kestrell | Entries tagged with accessible education

1. YouTube - Double Tap TV - March 8th 2022
In celebration of International Women's Day we are joined by Author, Speaker and Disability Rights Lawyer Haben Girma about her career and how she advises some of the biggest tech companies in the world
https://bit.ly/321OUEy

2. American Foundation for the Blind Urges Department of Justice to Complete Rulemaking Process for Digital Accessibility Regulations
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), along with their colleagues at the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), and the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), urges the Department of Justice to finalize a rule on web and application accessibility before the end of the current administration
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-foundation-for-the-blind-urges-department-of-justice-to-complete-rulemaking-process-for-digital-accessibility-regulations-301493154.html

3. This Walking Navigation System For The Visually Impaired Was Partly Developed By Honda
Navigation systems are becoming more advanced all the time, but until recently, they've nearly always been based on sight. Ashirase Inc., however, a new business initiative by Honda, is starting to change this by developing a GPS navigation system for the visually impaired. The in-shoe navigation system, also called Ashirase, notifies walkers using vibrational cues on their feet
https://www.autoblog.com/2022/03/06/honda-ashirase-navigation-visually-impaired/

4. Microsoft Just Finished Its Purchase Of Nuance For $19.7 Billion
Nuance is a well-known company specializing in artificial intelligence that also has a strong foothold in the medical industry. Microsoft initially announced its agreement to purchase Nuance for $19.7 billion back in April 2021. The deal has since gone through the required regulatory approvals
https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-completes-197-billion-acquisition-ai-giant-nuance

5. SpeechWare has released a mic specifically designed for good speech recognition. Colin Hughes at AbilityNet has more information
https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/new-microphone-invented-speech-recognition
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I'm putting together a *very* general overview of accessibility of some of the major online education websites, such as Coursera, EdX, and Udemy, based on my personal experience, along with some tips for finding universities and instructors who are amenable to improving the accessibility of their online courses.

I would love to hear about other people's experiences, positive or negative, with these online course websites.

Also, it suddenly occurred to me that I don't really know anything about which of the AI transcribing programs are the best and worst, which work better or worse with accents, and which programs are best for creating captions. I'm sure I know people who have user experience which would be really useful to hear, if they wish to share it. Thanks!

Kes: First of all, I'm embarrased at how badly I have been mispronouncing the name of this drum for the past few weeks, although I am pleased to find out that it shares the name of my favorite pub
The Bodhran by Seamus Kennedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYKArhNzjsQ&list=PLpTusYbea9pf32O4YiskFUqYKEhyy1Ne1&index=75

Bodhran Lesson How to hold and the basic stroke by the Online Academy of Irish Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y540acW6NQM

Here are a couple of MP3 instructional CDs you can purchase on Amazon:

Bodhran Practice (Slow Sets for Beginners & Practice)
Alison Boyd

The Bodhran
Mark Stone

And here is a Udemy course:

Learn the Irish Drum- Bodhrán | Udemy
Created by
Siobhan O'Donnell
All Ireland Bodhran Champion
https://www.udemy.com/course/learn-the-bodhran/

Some 62% of adults with a disability say they own a desktop or laptop computer, compared with 81% of those without a disability, according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 2021. And when it comes to smartphone ownership, there is a gap of 16 percentage points between those with a disability and those without one (72% vs. 88%).
...Whether or not someone goes online also varies by disability status. Americans with disabilities are three times as likely as those without a disability to say they never go online (15% vs. 5%). And while three-quarters of Americans with disabilities report using the internet on a daily basis, this share rises to 87% among those who do not have a disability.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/10/americans-with-disabilities-less-likely-than-those-without-to-own-some-digital-devices/

The following links are culled from the Top Tech Tidbits weekly newsletter: view the entire newsletter or subscribe at
https://www.toptechtidbits.com/

1. Availability Of Healthcare Information To Blind And Visually Impaired Healthcare Users During The COVID Pandemic
Close Date: September 30th 2021
Dear Listers, this is Sushil Oswal from the University of Washington. I am the principal investigator on a survey about the availability of healthcare information to blind and low-vision consumers during the past 18 months. This is an important survey for our blindness community because it will give us an opportunity to express our experiences of finding healthcare information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please give us as much of your personal experiences as you can so that our study could create a comprehensive picture of the healthcare information barriers blind people face particularly under pandemic conditions. We will do a small draw of ten $25 gift cards for this survey. Besides publishing in academic journals, we will be producing a report on the basis of this healthcare information survey which will be shared with as many local and state-level health departments as possible. This report will also be available to blindness community at large. To complete the survey, please click the link below. If you have any questions about the survey, or you have difficulty completing the survey, please email me at oswal@u.washington.edu ✉. Our human subjects approval includes a permission to conduct this survey over the phone if necessary. So, do not hesitate to email me privately if you face computer issues while completing this survey. My co-investigator and I will maintain your privacy in all possible circumstances:
https://uwt.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d4FBAWsGQwBwtOC

2. Make Accessibility Part Of Your Startup's Products And Culture From Day One
A Forrester survey found that 8 in 10 companies have taken their first steps toward working on digital accessibility. What's driving this change besides the increased digital interactions? Fortune 500 companies are finally starting to realize that people with disabilities make up 1 billion of the world's market. That population and their families control more than $13 trillion in disposable income, according to Return on Disability's "The Global Economics of Disability:"
https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/03/make-accessibility-part-of-your-startups-products-and-culture-from-day-one/

3. Eyes on Success 2137 Sharing Experiences with Cochlear Implants
September 8th 2021
Blind individuals rely heavily on their ability to hear in order to compensate for their lack of sight. But what happens when a blind person loses their hearing?
https://www.eyesonsuccess.net/show%20notes/show%20notes%202137.htm

4. In-Process for September 3rd 2021
We're continuing to get closer to the release of NVDA 2021.2, so let's dive into that first this week
https://www.nvaccess.org/post/in-process-3rd-september-2021/

5. Accessing and Customizing Windows 10 Settings With Assistive Technology

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Virtual Conference: March 15-17th, 2022
What is axe-con?
Axe-con is a free open and inclusive digital accessibility conference that welcomes developers, designers, business users, and accessibility professionals of all experience levels to a new kind of accessibility conference focused on building, testing, and maintaining accessible digital experiences.

https://www.deque.com/axe-con/

Register for AXE-Con
https://www.deque.com/axe-con/register/

Agenda
https://www.deque.com/axe-con/schedule/
One of the keynote speakers will be Haben Girma
speaking on how "Difference Drives Innovation & Disability Inclusion Benefits All of Us." Girma spoke at the first AXE-Con:
Noted disability rights advocate and lawyer Haben Girma spoke about her perspectives on the state of digital accessibility, and commented on her personal experiences, “People often ask me, what was the hardest part at Harvard Law School? The hardest part was ableism.”

First AxeCon 2020 wrap-up
https://www.deque.com/blog/axe-con-largest-accessibility-conference-ever/

This article provides a how to for using an app called WebCopy
How to Download an Entire Website for Offline Reading
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-do-i-download-an-entire-website-for-offline-reading/

Two-part transaction would turn edX into a public benefit company while generously funding a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the impact of digital learning.
MIT News Office
Publication Date:June 29, 2021
https://news.mit.edu/2021/mit-harvard-transfer-edx-2u-0629

MIT and Harvard University have announced a major transition for edX, the nonprofit organization they launched in 2012 to provide an open online platform for university courses: edX’s assets are to be acquired by the publicly-traded education technology company 2U, and reorganized as a public benefit company under the 2U umbrella.

The transaction is structured to ensure that edX continues in its founding mission, and features a wide array of protections for edX learners, partners, and faculty who contribute courses.

In exchange, 2U will transfer $800 million to a nonprofit organization, also led by MIT and Harvard, to explore the next generation of online education. Backed by these substantial resources, the nonprofit will focus on overcoming persistent inequities in online learning, in part through exploring how to apply artificial intelligence to enable personalized learning that responds and adapts to the style and needs of the individual learner.

The nonprofit venture will be overseen by a board appointed by MIT and Harvard, and its future work will draw on ideas from current edX partners, as well as MIT and Harvard faculty.
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APH and Lego are offering a series of webinars about using these Lego Braille blocks for education; you can request free sets of braille Legos if you are affiliated with teaching visually impaired students
https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/aph/app/uploads/2021/02/01100015/LEGO-Webinar-Teasers-2021.pdf

Kes: Sheri Byrne-Haber is the sharpest writer writing about accessibility, and I make a point of trying to read everything she writes. Her point about attitudes regarding accessibility taking their cues from the top is the number one item that will make or break accessibility throughout the entire company, school, hospital, club, convention, wherever you are trying to make a change.

by Sheri Byrne-Haber

https://sheribyrnehaber.medium.com/how-to-identify-a-toxic-accessibility-culture-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-29c8ec9dc500

Kes: the music of the spheres is nothing new, but this seems as if it would make a really vivid method for teaching physics to visually impaired students , rather than just the same old visual methods.
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-atom-music-atomic-world.html
More at
https://academics.skidmore.edu/blogs/jlinz/atom-scales/

Kes: I'm trying to find accessible events and activities for screen reader users: there is a "Screen reader" checkbox, but I'm not seeing any results for it.
We need to crip the code so we can stage our own hackathons, because wouldn't it be awesome if we could all be able to hack our own prosthetics, like Hugh Herr?

Hour of Code
https://hourofcode.com/us/learn

Join the largest learning event in history, December 7-13, 2020
https://hourofcode.com/us
How to plan your Hour of Code
Join the movement and introduce your students to computer science with these steps.
Computational thinking helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic, and creativity. And technology is transforming every industry on the planet. Students today should learn how to create technology, not just use it. By starting early, they’ll have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path.

Trying an Hour of Code is a simple and fun way to introduce students to computer science, perhaps for the very first time, and it fits perfectly for both in-class and after-school settings. Take a look at our
participation guide
https://hourofcode.com/files/participation-guide.pdf
if you still have questions.

Description
Voice Dream and Bookshare are excited to share how you can seamlessly deliver free Bookshare books straight to your students’ devices. Participants will learn about Bookshare, the free online ebook library, and how to use the Voice Dream app for iOS and Android devices to read Bookshare books.
Time
Sep 16, 2020 10:00 AM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Register at
https://benetech.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_soOQqrK3TReH0l0D5Dgelw

All About MCB Registration & Benefits

Join us for our fourth Virtual Town Hall as we build a community of support for people who are blind and visually impaired across the Commonwealth. Learn what it means to be registered, and find out what benefits are available following registration.

MCB Virtual Town Hall
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
4:00 to 5:00 P.M. ET

Join Zoom via Desktop/Mobile App or Browser:
https://zoom.us/j/98723254108?pwd=UTVnM1Q4amwrNDFSVkVJbzlzRVVMdz09

Join Zoom via Phone:
1-646-558-8656

Enter the Meeting ID: 987 2325 4108
Enter the Password: 92320

Phone Shortcuts: *6 to Mute/Unmute, *9 to Raise/Lower Hand

Windows: Alt A to Mute/Unmute, Alt Y to Raise/Lower Hand

Mac: Command Shift A to Mute/Unmute, Option Y to Raise/Lower Hand

If you require an ADA accommodation, please contact MCB ADA Coordinator Kamilia Drogosz at 617-279-3332 or kamilia.drogosz@mass.gov by September 16th. Every effort will be made to provide a reasonable accommodation. ASL interpreter services and CART services will be available. Please inform Kamilia in advance if you will be utilizing these services.

American Printing House will be hosting a week of webinars focusing on Lego Braille Bricks and learning through play beginning Monday, August 17.
Learn more and register at
https://www.aph.org/lego-braille-bricks-week-webinars/

To learn about other APH webinars, go to
https://www.aph.org/athomewithaph-webinars/

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

From a Perkins School Action Alert, but I expect this holds just as true for all Mass. students with disabilities:

block quote start
Earlier this week the Massachusetts Legislature imposed a Tuition Freeze for Perkins School for the Blind and other Chapter 766 special education schools. This was not anticipated, since both the Governor and the House had approved a 2.13% cost of living tuition rate increase for Fiscal Year 2013.

This means that Perkins School for the Blind will receive approximately $450,000 fewer dollars than had been expected. As a great friend and supporter of Perkins, you know that these are critical funds used to support services to some of the most vulnerable students in Massachusetts.

The freezing of tuition dollars impacts Perkins and all other Chapter 766 special education schools, their students, families and staff. Statewide, $15 million fewer dollars will go to students with special needs! We need to make our voices heard. We need your immediate help with this critical issue.

PLEASE Call or write today!

Simply make a call to the Governor’s office at: 617-725-4005. Give your name and ask Governor Patrick to Veto Outside Section 169 - The Rate Freeze for Chapter 766 Schools. You could also email or fax a letter to the Governor.
https://secure2.convio.net/psb/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=179

block quote end

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

Book signing & celebration with Dr. Bill Henderson

Thursday November 10, 2011
7-11 PM
Florian Hall
55 Hallet Street, Dorchester

The evening will feature a short book talk from Bill after which he will be available to sign books. The Blind Advantage will be available for purchase at the event. There will also be entertainment, hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, a silent auction and raffle items.

Donation: $20 per person in advance or at the door
Please make checks payable to the Henderson Inclusion School.

Please contact the school for additional information 617-635-8725. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Dr. William Henderson Inclusion Elementary School in Dorchester

More about the book:
The Blind Advantage How Going Blind Made Me a Stronger Principal and How Including Children with Disabilities Made Our School Better for Everyone
by Bill Henderson
This book can also be purchased through
The Harvard Education Publishing Group Web site
http://www.hepg.org/hep/book/145/TheBlindAdvantage
which also offers an audio book, MP3 download
ISBN-13: 978-1-61250-246-5
Price: $24.95

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