Kestrell

So there is this guy named Justin who has an entire Website full of guitar lessons
http://justinguitar.com
and you can check out the lessons free. He is also a fantastic explainer and gives specific instructions on which finger should go on which string at which fret (he also typically provides instructions for alternate fingerings), and instructions are given both in video and text notes. He even does a bit of troubleshooting at the end of each video so you can figure out why your chord sounds wrong. I've checked out a number of online lessons and audio courses, and this is the one I have found to be, by far, the most blind-friendly. Obviously, however, you don't have to be blind to appreciate his great teaching method, because his site has over 50,000 likes.
And, just to provide the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae, he has a British accent.

Here is the link to the D chord I am working on today
http://justinguitar.com/en/BC-111-D-chord.php

The Guardian has a weekly colum which features reading- and writing-related apps
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/mar/02/apps-rush-spot-bluebrain-dealboard
and many of these are designed for children.
I thought this one was especially nifty:

Using My Words to Ask For What I Want Social Story
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/using-my-words-to-ask-for/id504128146?mt=8

The latest iOS app for children with autism is Using My Words to Ask For What I Want, whose title is self-explanatory. It's a 13-page "social story" about how to ask for different objects or activities, explaining why it's important to ask. It's the work of developer Touch Autism.
iPhone / iPad

Posted to the Art Beyond Sight mailinglist

NASA Unveils a New Lunar Book for the Visually Impaired

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - NASA will unveil a new book for blind and visually impaired readers at a media event and reception hosted by the
NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) at 6 p.m. PDT on July 18 at NASA's
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

The book "Getting a Feel for Lunar Craters" was created with the NLSI and features tactile diagrams of the lunar surface designed to educate the blind and visually impaired about the wonders of Earth's moon. David
Hurd, a space science professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, Pa., is the book's author. He and tactile engineer John Matelock began creating tactile astronomy tools after a student with a visual impairment signed up for Hurd's introductory astronomy course.
Cassandra Runyon, a professor at College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C. and Hurd previously produced "A Tactile Guide to the Solar System with Digital Talking Book" for NASA.

Hurd and students from the California School for the Blind, Fremont, Calif., are scheduled to attend the unveiling.

"NASA's Lunar Science Institute is committed to the development of resources to bring lunar science into the world of those who cannot see.
'Getting a Feel for Lunar Craters' is one giant step for humankind, making lunar science visible through touch and sound," said Yvonne Pendleton, director of the NLSI.

The NLSI is a virtual organization that enables collaborative, interdisciplinary research in support of NASA lunar science programs.
The institute uses technology to bring scientists together around the world and comprises competitively selected U.S. teams and several international partners. NASA's Science Mission Directorate and the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington, funds the institute, which is managed by Ames.

For more information about the NASA Lunar Science Institute, visit:
http://lunarscience.nasa.gov

From the announcement posted to mailing lists:

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EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) has just created a short
pamphlet to help computer support staff who work, at least periodically, with students with disabilities. Frequently these staff have little
experience working with this population, and this 7-page pamphlet strives to make the interaction less stressful for the staff and more helpful for the students.

Here are the topics covered in the pamphlet:

COMPUTER SUPPORT STAFF TIPS FOR DISABILITY ETIQUETTE
Introduction Your attitude can make a big difference
Tips on dealing with people with disabilities
General tips
Some Helpful tips for specific disability types
Visual Impairments
Hearing Impairments
Mobility Impairments
Upper body motor impairments
Learning and cognitive Disabilities
Finding resources
Note on service dogs

It can be downloaded free from the Internet and shared with your colleagues:
http://easi.cc/zip/computer-support-staff.zip

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Because Pictures Matter: A Guide to Using, Finding, and Creating Tactile Imagery for Blind Children
written by Deborah Kent, illustrated by Ann Cunningham (National Braille Press, 2008)

This book is available for free from NBP in large print format, and is also available in Spanish.
To order, go to
http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/BPM.html

As a former art student, one of the things I find most frustrating about being blind is the attitude on the part of others that how things look is something of which I am uncaring, oblivious, or entirely ignorant.

As human beings, most of us have brains which automatically attempt to find out information, patterns, stories, and even a sense of aesthetics. An aesthetic is, after all, one's sense of what is good and beautiful, what affects each of us emotionally and psychologically and even sometimes physically.

Let me underscore that last bit, because sighted individuals often seem to forget this: beneath all the linguistic and conceptual abstractions of aesthetics lies the fact that we are talking about reacting to what is, after all, the physical world and it's affect upon us.
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[From the announcement e-mail]

NASA is looking to increase the number of blind and disabled students, pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers through our internship programs. We have a two-percent hiring goal. Students can
>apply between November 1 and February 1. They can register for an account and look for internships anytime at
http://intern.nasa.gov/ .
Internships run for ten weeks from May 31, 2011, through August 5, 2011.
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Kes: Short but information-rich, if you are going to read one article on the subject of ebooks and accessibility for blind readers, read this one.

E-Texts for All (Even Lucy)
By Char Booth, E-Learning Librarian, University of California, Berkeley Aug 5, 2010
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/community/academiclibraries/886230-419/e-texts_for_all_even_lucy.html.csp

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Lucy is partial to a few sayings that have helped me understand the e-text accessibility paradox. The first is that "ebooks were created by the blind, then made inaccessible by the sighted."

Online text formats like DAISY and EPUB were pioneered in part by the accessibility movement as an alternative to expensive and cumbersome Braille texts.
As ebooks have gained popularity, however, digital text became inexorably less accessible as for-profit readers like the Kindle and Sony Reader muscled onto the scene. A patina of
digital rights management (DRM) has been added in order to protect the intellectual property of vendors, contrary to the open and accessible orientation libraries have long held toward literacy and learning.
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The American Printing House for the Blind is making this free guide available in multiple formats, including html and PDF.
http://www.aph.org/edresearch/illustration.htm