Reading: It’s More Than Meets the Eye. A Digital Talking Book Machine I work at a library that provides reading materials for the “print disabled” — those people who cannot read a traditional print book for a physical reason. It’s a network library of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), a division of the Library of Congress, and the program has been around for about eighty years. NLS, through its libraries, provides books and magazines in audio and braille. For audiobooks, NLS also furnishes a machine to play these books. Originally that was a record player; then a cassette player; now it is a “Digital Talking Book Machine” (DTBM).
Instead of a record or cassette, books are stored on flashdrives. When I tell people where I work, I sometimes hear about how our library made a positive impact on the life of a grandparent or elderly neighbor. This misunderstanding is usually the easiest to correct. Why make this exception for people with print disabilities? See the problem here? Project Enable. Complete Guide to educational and special needs apps, complete list at One Place for Special Needs.
Complete guide to educational and special needs apps With over 300,000 apps it's easy to become overwhelmed by the number of app choices. It's also easy to spend a small fortune on a lot of useless apps. As a special needs parent I wanted to get right to the "good stuff" and figured you did too. Check out our guide that breaks down the best of the apps by skill set so you can easily find and buy apps that most benefit your child. Great for kids with autism, ADHD, apraxia, learning disability, sensory issues and more. By Dawn Villarreal, One Place for Special Needs Android apps (all) Android does not have the nice interface of iTunes for viewing apps on the Internet as opposed to your device. Aphasia appsApps specific to those with aphasia Apraxia appsApps specific to those with Childhood Apraxia of Speech Articulation appsApps that focus on articulation.
Auditory memory apps Auditory memory is the ability to remember what you heard. Autism appsApps specific to those on the autism spectrum. Disability Studies. New American Foundation for the Blind App Helps People with Vision Loss Easily Take Notes on iPhone(r), iPad(r), and iPod touch(r) New York (February 1, 2013)—For the millions of Americans with vision loss looking for a simple, convenient way to take notes at work, at school, or at home, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) today launched the AccessNote™, a specialized notetaker for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. "Apple products have earned high points from us for their out-of-the-box accessibility for users who are blind or visually impaired," said Carl R.
Augusto, AFB president and CEO. "We designed this app to complement the iPhone's other popular features, like web browsing and email, so that users who are blind have all the tools they need in one, handy device. " A traditional notetaker is a portable electronic device that enables users who are blind or visually impaired to take notes, create documents, and access applications.
This is the first notetaking app developed and designed specifically for users with vision loss. What sets the AccessNote apart includes: Seamless Navigation. About AFB. Making Social Media More Accessible: What You Can Do Today. On-Demand Webinar NOTE: Large files will take more time to download. Description Have you ever observed how people with disabilities are experiencing your content on social media?
Is someone who uses a screen reader or other assistive technology able to understand your content on Twitter or Facebook? NOTE: You may notice that this webinar is shorter than our typical DigitalGov University webinar. What You'll Learn Participants will learn tips to make your content more accessible on: News. Subscribe to NewsletterTell a FriendPrint this Page Most social media platforms such as blogs, social networks, podcasts, and file sharing services are not accessible to persons living with some form of disability. It's time we included the more than a billion people worldwide into the most popular way of communicating online, says Debra Ruh.
I am a big fan of social media. I use it to highlight the value of including everyone in society, with a special emphasis on the community of people living with disabilities (PwD) and accessible Internet and Information and Communications Technology (ICT). I believe that we (the community of PwD) are finding our voices via social media; however, there are some significant accessibility issues that should be addressed.
Image: Social Media has to be accessible for persons with disabilities in order to ensure their full participation in online communications The use of social media websites is becoming an important part of the workplace. Back. The Accessibility Project. AccessTech News. » Making Your Website Accessible Part 2: Implementing WCAG ACRL TechConnect Blog. In Part 1, I covered what web accessibility is, its importance, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This post focuses on how to implement WCAG into the structure and layout of the website (including templates/themes, plugins, etc.).
While I will be referring to WCAG, I have based this post on what I have found in terms of general best practices, so hopefully this post is applicable to any site. Using a Template for Layout First off, I’m going to assume that at the very least your website uses a template even if it doesn’t use a content management system (CMS). Whether your site is developed in-house or not, the points below should be true, otherwise you’re making your website inaccessible for everyone (not just those with accessibility needs). A template will help you with: To provide multiple ways to content, I’m partial to providing links to related pages (local nav) and a search bar, but there are other options.
Ordering Content Keyboard Navigation Responsive Template. » Making Your Website Accessible Part 1: understanding WCAG ACRL TechConnect Blog. With more and more services and resources becoming digital, web accessibility has become an ever increasingly important topic. As a result, I thought a summary of my findings would be useful to others that are involved with web services. What is Web Accessibility? Some define web accessibility to mean making the web accessible to those with disabilities (including visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive) . However, I prefer the more general meaning of making the web accessible equally to everyone, including those with disabilities . To take this further, regardless of whether someone has a disability, they should be able to access information in their preferred manner including using any browser, operating system, or device.
A quick (but common) example of a problem is how a user is expected to control a video if they cannot use a mouse to click on buttons (they may depend on a keyboard or be visually impaired), especially when most videos still use some form of Flash. What is WCAG? Acrobat XI Accessibility Documentation « Adobe Accessibility. On behalf of the Adobe Accessibility team, I’d like to welcome you all to 2013. We’ve got a big year ahead of us, and we’re starting with some new documentation for Acrobat XI. We’ve updated our Acrobat accessibility training resources page with four new PDFs: PDF Accessibility Overview Covers the accessibility features of PDF as a document format, as well as Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader.
Using the Acrobat XI Pro Accessibility Checker A complete walkthrough of Acrobat XI’s Accessibility Checker, as well as the Make Accessible action wizard. Acrobat XI Pro PDF Accessibility Repair Workflow Walk step-by-step through the PDF accessibility process in Acrobat XI. Acrobat XI Pro Accessible Forms and Interactive Documents Create interactive forms that can be used by anyone, ensuring privacy and independence for all. We’ve also created a Acrobat XI accessibility best practices document which contains all four of the above guides in a single file. Teaching Braille to Young Children | Paths to Literacy. By Laurel J. Hudson, Ph.D. Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments Introduction As we teach young children with visual impairments/blindness to write braille, our approach needs to be developmental.
We need to look at readiness for formal instruction, and then we need to adjust our pacing, expectations, and activities according to the learning needs of young children. Before children begin a formal braille writing curriculum, they should be able to attend for at least a few minutes at a time. Make It Fun Emphasize enjoying braille and having fun with it. These bottles of extract can be matched with the braille card for an activity that is both fun and meaningful. Make It Meaningful Let children experience whole events, from obtaining books or a braillewriter and paper, using them, then putting them away. Make It Developmental Allow some portions of lessons to be child-led, that is, let the children have some choices as to what they write with the braillewriter. How to write an effective accessibility statement - Hassell Inclusion. Today is the first Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). As described on the Global Accessibility Awareness Day site: Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a community-driven effort whose goal is to dedicate one day to raising the profile of and introducing the topic of digital (web, software, mobile app/device etc.) accessibility and people with different disabilities to the broadest audience possible.
I’ve already done quite a bit via this site and blog to raise the profile of accessibility globally, especially through my popular Accessibility Myths 2011 blogs. Today, I’m going to do my bit for GAAD by blogging on one of the subjects people regularly ask me about – accessibility statements – and highlight how guidance in BS 8878 adds to their effectiveness. History of accessibility statements and accessibility policy statements Accessibility statements have been around for years. Who is an accessibility statement for? The grand words are fine, if a little generic. I’ll use an analogy. Library Accessibility - Accessibility, Universal Design, Web Usability & Assistive Technology - LibGuides at University of Hawaii at Manoa. December 2003 Introduction The University of Hawaii at Manoa Libraries (UHM Libraries) are committed to a policy of equal access to their collections, facilities, and services.
These policies and procedures ensure that persons with disabilities will not, on the basis of that disability, be denied equal access to library resources. It is the responsibility of all library staff to adhere to this policy of equal access to library resources. UHM Libraries recognize their legal obligations to make available reasonable and appropriate accommodations designed to provide access to library resources for library users with self-disclosed disabilities. For UHM students with disabilities and related extensive need for accommodation, the library will coordinate services with the KOKUA program. This document is subject to change. Definitions Part I: Policy Statement Part II: Rights and Responsibilities A. B. Part III: Resources UHM Resources. Is Your Library Accessible? | Library by Design.
Library-accessibility.wikispaces. Try Wikispaces Classroom now. Brand new from Wikispaces. guest Join | Help | Sign In Accessibility in the School Library Home guest| Join | Help | Sign In Turn off "Getting Started" Loading... Think Accessible Before You Buy | Assn. of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) An ASCLA Toolkit Ch., William Reed, Susanne Bjorner, Simon J.M. Healey, Valerie Lewis, Michael L. Marlin, Adina Joyce Mulliken, Brian Rankin Often, library staff may have to make purchasing decisions regarding electronic databases and resources, software for public use, or a new web site design or layout. Thanks to continuing efforts to produce accessibility standards for electronic resources and information technology by the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the United States Access Board, guidelines do exist to assist software manufacturers and programmers, and web site designers and developers on how to make their products accessible to people with disabilities.
Unfortunately, these technical standards can be a real challenge to translate and understand for those of us without a technical background, or who are not former computer programmers or web page coders. LIBRARY ACCESSIBILITY AND ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY- Library Accessibility –What You Need to Know | Assn. of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) The ASCLA “Library Accessibility –What You Need to Know” toolkit series of fifteen tipsheets was developed to help librarians in all types of libraries understand and manage access issues. These issues include but are not limited to: patrons who have cognitive, mental, or emotional illnesses; patrons with learning and/or developmental disabilities; patrons with service animals; patrons needing assistive technologies; and, patrons with physical disabilities. Each tipsheet addresses a specific concern, and was updated in 2010.
Assistive TechnologyAutism & Spectrum DisordersChildren with Disabilities (English), Children with Disabilities (Chinese) Deaf & Hard of HearingDevelopmental DisabilitiesLearning DisabilitiesManagementMental IllnessMultiple DisabilitiesPhysical disabilitiesService AnimalsStaffVisionVolunteers with DisabilitiesWhat Trustees Need to Know. Disability Tools Step-By-Step Guide. Using technology appropriately can enhance the library experience for all users, but is particularly significant for users with disabilities. Creating electronic resources as accessibly as possible is a useful starting point, but for some users specific technologies will be needed to access those resources. There are many FOSS tools available to support library users with a variety of needs, ranging from those with visual impairment or blindness, to users with dyslexia or who have difficulty using a mouse, or simply users who have limited reading ability or prefer to listen to text than read it on-screen.
Most librarians are not specialists in this area and can be discouraged by the sheer number and variety of FOSS tools available to support disabled users. This is why EIFL have created a step-by-step guide to some of the most helpful and easy-to-use tools. Many FOSS tools can be of benefit to library patrons and staff, those with disabilities as well as those without.