06 Nov Braille reading–always working on fluency
Kaleigh-braille reading–always working on fluency on YouTube
google.com, pub-3447701155434117, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0
Other Blind Tools
06 Nov Apex keyview to see what is going on from a PC screen and use YouTube
Posted at 12:53h
in Other Blind Tools
Carter has a great video on showing the use of Keyview while taking you through the steps of accessing YouTube videos from the Apex:
Play YouTube Videos on Your Braille Note Apex [HOW TO]
: Download the the HOW to for keyview from the HumanWare site at: http://support.humanware.com/en-usa/support/braillenote_apex/software
05 Nov Chrome book Accessibility features
Chrome book Accessibility features
Not recommended for blind students–still too many barriers to total accessibility and speed with Chromevox
http://www.chromestory.com/2013/02/accessibility-options-on-chromebooks/
- Accessibility features built into Chrome OS on Chromebooks:
- Screen Magnification
- High Contrast
- Spoken feedback/ChromeVox
- ChromeVox for Google Chrome – text to speech
- Voice Note for Google Chrome – speech to text
- Ipad OS 9 features
**** to turn off ChromoVox in Google Chrome – go to paper looking icon – click tools – click extensions – and disable *****
How to Enable Accessibility Options In Chrome OS
To enable accessibility options in Chrome OS, go to settings and search accessibility. You can also access them by going to Settings > Advanced Options > Accessibility
Chromevox Suit of Accessibility Options for Chrome
ChromeVox is a screen reader for Chrome which brings the speed, versatility, and security of Chrome to visually impaired users. Here is a video explaining the features of this extension. http://youtu.be/gZJtLIHZb2s
How Spoken Feedback Works
From the Chrome OS help website:
- On the sign-in screen, the user name field and password prompts are spoken. Your password is not echoed when you enter it for security reasons.
- Once you’re signed in, the Chrome OS screenreader, ChromeVox, is activated. With ChromeVox active, you get spoken feedback for all user actions (e.g. browsing menus, opening webpages).
- ChromeVox provides a set of keyboard commands you can use to navigate Chrome menus and webpages. You can navigate web content in a variety of ways. For example, pressing the arrow keys while holding down the Shift and Search keys moves through the elements on the current page and speaks them intelligently as they are traversed. If you’re using an external keyboard (on a Chromebook or Chromebox), the shortcut keys are Shift and Windows key
ChromeVox User Guide
http://www.chromevox.com/index.html
ChromeVox is a screen reader for Chrome which brings the speed, versatility, and security of Chrome to visually impaired users. The following are a few resources to help you start using ChromeVox or to help you learn new features if you’re an experienced ChromeVox user.
Activating ChromeVox
ChromeVox is available as an extension for Google Chrome on Windows and Mac OS and comes built into Chrome OS to provide out of box accessibility. The information below should help you setup ChromeVox in your environment.
·Installing ChromeVox in Google Chrome on Windows and Mac OS
ChromeVox is an extension for Google Chrome and is available for one-click install via the Chrome Web store.
·Enabling ChromeVox on Chrome OS
Learn how to get up and running with ChromeVox on Chrome OS devices.
Using ChromeVox
·ChromeVox Interactive Tutorial
This tutorial is intended to be used with ChromeVox running. It’s an interactive walkthrough that introduces ChromeVox features one at a time, and enables you to try them out as you read the tutorial.
·Navigating with ChromeVox
A quick-start guide to navigating with ChromeVox.
·ChromeVox Keyboard Shortcuts
This page lists all of the ChromeVox keyboard shortcuts for your reference. ChromeVox also includes an interactive command lookup feature.
·Release Notes
Details about changes in the 1.31 ChromeVox release available on the Chrome Web Store.
ChromeVox Keyboard Shortcuts Reference
This reference a complete list of all the keyboard commands associated with ChromeVox. These commands can be referenced at any time through the command help menu. Press ChromeVox + Period and use the up and down arrow keys to navigate or begin typing the command you are looking for.
If you are using ChromeVox on Chrome OS, the ChromeVox Keys are Search + Shift. On Mac OS X, the ChromeVox keys are Control + Command and on Windows and other platforms, the ChromeVox keys are Control + Alt.
Sticky Mode
- On Chrome OS, double-tap the Search key to enable/disable sticky mode.
- On Mac OS, double-tap the left Command key to enable/disable sticky mode.
- On Windows, double-tap the Insert key to enable/disable sticky mode.
Prefix Key
The Prefix Key is activated by pressing Control + Z. If the prefix is activated, the next key press will behave as if the ChromeVox keys are enabled. After that, the ChromeVox keys will go back to being off unless the Prefix Key is pressed again.
Speech Commands
- Control = Stop speaking the current text
- ChromeVox + Single quote = Increase pitch of speech
- ChromeVox + Semicolon = Decrease pitch of speech
- ChromeVox + Close Bracket = Increase rate of speech
- ChromeVox + Open Bracket = Decrease rate of speech
Basic Navigation
- ChromeVox + Down = Navigate Forward
- ChromeVox + Up = Navigate backward
- ChromeVox + Right = Navigate forward at a more detailed level
- ChromeVox + Left = Navigate backward at a more detailed level
- ChromeVox + Equals = Change navigation level to more detail
- ChromeVox + Minus = Change navigation level to less detail
- Enter = Activate current item
- ChromeVox + Space = Force click on current item
- ChromeVox + R = Start reading from current location
Jump Commands
ChromeVox allows you navigate through lists of similar items, such as links, headers etc. To move to a specific item on a page, press ChromeVox + either N or P. N stands for Next and P stands for Previous.
Headings
To move to the next header on the page, press ChromeVox + N then H. To move to the previous header on the page, press ChromeVox + P then H.
You can also move to a specific heading level by pressing ChromeVox + N or P then the number representing that heading level. For example, to move to the next level 2 header, press ChromeVox + N then 2.
Other items
- Tab = Jump to next focusable item
- Shift + Tab = Jump to previous focusable item
- Press ChromeVox + N or ChromeVox + P and then one of the following commands:
- A = Anchor
- Q = Block quote
- B = Button
- X = Checkbox
- C = Combobox
- G = Graphic
- H = Heading
- J = Jump
- ; = Landmark
- F = Form Field
- L = Link
- O = List
- I = List item
- R = Radio button
- S = Slider
- T = Table
Table Mode
Table Mode is activated by ChromeVox + Back slash when reading a table. The following are the commands that become available only in table mode.
- ChromeVox + Back space = Force exit table mode
- ChromeVox + Down = Go to next table row
- ChromeVox + Up = Go to previous table row
- ChromeVox + Right = Go to next table column
- ChromeVox + Left = Go to previous table column
- ChromeVox + T then H = Announce headers of the current cell
- ChromeVox + T then L = Announce coordinates of the current cell
- ChromeVox + T then Open bracket = Go to beginning of table
- ChromeVox + T then Close bracket = Go to end of table
- ChromeVox + T then Semicolon = Go to beginning of the current row
- ChromeVox + T then Single quote = Go to end of the current row
- ChromeVox + T then Comma = Go to beginning of the current column
- ChromeVox + T then Period = Go to end of the current column
Use the command help menu ChromeVox + Period to explore additional table commands.
Getting Help
- ChromeVox + O then T = Open ChromeVox Tutorial
- ChromeVox + Period = Show ChromeVox command help
- Escape = Hide ChromeVox command help
- ChromeVox + O then O = Open options page
- ChromeVox + Forward Slash = Enable search within the page.
Browser commands
Address bar
- Control L = Move to the address bar. From here you can type your search term in the address bar and press Enter to see results. In addition to search terms, you can type in the web address of a site, and press Enter to go to the site.
Working with tabs
- Control + T = Open a new Tab
- Control + W = Close a Tab
- Control + Tab = Move through Tabs
Keyboard explorer
- ChromeVox + O + K = Open keyboard explorer
Chrome OS Keyboard
- An overview of the Chrome OS keyboard layout is available.
Deactivate ChromeVox
- ChromeVox can be activated / deactivated at any time by pressing ChromeVox + A + A
Accessibility Features on a Chromebook
posted Oct 17, 2012, 8:07 AM by Molly Schroeder
| By mistake, one of my teachers found out about the Chromebook Accessibility features. Here is the information on how to Enable Spoken Feedback. Thanks to Scott Johnson for this information!
Enable spoken feedback If you’re on the main sign-in screen, press Ctrl+Alt+Z to enable or disable spoken feedback. You can also adjust this option on the Settings page.
How spoken feedback works
|
16 Oct Orientation and Mobility made Easier
Orientation and Mobility made easier
By Julie Adkins
If you are an independent traveler, or you like to have control over planning your route and finding places around you, I just can’t say enough good things about an app called BlindSquare. Okay, it costs $30.00. So, you may ask, why would I want to spend $30.00 on an app if my phone has a GPS app built in, and I can just ask Siri to give me directions wherever I want to go? First of all, it finds many more places than your iPhone does. This is because behind the scenes it uses data that has been input by thousands of users of a very popular app called Four Square.
Secondly, the app makes it extremely easy to find places to go and things to do (these are called “Points of Interest” or POIs in GPS apps). Everything is broken down into categories, like Food, Arts and Entertainment, Nightlife spots, Outdoors and Recreation, and Shop and Service, and then each category has a list of subcategories of things as specific as Afghan Food, or Falafel Restaurant (in Food), or Shoe Repair or ATMs (in Shop and Service). You can just read through the list of places in each category to see what is available, or have it announce the places to you as you are walking or riding.
If you need directions, you can ask it to give you directions to your destination through the built in Maps app, Google maps, or several other popular navigation apps, such as Wav, TomTom, and Navigon. You can even order an Uber ride from right within the app.
If you are walking or riding and having BlindSquare announce Points
of Interest to you as you go, you can use a filter to narrow it down
to just the information you want to hear. The example they give is
that you want to go shopping for clothes, but you don’t know which shops you want to visit.
You would ask BlindSquare to only tell you places in the Shop and
Service category as you are walking through the city (and of course then you could even narrow it down to one of the subcategories if you wish, like clothing store). Or maybe have it only look for Food if you are looking for restaurants. And, of course, you could just search for a specific place if you know exactly where you want to go, or have it search within a specific distance. Easily save places to your Favorites so you can find them again quickly. You can even
simulate a trip from a certain spot so you can find out in advance what will be around you when you go somewhere, preplan your routes for when you will be there, and so on.
You can ask Blind Square to tell you what points of interest
(including intersections) are around you within a certain radius, and you get to
choose the radius. It even has a feature called Look Around that allows you to point your phone in a direction and find out what is located in that particular direction (again, you get to choose the distance). Just shake the phone to exit this Look Around mode. When you are walking, you can also just shake the phone to find out where you are. You can even leave your ears open to listen to traffic and
other sounds in the environment by using bone conducting head phones. No, I didn’t realize there was such a thing, either. Apparently they have been in use by walkers and joggers for quite some time. There is a link within the BlindSquare app to find them on Amazon. It appears they range from about $50 to $150, depending on their features, such as battery life and sound quality. I would imagine you would want to be sure they are wireless (Bluetooth).
If you want to read about all the features Blindsquare has to offer
(yes, there are more!), you can find the help file on the internet at https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1Rz0w2tRq0uAVx9DQ0hpyVCX9G3c8IundPnzksTI1nVQ. Also check out this YouTube video of a blind person walking around by herself in a mall to see how it can work indoors with devices called iBeacons that transmit information about the person’s location as he or she walks by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jH-Bdjmgb4. No, sorry, these iBeacons are not set up in your local mall. But this shows what is possible for independent travel in the future. The video has dialogue in another language, so if you use a screen reader, be sure it is set to read captions. There are other videos about BlindSquare on YouTube-just be sure they are in English.
If you want to try BlindSquare out without buying it, they have a demo version called Blindsquare Event that is free. You can’t use it to get around in your environment (it is not going to connect to any GPS apps), but it lets you try out its other features as if you are located in places like Times Square in New York or Big Ben in London. When the app opens, choose the option for Demo, and then choose the simulated location you want to explore.
Julie Adkins
Assistive Technology Trainer
28 Aug APP for graphing scientific calculator
Graphing Scientific Calculator link: http://appadvice.com/
If you are looking for a standalone calculator, Sight Enhancement Systems, develops scientific calculators that are designed for the visually impaired. They call it the “SciPlus”.
The main differences compared to the tablet Apps are:
– speech output in various languages
– large, tactile buttons (a major advantage over touch screen apps, which also makes our calculators desirable for people with various fine motor challenges)
– adjustable contrast, invertible, backlit display
…and yes, they do have a graphing version.
In addition to the above features, another reason people purchase them is because of the requirement that various districts have prohibiting computers or web-connected devices (which is what smart phones and tablets are) into exams. We’re very proud of our calculators, but in the end that’s all they are — calculators, and that’s actually what many people like about them.
If you need help, contact:
Rob Hilkes
Sight Enhancement Systems
613.276.4145
rhilkes@sightenhancement.com
03 Mar Standards for Braille Reading Speed
So many people ask, “How fast should my child be reading?” Here are the national standards as presented by Jerry Johns, a leading reading specialist in the country. Click on the link to download your copy Reading Speeds.
For an another extensive list of information on Braille standards go to California Reading Standards
I use these same standards for my blind and low vision students. If you set high standards then children will meet those standards. I have taken on beginner students and told them how fast they would be reading braille in a couple months, even in middle and high school. Just remember the older you start the longer it will take for them to gain speed. At the end of the 2 months, as their fingers would fly across the page reading braille, as I timed them, at the end I would ask, “So did you really think you would be able to read that fast?” They would reply, “Of course, you told me I would be able to.”
So tell them, they can, and they will.
Tricks to use
Time them every week, so they see their progress
Have them reread the same material to get flow and fluency
Have them braille the material first using contractions, then read what they wrote
02 Mar Music for the Blind
Music for the Blind
All of his music-education career Bill Brown has been teaching his students to play songs “by ear.” In the early 1990’s he started recording his “by ear” lessons so that his students could take the lessons home and learn more songs at a faster pace. He noticed that this style of learning was of a particular advantage to his visually impaired students.
As these “Guitar by Ear” and “Piano by Ear” song lessons became available through mail-order, he added two beginner courses to his line up of “by ear” offerings – ”Intro to the Guitar for the Visually Impaired,” and “Intro to the Piano for the Visually Impaired.” Through the use of these “Intro to” courses a beginning student could learn the basics needed to enter Bill Brown’s “by ear” world, even if this student was visually impaired.