Where It's AT – Assistive Technology Blog

Braille Book Fair 2013
Calling all Braille readers, teachers, and parents! It’s that time again: Time to sort through all those boxes of Braille books and donate those gently used but no longer needed Braille books to the 2013 Braille Book Fair sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.

Our primary goal is to get more Braille books into the hands of children, youth, and beginning adult readers, so here’s what we need most:
·        books in good condition
·        print-Braille picture storybooks
·        leisure reading (fiction or nonfiction) books
·        cookbooks
·        books about sports

Children are so hungry for their very own books that every year, despite generous donations of books, most of our books for young children are gone in less than an hour. So, begin your search through the boxes in your basement and spare room and get those books shipped to:

UPS
Braille Book Fair
Attention: Milton Bennett
8901 Atlantic Ave
Orlando FL 32824

This year’s coordinator is Krystal Guillory. If you have questions, contact Krystal Guillory at 318.245.8955 or kguillory@lcb-ruston.com. This year’s event is slated to take place on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Please check the Convention agenda for location.

Posted in MD Technology Assistance Program | 1 Comment »

Screen Reader Web Tip #4, 3/3/13

Apr 3rd, 2013 by MDTAP Blog

Screen Readers

Difficulty: Beginner

Category:

Principles
Structure
Presentation

A screen reader is a type of assistive technology that reads the text content of a web page audibly to the user. It is primarily used by individuals who are blind or have low vision, but can also be useful to individuals with certain cognitive or learning disabilities.

Screen readers read the text content of a web page linearly based on the underlying source code order – left to right, top to bottom. Screen reader users typically do not use a mouse, but instead use a wide array of keyboard shortcuts to navigate and interact with a web page. A screen reader can also output content to a refreshable Braille device to form Braille characters, thus allowing users who are deaf-blind to access web content. Design webpages with these principles in mind – techniques required include providing skip navigation links so that the screen reader users can bypass navigational menus and jump directly to the content, associating form labels with their appropriate form elements so the purpose of each form control is identified, identifying data table headers to aid in table orientation and navigation, etc. Much of web accessibility is about ensuring compatibility with screen reader technologies.

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Free Text-to-Speech for Google Docs, 4/2/13

Apr 2nd, 2013 by MDTAP Blog

Use Google Docs? Get Free Text-to-Speech!

Are you using Google Docs in school or on the job? TextHelp has released a free Google Chrome Browser app to aid people with reading and writing disabilities, Read&Write for Google Docs™.

Not to be confused with the full version of Read&Write Gold, this app provides text-to-speech and a few other features, such as Dictionary, Picture Dictionary, Fact Finder and Highlight Collector. This app, available at the Chrome Store works with the Documents application of Google Docs, and is currently not available in Presentation, Spreadsheet, Forms, or Drawing. After a quick installation of the app, a little toolbar appears when you start a new document and allows you to hear the any text, pasted or typed in the document, while the words are highlighted on the screen.

Read more at the ND Assistive Technology Blog!

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MYAC’s Public Forum – Technology in Schools, 4/1/13

Apr 1st, 2013 by MDTAP Blog

The Maryland Youth Advisory Council (MYAC) is hosting a Public Forum on Technology in Schools on Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 1-4 pm. MYAC’s public forum will focus on technology and education. Please join MYAC and a panel of experts to discuss and share views on technology in schools. The forum will be held at CCBC Catonsville at the Barn Theatre, 800 South Rolling Road, Catonsville, MD 21228. For more information, contact Christina Drushel, christina.drushel@maryland.gov, or 410-706-2547.

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