know that more than two million electronic books are downloaded each month from the Project Gutenberg web site?
If you don’t want to download the books individually from Project Gutenberg, you can always do like the New York Times reporter did and pay to get a
CD of more than 10,000 books.
(Of course, you are very likely to wind up like the reporter and have a lot more books than the ones you originally wanted, and many in languages other than that which you speak.)
Additionally, there is also the
Internet Archive,
A web-based warehouse of multi-media internet information, including offerings from several libraries that includes more than 100,000 books.
As an alternative to accessible text, there is also,
LibriVox,
A web site providing free audio books from the public domain.
Whichever method you get them, just know that these resources are available for finding accessible, alternative format texts.
A brief discussion of the role of DSS professionals
There’s an old saying, “Nothing succeeds like success,” which can be aptly applied to the profession of disability support services. Sure this applies to the particular accommodations, but there is more that DSS professionals can provide their students. The students can find the skills to manage their disabilities through on-going dialogue with DSS staff and a comfortable place to discuss the challenges they face.
Take for instance, the recent success story about the
CSUN’s Center on Disabilities.
This article illustrates very clearly that a student’s disability is not a sole entity. There are conpounding elements that accompany many disabilities, such as the case of the woman first mentioned in the article with a bipolar disability.
I particularly like that the article pointed out that the center “guides disabled students into finding a cohesive, effective and comfortable style for managing the difficulties that can grow out of a disability.”
While some may argue that the job of DSS staff is to provide only those accommodations needed to meet the students' needs, I disagree. There are some students who have not learned to manage their disability or their lifestyle with consideration for the demands the disability places on it. As the primary point of contact for a student who has very often just begun life out on his/her own, does it not make some sense for the DSS staff to help provide guidance and education to help the students be more successful in their day-to-day lives when they leave your school?
This is clearly the case for DSS professionals at community colleges, where students who graduate from there will often need to go onto an upper level institution to earn a marketable degree. When those students move up, shouldn’t they have the skills in place to successfully manage their lifestyles outside of the classroom? Who better to aid in providing that foundation than the DSS staff?
I know this is a bit of a tangent, but I truly believe that success breeds success. That was the point of the article and it sparked this train of thought from me. If you agree or disagree, please feel free to let me know by leaving a comment.
Take for instance, the recent success story about the
CSUN’s Center on Disabilities.
This article illustrates very clearly that a student’s disability is not a sole entity. There are conpounding elements that accompany many disabilities, such as the case of the woman first mentioned in the article with a bipolar disability.
I particularly like that the article pointed out that the center “guides disabled students into finding a cohesive, effective and comfortable style for managing the difficulties that can grow out of a disability.”
While some may argue that the job of DSS staff is to provide only those accommodations needed to meet the students' needs, I disagree. There are some students who have not learned to manage their disability or their lifestyle with consideration for the demands the disability places on it. As the primary point of contact for a student who has very often just begun life out on his/her own, does it not make some sense for the DSS staff to help provide guidance and education to help the students be more successful in their day-to-day lives when they leave your school?
This is clearly the case for DSS professionals at community colleges, where students who graduate from there will often need to go onto an upper level institution to earn a marketable degree. When those students move up, shouldn’t they have the skills in place to successfully manage their lifestyles outside of the classroom? Who better to aid in providing that foundation than the DSS staff?
I know this is a bit of a tangent, but I truly believe that success breeds success. That was the point of the article and it sparked this train of thought from me. If you agree or disagree, please feel free to let me know by leaving a comment.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Landmark College,specifically serving students with learning disabilities and AD/HD
For a long time, I have only known of one postsecondary school dedicated to serving a distinct population of students with a particular disability—
Gallaudet University,
The reknowned liberal arts university serving deaf and hard of hearing students.
That all changed this past week, when I learned about
Landmark College,
In Putney, Vermont, which bills itself as, “The premier college for students with learning disabilities and AD/HD.”
According to the college’s “About” page:
“While many colleges offer special programs for students with learning difficulties, Landmark College is one of the only accredited colleges in the United States designed exclusively for students with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), or other specific learning disabilities. “
“Why does Landmark's approach succeed? Because we take a different path. We teach the skills and strategies necessary for success in college and the workforce.”
In addition to the on-line databases, DVD and CD recordings, plus the more than 30,000 printed texts, the Landmark College library also boasts more than 550 course texts formatted for Kurzweil. The library also possesses a learning disability and AD/HD research collection chock full of books, videos, and journals, which the web site claims is one of the most extensive in the nation.
Take some time to check out the Landmark College web site linked above and explore the information on the various pages. (I especially like the informational resources one can glean from the library’s page.) Their web site should serve well as an additional resource for providing services to your LD and AD/HD students.
Gallaudet University,
The reknowned liberal arts university serving deaf and hard of hearing students.
That all changed this past week, when I learned about
Landmark College,
In Putney, Vermont, which bills itself as, “The premier college for students with learning disabilities and AD/HD.”
According to the college’s “About” page:
“While many colleges offer special programs for students with learning difficulties, Landmark College is one of the only accredited colleges in the United States designed exclusively for students with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), or other specific learning disabilities. “
“Why does Landmark's approach succeed? Because we take a different path. We teach the skills and strategies necessary for success in college and the workforce.”
In addition to the on-line databases, DVD and CD recordings, plus the more than 30,000 printed texts, the Landmark College library also boasts more than 550 course texts formatted for Kurzweil. The library also possesses a learning disability and AD/HD research collection chock full of books, videos, and journals, which the web site claims is one of the most extensive in the nation.
Take some time to check out the Landmark College web site linked above and explore the information on the various pages. (I especially like the informational resources one can glean from the library’s page.) Their web site should serve well as an additional resource for providing services to your LD and AD/HD students.
Good Resource for selecting the right hearing aid
For the uninitiated, or just for a real good primer on hearing aids,
HealtyWorld
offers a
Guide to Selecting the Right Hearing Aid.
While the site is a bit cluttered, once you skip through the headings and links, the article is really quite informative about the different aspects of the various types of hearing aids that are available.
HealtyWorld
offers a
Guide to Selecting the Right Hearing Aid.
While the site is a bit cluttered, once you skip through the headings and links, the article is really quite informative about the different aspects of the various types of hearing aids that are available.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Utah State showcasing features of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0
There is an interesting article in The Utah Statesman, the newspaper of Utah State University, about an upcoming series showcasing the
Functional applications of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0.
The purpose of this event, sponsored by the university’s Assistive Learning Technology Center, is to demonstrate how the speech-to-text application can be used by people with a broad range of disabilities, but won’t stop at just that. Jacob Miller, the coordinator of the center is promoting it as software that can be used by anybody. He claims that Dragon has helped him improve his typing speed by 430%, although he considered himself a decent typist even before using it.
The article goes on to give some pretty strong endorsements from other users of the assisstive technology software, emphasizing different features of the program that one might not know about unless he were a regular user of it. This also serves to demonstrate the applicability of the software across a wide range of disabilities.
One point Miller makes about the broader use of this specific program is that the state of Iowa now requires high school students to learn how to use it. Hmmm. Interesting concept there, mandating use of assistive technology by all students.
Miller also discusses a possible alternative use of Dragon in that article which my former colleague and I had begun to explore last year----------- using Dragon to provide real-time captioning of a professor's lecture on a deaf student’s laptop.
Aside from providing a good informational article about Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0, the concept of having an open series of events where all students are encouraged to stop by to see what this powerful software can do is a fresh idea for an innovative outreach program. In a world where good ideas are often sought out and emulated, I think this is one definitely worth a repeat.
Good work, Mr. Miller.
Functional applications of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0.
The purpose of this event, sponsored by the university’s Assistive Learning Technology Center, is to demonstrate how the speech-to-text application can be used by people with a broad range of disabilities, but won’t stop at just that. Jacob Miller, the coordinator of the center is promoting it as software that can be used by anybody. He claims that Dragon has helped him improve his typing speed by 430%, although he considered himself a decent typist even before using it.
The article goes on to give some pretty strong endorsements from other users of the assisstive technology software, emphasizing different features of the program that one might not know about unless he were a regular user of it. This also serves to demonstrate the applicability of the software across a wide range of disabilities.
One point Miller makes about the broader use of this specific program is that the state of Iowa now requires high school students to learn how to use it. Hmmm. Interesting concept there, mandating use of assistive technology by all students.
Miller also discusses a possible alternative use of Dragon in that article which my former colleague and I had begun to explore last year----------- using Dragon to provide real-time captioning of a professor's lecture on a deaf student’s laptop.
Aside from providing a good informational article about Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0, the concept of having an open series of events where all students are encouraged to stop by to see what this powerful software can do is a fresh idea for an innovative outreach program. In a world where good ideas are often sought out and emulated, I think this is one definitely worth a repeat.
Good work, Mr. Miller.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
IBM develops Accessibility Browser
To further enhance accessibility for people who are visually impaired, IBM will soon release
The Accessibility Browser.
The multimedia browser, also called the “A-Browser,” is set on giving people with visual impairments the same control over their browser’s content as their sighted counterparts, and will do so without interfering with the functionality of talking screen readers. There is a specific concentration on content compatible with the Real player and Windows Media Player.
Information from the BBC news article linked above states:
“By using the A-Browser, the visually-impaired person can control media content by using preset shortcut keys instead of having to seek the control buttons using a mouse. The browser also allows the users to slow down or increase the speed of the video. The volume controls let user adjust the sound of various sources in parallel. Frances West, director of IBM’s Human Ability and Accessibility Centre said.”
“IBM says it should be available later this year and hopes that it will be free.”
The A-Browser’s developer, Dr. Chieko Asakawa,is a blind employee of IBM who designed the browser in response to the growing amount of web content she was unable to access.
Now, if somebody would only do something similar with that darn, embedded Flash content.
The Accessibility Browser.
The multimedia browser, also called the “A-Browser,” is set on giving people with visual impairments the same control over their browser’s content as their sighted counterparts, and will do so without interfering with the functionality of talking screen readers. There is a specific concentration on content compatible with the Real player and Windows Media Player.
Information from the BBC news article linked above states:
“By using the A-Browser, the visually-impaired person can control media content by using preset shortcut keys instead of having to seek the control buttons using a mouse. The browser also allows the users to slow down or increase the speed of the video. The volume controls let user adjust the sound of various sources in parallel. Frances West, director of IBM’s Human Ability and Accessibility Centre said.”
“IBM says it should be available later this year and hopes that it will be free.”
The A-Browser’s developer, Dr. Chieko Asakawa,is a blind employee of IBM who designed the browser in response to the growing amount of web content she was unable to access.
Now, if somebody would only do something similar with that darn, embedded Flash content.
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities seeks better Section 508 enforcement
On March 14, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities sent a
letter to United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales,
asking for better enforcement of Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.
The heart of their complaint reads as follows:
“While specific federal agency compliance with the procurement and Internet accessibility requirements of Sec. 508 is enforced through the complaint and procurement processes particular to each agency in question, the Justice Department has the responsibility to issue periodic reports on compliance with these requirements across agencies generally (29 USC 794d(d)(2)). This reporting function, which is to occur biennially, has consistently fallen behind schedule and, as of this writing, is well over four years past due. We note that, at least with respect to the need to monitor federal agency compliance with Sec. 508's Internet accessibility requirements, the data collection has already been completed by the General Services Administration and simply awaits evaluation. Surely the Department can, at a minimum, muster the relatively modest resources required to complete analysis and publication of findings during this calendar year.”
This letter emphasizes a simple point: No matter how well they are written, regulations are only as good as their enforcement.
The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a Coalition of more than 100 national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations headquartered in Washington, D.C. (A list of members is available at
www.c-c-d.org.)
Since 1973, the CCD has advocated on behalf of people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities and their families. CCD has worked to achieve federal legislation and regulations that assure that the 54 million children and adults with disabilities are fully integrated into the mainstream of society.
If you are not already familiar with the CCD, check out their web page and book mark it. It may serve you well later as a very qualified resource.
letter to United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales,
asking for better enforcement of Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.
The heart of their complaint reads as follows:
“While specific federal agency compliance with the procurement and Internet accessibility requirements of Sec. 508 is enforced through the complaint and procurement processes particular to each agency in question, the Justice Department has the responsibility to issue periodic reports on compliance with these requirements across agencies generally (29 USC 794d(d)(2)). This reporting function, which is to occur biennially, has consistently fallen behind schedule and, as of this writing, is well over four years past due. We note that, at least with respect to the need to monitor federal agency compliance with Sec. 508's Internet accessibility requirements, the data collection has already been completed by the General Services Administration and simply awaits evaluation. Surely the Department can, at a minimum, muster the relatively modest resources required to complete analysis and publication of findings during this calendar year.”
This letter emphasizes a simple point: No matter how well they are written, regulations are only as good as their enforcement.
The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a Coalition of more than 100 national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations headquartered in Washington, D.C. (A list of members is available at
www.c-c-d.org.)
Since 1973, the CCD has advocated on behalf of people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities and their families. CCD has worked to achieve federal legislation and regulations that assure that the 54 million children and adults with disabilities are fully integrated into the mainstream of society.
If you are not already familiar with the CCD, check out their web page and book mark it. It may serve you well later as a very qualified resource.
Monday, April 02, 2007
New bar codes could offer assistive technology promise
An interesting advent in cell phone technology looms promisingly on the horizon for people with disabilities.
In this New York Times news article , read how
New bar codes can talk with your cell phone.
(The article includes a link for watching a demonstration of this software.)
According to the Times article:
“It sounds like something straight out of a futuristic film: House hunters, driving past a for-sale sign, stop and point their cellphone at the sign. With a click, their cellphone screen displays the asking price, the number of bedrooms and baths and lots of other details about the house. “
“Media experts say that cellphones, the Swiss Army knives of technology, are quickly heading in this direction. New technology, already in use in parts of Asia but still in development in the United States, allows the phones to connect everyday objects with the Internet.”
“In their new incarnation, cellphones become a sort of digital remote control, as one CBS executive put it. With a wave, the phone can read encoded information on everyday objects and translate that into videos, pictures or text files on its screen.”
So you wonder what this has to do with Access Ability and providing disability support services. Read on and allow me to explain.
The trick for making this venture work on a broad scope, of course, will be companies seeing value in incorporating this technology into their products. If enough companies do this, then the use of these new bar codes will spread. I’m predicting that this is a foregone conclusion and we will soon be seeing more and more of these bar codes. Remember, you read that here first!
That same thought about manufacturers finding value to make it worth their while goes for incorporating this feature into the field of assistive technology. They have to see the practical value in it.
Right off the top of my head, I can think of one aspect where a student buys the hard copy of a text book, uses her cell phone to gather the new bar code, and is instantly given the authorization for downloading the electronic version of the text. The accessible version can then be downloaded onto the phone and, with further innovation in cell phone technology, the book might also be read right there on the phone.
To ensure that it is actually a student with a disability who is accessing this material, this might be incorporated into a two-step process where, after entering the bar code from the book, the user is required to do the same with a publisher-issued identification card given to users of their accessible material.
This entire process can save much time for the publishers and, as time is money, the company can see profit by expediting the whole process of obtaining accessible material from a publisher. The student can also save time and have instant access to the material, an almost incomprehensible thought in many previous situations. Granted, it is a little pipe dreamy as we all know how tight the publishers hang onto their copyrighted material.
However, that proposed scenario is not too far off from being able to be realized today. There are a growing number of software applications that will run on cell phones, which already allow users to play audio files. The audio version of text material is great for some students with learning disabilities and the phone makes an ideal utilitarian tool. Additionally, two software models of screen readers already exist that allow blind people to access many features that appear on the visual display of many phones.
What is to prevent the actualization of making the cell phone progress even further, grabbing the informational leaps enabled by the new bar codes, complementing them with additional features that the assistive technology can make accessible to students with disabilities, and allowing a never before seen level of usability of information on a cell phone?
The only answer to that question may be limited thinking on behalf of the companies that have the technology and materials. If they do not think of the innovations like the one I proposed with the e-text authorization, then it is up to DSS professionals to share these ideas. If the tech companies won’t think outside of the mainstream box, we may have to pull them out.
In this New York Times news article , read how
New bar codes can talk with your cell phone.
(The article includes a link for watching a demonstration of this software.)
According to the Times article:
“It sounds like something straight out of a futuristic film: House hunters, driving past a for-sale sign, stop and point their cellphone at the sign. With a click, their cellphone screen displays the asking price, the number of bedrooms and baths and lots of other details about the house. “
“Media experts say that cellphones, the Swiss Army knives of technology, are quickly heading in this direction. New technology, already in use in parts of Asia but still in development in the United States, allows the phones to connect everyday objects with the Internet.”
“In their new incarnation, cellphones become a sort of digital remote control, as one CBS executive put it. With a wave, the phone can read encoded information on everyday objects and translate that into videos, pictures or text files on its screen.”
So you wonder what this has to do with Access Ability and providing disability support services. Read on and allow me to explain.
The trick for making this venture work on a broad scope, of course, will be companies seeing value in incorporating this technology into their products. If enough companies do this, then the use of these new bar codes will spread. I’m predicting that this is a foregone conclusion and we will soon be seeing more and more of these bar codes. Remember, you read that here first!
That same thought about manufacturers finding value to make it worth their while goes for incorporating this feature into the field of assistive technology. They have to see the practical value in it.
Right off the top of my head, I can think of one aspect where a student buys the hard copy of a text book, uses her cell phone to gather the new bar code, and is instantly given the authorization for downloading the electronic version of the text. The accessible version can then be downloaded onto the phone and, with further innovation in cell phone technology, the book might also be read right there on the phone.
To ensure that it is actually a student with a disability who is accessing this material, this might be incorporated into a two-step process where, after entering the bar code from the book, the user is required to do the same with a publisher-issued identification card given to users of their accessible material.
This entire process can save much time for the publishers and, as time is money, the company can see profit by expediting the whole process of obtaining accessible material from a publisher. The student can also save time and have instant access to the material, an almost incomprehensible thought in many previous situations. Granted, it is a little pipe dreamy as we all know how tight the publishers hang onto their copyrighted material.
However, that proposed scenario is not too far off from being able to be realized today. There are a growing number of software applications that will run on cell phones, which already allow users to play audio files. The audio version of text material is great for some students with learning disabilities and the phone makes an ideal utilitarian tool. Additionally, two software models of screen readers already exist that allow blind people to access many features that appear on the visual display of many phones.
What is to prevent the actualization of making the cell phone progress even further, grabbing the informational leaps enabled by the new bar codes, complementing them with additional features that the assistive technology can make accessible to students with disabilities, and allowing a never before seen level of usability of information on a cell phone?
The only answer to that question may be limited thinking on behalf of the companies that have the technology and materials. If they do not think of the innovations like the one I proposed with the e-text authorization, then it is up to DSS professionals to share these ideas. If the tech companies won’t think outside of the mainstream box, we may have to pull them out.
April is Autism Awareness Month
The
Autism in Connecticut
Blog site reminds us that April is autism awareness month.
This blog makes a good autism resource and is sponsored by the Autism Society of Connecticut. It offers a good assortment of news and information for issues dealing with autism, including grants, training opportunities, and other available resources.
In a related bit of news, I wrote a post several weeks ago about Amanda Baggs, a woman with autism, and her
Ballastexistenz
Blog.
If you haven’t been following her web site, she has more to say. Her most recent posting is an interesting passage about describing autism to others. She discusses what autism is like for her as it pertains to interacting with people versus objects. Check it out for an enlightened perspective of what life is like for a person with autism.
Also, you might want to check out Ms. Baggs' March 31 posting about the real barriers in communication. In it, she discusses using text-to-speech software on a laptop (and other assistive technology) as a means for communicating with others. This concept is actually not too far-fetched. Think about it. She is unable to communicate in a method that most people understand, but by typing her thoughts on a computer, it can speak via the text-to-speech software and act as a translator, enabling all to communicate. That type of thinking is a good idea to keep in mind when facing a problematic situation where additional resources are needed.
As a reminder, Ms. Baggs Describes herself as a “non-speaking physically disabled and autistic woman. Again, I proclaim that for someone who is “non-speaking,” she sure has a lot to say and says it most eloquently.
Autism in Connecticut
Blog site reminds us that April is autism awareness month.
This blog makes a good autism resource and is sponsored by the Autism Society of Connecticut. It offers a good assortment of news and information for issues dealing with autism, including grants, training opportunities, and other available resources.
In a related bit of news, I wrote a post several weeks ago about Amanda Baggs, a woman with autism, and her
Ballastexistenz
Blog.
If you haven’t been following her web site, she has more to say. Her most recent posting is an interesting passage about describing autism to others. She discusses what autism is like for her as it pertains to interacting with people versus objects. Check it out for an enlightened perspective of what life is like for a person with autism.
Also, you might want to check out Ms. Baggs' March 31 posting about the real barriers in communication. In it, she discusses using text-to-speech software on a laptop (and other assistive technology) as a means for communicating with others. This concept is actually not too far-fetched. Think about it. She is unable to communicate in a method that most people understand, but by typing her thoughts on a computer, it can speak via the text-to-speech software and act as a translator, enabling all to communicate. That type of thinking is a good idea to keep in mind when facing a problematic situation where additional resources are needed.
As a reminder, Ms. Baggs Describes herself as a “non-speaking physically disabled and autistic woman. Again, I proclaim that for someone who is “non-speaking,” she sure has a lot to say and says it most eloquently.
Friday, March 30, 2007
CSUN assistive technology update
Okay, This is more like it.
Over the course of the past several days, Ranger1138 has posted a good bit of information on
The Ranger Station
about his trip to CSUN last week.
One of the most interesting items he posted relates to the Juliet Pro braille embosser. If you happen to have one of these embossers in your home or office, then you know what a noise maker this machine can be. You may want to pay particular attention to what Ranger1138 had to say about his best of show selection, a case for the Juliet Pro by Enabling Technologies, which cuts out a lot of the machine’s noise.
Aside from that recognition, Ranger 1138 provides a good collection of links for additional information on a variety of products that were displayed. Check out what this “dude in the assistive technology industry” has to say...he's worth listening to.
Over the course of the past several days, Ranger1138 has posted a good bit of information on
The Ranger Station
about his trip to CSUN last week.
One of the most interesting items he posted relates to the Juliet Pro braille embosser. If you happen to have one of these embossers in your home or office, then you know what a noise maker this machine can be. You may want to pay particular attention to what Ranger1138 had to say about his best of show selection, a case for the Juliet Pro by Enabling Technologies, which cuts out a lot of the machine’s noise.
Aside from that recognition, Ranger 1138 provides a good collection of links for additional information on a variety of products that were displayed. Check out what this “dude in the assistive technology industry” has to say...he's worth listening to.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Flash animation and assistive technology
Is it just me, or has there been a recent explosion by web designers to incorporate Flash plug ins on their websites?
Perhaps Macromedia, the makers of the Flash animation product, have put on a full court press to promote a broader use of their application.
Whatever the reason, Flash seems to be flourishing on the web in the past several weeks. On top of that, in most cases, the controls for the Flash features are just the generic buttons with no description to what their functions are, leaving blind users of screen readers wondering what in the heck those buttons do. So, not only is Flash spreading like wildfire, the ignorance about accessibility is being incorporated in the fold as it does so.
I don’t think that most web designers have any idea that Flash is a difficult speedbump for users of screen readers. It is so much of a problem that Freedom Scientific’s JAWS screen reader includes a function to disable Flash animation when using the web browser.
Speaking purely anecdotally, I have noticed a large number of websites in just the past month that have begun embedding Flash animation as a means to spiff up their sites. I notice it because it makes it difficult for me to read their site’s content. On one newspaper’s site, if I had not been reading the site for the years that I have, I would have not known how the site was laid out and, as a result, when they employed Flash animation about three weeks ago, I would not have been able to read the news without taking a slow and time-consuming method of reading one line at a time with the down arrow. Even then, I don’t know how well the Flash animation would have interfered with JAWS.
Don’t misunderstand my complaint. I’m not a new JAWS user who might be unfamiliar with the program’s operation. I’ve been using this product for more than 10 years and am using the latest version. Also, I’m not a rookie in understanding how to maximize the efficiency of JAWS. I have often been called upon by friends who are also JAWS users for technical assistance.
I’m just noticing a glut of embedded Flash animation that is making my life difficult. I can’t speak for users of other assistive technology software such as screen magnifiers or other brands of screen readers, but I would think that this is affecting their access to web sites as well.
I just read an interesting post related to this subject on a new blog called ,
Aspirants.
It is only the second post on the blog, but seems well written and offers good insight to understanding web design.
Hopefully, future web designers will initiate some insight and think about the users of their products as somebody besides the typical, sighted consumer. Universal design would make their web pages readable by a broader audience. Isn’t more traffic what most creators of web content want? There are methods for creating accessible Flash animation. I’ve posted about some training on this specific subject here on previous occasions.
Finally, so you don’t think this post is purely a personal vent, look at your school’s web pages. Are they employing Flash as part of their effort to have the latest in whiz-bang technology? Is it accessible? Does it meet Section 508 standards?
Pardon any self indulgence on this subject, but it is a concern that I see as a growing trend and not dissipating in the near future.
My hope is that the understanding that Flash can be used successfully and also be accessible will begin to spread as fast as the use of Flash has been on the web.
Perhaps Macromedia, the makers of the Flash animation product, have put on a full court press to promote a broader use of their application.
Whatever the reason, Flash seems to be flourishing on the web in the past several weeks. On top of that, in most cases, the controls for the Flash features are just the generic buttons with no description to what their functions are, leaving blind users of screen readers wondering what in the heck those buttons do. So, not only is Flash spreading like wildfire, the ignorance about accessibility is being incorporated in the fold as it does so.
I don’t think that most web designers have any idea that Flash is a difficult speedbump for users of screen readers. It is so much of a problem that Freedom Scientific’s JAWS screen reader includes a function to disable Flash animation when using the web browser.
Speaking purely anecdotally, I have noticed a large number of websites in just the past month that have begun embedding Flash animation as a means to spiff up their sites. I notice it because it makes it difficult for me to read their site’s content. On one newspaper’s site, if I had not been reading the site for the years that I have, I would have not known how the site was laid out and, as a result, when they employed Flash animation about three weeks ago, I would not have been able to read the news without taking a slow and time-consuming method of reading one line at a time with the down arrow. Even then, I don’t know how well the Flash animation would have interfered with JAWS.
Don’t misunderstand my complaint. I’m not a new JAWS user who might be unfamiliar with the program’s operation. I’ve been using this product for more than 10 years and am using the latest version. Also, I’m not a rookie in understanding how to maximize the efficiency of JAWS. I have often been called upon by friends who are also JAWS users for technical assistance.
I’m just noticing a glut of embedded Flash animation that is making my life difficult. I can’t speak for users of other assistive technology software such as screen magnifiers or other brands of screen readers, but I would think that this is affecting their access to web sites as well.
I just read an interesting post related to this subject on a new blog called ,
Aspirants.
It is only the second post on the blog, but seems well written and offers good insight to understanding web design.
Hopefully, future web designers will initiate some insight and think about the users of their products as somebody besides the typical, sighted consumer. Universal design would make their web pages readable by a broader audience. Isn’t more traffic what most creators of web content want? There are methods for creating accessible Flash animation. I’ve posted about some training on this specific subject here on previous occasions.
Finally, so you don’t think this post is purely a personal vent, look at your school’s web pages. Are they employing Flash as part of their effort to have the latest in whiz-bang technology? Is it accessible? Does it meet Section 508 standards?
Pardon any self indulgence on this subject, but it is a concern that I see as a growing trend and not dissipating in the near future.
My hope is that the understanding that Flash can be used successfully and also be accessible will begin to spread as fast as the use of Flash has been on the web.
Interview with Marcus Engel
As hoped, I have an announcement to make.
My interview with Marcus Engel is now posted on the
Disability 411 blog.
Well, sort of. The interviewer got a little chatty and the interview ran long, so Show 38 is the first half of my interview with Marcus, a dynamic and interesting professional speaker and author.
So, what are you doing reading this? Go on over and check out Beth Case’s blog and download the interview. Also, make sure to come back to her site later for part 2!
My interview with Marcus Engel is now posted on the
Disability 411 blog.
Well, sort of. The interviewer got a little chatty and the interview ran long, so Show 38 is the first half of my interview with Marcus, a dynamic and interesting professional speaker and author.
So, what are you doing reading this? Go on over and check out Beth Case’s blog and download the interview. Also, make sure to come back to her site later for part 2!
Friday, March 23, 2007
More CSUN information
Here are a couple more notes about the CSUN conference.
On the SpeEdChange blog, Ira Socol shares an interesting understanding of one conference session attended about the
Accessible Technology Initiative
That exists within the California State University system.
In the blog post, Ira said that it was, “rough to listen to - university administrators being so fond of acronyms that most of their speech is incomprehensible to anyone outside the system - but it was well worth listening to because every school, at every level, in every nation, will need to perform similar tasks very soon.”
These tasks include “web Accessibility, instructional Materials, technology Procurement, and library Materials, with the goal of a Universal Design-based system fully in place and operating by 2012.”
Universal design integrated as part of an education system’s mission. Now, that’s a great idea!
Ira also has other postings from CSUN on the
SpeEdChange blog Home page
That you might want to check out.
Also, if you want more information about what is going on at CSUN right now, perhaps the best thing to do is visit the
CSUN conference site,
produced by Lets Go Expo. Here, you can find the latest, most up to date CSUN information, names of featured presenters, and sessions being presented. There is even a link that will allow you to view webcasts from the event. So, if you couldn’t make it to CSUN, you may still be able to take in the happenings from the privacy of your home or office.
Its just a thought, but wouldn’t it be nice if these webcasts were archived for future access?
Watch for more posts here about CSUN as it is available.
On the SpeEdChange blog, Ira Socol shares an interesting understanding of one conference session attended about the
Accessible Technology Initiative
That exists within the California State University system.
In the blog post, Ira said that it was, “rough to listen to - university administrators being so fond of acronyms that most of their speech is incomprehensible to anyone outside the system - but it was well worth listening to because every school, at every level, in every nation, will need to perform similar tasks very soon.”
These tasks include “web Accessibility, instructional Materials, technology Procurement, and library Materials, with the goal of a Universal Design-based system fully in place and operating by 2012.”
Universal design integrated as part of an education system’s mission. Now, that’s a great idea!
Ira also has other postings from CSUN on the
SpeEdChange blog Home page
That you might want to check out.
Also, if you want more information about what is going on at CSUN right now, perhaps the best thing to do is visit the
CSUN conference site,
produced by Lets Go Expo. Here, you can find the latest, most up to date CSUN information, names of featured presenters, and sessions being presented. There is even a link that will allow you to view webcasts from the event. So, if you couldn’t make it to CSUN, you may still be able to take in the happenings from the privacy of your home or office.
Its just a thought, but wouldn’t it be nice if these webcasts were archived for future access?
Watch for more posts here about CSUN as it is available.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
News article illustrates need for colleges to have service animal policy
Here is an interesting news article about a
Tenessee man’s experience with his service dog ,
including the challenges he encountered when attempting to go to class.
On the surface, the news article appears to be a human interest feature demonstrating the man’s adaptation to changing life situations. However, it is ultimately an illustration of the difficulties all sides face when a university does not have a service animal policy in place. The student faced hardships and barriers that should not have to be encountered in this enlightened 21st century where we have the Americans with Disabilities Act as a guide. Additionally, due to lack of foresight and proactive policies, the university looked Ill-prepared to manage a situation that had a common sense response.
Although this man trained his service dog himself, the article reports that she is registered with the
Service Animal Registry of America,
SARA, an apparently respectable and qualified resource for this type of information. The organization’s web site could serve well as a resource one might want to bookmark for future reference.
This story very clearly points out the fact that service animals are not always those used by blind people.
A few paragraphs from that story:
“With attending a public university that has no service animal policy, Michleski was met with hesitation and some disapproval from those who had never encountered a four-legged addition to a student that was not a pet. “
“Michleski explained how he was confronted by certain university officials concerning the use of Maggie and initially was escorted off of campus by safety and security until the matter could be resolved.”
“After deliberation between the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Michleski and UTM, the student was eventually allowed back on campus with a temporary policy in place exclusively for Michleski's situation. “
Again, this paints a very ugly picture of what can happen for everybody when a college isn’t prepared.
So, how about your school? Does it have a service animal policy?
Tenessee man’s experience with his service dog ,
including the challenges he encountered when attempting to go to class.
On the surface, the news article appears to be a human interest feature demonstrating the man’s adaptation to changing life situations. However, it is ultimately an illustration of the difficulties all sides face when a university does not have a service animal policy in place. The student faced hardships and barriers that should not have to be encountered in this enlightened 21st century where we have the Americans with Disabilities Act as a guide. Additionally, due to lack of foresight and proactive policies, the university looked Ill-prepared to manage a situation that had a common sense response.
Although this man trained his service dog himself, the article reports that she is registered with the
Service Animal Registry of America,
SARA, an apparently respectable and qualified resource for this type of information. The organization’s web site could serve well as a resource one might want to bookmark for future reference.
This story very clearly points out the fact that service animals are not always those used by blind people.
A few paragraphs from that story:
“With attending a public university that has no service animal policy, Michleski was met with hesitation and some disapproval from those who had never encountered a four-legged addition to a student that was not a pet. “
“Michleski explained how he was confronted by certain university officials concerning the use of Maggie and initially was escorted off of campus by safety and security until the matter could be resolved.”
“After deliberation between the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Michleski and UTM, the student was eventually allowed back on campus with a temporary policy in place exclusively for Michleski's situation. “
Again, this paints a very ugly picture of what can happen for everybody when a college isn’t prepared.
So, how about your school? Does it have a service animal policy?
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
CSUN conference on Technology and People with Disabilities
If you haven’t noticed, it is time for the 22nd annual CSUN Conference on Technology and People with Disabilities.
Maybe you know all too well that the conference is going on, but due to some scheduling or funding conflict, you aren’t able to attend the highly-anticipated California State University event.
Fear not, as there are a variety of resources to keep you up on the happenings at what is often simply referred to as "CSUN."
As I’ve reported here before,
EASI,
The website for Equal Access to Software and Information, is going to upload podcasts on the
EASI podcast conference page.
Bookmark that site and check back regularly or subscribe to the feed to keep up to date on the latest postings from CSUN. Also, you might want to check out the previously posted podcasts from last year’s CSUN for some good informational resources, including Learning Disabilities and Postsecondary Education.)
Two credible bloggers are also reporting with current posts from the conference as well.
Jeff Bishop, from the Main Menu program On the American Council of the Blind’s ACBRadio, is posting his CSUN observations on his blog
The Desert Skies.
As a matter of fact, he has already posted his first CSUN entry.
Additionally, if you’re interested in podcasts, Jeff has also posted information about how to subscribe to his podcast feed for more in depth discussion about what he takes in at the conference.
And, finally, Ranger1138, another favorite blogger of mine on the subject of assistive technology, is also at the event and posting to his blog,
The Ranger Station.
Sorry, Ranger, you’re running behind. Jeff’s already posting from CSUN. Better hurry up and log on.
So, if you’re not at CSUN, check out these resources for updates. And, if you have others to share, please leave a reply and share them.
Maybe you know all too well that the conference is going on, but due to some scheduling or funding conflict, you aren’t able to attend the highly-anticipated California State University event.
Fear not, as there are a variety of resources to keep you up on the happenings at what is often simply referred to as "CSUN."
As I’ve reported here before,
EASI,
The website for Equal Access to Software and Information, is going to upload podcasts on the
EASI podcast conference page.
Bookmark that site and check back regularly or subscribe to the feed to keep up to date on the latest postings from CSUN. Also, you might want to check out the previously posted podcasts from last year’s CSUN for some good informational resources, including Learning Disabilities and Postsecondary Education.)
Two credible bloggers are also reporting with current posts from the conference as well.
Jeff Bishop, from the Main Menu program On the American Council of the Blind’s ACBRadio, is posting his CSUN observations on his blog
The Desert Skies.
As a matter of fact, he has already posted his first CSUN entry.
Additionally, if you’re interested in podcasts, Jeff has also posted information about how to subscribe to his podcast feed for more in depth discussion about what he takes in at the conference.
And, finally, Ranger1138, another favorite blogger of mine on the subject of assistive technology, is also at the event and posting to his blog,
The Ranger Station.
Sorry, Ranger, you’re running behind. Jeff’s already posting from CSUN. Better hurry up and log on.
So, if you’re not at CSUN, check out these resources for updates. And, if you have others to share, please leave a reply and share them.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
COAT, The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology
All you outlaws, take note; there is a new sherrif in town.
COAT, the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, is a newly united gathering of established disability organizations working as a single entity to persuade the “powers that be” of the information technology sector, that providing accessibility is the right thing to do.
(I just learned about this worthy endeavor through Teri Adams’
Crip Chronicles,
An intelligent, thought-provoking blog written from her unique and interesting perspective on the world. I came across the Crip Chronicles through a news alert, but have found it compelling enough reading that I’ve included it in my regular RSS feeds. Check it out, I think you’ll find Teri’s writing interesting and worth your while.)
While the
official COAT press release
is dated December 17, 2007, I'm guessing that the year is a typo and it was probably issued this past December. Even if you find this to be a bit of old news, it is nonetheless an interesting gathering of some of the major disability rights organizations gathered for a single cause. You can see this list at the end of the press release.
The press release reads as follows:
Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology Launched For Full Disability Access in the 21st Century
WASHINGTON, March 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Get your COAT! Today, a new coalition of disability organizations was launched to advocate for legislative and regulatory safeguards that will ensure full access by people with disabilities to evolving high speed broadband, wireless and other Internet protocol (IP) technologies. The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, or "COAT," consists of over 45 national, regional, and community-based organizations dedicated to making sure that as our nation migrates from legacy public switched-based telecommunications to more versatile and innovative IP-based and other communication technologies, people with disabilities will not be left behind. Emerging digital and Internet-based technologies can provide people with disabilities with new opportunities for greater independence,integration, and privacy, but only if these are designed to be accessible.
The guiding principle of this Coalition will be to ensure the full inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of daily living through accessible, affordable and usable communication technologies as these continue to evolve. To this end, and in order to achieve equal access in the 21st century, COAT has identified the following initial broad objectives:
* Extend current disability protections under Sections 255 and 710 of the Communications Act to IP technologies with improved accountability and enforcement measures, to ensure more accessibility, usability and interoperability for all persons with disabilities, including persons who are aging.
* Expand the scope of devices that must transmit and display closed captions under the Decoder Circuitry Act from the present requirement of television sets with screens that are 13 inches or larger to video devices of all sizes, including recording and playback devices, that are designed to receive or display digital and Internet programming.
* Apply existing captioning obligations under Section 713 of the Communications Act to IPTV and other types of multi-channel video programming services that are commercially distributed over the Internet.
* Restore the video description rules originally promulgated by the FCC in 2000 (overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit) and ensure that this access continues in the transition to digital television programming.
* Extend existing relay service obligations under Section 225 of the Communications Act to VoIP providers (i.e., extend the obligation to contribute to the interstate relay fund that supports these services), including obligations for greater outreach to consumers.
* Require accessible interfaces on video programming and playback devices, such as televisions, VCRs, and DVD players.
* Ensure that people with disabilities have equivalent access to emergency information through identification of barriers and implementation of solutions in current and new technologies, including solutions for achieving access by people with disabilities to 911 emergency PSAPs through the receipt of text and video.
* Ensure universal service fund availability for persons with disabilities (e.g., Lifeline/Link-up programs), to increase the number of people with disabilities as broadband users.
The above objectives were recommended in a report released by the National Council on Disability: The Need for Federal Legislation and Regulation Prohibiting Telecommunications and Information Services Discrimination, available at
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2006/discrimination.htm
(released
December 16, 2007).
COAT MEMBERS*
National organizations
1. Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
2. Alliance for Technology Access
3. American Association of People with Disabilities
4. American Association of the Deaf-Blind
5. American Council of the Blind
6. American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association
7. American Foundation for the Blind
8. American Society for Deaf Children
9. Assistive Technology Industry Association
10. Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs
11. Association of Late-Deafened Adults
12. Communication Service for the Deaf
13. Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf
14. Deafness Research Foundation
15. Deaf Seniors of America
16. Gallaudet University
17. Gallaudet University Alumni Association
18. Hearing Loss Association of America
19. Helen Keller National Center
20. Inclusive Technologies
21. International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet
22. National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
23. National Association of the Deaf
24. National Black Deaf Advocates
25. National Catholic Office of the Deaf
26. National Court Reporters Association
27. National Cued Speech Association
28. Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
29. Speech Communication Assistance by Telephone, Inc.
30. Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc.
31. USA Deaf Sports Federation
32. WGBH Media Access Group
33. World Institute on Disability
Regional and Community-Based Organizations
1. Association of Late Deafened Adults, East Bay - Northern California
2. Center on Deafness - Inland Empire
3. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center, Inc. Fresno
4. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center, Inc. Roanoke, Virginia
5. Deaf Community Services of San Diego, Inc.
6. Deaf Counseling, Advocacy and Referral Agency, San Leandro
7. Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness
8. Hearing Loss of Northwest Indiana Support Group for Hoosiers
9. Northern California Center on Deafness
10. North Carolina Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities
11. Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons
12. Orange County Deaf Equal Access Foundation
13. Roanoke Valley Club of the Deaf
14. San Diego - Hearing Loss Network
15. Tri-County GLAD
COAT, the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, is a newly united gathering of established disability organizations working as a single entity to persuade the “powers that be” of the information technology sector, that providing accessibility is the right thing to do.
(I just learned about this worthy endeavor through Teri Adams’
Crip Chronicles,
An intelligent, thought-provoking blog written from her unique and interesting perspective on the world. I came across the Crip Chronicles through a news alert, but have found it compelling enough reading that I’ve included it in my regular RSS feeds. Check it out, I think you’ll find Teri’s writing interesting and worth your while.)
While the
official COAT press release
is dated December 17, 2007, I'm guessing that the year is a typo and it was probably issued this past December. Even if you find this to be a bit of old news, it is nonetheless an interesting gathering of some of the major disability rights organizations gathered for a single cause. You can see this list at the end of the press release.
The press release reads as follows:
Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology Launched For Full Disability Access in the 21st Century
WASHINGTON, March 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Get your COAT! Today, a new coalition of disability organizations was launched to advocate for legislative and regulatory safeguards that will ensure full access by people with disabilities to evolving high speed broadband, wireless and other Internet protocol (IP) technologies. The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, or "COAT," consists of over 45 national, regional, and community-based organizations dedicated to making sure that as our nation migrates from legacy public switched-based telecommunications to more versatile and innovative IP-based and other communication technologies, people with disabilities will not be left behind. Emerging digital and Internet-based technologies can provide people with disabilities with new opportunities for greater independence,integration, and privacy, but only if these are designed to be accessible.
The guiding principle of this Coalition will be to ensure the full inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of daily living through accessible, affordable and usable communication technologies as these continue to evolve. To this end, and in order to achieve equal access in the 21st century, COAT has identified the following initial broad objectives:
* Extend current disability protections under Sections 255 and 710 of the Communications Act to IP technologies with improved accountability and enforcement measures, to ensure more accessibility, usability and interoperability for all persons with disabilities, including persons who are aging.
* Expand the scope of devices that must transmit and display closed captions under the Decoder Circuitry Act from the present requirement of television sets with screens that are 13 inches or larger to video devices of all sizes, including recording and playback devices, that are designed to receive or display digital and Internet programming.
* Apply existing captioning obligations under Section 713 of the Communications Act to IPTV and other types of multi-channel video programming services that are commercially distributed over the Internet.
* Restore the video description rules originally promulgated by the FCC in 2000 (overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit) and ensure that this access continues in the transition to digital television programming.
* Extend existing relay service obligations under Section 225 of the Communications Act to VoIP providers (i.e., extend the obligation to contribute to the interstate relay fund that supports these services), including obligations for greater outreach to consumers.
* Require accessible interfaces on video programming and playback devices, such as televisions, VCRs, and DVD players.
* Ensure that people with disabilities have equivalent access to emergency information through identification of barriers and implementation of solutions in current and new technologies, including solutions for achieving access by people with disabilities to 911 emergency PSAPs through the receipt of text and video.
* Ensure universal service fund availability for persons with disabilities (e.g., Lifeline/Link-up programs), to increase the number of people with disabilities as broadband users.
The above objectives were recommended in a report released by the National Council on Disability: The Need for Federal Legislation and Regulation Prohibiting Telecommunications and Information Services Discrimination, available at
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2006/discrimination.htm
(released
December 16, 2007).
COAT MEMBERS*
National organizations
1. Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
2. Alliance for Technology Access
3. American Association of People with Disabilities
4. American Association of the Deaf-Blind
5. American Council of the Blind
6. American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association
7. American Foundation for the Blind
8. American Society for Deaf Children
9. Assistive Technology Industry Association
10. Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs
11. Association of Late-Deafened Adults
12. Communication Service for the Deaf
13. Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf
14. Deafness Research Foundation
15. Deaf Seniors of America
16. Gallaudet University
17. Gallaudet University Alumni Association
18. Hearing Loss Association of America
19. Helen Keller National Center
20. Inclusive Technologies
21. International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet
22. National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
23. National Association of the Deaf
24. National Black Deaf Advocates
25. National Catholic Office of the Deaf
26. National Court Reporters Association
27. National Cued Speech Association
28. Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
29. Speech Communication Assistance by Telephone, Inc.
30. Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc.
31. USA Deaf Sports Federation
32. WGBH Media Access Group
33. World Institute on Disability
Regional and Community-Based Organizations
1. Association of Late Deafened Adults, East Bay - Northern California
2. Center on Deafness - Inland Empire
3. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center, Inc. Fresno
4. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center, Inc. Roanoke, Virginia
5. Deaf Community Services of San Diego, Inc.
6. Deaf Counseling, Advocacy and Referral Agency, San Leandro
7. Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness
8. Hearing Loss of Northwest Indiana Support Group for Hoosiers
9. Northern California Center on Deafness
10. North Carolina Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities
11. Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons
12. Orange County Deaf Equal Access Foundation
13. Roanoke Valley Club of the Deaf
14. San Diego - Hearing Loss Network
15. Tri-County GLAD
Thursday, March 08, 2007
New game device may be promising as assistive technology
There is interesting news in computer gaming that may have broader future applications as an assistive technology peripheral device.
At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Emotiv Systems introduced a breakthrough brain-computer interface system that allows the game player to interact using only their thoughts and facial expressions with the computer via a helmet wired to the pc.
The Project Epoch
Reflects the user’s facial expressions and excitement/calmness level, and also allows the person to move computer objects with their thoughts.
According to the article linked above:
“Sensors in the helmet pick up on electric signals in the brain. The system software analyzes the signals emitted by the brain and then wirelessly relays what it detects to a receiver. The receiver is plugged into the USB port of a game console or PC, according to Randy Breen, Emotiv's chief product officer.”
“As with handwriting or voice recognition, the machine itself has a learning curve, improving as it better understands what the player is thinking, but there is also a skill level involving visualization on the part of the gamer.”
Can you imagine the potential of this system if it were applied to a situation where the person were quadraplegic or missing a limb? I’m sure there are other uses that can be realized, but these are the ones that immediately came to my mind when I read this news. By Joining the functionality that the Project Epoch employs with the latest innovations in robotics, a person with some particular disabilities can see a quality of life that could only be dreamed about in previous times.
Early anecdotal feedback of the Project Epoch System reports that children do better using this device than adults. Might this be due to the ability of children to imagine possibilities beyond their normal limitations? If this feedback is correct, and this system can be used in the situations I’ve described above, then it would be essential to instill the belief in the person with a disability that he/she can do things that were previously impossible. Come to think of it, that's not necessarily a bad state of mind for any of us to have.
At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Emotiv Systems introduced a breakthrough brain-computer interface system that allows the game player to interact using only their thoughts and facial expressions with the computer via a helmet wired to the pc.
The Project Epoch
Reflects the user’s facial expressions and excitement/calmness level, and also allows the person to move computer objects with their thoughts.
According to the article linked above:
“Sensors in the helmet pick up on electric signals in the brain. The system software analyzes the signals emitted by the brain and then wirelessly relays what it detects to a receiver. The receiver is plugged into the USB port of a game console or PC, according to Randy Breen, Emotiv's chief product officer.”
“As with handwriting or voice recognition, the machine itself has a learning curve, improving as it better understands what the player is thinking, but there is also a skill level involving visualization on the part of the gamer.”
Can you imagine the potential of this system if it were applied to a situation where the person were quadraplegic or missing a limb? I’m sure there are other uses that can be realized, but these are the ones that immediately came to my mind when I read this news. By Joining the functionality that the Project Epoch employs with the latest innovations in robotics, a person with some particular disabilities can see a quality of life that could only be dreamed about in previous times.
Early anecdotal feedback of the Project Epoch System reports that children do better using this device than adults. Might this be due to the ability of children to imagine possibilities beyond their normal limitations? If this feedback is correct, and this system can be used in the situations I’ve described above, then it would be essential to instill the belief in the person with a disability that he/she can do things that were previously impossible. Come to think of it, that's not necessarily a bad state of mind for any of us to have.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Assistive technology roundup-- lots of news
I’ve discovered a lot of information about assistive technology in the news of late. Instead of writing individual posts about each item, I thought I’d do a more comprehensive AT round up. So, head ‘em up and move ‘em out, here we go!
Some of the more innovative uses of assistive technology are its applications at the
Center for the Intrepid,
the newly opened, state of the art rehab facility for severely burned and injured soldiers, located near San Antonio, Texas.
In what other setting might one find a firing range simulator as an application of assistive technology to aid in physical rehabilitation?
Although this isn’t exactly postsecondary DSS, these novel applications of AT are landmarks and are assisting a most worthy audience. These soldiers have sacrificed for our freedom and liberty, so let’s give them the best that we can for their recovery.
Voice of America
has been a mainstay on the airwaves of many countries across the globe for several decades. I only knew of this pro-democracy radio network through reading about it in books and history class. I’ve never actually tuned my radio in to a VOA broadcast. However, in this modern internet age, one doesn’t need a radio to listen to VOA. They provide on-line webcasts and podcasts, including accessible transcripts of these shows.
NO, Access Ability has not been commandeered as a shill for the U.S. government.
My reason for writing about VOA is that they recently aired a broadcast on
Assistive technology.
This was actually the third in a four-part series on people with disabilities. The first part aired in January and was on education, while February’s was about employment. If you missed these prior broadcasts and want to check them out, VOA has them archived at
voaspecialenglish.com.
If you don’t like the voice of America, then you might like to go to Japan where
The sidewalks talk.
The Associated Press article linked above reports that Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district has embedded 1,200 computer chips, transmitting information to receivers in portable media players that shoppers carry around their necks. The Tokyo Ubiquitous Technology Project, one of several applications of this AT across Japan, sends information about the shops that the users are strolling near to the media devices that also feature a small video screen.
“In front of Mitsukoshi Department Store, a voice explained how a statue of a lion has long been the store's trademark. Cross the street to Nissan Motor Co.'s showroom, and the gadget automatically switched to a chip at the showroom. "Welcome to Nissan Ginza gallery," a woman who appears on the video screen says. By pushing buttons on the device, the user can see additional information, such as a map or a historical photo.”
The use of technology such as this presents itself as an accessible , guided tour for the user, even if they are visually impaired. It has been previously employed in a similar fashion at national blindness conferences by
Talking Signs Inc.,
And is also akin to those already in place at some museums and national landmarks such as the Franklin D. Roosevelt monument in Washington DC.
The final piece of AT news that I want to share is about
Dadnab - Transit at your fingertips.
This is a melding of information technology that brings transit schedules to a user via text message. The assistive technology is brought about when it is information gathered by a blind user needing to know his/her bus or train route and has a cell phone with either the Talks or Mobile Speak screen readers.
This last application of AT was gained via
Wayne’s blog,
the personal blog of Wayne Merritt, a technology trainer at the Criss Cole Blind rehabilitation Center in Austin. Read Wayne’s post on Dadnab to fully understand and appreciate how this tech fusion can bring quick information access to a blind commuter relying on a city’s metro service for transportation.
That 'bout wraps up today's assistive technology roundup, pardner. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
Some of the more innovative uses of assistive technology are its applications at the
Center for the Intrepid,
the newly opened, state of the art rehab facility for severely burned and injured soldiers, located near San Antonio, Texas.
In what other setting might one find a firing range simulator as an application of assistive technology to aid in physical rehabilitation?
Although this isn’t exactly postsecondary DSS, these novel applications of AT are landmarks and are assisting a most worthy audience. These soldiers have sacrificed for our freedom and liberty, so let’s give them the best that we can for their recovery.
Voice of America
has been a mainstay on the airwaves of many countries across the globe for several decades. I only knew of this pro-democracy radio network through reading about it in books and history class. I’ve never actually tuned my radio in to a VOA broadcast. However, in this modern internet age, one doesn’t need a radio to listen to VOA. They provide on-line webcasts and podcasts, including accessible transcripts of these shows.
NO, Access Ability has not been commandeered as a shill for the U.S. government.
My reason for writing about VOA is that they recently aired a broadcast on
Assistive technology.
This was actually the third in a four-part series on people with disabilities. The first part aired in January and was on education, while February’s was about employment. If you missed these prior broadcasts and want to check them out, VOA has them archived at
voaspecialenglish.com.
If you don’t like the voice of America, then you might like to go to Japan where
The sidewalks talk.
The Associated Press article linked above reports that Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district has embedded 1,200 computer chips, transmitting information to receivers in portable media players that shoppers carry around their necks. The Tokyo Ubiquitous Technology Project, one of several applications of this AT across Japan, sends information about the shops that the users are strolling near to the media devices that also feature a small video screen.
“In front of Mitsukoshi Department Store, a voice explained how a statue of a lion has long been the store's trademark. Cross the street to Nissan Motor Co.'s showroom, and the gadget automatically switched to a chip at the showroom. "Welcome to Nissan Ginza gallery," a woman who appears on the video screen says. By pushing buttons on the device, the user can see additional information, such as a map or a historical photo.”
The use of technology such as this presents itself as an accessible , guided tour for the user, even if they are visually impaired. It has been previously employed in a similar fashion at national blindness conferences by
Talking Signs Inc.,
And is also akin to those already in place at some museums and national landmarks such as the Franklin D. Roosevelt monument in Washington DC.
The final piece of AT news that I want to share is about
Dadnab - Transit at your fingertips.
This is a melding of information technology that brings transit schedules to a user via text message. The assistive technology is brought about when it is information gathered by a blind user needing to know his/her bus or train route and has a cell phone with either the Talks or Mobile Speak screen readers.
This last application of AT was gained via
Wayne’s blog,
the personal blog of Wayne Merritt, a technology trainer at the Criss Cole Blind rehabilitation Center in Austin. Read Wayne’s post on Dadnab to fully understand and appreciate how this tech fusion can bring quick information access to a blind commuter relying on a city’s metro service for transportation.
That 'bout wraps up today's assistive technology roundup, pardner. I hope you enjoyed the ride.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Kidney Early Evaluation Program offering free screenings
Until I read a recent letter in
Dear Abby
about the National Kidney Foundation sponsoring the
Kidney Early Evaluation Program,
or KEEP, I was unaware that such a program even existed.
However, now that I am aware of it, I can work to pass along the news of this great screening program in hopes that the news gets disseminated even further.
March 8 is World Kidney Day and it is the day that the NKF is offering these free screenings.
According to the author of the letter in Dear Abby, 20 million, or 1 out of every 9, adults in America have chronic kidney disease and another 20 million are at risk of it.
KEEP is offering free evaluations to people at high risk of kidney disease and has been doing this since the year 2000. Those at high risk include those with diabetes and high blood pressure, two of the leading causes of kidney disease, as well as a family history of kidney disease. The screening is able to find symptoms of kidney disease that might otherwise go undetected with traditional screenings and tests most patients undergo.
To locate the nearest center offering screenings,, check out
www.keeponline.org
or call 800-622-9010.
Awareness is preventative medicine at its best, so please share the news of this screening to those you know that may be at high risk of kidney disease.
Dear Abby
about the National Kidney Foundation sponsoring the
Kidney Early Evaluation Program,
or KEEP, I was unaware that such a program even existed.
However, now that I am aware of it, I can work to pass along the news of this great screening program in hopes that the news gets disseminated even further.
March 8 is World Kidney Day and it is the day that the NKF is offering these free screenings.
According to the author of the letter in Dear Abby, 20 million, or 1 out of every 9, adults in America have chronic kidney disease and another 20 million are at risk of it.
KEEP is offering free evaluations to people at high risk of kidney disease and has been doing this since the year 2000. Those at high risk include those with diabetes and high blood pressure, two of the leading causes of kidney disease, as well as a family history of kidney disease. The screening is able to find symptoms of kidney disease that might otherwise go undetected with traditional screenings and tests most patients undergo.
To locate the nearest center offering screenings,, check out
www.keeponline.org
or call 800-622-9010.
Awareness is preventative medicine at its best, so please share the news of this screening to those you know that may be at high risk of kidney disease.
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