AT Newsletter Summer 2008
Volume 1 Issue 1
AT Newsletter: An Editor’s Introduction
By Michael MacKillop
The AT group has written a series of articles highlighting devices, features, and ways of working into this premiere issue of what is planned to be a biannual newsletter. We want you to be more educated as to what we as AT Specialists do and how we approach our work, and help you be aware of newer tools and devices that can benefit our client base. Through this newsletter, you’ll read about a software tool that has cut travel time for the AT team, be introduced to both a newer family of scanning devices as well as a popular book reader chock full of features. We discuss some technical issues with Windows Vista and the free anti-virus AVG. Math & science access needs are detailed, as are important considerations for proper lighting. As well, Zuhair begins what will be an ongoing slice-of-life article series describing a typical day for an AT Specialist. Some of the details get a little technical – we didn’t want to dumb it down, but we do understand if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by an article – just go on and skim to the next topic.
Enjoy the articles at your leisure, and we look forward to your feedback, questions, and letters to the editor for our next issue. Cheers!
A Day in the Life of an AT Specialist - Intro
By Zuhair Mahd
It is no secret that people who work around computers are often accused of having a deficiency when it comes to using complete words. Legend has it that they love to use acronyms to describe the simplest of things – including their own professional titles! AT, IT, MIS, DBA and other acronyms are the common jargon used to indicate computeroriented job types found in any organization. While AT Specialists may seem to share the same passion for acronyms as others in the computer field, a closer look at what we do and who we are will acquaint you, my dear reader, with an entirely different lot! While we have our own idiosyncrasies (and who doesn’t), we tend to be more likely to use everyday language when talking about technology than your average IT geek. But more importantly, we are loads of fun to hang around with. This, of course, in no way implies that other members of the IT species are not articulate and fun, just that some, unlike us, like to keep their profession shrouded in the mystery of jargon.
Also, we acknowledge there are a kazillion tools and devices and softwares that potentially assist a blind or visually impaired person in improved access of computer and/or print data. While we have selected a few items to highlight and detail in this newsletter, it does not mean we endorse those products over other similar devices or tools. Our goal is to help make some sense of the bounty of technology that is out there. We affirm that every person’s needs and “Hang on” you say, “what’s an AT Specialist situations are unique, and we as a team are anyway!” Well, I’m glad you asked, for if you dedicated to always finding the best fit for the person and the situation. Assistive Technology Newsletter Summer 2008 Page 1
have read this far my dear reader, you do deserve an answer!
With each newsletter, I will take you with me along to see a client, assist an employer, meet with a counselor, or just simply analyze a problem which society thinks can never be solved (how little do they know). I hope that you will accompany me on this lovely journey starting with the next issue of the AT newsletter.
Remote Incident Manager: A New Way to Provide Enhanced AT Customer Service
By Sharon Ferrell
The Assistive Technology (AT) team for DSB is made up of a Rehab Tech, a support technician and six assistive technology specialists, and we are responsible for serving our clients’ technology needs throughout the entirety of the 71,303 square miles of Washington State. Negotiating such a huge territory with such a small team to handle emergent tech support issues has been a long-term difficulty for the team – with scheduling coordination difficulties, delays and heavy windshield time. So it was with a bit of relief earlier this year that the team was able to add a new tool that helps us better manage our client technology needs around the state: Serotek’s Remote Incident Manager . Enter a new tool Serotek’s Remote Incident Manager (RIM) allows AT specialists to take complete control over a distant client computer, just as if we were in the client’s home or worksite chair. The connection uses the internet through a secure Serotek server that complies fully with HIPPA (the Health Information Portability Protection Act). Remote access tools have existed in the past, but none had worked with the adaptive softwares our clients rely on until Serotek’s RIM became available. How it works RIM consists of three components:
AT stands for “Adaptive Technology” or “Assistive Technology”. Simply put, AT folks are the ones who twist and bend everyday technologies to make them usable by someone who is blind and/or visually impaired. We utilize creative solutions and tools to make technology and printed materials accessible, enabling blind users to communicate, learn and, most importantly, work! After all, isn’t that what you’re supposed to use the computer for? Within the context of DSB, we AT Specialists work with rehab counselors and the team to enable clients to become skilled and knowledgeable about their adaptive technologies in order to become employed or employable. We have to learn and understand the technologies that employers use, and we have to know (or figure some out quickly!) all the genius tricks needed to adapt this technology for our clients. Most importantly, however, we have to be able to connect with clients regardless of their level of technical skill or communication style. If you spend some time with me or with one of my colleagues, you will doubtless come to see what makes us the special breed we are, an odd mix of technical wonk in a strongly people-oriented field.
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A controlling software installed on the Assistive Technology Specialist’s computer or on our portable U3 smart drive, The Serotek secure server, and A small software program referred to as the Host that sits quietly in the background on the client’s computer until remote access is needed.
encrypted end-to-end using Transport Layer Security, also known as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Starting a remote session Beginning a remote session between technician and DSB client takes very few steps on the AT Specialist end. Only two simple steps are required by the end-user DSB client. The technician chooses a keyword for this incident, such as the first name of the technician or user. The technician starts the remote incident client from his or her computer or U3 key, enters the keyword, and sets other options for the incident. The end-user presses Control+ Shift+ Backspace from anywhere in his or her system to invoke the remote incident feature of the host software. The Host prompts the end-user for the incident keyword, both visually and through speech output, even if the end-user's screen reader or other assistive technology is not functioning. The end-user enters the keyword provided by the technician. The host echoes the letters the end-user types both visibly and audibly. Within a few seconds, the technician is connected to the end-user's computer and is ready to work.
The Host can be installed quickly and easily either when the client’s computer is being initially set-up, at an AT site visit, or (being a small file) even sent to a client via email. Installation from the email attachment requires just a few easy steps. Old Time Remote Access
The controlling software on the AT Specialist’s end includes Serotek’s System Access, a screen reader software that provides visually impaired AT Specialists with speech output access even when the client computer does not have a screen reader installed. If the client’s computer is running JAWS or WindowEyes, the Serotek Host will notify the technician, and it will send the screen reader speech output to the technician’s computer if desired.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom…Introducing the new products from ABISee
By Naomi Namekata
Want to take pictures of 20 pages of a book per The Serotek internet based server manages minute and have it read all the connections between the client and back to you? What if technology specialist’s computer, functioning you could change the as kind of a traffic cop. When the technician size and color of the text and client computers communicate via the from those pages server, any information transmitted is making it easier to protected from eavesdropping, including read? What if you might from the Serotek server itself. All want to zoom in on the information transmitted during a remote board in a classroom or fill out some forms? session, including file transfers, are You can do all of the above with the Zoom Assistive Technology Newsletter Summer 2008 Page 3
Ex, Zoom Twix and Eye Pal USB cameras from ABISee. They are portable and provide quick access to printed documents using the software which comes with it, called Zoom Office. Each device weighs about 1 lb and can be folded up for easy transportation. So what’s the difference between these three cameras? The Zoom Ex is created for low vision users who can read the text on their computer screens with use of some magnification or a change in color scheme. When you launch the Zoom Office program you can choose to view the document under the camera in Magnification mode or Formatted Text mode. In Magnification mode, the camera operates somewhat like a CCTV. You can zoom in and out to change the size of the text, change the color scheme and brightness, and select an option to use the arrow keys to simulate an X-Y table. The camera should not be considered a true CCTV however, because of a significant lag between movement under the camera and what you see on the screen. As a result, this would not be a good device to use for filling out forms or working with objects (i.e., threading a needle, soldering). When in Formatted Text mode, the Zoom Office runs a very quick OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on the image. It automatically wraps the text to the size of your application window, so no matter how much you zoom in, no panning from left to right is necessary. Again, you can change the color scheme to suit your needs. The best part is, you can use the built in speech synthesizer to read the text. A highlighted box will move by character, word, sentence, or section with the speech.
you just select “toggle cameras” from the menu bar. While the image is not as good as a traditional inline CCTV, it is comparable to other USB CCTVs on the market. The Eye-Pal is made for a blind user who cannot tell if the text on a page is right-side up. The software automatically deciphers the correct orientation of the text and begins reading when you hit the capture key. You also have the ability to access the text using a Braille display. Other features The Book Capture feature is available with all cameras. If the book is small and fits within the area created by the legs of the camera when open, you can scan 2 pages at once. In auto scanning mode, the camera detects when there is no motion and takes a picture of the page. You will hear a shutter sound, which signals you to flip to the next page. The company claims that you can do up to 20 pages per minute, which would mean a 200 page book would only take you 10 minutes.
Some things to consider before purchase: While these products are a great way for accessing printed material, I wouldn’t go chucking your scanners out the window quite yet. The captured image can only be converted to a .txt file; therefore you lose all the formatting, pictures, graphs, and any unrecognized text on the page. I’ve also noticed that the accuracy of the OCR is not as good as what you get with Omnipage or other OCR applications and a scanner. I’m not sure if this is due to the resolution of the camera or the OCR engine itself. Finally, there is a set focal distance, so print on very thick objects (a box) and rounded containers may or may not be recognized.
The Zoom Twix has the same functionality as the Zoom Ex camera, however it also includes a live near and distance viewing camera called the Frog. The camera is very small and attaches to the same stand. You need 2 USB ports to connect the device to your computer. With the Frog, you can do all the traditional CCTV tasks like fill out forms, work with objects, and read the whiteboard in a classroom. You can also capture the images and save them to your computer. Switching between the cameras is simple; Assistive Technology Newsletter Summer 2008 Page 4
So You Bought A Victor Reader Stream, And You Want To Download Books!
By Mike Mello
The Victor Reader Stream (Stream) is an allin-one book, music, podcast, textbook, audio recording device that is just a little larger than a deck of playing cards. With so much versatility in one machine it may be easy to be overwhelmed with all of the Stream’s features. In this article I will highlight getting started downloading books from The National Library Service for the blind (NLS). NLS allows the Stream user to download books and magazines to their computer and from there they can be easily transferred to the Stream for listening.
recently added books to the site. If browsing for books isn’t your thing, you can use the search function from the main page, where you are able to type a few words from the title or the author’s name and scroll down a list of books that match. If you are after magazines, they are just as easy to browse through from a link on the main page. When a book or magazine is found and you want to download it, just press enter on the title link. A download file dialog box will open and you can save the download to a folder on your hard drive. Most books take around ten minutes to download with a high-speed internet connection such as Cable or DSL. When the file is downloaded you will need to unzip the file before it can be transferred to the Stream. From My Computer explore to the folder where the download was saved and press enter on the file; then unzip the file. When you have the book unzipped and in a location that you can easily find, you are ready to transfer the book to the Stream. To copy your new downloaded book to the Stream, connect the Stream to your computer with the provided USB cable and turn the Stream on. After the announcement, “Player connected”, you will be able to copy the unzipped folder to the $VRDTB folder on your Stream. Now you will be able to locate the book on the bookshelf and begin listening to it. After locating and playing the book, you have a range of options to navigate, and you can set bookmarks just as you would if you were playing a non-NLS book. Most NLS downloadable books have place markers built in at major divisions in the text such as chapters, and even pages in some books. Being able to navigate by these set divisions allows the Stream user to move quickly around the contents of a book. Although the Stream will save your place in any book, or song, the Stream will allow you to set bookmarks so that you can refer back to something you have read in the past or something you simply would like to remember.
The process for getting started with NLS is a bit time consuming, but once the initial registration is done, using the service is quite easy. To get started you will need to Visit www.nlstalkingbooks.org and enter your personal information on the form located there, then in a few days you will receive an E-Mail from NLS that will ask for your Stream’s serial number. The Stream’s serial number can be found by turning the Stream on and pressing 0 (Info). Once your account is activated you will be able to visit and login into the site provided in the E-Mail. From there you will be presented with several options. You can view books by subject, by author or by
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To delete books or any type of file press the bookshelf key until you land on the shelf you would like, and then use 4-6 arrow keys to move to the book/file, then press the number three key. The Stream will prompt you with a message asking if you would really like to delete the book/file. Press the # key to confirm your selection. I hope that this article gives you a basic understanding of the process to download and enjoy a book from NLS. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Next time we will explore the world of bookshare.org.
AVG8 Anti-Virus Compatibility
By Loren Dong
With the release of JAWS version 9.0.2169U, AVG 8 no longer crashes when trying to open the AVG User Interface window. If you can tolerate the less accessible user interface, the software otherwise seems to do a good job. However, pay attention to the following items to ensure a more pleasant installation and use experience. 1. Uninstall your previous version of AVG using the Add or Remove Programs control panel, restart your computer, as advised, then install AVG version 8. 2. Don't install the AVG Security Toolbar. You'll find this on about the sixth screen during installation. Just make sure the "Yes" checkbox is unchecked. 3. Ensure that all the checkboxes in the LinkScanner item in the AVG User Interface window, Tools menu, Advanced settings, LinkScanner item are unchecked. 4. Adjust the Scheduled scan frequency in the AVG User Interface window, Tools menu, Advanced settings, Schedules, Scheduled scan item is set to run on a specific weekday, rather than the default, "Every day".
Ease of Access Center for in Windows VISTA
By Loren Dong
The new Ease of Access Center in Windows Vista provides a centralized location where you can get quick access to adjust accessibility settings and manage native assistive technology tools. It is the Vista equivalent of the Accessibilities tool in Windows XP. The Ease of Access Center includes: Quick access to common tools. With Quick Access, you can start Magnifier, Narrator, On-Screen Keyboard, and High Contrast on the fly, and they will remain active until you are finished with the current session and log off. The Quick Access section is read aloud while it is highlighted allowing you to select a tool by pressing the SPACEBAR when the tool name is highlighted. Get recommendations. This questionnaire asks about routine tasks and provides a personalized recommendation of the accessibility settings and programs that are likely to improve your ability to see, hear, and use your computer.
The Importance of Lighting – Too much? Too little? Glare?
By Sue Porter
Lighting impacts vision in every situation in life: at work, home, traveling, etc. For some Explore all settings. The Ease of Access types of eye conditions lighting is more Center also lets you explore seven critical for good vision than the need for categories of accessibility tools and options. magnification. Often good task lighting is When you select these tools and options, needed, and the challenge is to provide they will become default settings, and enough task lighting for reading and other automatically start each time you log on. near tasks without creating glare. For those who are photophobic (light sensitive) Assistive Technology Newsletter Summer 2008 Page 6
removing too much light and glare is critical for enhanced vision and comfort.
the person is left handed, to the left if the person is right handed) or coming over the shoulder to avoid glare. Never position the lamp opposite of the person because this will cause glare and the additional task lighting will do more harm than good. Also make sure that the shade of the lamp is below eye level. This insures that the light is focused on the visual target and does not get directly into the person’s eyes. If sitting at a table or counter with a shiny surface, cover it up with a cloth to avoid glare. Try various types of light bulbs in various wattage powers to determine which work best for you. Some people prefer a pinkish tint, others the bright light of plant grow light style bulbs or full spectrum bulbs. You may want to avoid Halogen bulbs as they create a lot of heat and will make you warm if you use them for task lighting. Use a flood shaped bulb if possible as they create more of a wash of light over reading material rather than a “spotlight.”
Some solutions: Wear glare filters and a visor or hat with a brim (visor or brim should extend at least 3 inches outwards) to cut down on light and glare in situations where you cannot control the level of lighting, as outdoors, in cubicles at work, and retail stores. Often lighting cannot be diminished or removed as the area is shared with others who need at least average light levels. Move away from windows and skylights if possible. If it’s not possible to change locations use blinds and Mylar screens on windows. Position monitors and TV screens so they are perpendicular to windows to reduce glare. Change the bulbs in overhead light fixtures from regular florescent to full spectrum florescent. Or, disable some or all of the bulbs in the overhead light fixtures that are causing glare. Sleeves and grids can be added to some overhead light fixtures to reduce brightness without changing or removing the bulbs. Add light for dark areas and travel with a headlamp, flashlight or lantern. For reading and other near tasks add task lighting. If possible use an adjustable arm or gooseneck lamp with a shade that is longer than the bulb. Position the lamp so it is either to the side of the person (to the right if
Science: How Far We Are From Closing the Gap for Science Accommodation
By Yangsu Cho
I seem to see more and more visually impaired participants who are interested in the math and science fields as a career goal. This trend highlights the important role that Assistive Technology services have in continuously promoting of accessibility to math and sciences. Because of the convenience of Internet, we can now easily share some devices and tools that work for particular science accommodations. Mentorship is an important factor in developing budding interests in sciences. There are some visually impaired career scientists who are willing to be mentors for those who are young visually impaired generation seeking for science as their possible career. See: http://www.nfblink.org/ and http://www.blindscience.org There are two aspects we have to focus on when considering accommodation of math:
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The accessing of the printed text math materials; and working with, manipulating and expressing math concepts and problems.
may have only 300 DPI in order to reduce the file size and download time. Since this InftyReader can recognize PDF files, you can edit contents on locked PDF files using InftyEditor. ChattyInfty is the speech program that works with InftyReader. Screen reading programs have to have correct script files or settings to work with InftyReader package. People with higher level math needs may have opportunities to utilize the full features of this program. Check out www.inftyreader.org MathPlayer is free version of a plug in program that enables screenreading programs to read math equations correctly on websites written using MathML. This program requires Internet Explorer 6 or above. This program only translates the contents to computer Braille rather than Nemeth code. http://www.dessci.com This newsletter has been brought to you by the Assistive Technology Team: Zuhair Mahd Yangsu Cho Sue Porter Sharon Ferrell Naomi Namekata Mike Mello Michael MacKillop Loren Dong And Laura Beickman
There are traditional audio book methods for the access of science and math materials. Electronic forms of science books are also getting popular. The most popular format of producing science books is called LaTeX format. Most of the publishers are choosing this format due to high quality typesetting that offers programmable desktop publishing. LaTeX is a free program that can be downloaded from the following web site: http://www.tug.org/protext/ Another method for accessing scientific materials is using an optical character recognition program. Typical scan & read programs like OpenBook or Kurzweil 1000 are good for scanning text, but they do not recognize scientific and mathematical notations and symbols. InftyReader is a program specifically designed for the scanning of math and science materials. It uses three optical character recognition engines: InftyReader engine, ExpressReaderPro, and WinReader -- InftyReader Engine is the tool that recognizes scientific and mathematical symbols. InftyReader requires at least 400 DPI (dots per inch) resolution for proper recognition. It recommends 600 DPI for high accuracy. This program can not recognize some of the PDF files downloaded from the Internet that
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