Where It's AT – Assistive Technology Blog

Reading devices for the blind have come a long way in the past 40 years.  The first one I ever used was the size of a large desk.  It was rather slow and not terribly accurate.  It was, however, revolutionary.  Until that point, there was no way for a blind person to independently read printed material.  Over the years, document scanners and the accompanying OCR (optical character recognition) software which converts the image of the printed page into machine readable text have gotten smaller and more affordable.

An excellent example of the current crop of stand-alone reading machines for the blind is the Eye-Pal SOLO.  A folding stand positions a camera at the proper height for scanning a document.  The built-in motion detection allows the Eye-Pal to know when a page has been turned, and reading can be stopped or started with a wave of the hand.

Setup is quick and easy and virtually no training is required, allowing the user to start reading printed documents in minutes.  The OCR engine is extremely accurate and text formatting elements, like columns and headings, are interpreted.  The usual array of advanced functionality, such as changing the speech characteristics and saving and converting documents can be done via the custom keypad.  The Eye-Pal also incorporates several selections from the current crop of high-quality text-to-speech voices.

Overall, I find the Eye-Pal SOLO to be extremely user-friendly. For a demonstration, or to arrange to borrow the Eye-Pal SOLO or another piece of assistive technology from MDTAP call 410-554-9230.

Contributed by Joel Zimba, MDTAP Special Projects Coordinator

The Rick Hansen Global Accessibility Map

The Rick Hansen Global Accessibility Map is designed to help persons with disabilities find accessible businesses and restaurants near them — no matter where they are in the world!

The Rick Hansen Foundation has launched its Global Accessibility Map, which lets reviewers write in to describe their experiences with local businesses, with an emphasis on the physical accessibility of the business.  The site is designed to be particularly accessible to persons using mobile devices, and can be accessed using the reviewer’s Facebook account. While the project originated with the Rick Hansen Foundation, which is located in Canada, there are a number of locations reviewed in the DC metro area.

For more information about the map and to see the map, follow this link: http://www.rickhansen.com/enca/home/globalaccessibilitymap.aspx

Some interesting articles about AT for the week on 1/16 – 1/20

Using A New Voice To Enjoy Life After Cancer

Brilliant Technology For Those Who Can’t Use Their Hands

Kurzweil Releases Web-Based Literacy Tool

It’s the talk of the school: Electronic ‘voice’ connects students with special

AcceleGlove teaches you sign language: we go hands-in (video)

Some employers find those with autism especially suited for jobs

Will Tablets Transform the Classroom?

How to structure an accessibility review

Finding Good Apps for Children with Autism

Switch accessible toys … new video | Excitim’s assistive technology

Braille Burgers From Fast Food Chain Wimpy Let Blind People ‘See’ Food (VIDEO)

Assistive Technology Lawsuits to Watch

As we close out 2011 and enter a new year, TAP would like to share information on several important/interesting AT-related lawsuits that will be worth watching in 2012. The outcomes of these lawsuits could have a big impact on assistive technology users in the years to come!

October 2011: A blind law school graduate won a case in California against the National Council of Bar Examiners (NCBE), the organization that administers the bar exam test required for law students to become licensed attorneys.  The law student filed the suit under the Americans With Disabilities Act when the NCBE denied her request to use assistive technology such as a screen magnifier and a screen reader on the exam.  Similar lawsuits have been filed against the NCBE in other states in the past few years, including in Maryland, and the hope is that the recent success in California will encourage the NCBE to make assistive technology an option in all states.

More about this case here: http://sfappeal.com/news/2011/10/blind-law-school-grad-wins-case-for-tech-aids-to-take-bar-exam.php

Beginner Tip # 6 – Keyboard Accessibility

Difficulty: Beginner

Category:

• Structure
• Presentation

Ensuring that your webpage is fully accessible using only the keyboard is a vital component of web accessibility. All interactive elements, including links, buttons form fields, media controls, etc should be accessible using only the keyboard. Use the Tab key to navigate through page elements. Shift + Tab will navigate backward. The Enter key will typically activate links, buttons, etc. The navigation order of interactive elements should be logical and intuitive. It should generally follow the visual presentation order (left to right, top to bottom). Particular care should be taken to ensure that forms can be completed and submitted using only the keyboard. If you must press the Tab key a significant number of times to interact with a page, consider adding a “Skip to main content” or “skip navigation” link.   

ATIA (The Assistive Technology Industry Association) will be hosting its annual conference from January 26th-28th in Orlando, FL. This year, MDTAP will be sending one of our staff AT Specialists to attend. With hundreds of sessions available, this year’s conference offers a wide range of topics from apps to literacy to families and employment.

Additional services from ATIA include online webinars and publications, including a free Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits Journal.

Stay tuned as we share updates and resources from the conference.