Library Tech Project during DCWEEK

http://digitalcapitalweek.org/projects/library-tech/
DC WEEK is a week-long festival in the US capital focused on bringing together designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and social innovators of all kinds.

Library Tech is a project that includes a series of events at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library that will bring together developers and users from the accessibility community to produce tools that meet community needs.

Please bring ideas for tools to the Nov 5^th Problem Identification Workshop.

Examples of tools that have been built at similar projects or have been suggested for this one:

·      An e-reading software for Bookshare books

·      A social network for using the FaceTime videophone app for remote audio description

·      A captioning tool that uses Dragon Naturally Speaking

·      A system that helps broaden the networks of Twitter users in the accessibility community

Saturday Nov 5th, 1pm to 3pm — Accessible App Demo

Saturday Nov 5th, 3pm to 5pm — Problem Identification Workshop

Monday Nov 7th, 6pm to 9pm — Accessibility Hackathon Preparation Session

Saturday Nov 12th, 10am to 5:30pm — Accessibility Hackathon

Details follow:

Saturday Nov 5th, 1pm to 5pm, Room 215, Adaptive Services, MLK Library

Accessible App Demo and Problem Identification Workshop

Presentors: Mark Reumann – Patent Office, Zuhair Mahmoud – Library of Congress, Don Barrett – Dept of Education

Agenda:

1pm to 3pm: demos and discussion of accessible apps, like MoneyReader or Color Identifier

3pm to 5pm: developers host a Problem Identification Workshop, to come up with tools can be built at a Hackathon the next Saturday.

Monday, November 7th, 2011 – 6:00pm to 9:00pm, Room 215, Adaptive Services, MLK Library

Accessibility Hackathon Preparation Session

Speaker: Gerardo Capiel, Bookshare

Agenda:

Gerardo will advise on choosing projects and how to set up the development environment.

He will speak about some related technologies like the Bookshare API:

http://developer.bookshare.org

and the new Google Chrome TTS APIs:

http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-text-to-speech-api-for-chrome.html?showComment=1319148125417#c3671817693482193507

Saturday, November 12, 2011 – 10:00am to 5:30pm, LibraryLab space, 1st Floor, MLK Library

Accessibility Hackathon

Agenda:

With the preparation of the Problem Identification Workshop on Saturday Nov 5th, the Hackathon Preparation Session on November 7th, and the help of organizations like Bookshare, Random Hacks of Kindness, LibraryLab, and the Wikimedia Foundation, we hope to be able to come up with a simple and completable ICT solution to needs that are defined by the user community.

Accessibility Camp DC 2011

Welcome

Thanks, for coming to register for Accessibility Camp DC, on October 22, 2011.

Date and Location

We are going to have Accessibility Camp DC at the Martin Luther King Library here in Washington, DC, on October 22, 2011, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Check-in will begin at 9:30 AM once library opens.

The Martin Luther King  (MLK) Jr. Memorial Library is located at:

901 G St NW, Room 215
Washington, DC 20001-4531

General Overview

We are still in the major planning stage for this event and are still looking for volunteers and sponsors. Please e-mail us at info@AccessibilityCampDC.org, if you would like to help or sponsor this event.

This event is going to be run like a typical BarCamp, which is an un-conference, where the people attending are the speakers, please come with a talk or discussion in mind.

Registration for this FREE event to attendees will open on Wednesday August 24, 2011, at noon eastern.

The reason we are holding off opening registration for all the tickets (150) is we are trying to make sure people don't just sign-up to get a spot not knowing what their schedule is going to be in two months and then not show up.

Please follow http://www.twitter.com/AccessCampDC to know what is going on and when registration and other points of interest are occurring.

Talk Ideas

The main idea of this event is to get a whole lot of smart people together to learn and teach each other how to improve the web, software, even mobile applicatins, and make it accessible to all.

Some suggestions for talks we had in mind are listed below. If you have other ideas send them to us or add them to the wiki, once we have that ready.

• Section 508 Compliance
• Practical Ways to Make Your Website Accessible
• Accessible PDF's
• Making Flash Accessible
• What is WAI-ARIA - (Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications)
• Accessible Video and Transcription
• Panel Discussion on “Issues Effecting Individuals with Disabilities on the Web”
• Captioning
• Mobile Application Accessibility

Schedule

Below is a breakdown of the schedule and how the day will unfold. Would greatly appreciate it if you can make sure you are on time for registration so we can get started on time.

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM - Registration

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM - General announcements about Accessibility Camp DC, sponsors, and then most of the time creating the rest of the event schedule of speakers.

Each talk will be 45 minutes including questions and then attendees will have 15 minutes to get to there next talk. We will be able to have four or five talks going on at the same time if we have enough people willing to talk or be in charge of a discussion.

11:00 AM - 11:45 AM - First set of talks

12:00 PM - 12:45 PM - Second set of talks

12:45 PM - 2:00 PM - Lunch

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM - Third set of talks

3:00 PM - 3:45 PM - Fourth set of talks

4:00 PM - 4:45 PM - Fifth set of talks

4:45 PM - 5:30 PM - Closing remarks, clean-up, and after event wanderings.

DC Center for Independent Living Event

Bring your IPOD and walking shoes, as the

DC Center for Independent Living celebrates

30 years of service to the community! 

When:  October 15th, 2011 From 10:00AM-2:00PM

From: 1400 Florida Ave NE(DCCIL) TO:3rd & H ST NE and From: 3rd & H ST NE To: 1400 Florida Ave. NE

**Encourage your family and friends to help DCCIL continue the legacy of breaking down barriers for people with disabilities for another 30 years and beyond!** 

• For more information on how you can help, call:   DCCIL Main Office:  (202)388-0033 TTY:  (202)388-0277

Hadley School for the Blind, Lifelong Learning

As of September 19, the Forsythe Center for Entrepreneurship is open for enrollment.  The goal of this new business, entrepreneurship and technology program is to provide individuals who are visually impaired with the knowledge, resources and networking opportunities enabling them to advance in their careers or to successfully launch and grow their own businesses.

Ten courses are open for enrollment as of today:

*  Self-Employment with a Minimal Investment

*  Business Fundamentals

*  Business Communications

*  Business Law 1

*  Business Law 2

*  Business Writing

*  Using Excel

*  Screen Readers: Listening Skills

*  Screen Readers: Web Browsing

*  Screen Readers: Formatting Word Documents

Six new modules are also open for enrollment:

* Market Research

* The Financial Plan

* The Marketing Plan

* The Business Plan

* Business Insurance

* Forms of Ownership

Hadley is embarking upon this program, in part, to address the deplorable employment rate among people who are visually impaired.  Although statistics vary somewhat, the most reliable data sources suggest that the

under- or

unemployment rate of persons who are blind or visually impaired is 70%-80%.

The program is designed to be practical, relevant and interactive.  Courses are open to anyone who is blind or visually impaired, over age 14 and is serious about starting or growing a business.  Coursework is offered free of charge and is mostly online.

To learn more and enroll, please visit

[1]http://www.hadley.edu/fce.  If you

missed the seminar last week about the Center, you can access it through the [2]Past Seminars.  Please contact Tom Babinszki at [3]fce@hadley.edu with any questions.

The Hadley School for the Blind, Lifelong Learning, since 1920 700 Elm Street, Winnetka, IL 60093

800-323-4238

[4]www.hadley.edu

References

1.  http://www.hadley.edu/fce

2.  http://www.hadley.edu/PastSeminars.asp#3

3.  mailto:fce@hadley.edu

4.  http://www.hadley.edu/

AT Videos from WebAxe

Here's a great list of videos and YouTube channels about web accessibility, assistive technology, and more. And from some excellent sources! 
http://webaxe.blogspot.com/2011/08/accessibility-videos.html

Adaptive Technology Training Videos from CAP.MIL

The Computer Electronic Accomodations Program at the Department of Defense has some great AT training videos: http://cap.mil/PublicationsForms/productMaterials.aspx


CAP has a number of resources that can inform you about assistive technology (AT) and ergonomics. Our AT Demonstration videos can provide information about the different types of accommodations and how these solutions help employees with disabilities. We've included links to some helpful AT documents with information about what is available for certain networks and agencies. We also have information about workplace ergonomics to help you set your workspace up in a manner that can help to prevent repetitive stress injuries.

Updated Audio Tutorial for the Victor Stream

HumanWare is pleased to release an updated audio tutorial for the Stream.

It is available for download from:

www.humanware.com/en-canada/support/vr_stream_documentation

On that page, look under the English heading for a zip download of the audio tutorial files.

This tutorial is very comprehensive , covering basic and advanced features of the Stream. It is approximately 5.5 hours in length with 21 different sections. Here is a list of the topics covered:

01 - Introduction

02 - Player Overview

03 - Bookshelves

03.1 - Exploring SD Card Bookshelves

03.2 - Transferring Content to SD Card Bookshelves

04 - Playback and Navigation

04.1 - Playing and Copying USB External Media

05 - Voice Recordings

06 - Bookmarks

07 - NLS, Stream Activation, and BARD Book Download

07.1 - Transferring a DAISY Book Using Companion

08 - Bookshare Online Books

08.1 - Companion Online Books Menu

09 - Advanced Features, Multi-Level Bookshelf

09.1 - Advanced Features, Music Navigation and Temporary Playlist

09.2 - Advanced Features, Text Search

10 - HumanWare Companion Overview and Installation

10.1 - Book Transfer Window and Companion Menus

10.2 - Companion Transferr of TXT, HTML, DOC, and PDF Files

10.3 - Transfer a DAISY CD Book with Companion

10.4 - Using Companion to Get Software Updates

The download is a zip file of approximately 225MB. If you unzip the Stream Audio Tutorial folder into your $VROtherBooks folder then you can navigate backward or forward through the tutorial sections using the 4 and 6 keys of your Stream.

If you are new to the Stream sections 1 to 6 will help you get started.

Seasoned Streamers may wish to investigate advanced features of section 9. The HumanWare Companion is appreciated by so many that we have devoted the entire section 10 to the features of the Companion. For new or seasoned Streamers alike we believe there is something of interest for all. We hope you enjoy the new tutorial with our compliments.

Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) Project.

http://blog.eastersealstech.com lots of videos on assistive technologies

http://eastersealstech.com/

Easter Seals Crossroads has been providing assistive technology solutions in Indiana since 1979.  In 2007, Easter Seals Crossroads partnered with the State of Indiana, Bureau of Rehabilitative Services to establish the Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) Project.  The INDATA Project is one of 56 similar, federally-funded projects designed to increase access and awareness of assistive technology.

INDATA core services include: Information and referral, funding assistance, public awareness and education, device demonstration, device loan, and equipment reutilization.

RoboBraille

What is RoboBraille?

RoboBraille is an e-mail service which can convert digital text documents into either Braille or audio files. It is quick and easy to use RoboBraille. You simply send an e-mail with an attached text document to RoboBraille. Shortly after, you will receive the document back from RoboBraille in the specified format - an audio file, for example.

It is free for non-commercial users to use RoboBraille. http://www.robobraille.org/frontpage

BlindHow

The NFB of Utah is excited to announce a new website, BlindHow.com.   BlindHow.com allows for community members to view and share video, audio, or written tutorials and information on a myriad of topics regarding blindness and visual impairment.
Topics could include, "How do you use an iPhone with voiceover?"  "This is how I put on makeup every day, how do you?"   "How do you mow your lawn?"  "This is how I downhill ski." 
If you can't find the answer you are looking for, then we want you to ask!  If you have something to share, then become a contributor today!   We know that there are many different ways to do one thing.  For example, I may iron my shirt one way … and you another!  Knowledge is power and sharing is caring!  You can make a difference!
http://blindhow.com/