May 2012.
UK government intend to introduce dramatic changes to how pupils with disabilities obtain support at school and college.
It all sounds like it is addressing long-standing concerns about the
current system, but as with everything the current government now does,
you just can't help but worry that there's a hidden agenda, which is a
real shame.
March 2012.
.
UK Government review of Copyright
and Intellectual Property legislation is likely to have an impact on
access to print information by disabled people.
Students need access to a wide range of
print-based information to be able to participate in higher education.
Students who are blind or partially sighted or who have a severe
physical disability are often unable to access these materials, simply
because they are unable to see to read or cannot physically hold and
manipulate text books. Advances in assistive technology aids mean that
there are usually strategies available that could, in theory, allow
access to most print-based materials, but copyright laws often
place barriers that are difficult or impossible to remove.
For example, a blind student might need to use a course textbook that
she cannot see to read. The textbook exists in an accessible electronic
format at the publishers, but copyright law does not allow the student
to obtain this copy. Instead she has to use a scanner to convert the
book into into an accessible form, or arrange to have someone to read
it aloud to her.
A student with a physical disability that impairs dexterity is unable
to hold and manipulate a large course text book, but can manipulate
electronic versions of texts when using a computer or portable eBook
reader. The book is available in electronic format but cannot be
released due to copyright laws. As a result, the student has to risk
asking someone to break the law by scanning the book into electronic
form for him, or has to rely on someone being available to hold the
book and turn the pages for him.
TechDis say
"he Government is proposing changes to copyright and intellectual
property laws ... proposals follow recommendations made in the
2011 Hargreaves Review
... This consultation will frame copyright laws and licences for many
years to come so it is important that the voices of disabled learners -
and the people supporting their educational experiences - are heard",
They have produced a '
simple how to guide' to help people respond to the consultation. Consultation closes on 21 March 2012.
BBC continues to show informed, watchable documentaries that happen to focus on attitudes to disabilities.
So far this year we've had the brilliant
Deaf Teens Hearing World, which anyone who works in higher education should really try to watch when it's on again. Just tonight we've had a re-run of
Are You Having a Laugh? TV and Disability along with
Rita Simons: My Daughter, Deafness and Me.
Mass Challenge 2012 encourages developers of new assistive technology.
"
Perkins School for the Blind
will offer an additional $25,000 of grants via the Perkins Assistive
Technology Prize to encourage participants in MassChallenge to develop
new, low- and high-technology devices that could make a significant
impact on the quality of life for people with disabilities."
While there are already several 'bare bones' low cost and very
compact computers available, this device appears to have captured the
imagination. It could inspire a new generation of coders, some of whom
could go on to develop potentiallly low-cost assistive
technology aids.
This BBC article lists other 'bare bones' computers. Of course, people who have been coding for the
Arduino over the past few years will wonder what the fuss is about.
February 2012.
Understanding how working memory problems impact on learning.
Weakness in working memory is a key indicator of a profile of specific
learning difficulties. Working memory problems can also be present in
people diagnosed with mental health difficulties and chronic medical
conditions.
Assessors need to ensure they are making
informed decisions when recommending strategies for students diagnosed
with working memory problems. The article
How does working memory work in the classroom?
is a useful analysis of how working memory problems can affect
school-age pupils, but assessors need to consider how this information
can be translated to be of relevance to adult education. Strategies
that minimise distraction in lectures are likely to be most effective
e.g. reducing the need to take notes by allowing recordings to be made
and ensuring students are able to prepare for the session by reviewing
copies of boardnotes and slides in advance. Strategies that encourage
the risk of distraction, such as encouraging typing of notes for all
but the most competent touch-typist, are likely to fail. Another useful
article is
Memory and reading to help assessors make informed decisions when recommending reading and research strategies.
Assistive technology for students with a severe stammer.
People who have a severe stammer or stutter can struggle to participate
in higher education. The ability to communicate with tutors and fellow
students is essential and most courses require students to participate
in extensive discussion-based activities. Many students are assessed
through their ability to give spoken presentations in a classroom
setting. These present serious challenges for people with speech
difficulties that have not responded to traditional methods of
treatment, such as speech and language therapy.
Technology can play an important part in ensuring people with a severe
stammer or stutter can take part in mainstream university education.
The ability to use email and other online text-based communication
methods to communicate with tutors and fellow students helps reduce
serious barriers to communication. Allowance to pre-record audio for
classroom presentations (e.g. using the facility to
add audio to PowerPoint slides)
means students can prepare speech for presentations beforehand, in an
environment where they might be better able to control their speech or
where they can use audio editing software to remove unwanted sections.
Students may also find they can apply for funding to cover the cost of
specialist fluency devices, such as those produced by
VoiceAmp, to improve ability to participate in classroom and groupwork discussions that most students take for granted.
The Guardian Feb 16 2012: Disabled people face unlimited unpaid work or cuts in benefit.
If you are asked to complete an "
Employment and Support Allowance Claim Form"
and especially the Limited Capability for Work Questionnaire, do not return the form before you have obtained professional, independent advice on how it should be completed.
There are many organisations who can offer advice.
You should not have to pay for this advice.
You could contact your local authority and ask to speak to their Social
Services disability team to see if they might be able to help. You
could contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice. If you are
a student you could ask your student services, students union and/or
disability officer to help. Obviously, if you are in regular contact
with medical specialists because of your disability/condition you could
also talk to them about the form. Your local
DIAL network centre might also be able to offer advice.
DO NOT FILL IN AND RETURN THESE FORMS BEFORE YOU HAVE RECEIVED INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. .
January 2012.
Amazon adds free 'send to Kindle' PC app, but in PDF format what's the point?
It's near on impossible to read a PDF document on the Kindle screen
even if you have perfect eyesight and it's very difficult to customise
the font sizes if you need larger print, so why would they choose this
as the default setting? Why such apparent disregard for the
accessibility potential of the Kindle?.
I suggest you carry on using the free (via wifi)
email conversion function, or use the browser-based bookmark version of
KlipMe's Send To Kindle,
which sends the page you are currently reading as a correctly formatted
eBook that you can read in enlarged print and via text-to-speech if
necessary.
Aids to help plan and organise your time when producing coursework assignments.
Many universities provide free online aids to help with planning of assignment production. Here's the most used:
University of Minnesota Assignment Calculator.
November 2011.
| Deaf students require greater attention from assistive technology developers.
Over the years there has been a lack of understanding
of the language difficulties deaf students can face when participating
in higher education. This article provides a useful summary of the types of language problems deaf people can experience.
For whatever reason, students have often been led to believe the only
strategy available to them is for very special arrangements to be made,
such as allowance to submit assignments in BSL, instead of support
in developing their English language skills to ensure they can
communicate effectively and independently with their hearing tutors and
the wider hearing community.
|
October 2011.
Researchers at Stanford University develop a software-based Braille keyboard for tablet computers.
This
Stanford University news article
describes the project that resulted in the development of this
software-based keyboard. It's an innovative approach that could benefit
from developments in haptic feedback technology (such as
those being developed by Kyocera) for tablet screens to create virtual 'keys'.
More information can be found in this
Wired article.
History of MS DOS and Windows.
Is it really that long ago when we were recommending a 286 computer,
Jaws for DOS, a
DECTALK Express speech synthesiser and Word Perfect or
MS Word 5.5? Take a trip down memory lane on the
Microsoft history of Windows site,
Special Needs London 2011.
" The show takes place at the Business Design Centre, on Friday 14 and
Saturday 15 October 2011. Over the two days, the Business Design Centre
will be packed full of thousands of resources and services from
hundreds of educational suppliers offering the widest range of ICT,
software and classroom resources to support children in their learning
– all under one roof."
September 2011.
Inventor of the eBook dies.
Michael Stern Hart died on
September 6, 2011. Hart was best known for his 1971 invention of
electronic books, or eBooks. He founded
Project Gutenberg, which is recognized as one of the earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects.
Meanwhile, where are the accessible versions of course textbooks?
Students in the UK who are unable to access standard print versions of
the text books they are required to use in their studies are still
struggling to obtain accessible versions that they can access via
assistive technology strategies.
Refer to the
ebook suppliers list.
In the meantime, there are probably hundreds of individuals working on
making books accessible to individual students but there is currently
no way of allowing these services to network to avoid duplication of
effort. Students should ask their university or college library
if they have systems in place to obtain accessible versions of the
books they stock. The
Copyright Licensing Agency provides advice for organisations who are converting print versions of text books into accessible formats.
Into Higher
Education 2011.
"Disability
Alliance are
currently producing an updated version of the former Skill publication
Into Higher Education for 2012 entry. It answers common
questions
disabled students have and provides information on a range of topics
including; funding changes for 2012, choosing a course, the application
process, DSAs, disclosure, personal care and benefits information. The
guide will also include profiles written by disabled people about their
experiences of higher education and we are still looking for one or two
more case studies." Contact disability alliance if you would like to
contribute. |
History of assistive
technology.
This
Assistive Computer Technology For MS-DOS
Training Guide (PDF)
from the early 90s gives an insight into the range of assistive
technology packages and strategies that had been developed for people
using PC-based computers running MSDOS. At that time,
specialist
computer suppliers did not exist, so assessors were responsible for
installing software, writing custom batck files and scripts and
customising hardware for their students.
This
TRACE centre page
shows some of the assistive technology packages that were being used
back in the days when Windows didn't exist. MindReader was a
particularly useful word processor that incorprated word prediction.
August 2011.
Apple Accessibility, at a price too high for most.
While the current version of the
Mac
OS continues to toss the grateful a
few useful
Accessibility
functions,
functionality continues to be limited and presents artificial barriers.
Meanwhile the cost of a Mac laptop capable of running assistive tech
alongside mainstream applications is currently 3 times that of a
comparable PC-based system. Surely this cannot be sustainable.
Universities cannot expect students to pay for Mac systems
just
because the tutors have always used Macs when PC-based systems
are
equally powerful and offer additional custom, open-source
solutions for intelligent and inventive users. We appear to be entering
an iconoclastic period, Will the
iDiots be
next?
Where has the play back dictation function gone
in the new version of Dragon?
One of the more useful functions of Dragon is to be able to hear what
you said compared to what was transcribed It seems to have disappeared
from the main menu..
Here's how to play back dictated speech in
the new version of Dragon.
July 2011.
Visual Stress / Irlen Syndrome.
In the light of the
advice fom SFE on Visual Stress is
it worth
re-evaluating the research?
Many of the 'symptoms' of visual stress are also indicators of a
possible serious visual impairment, but screening tests do not seem to
take this possibility into account.
Comments
requested on HTML5 accessibility by August 3.
Judy Brewer who heads the W3C's Web
Accessibility Initiative notes: "HTML5 is the next revision in the core
markup language of the Web, and offers powerful tools for creating
Web-based applications that will run on any device.
It is imperative that HTML5 meet the needs of all Web users, including
those with disabilities."
Read Judy's complete post at
http://www.w3.org/QA/2011/05/html5-lastcall-accessibility.html.
Those thinking of providing comments can consult
http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/HTML/wiki/Work_Topics
SFE exploring the idea of
telephone-based DSA Study Aids/Strategies Assessments as an opportunity
for 'greater student choice'.
Words fail me.. for now.
Dyslexia Unbound (at least at Oxford University).
The
ADSHE
site has a
link to a film about the experiences of
students at Oxford University who are diagnosed with dyslexia.
Disabled Students Allowances 2011-12.
You can find links to online text versions of the full
government guidance on DSA administration for the 2011-12 academic year,
along with a
summary of the maximum amounts available,
on the
Study Aids/Strategies Assessors Resources
page.
June 2011.
Eyewriter 2 project aims to
produce relatively cheap system for computer control via eye movements.
"The EyeWriter is a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus + custom software
that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis to draw using only their eyes ... This
eyewriter system is cheap, and completely open source. At the
moment, it costs about 200$ in parts."
Kindle remains frustratingly
inaccessible to blind users.
I've evaluated the Kindle as a potential aid for blind and partially
sighted users. In my opinion, it has the potential to be a very useful
aid but it is not quite there yet. It's not the hardware that lets it
down. The only reason is poor software design.
You can use text-to-speech output to listen to menu items and book
titles, but not everything is read aloud, and the way it is implemented
is very fiddly. For example, you have to turn on text-to-speech of
books using a separate 'experimental' setting, and if you try to place
an electronic bookmark or annotation within an eBook, it just seems to
stop talking which could be very confusing. Also, the buttons don't
seem to have a function that allows you to hear what they do.
You can increase the font sizes of books to very large settings, and
can turn on a feature that allows you to listen through books via audio
text, but you cannot increase the text size of menu items. The in-built
speech is English, I do not think you can switch languages.
It' frustrating because obviously the Kindle has the capability of
being a very good, accessible portable device but the software is just
very badly written from a users perspective.
Here is, in my opinion, a link to an article that gives a pretty fair
and detailed evaluation of the Kindle 3:
http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw110705
The current state of cell phone accessibility
in AccessWorld.
A useful summary of current developments and concerns related to access
to mobile phones by blind and sight impaired people.
Student
Finance England urges students to arrange their DSA Study
Aids/Strategies Assessments.
On 25 April 2011, SFE explained "We’re waiting for
...
needs assessment reports from ... 7,300 customers before their support
can be finalised." Between May 26 to May 27 2011, SFE sent
SMS
messages to students who have been made eligible for Disabled
Students’ Allowances but whose support cannot be progressed
because SFE have not received a needs assessment
report, prompting
students to
locate an Assessment Centre by using
www..dsa-qag.org.uk and to book their appointment as soon as
possible.
I
f you are a student who
has been told to arrange an assessment, use the DSA-QAG site to locate an approved
Assessment Centre that is local to you.
Alternatively, ask the disability officer at your university for advice
on arranging a DSA Assessment, as they might recommend you use
a
particular centre.
(Typing "DSA-QAG" into a search engine may not take you to the site of
your most local independent assessment centre.)
You can choose to have your assessment at any centre. Students in and
around the East London area might prefer to arrange an assessment at
the
Regional Access Centre East London
in Stratford, while students who are in West London might find it
easier to get to the
Central London Assessment Centre
on Great Portland Street. Students in North London might prefer to
visit the
North London Access Centre in
Hendon.A
full list of approved centres in the Greater
London area is available on the DSA-QAG site.
Students who have already
received DSA
funding should re-apply for support to ensure the funding continues in
the 2011-12 academic year. Refer to this section of the DirectGov
Student FInance site for more information.
Ask your university disability officer or student services department
for advice if you are not sure what to do, or contact the Assessment
Centre where you had your original DSA assessment for advice.
May 2011.
Job
opportunities for graduates with disabilities.
The
Shaw Trust Employer and Graduate
Services Programme "has pioneered recruitment for students
and graduates with disabilities, dyslexia or a specific learning
difficulty. "
Click here for latest vacancies.
Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in
Higher Education: Performance and participation in student's experiences
in Disability
Studies Quarterly.
"Higher education institutes still have a long way to go to reduce the
gap in social inclusion of students with disabilities and to adjust
academic standards for their needs."
Disabled People demonstrate against 'cruel and misguided' cuts.
"The
Hardest Hit march was organised by
the
UK
Disabled People's Council and the
Disability
Benefits Consortium, and was supported by organisations
including Mind, Mencap RNIB and Sense."
SFE update their DSA Your Questions Answered Page.
In summary
- Students are encouraged to apply for DSA funding before
they
receive an offer of a place, but "it would be beneficial for
students to apply for DSA at the same time as they apply for their
maintenance grant, maintenance loan and or tuition fee loan"
- Returning students who have applied for DSA in previous
years do
not have to re-apply unless they happen to be "part time, post graduate
or ‘DSA only’ students (i.e. students who are not
applying
for maintenance loans / grants or a tuition fee loan). These students
need to apply each year by completing the DSA1 form available on
direct.gov.co.uk"
- The 'consent to share' information process remains as messy
as
ever. Students who, quite reasonably, choose not to consent to share
information about their disability when first applying for DSA but then
change their mind once they discuss their application with specialist
staff can change this consent decision if they " download and complete
a copy of the ‘consent to share’ page of the DSA1
application form, sign the declaration, ensure their Customer Reference
number is entered on to the form and send it back ... Students must
tick the three relevant boxes to give consent for our customer advisors
to speak to the HEI, Needs Assessment Centre and or supplier. "
- NMH suppliers cannot charge additional costs for travel and
parking on top of their agreed rates.
- SFE won't pay for 'diagnosis' of 'visual stress' but will
accept
"a specific learning difficulties (SpLD) report, a Visual Stress /
Irlen assessment or Visual Stress / Irlen screening" as evidence. With
this evidence, they will pay for "Colorimetry
testing" or the "OmniRead"
(previously Tintavision) process.
April 2011.
Shock within the HE sector as SKILL
announces its closure.
"It is with great sadness that Skill: National Bureau for Students with
Disabilities has announced in a statement on its website that it has
ceased operating. Following a period of financial difficulty, Skill's
Board of Trustees has decided that it is no longer viable to keep the
charity open.."
As has already been said, "it's hard to imagine where the sector might
be now if it weren't for SKILL".
Update: The
Guardian May 10 2011
Skill to close.
Review
of SEN, from birth to age 25.
Government launches
consultation
on "special educational needs and disability which makes wide-ranging
proposals to respond to the frustrations of children and young people,
their families and the professionals who work with them. The
proposals will be consulted on until 30
June."
March 2011
New web site aims to promote Science and Maths
Accessibility.
March 31 2011: "a new web site devoted to STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math)
http://www.access2science.com/
intends to provide a wealth of articles and links to
practical
information useful to blind and dyslexic people and to their peers,
parents, teachers, and various providers. At this point, the
wealth is fairly slim,
but it is a start. "
Kindle fonts hack improves access for partially
sighted people.
If you find the default Kindle fonts difficult to see and are willing
to
risk some hacking, try following the instructions at
Kindle Font Hack for all 2.x and 3.x Kindles.
Beware, I crashed my Kindle trying this out (I don't think I was
patient enough and should have waited longer when restarting the
device)! Make sure you backup your device before playing with it and be
prepared to have to do a full reset if things don't work out
properly.
UK Government
announces "The public sector Equality Duty: reducing
bureaucracy Policy review paper".
The UK government has announced a policy review to "seek views on new
draft regulations imposing specific duties to support better
performance of the
public sector Equality Duty." The
Government
Equalities Office
says "the regulations will be revised following a review by the Home
Secretary" in areas related to "ensuring that public bodies consider
equality when carrying out their functions without imposing unnecessary
burdens and bureaucracy"
Accessibility problems with Internet Explorer 9.
The developers of Supernova and Zoomtext are warning about
potential problems users might encounter if they install Internet
Explorer 9. Here are some quick links to the
Dolphin warning and the
aiSquared warning pages.
Whizz-Kidz’ campaign to
Fast Forward reform of NHS wheelchair provision.
"An estimated 70,000 children are waiting to receive the mobility
equipment that is right for them. This wait often takes months, even
years. In the meantime, children are missing out on their childhood as
they’re unable to fully participate in family and school
life,
and keep up with their friends."
Full
DSA Guidance published for 2011/12 Academic Year.
DOC version is available to download from
the Student Finance England Practitioners Site.
I've created a simple online version and a mobi format
version (that
can be downloaded and read on an eBook device such as a Kindle),
both available on the SASSA Resources page of this site. Bridging The Gap 2011/12 is also
now available for download as a PDF.
UK Government launches consultation on the future of systems for
identifying and supporting pupils with special educational needs.
[The government] "launched a Green Paper on special educational needs
and disability which makes wide-ranging proposals to respond to the
frustrations of children and young people, their families and the
professionals who work with them. The proposals will be
consulted
on until 30 June."
At first look, iPad 2 doesn't appear to offer any
greater accessibility solutions for
disabled users.
Tablet computers present fundamental access and usability
problems because of problems navigating the screen by touch alone.
Hardware developers have known this for some time, hence
the research into Haptic Displays, but the rush to market has
forced haptics to be left behind for now. As a result, people who
cannot easily interact with a touch-screen are left behind or have to
accept limited functionality compared to someone who can see to touch
the screen..
A haptic touch-screen display should allow any user to feel
what
is
being displayed on the screen. If a keyboard is being displayed, the
user should be able to feel around the
keyboard, work out
the home keys and maybe even read the key labels, so he or she can
touch-type without looking
at the screen. A haptic touch screen would allow a Braille
user to
read an eBook or webpage.
Imagine what a hit the first touch-screen with programmable haptic
display will be for all users. Imagine touch-typing on a
haptic
touch-screen tablet, or texting a message on a haptic touch-screen
phone,
I hope, in five or ten years time, we're all wondering how we
coped with those primitive non-haptic touch-screen devices and we'll
certainly be baffled when we read comments from so-called experts who
described devices with sleek, smooth screens as having embedded
accessibility, when that is so clearly not the case.
In the meantime, The
ATMAC blog
provides a useful roundup of ipad accessibility features.
If anyone's interested in the people who actually build their shiny
gadgets,
here's a good place to start.
February 2011.
Still no mention of disabled students....?
David WIllets addresses the Universities UK
Spring Conference 2011
CSUN 2011.
"the
latest Web Axe podcast #89 is a
preview of the upcoming
International Technology and Persons with
Disabilities Conference (CSUN 2011)"
Is Google instant causing havoc for some assistive technology
users?
Remember when Altavista was the
main search engine, until people noticed that Google provided a simple,
uncluttered and fast loading alternative? Use the
accessible
google if you are having google instant problems.
January 2011.
UK Higher Education funding cuts: Concerns grow
about the impact on disabled people.
In the midst of speculation, here's a
round-up
of available information as of January 2011.
Let's hope those who
helped create the
current problems aren't taken too seriously this
time.
archive of older news/articles.
USEFUL: This
Google link opens google with the autocomplete/instant function turned off and set to open search result links in a new browser page.
Products
and
developments.
Rationale software aims to help people develop critical thinking skills when producing essays, via visual mapping techniques.
WIndows 8 Consumer Preview is now available for download.
RealJabber real time text communication project for deaf and hearing users.
Want to pay over $9000 for an Atom N550-based netbook with 1Gb RAM?
Then buy one with a
custom 32-cell Braille display and Braille keyboard.
The typical cost of N550 1Gb netbooks is around £250,
so that only costs around £5724 extra, but don't forget
to budget for a screenreader.
Windows 8 Accessibility features discussed in detail on MSDN.
Article on how someone adapted the Kindle Keyboard to make it accessible to his sister who has cerebral palsy.
Many are saying
Moodle is one of the most accessible methods of creating online course content.
Gbooksdownloader lets you download full view google books into PDF format.
SSOverlay by
FX Software is a free Windows-based utility that provides a full-screen colour tint/mask.
APH Studio Recorder
is audio editing software designed to be fully accessible via keyboard
shortcuts for use via screenreader software. The full version is $200
US but a demo version is available to download.
Teamviewer provides a free method for tutors to display the output of their computer to students using laptops in lectures.
Camera Mouse "is a free program that enables you to control the mouse pointer on your computer screen just by moving your head."
Jaws 13 with "in-built OCR" released.
"Freedom Scientific today announced the release of JAWS® for
Windows version 13, including Convenient OCR, a feature that performs
Optical Character Recognition on text that is displayed as an image,
thereby enabling blind computer users to read items that were
previously inaccessible. Examples of such screens include a PDF file,
the setup screen of an application, or the menu of selections on a DVD.
"
Amazon launches a
new range of Kindle devices. Accessibility features unknown at this time.I'll try to keep up with developments on my
Kindle Accessibility Blog.
Olympus DM-670 is a high quality
digital audio recorder that appears to offer useful accessibility
features.
Plextalk
Pocket is a 'pocket size DAISY and MP3 player' with
recording capabilities.
"A lightweight, pocket sized DAISY and MP3 Player with built-in
microphone for book recording and voice note taking. It weighs just 110
grams and is similar in size to a mobile phone. You can make Daisy
recordings and easily add heading levels which makes it perfect for
meetings, lectures or seminars. Available in two colours; black with
white keys and white with black keys. "
VizWiz
app for iPhone allows blind users to receive quick answers about their
surroundings. More information in this BBC News article.
Information
about Android accessibility on the Accessible
Android blog and the Android Accessibility site.
May 2011.
Origin Instruments develop
switch-based access for Kindle devices.
"PageBot for Kindle 2 enables the
switch-accessible reading
of books and other long form documents by people who cannot hold the
Kindle or press its buttons.
"
Kurzweil 3000 price is drastically reduced for education users.
The long respected and
highly praised literacy aid
might now be more accessible to disabled learners. More
information to follow.
FrogPad is the latest idea for a
compact one-handed keyboard.
Ever since back in the day of the
Microwriter (now
CyKey),
many people have suspected we will eventually use a simple
method
of text entry and computer control using just one hand.
February 2011.
A.I.
Type "offers word and sentence completion that help the user
type just a minimal number of letters."
January 2011.
Tapin
Radio
is a free, accessible PC-based internet radio player that offers
screenreader support and allows recording of the current
program.
Amazon offer
screenreader-friendly version of the PC
Kindle software, but only for those in the US. UPDATE Now
available for UK users.
Inclusive
demonstrate the
Inclusive Slate tablet PC
at BETT 2011: "Introducing a magical and revolutionary tablet PC with
Windows 7, a multi-touch screen and an unbelievable price. This is the
Inclusive Slate. Play, work and learn with this bright spark of mobile
computing! The magic is at your fingertips."
Adrian Colegate is currently oferring beta test versions of PC-based
Kindle Collection Manager, a
package designed to help manage and organise Kinde eBooks via your
computer.
Claro
Software "unveils
new
range of innovative software to support independence for all at BETT
2011."
November 2010.
.
Dolphin overhaul and relaunch
their
range of screenreader and magnifier packages
under the collective title 'Supernova'.
October 2010.
Create & Convert
from JISC RSC Scotland and North East "brings together in one neat
package a range of open source programs that can quickly and capably
translate electronic documents into an accessible alternative format,
such as audio or a talking book.".
More
information about JISC Regional Support Centre Scotland and North-East.
NonVisual
Desktop Access (NVDA)
is a free and open source screen reader for the Microsoft Windows
operating system. Providing feedback via synthetic speech and Braille,
it enables blind or vision impaired people to access computers running
Windows for no more cost than a sighted person. Major features include
support for over 20 languages and the ability to run entirely from a
USB drive with no installation.
September 2010
Samsung SCH-u320
"The Samsung Haven™ is an easy-to-use phone with a large,
bright
screen and large keypad – no more squinting when making
calls. "
Note the phone can also be set to "full read out mode" for speech
output of all items.
Here
is a directory of audio (mp3) podcasts about the Samsung Haven.
Smart Talk Freeview set top box "Designed
and developed in conjunction with
RNIB to provide full access to
Freeview®
digital TV and radio services for blind and partially sighted people."
August 2010
Global AutoCorrect
"... allows your ideas to
flow by automatically correcting your spelling as you type in any
program. It also acts as a learning tool, identifying your most common
mistakes so that you can work on them in your own time."
Nuance
TALKS™
"converts the display text of a cellular handset into highly
intelligible speech ... runs on Symbian-powered
mobile phones to speech-enable contact names, callerID, text messages,
help files and other screen content."
Dragon Dictation for iPod / iPhone
"allows you to easily speak and
instantly
see your text or email messages..."
Comments are edited from text provided
by developers/suppliers and may not represent the opinion of
assist-tech.
