Maryland Department of Disabilities
Jan 15th, 2015 by MDTAP Blog
Tech for Tots
Designed to help preschool providers and parents quickly identify high quality apps that meet specific academic needs, Tech for Tots is an easy-to-use tool that offers ratings to over 100 distinct apps. Each is scored on a scale of 1-4 for a variety of categories including playability, feedback, interactivity, reporting and cost. Click here to find the apps you need.
Jan 14th, 2015 by MDTAP Blog
Accesskey
The accesskey attribute allows page authors to define a shortcut key for interactive page elements (e.g., <a href=”search.htm” accesskey=”s”>Search</a> defines “s” as the accesskey for the search page). Browsers provide varying keyboard shortcut combinations to activate this accesskey. Because of the wide variety of browser and assistive technology shortcut keys, and because there is not a set of keys reserved for use with accesskey, authors can never be sure that their defined accesskey will not conflict with end-user shortcut keys. Because of these difficulties, accesskey should generally be avoided, except in controlled situations where the user systems are well defined, or when users can define their own site accesskeys.
Jan 13th, 2015 by MDTAP Blog
Contributed by Joel Zimba, Special Projects Coordinator, MDTAP
Navigation apps are an important tool for blind iOS users. While mainstream GPS apps, like Google Maps or Apple Maps are accessible to varying degrees, there are many solutions designed specifically with the blind iOS user in mind.
One such app I have been testing recently is BlindSquare. This complicated, but highly useful tool, draws upon information from the popular FourSquare service to create a unique navigation solution. BlindSquare will query FourSquare for points of interest near your current location. By pointing your iPhone toward the various compass points, you can “look” in a specific direction to find out what is around you. If you select a destination from a list, the distance and direction of travel will continually be reported as you travel.
As BlindSquare connects to FourSquare for this information, information such as address, telephone, website and even menus can be had at the touch of a button. If specific travel directions are desired, the route can be generated via a GPS app of your choosing. This is one key to BlindSquare’s power. It bridges GPS programs with FourSquare and presents the information in a way which may be especially useful to a visually-impaired user.
Another interesting feature of BlindSquare is exploring an area virtually. This is great for planning a trip, or just figuring out where you might want to eat lunch after next week’s meeting downtown.
BlindSquare can be very chatty, so there is a filter setting for limiting the verbosity of the information BlindSquare provides as you travel. Spoken notifications can also increase as your proximity to a destination increases. As you can see, there are many customizable behaviors for BlindSquare which means it can be used in many different ways.
BlindSquare has been around for several years now, and it has received much favorable recognition. So far, I have only scratched the surface of what can be done with BlindSquare, and I look forward to using it in the future.
Jan 12th, 2015 by MDTAP Blog
The iHear Hearing Aid app is a $.99 app that provides sound amplification for those with hearing loss. Run the app and point the iPhone in the direction where the conversation is occurring and listen to how the app amplifies the sound through the headphones.
A few things to remember:
1.) After installing, remember to reboot your iPhone.
2.) You MUST use basic headphones to hear the amplified sound. Note the very nice headphones provided by Apple have a built-in microphone that over-rides the iPhone microphone, which will NOT work right with this app.
3.) You MUST use an iPhone with microphone.
4.) Because there is only ONE microphone, it will be mono (play only in one ear). We are researching adding bluetooth headset compatibility for a future release, but stereo bluetooth headsets are NOT supported at this time.
5.) WHEN the app is LOADED, you must THEN adjust the volume of the amplifier, by using the VOLUME buttons on the side of your iPhone. Note this volume control (with the app loaded) is DIFFERENT from the regular iPhone volume!
Jan 9th, 2015 by MDTAP Blog
There were some holidays happening the past few weeks, causing us to miss a couple of our Friday news wrap-ups. But we’re back and brining you the coolest technology news of the week, like we do. AT in the news for the week on 1/5 thru 1/9.
Beyond alt-text: a wave of new senior corporate positions in accessible technology
Blind & visually impaired people can apply for a free currency reader from the Dept. of Treasury
Weavers Turn Silk Into Diabetes Test Strips
4 Weighted Wearables for Sensory Integration
Avaz – Help Kids with Autism Speak – Free AAC App for Autism Support
Helping hand: A robotic arm will give disabled people a lift
EyeComTec Announces New Affordable Software Solution for Paralysis Sufferers
Online Games to Help Build Early Literacy Skills
Students Design Calming Chairs For Those On The Spectrum
Anonymous cash donation helps disabled three-year-old’s dreams of communicating come true
This Little Robot Went to Market
Kids with dyslexia can thrive in specialist school
Give Someone a Lift- & Save Money » Products and services
AbleGamers crown mainstream, indie titles as their Accessible Games of 2014
NJ Students Design 3D Printed Handle to Enable a Disabled Classmate to Open Her Locker
New science helps a paralyzed man move his legs for the first time in years
Technology allows disabled to turn ideas into sculpture
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Launches AudioEye Enabled Forms Submission
All accessibility resources for Google put into one convenient web page
Bypass technology directly to your head? That’s now a reality for those experiencing deafness
Most popular app in 2014! See how we’re using it w/kids w/disabilities
My Top Book-Reading Apps for Braille Users by Scott Davert, AppleVis Editorial Team
This Man Invented a Font to Help People With Dyslexia Read
Sesame is the first touch-free smartphone for disabled people
Bat signal for blind example of campus innovations
Brain hat helps paralyzed make music
How to keep an eye on your elderly parents
Twitter Accessibility 101 – Alternative text for images
Jan 8th, 2015 by MDTAP Blog
Start the New Year off on the right financial foot. Join the discussion on free tax preparation resources and credits li…ke the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) that can help you keep more of what you earn, the importance of assessing past and future financial goals, and changes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that could affect you in 2015. Expert speakers will identify favorable tax provisions, discuss why using tax time is good time of year for a financial review, and identify ways to utilize all available resources to improve your financial well-being for a prosperous 2015.
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