Upcoming webinars: Getting the most out of your Amazon Echo + NVDA training

The NFB is hosting many webinars for blind computer users, and here are two outstanding ones which I will be attending:

1. Getting the most out of your Amazon Echo smart speaker
Zoom call to be held on Wednesday, July 1, at 3 P.M. EDT
Find out more about this and many other upcoming NFB virtual events at
https://www.nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/view?id=1823&reset=1

2. The NFB will also be hosting a webinar which will offer NVDA training on Friday, July 3, at 8 P.M. EDT
For those unfamiliar with it, NVDA
https://www.nvaccess.org/
is a popular free screen reader.

Creating accessible documents in Word, PDF, or Google Docs

Many of the major word processing programs now offer templates for creating accessible docs and, due to people now working and learning from home, there have been many recently updated guides to producing documents in accessible formats. Here's a list of resources.
Templates that help you make your content accessible to everyone are now available on Templates.Office.com. You can find them by searching for "accessible templates" or you can use the following query:
Accessible Office templates.
https://templates.office.com/en-us/collection-accessibility

Creating Accessible PDFs in Adobe Acrobat
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/creating-accessible-pdfs.html

Make PDFs Accessible Using Acrobat Pro
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html

Make an Existing PDF File Accessible Using Acrobat Pro
https://kb.iu.edu/d/bfua#kms-document-div

Save MS Word File as Accessible PDF
https://tips.uark.edu/save-word-file-as-accessible-pdf/

Create Accessible PDFs
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-accessible-pdfs-064625e0-56ea-4e16-ad71-3aa33bb4b7ed
( more on using Word or Google Docs )

File Transformer is a free online tool to convert files into alternate formats

Kes: I've mentioned this online tool before in one of my first Covid-19 resources posts, but it seems convenient to mention it in relation to the preceding post on accessible documents.
File Transformer
https://ally.ac/covid19/
is a free tool developed by Blackboard Ally, which allows users to convert already-created files into various alternate formats such as HTML, audio MP3, ePub, or electronic Braille, in order to better fit their individual needs, devices, and learning preferences.

What is the difference between an "accessible" format and an "alternate" format?
Readers with disabilities--and even those without disabilities--often find that a particular mode of learning suits their individual learning style. Some visually impaired readers prefer to listen to audio formats, while others prefer braille. Some sighted learners with reading impairments, such as dyslexia, learn better by listening to audio, others may learn through a combination of listening and reading print. In addition, many of these formats require assistive technologies--devices apart from a basic PC or laptop set up with Windows or iOS--which can best access the format desired by the user. So, just because a file is in an accessible format, doesn't mean it is necessarily in the format preferred by the reader, that is, that reader's preferred alternate format.

Repost: How to keep your glasses from fogging up while wearing a face mask

Kes: I mentioned this during a Zoom meeting, and some people hadn't heard of the study, so am reposting it.
Back in 2011, two scientists published a study in the Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England that illuminates a simple, at-home hack for this very phenomenon, which “can be a nuisance and even incapacitate” medical staff.
https://coolblindtech.com/how-to-keep-your-glasses-from-fogging-up-while-wearing-a-face-mask/