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An Educators Guide to Visual Disabilities
And Technology Use Written by: Cheryl Cheifetz Introduction With about 14 million visually impaired Americans (National Captioning Institute), it seems obvious that accessing the Internet is a challenge. The connection to news, information and entertainment is a service that’s importance cannot be ignored. The blind and visually impaired are the most affected faction in regards to the graphic-guided nature of the Internet and yet at least 1.5 million blind and visually impaired Americans use computers on a regular basis. (Blindness Statistics, 2005.)
General Guidelines The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 describe basic principles and requirements that make websites accessible to all. Some specific guidelines geared toward those with visual disabilities include the following: Ø Provide text alternative for all non-text material Ø Ensure that information can be separated from presentation Ø Make it easy to distinguish foreground information from background images Ø Allow readers to control time limits on reading and interaction Ø Ensure that user interfaces are accessible or provide an accessible alternative
For more tips on website design in regards to visual impairments, please review the 2002 Addendum to this White Paper under the heading Other Considerations.
Assistive Technology In a classroom, technology should be accessible to everyone, including students who are blind or have other visual impairments. From a very basic classroom standpoint, Braille, tape services, and large print should be used regularly.(Sara-Serrano, 2004) There are a number of assistive technology devices that are currently available to support computer use as well.
Ø Magnification: Computer magnification software can enlarge print on the computer screen. Images can be enlarged up to 16 times and the user controls font size, color contrast, and color selection. Besides software, Microsoft and Apple both offer a variety of adaptive technology on their websites. Ø Glare Screen: Reduces headaches and fatigue by eliminating glare from lights on the monitor. Ø Scanner/Readers: Scans printed text and converts it into speech. Text can also be scanned and stored on a disk, into a word processing application or prepared for Braille use. Vision Matters is a company with a variety of products that support this function. Ø Screen Readers: Narrates a screen of text orally or directly into Braille. The reader controls and navigates while listening and responding. ZoomText 8.1 is an example of this attribute and it also includes a magnification component. JAWS for Windows remains a prevailing choice as well. Ø Braille Displays: Text appears on the computer screen and refreshable Braille is emitted on the keyboard one line at a time. A screen reader is also necessary to use this technology. Ø Portable Notetakers: Used instead of pen and paper, these PDA-like devices can store 6000 pages of Braille. Ø Braille Embossers: Prints out pages in Braille. (Source: Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program) For more examples of commonly used assistive technology, please review the 1999 Visual Disabilities White Paper. New Technology Options Maestro made by VisuAide is used to make personal digital assistants (PDAs) accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. At this time, the device attaches to the HP iPAQ Pocket PC and the Dell Axim X50. It allows for text, vocal, or Braille notetaking, use of MS Office programs, as well as a USB port to connect to any computer. Using this in the classroom would allow easy portability of schoolwork to home. ZoomText 8.1 is an updated version of the original ZoomText technology. It can be both a magnifier and a screen reader. The current issue also reads documents, web pages, and e-mail and speaks program events as they occur. It is available in 16 languages. The Cobra Flex Duo is a magnifier with a camera and a flat panel monitor. It mainly focuses on PC work, but can be used with Digital Video Processing (DVP) technology as well. The camera views your entire desk but takes up very little space on the desktop itself. In 2004 CANARIE E-learning Program funded a project entitled The Inclusive Learning Exchange, or TILE. TILE was developed to make broadband technology accessible to all users. It can be personalized to address at least eight different issues, many associated with visual impairments.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 is a speech recognition system developed by ScanSoft. It allows the user to create documents, exchange e-mail, and even instant message with others solely by voice recognition commands. It claims to be 99% accurate in most Windows based programs. There are a number of versions that can be tailored to the needs of the user. Another new product is the Dolphin Pen which plugs into the USB port of any Dolphin Friendly computer. (To make a computer Dolphin Friendly, a free and quick download of Dolphin Interceptor from the Dolphin website is necessary.) The Pen automatically stores a users preferred settings for Supernova (a reader magnifier), Hal (a screen reader), Lunar (a screen magnifier) or LunarPlus (an enhanced screen magnifier) access programs. The portability of this device provides universal computer access to people who are blind or have low vision in libraries, schools, and offices. The newest screen reader is Extreme Reader by Guerilla Technologies. There are 3 models from which to choose, one for the “power user”, one for standard use, and one that is quite basic. They are all compact with clear audio output and have custom keyboards with functions in print and Braille. They all read documents quickly and the more complex models save and retrieve as well. Finally, Humanware has launched BrailleNote mPower, which they call “the next generation information management system for the blind”. (Humanware, 2005) This product has a refreshable Braille display, a Braille keyboard, speech output, and can also be used as a screen reader
Recommended sites Blindness Related Resources – extremely inclusive list of resources for the blind and sight impaired
Braille Jail – innumerable Braille resources
Simple Modification in Accessing the Internet – guide to easily enlarging font
Set Options for People with Visual Impairments – Microsoft tutorial
Adjust Settings and Utilities – Microsoft tutorials for mouse, sound, keyboard, display, speech, on-screen keyboard, narrator, and magnifier options
Designing More Usable Websites – another comprehensive list of links related to Internet use and disabilities
Technology – website of the American Foundation for the Blind with easy to understand descriptions of assistive/adaptive technology, web accessibility, and related links
Browser Resources – The links below offer access to valuable web browsers for people with visual impairments.
References
Adapted Computer Technologies. Zoom Text and Magnification Screen Reader. 14 June 2005. 31 July 2005. <http://www.compuaccess.com/zoomtext.htm> “Blindness Statistics”. American Foundation for the Blind. 2005. 27 July 2005. <http://www.afb.org/section.asp?sectionid=15#comp> Bosher, Peter and Judy Brewer. “Alternative Web Browsing”. W3C: Web Accessibility Initiative. 5 July 2001. 27 July 2005. <http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/Browsing> Caldwell, Ben, et at. “W3C Working Draft”. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. 30 June 2005. 17 July 2005. < http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/ > Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program. Accommodation Solutions. 22 July 2005. 25 July 2005. <http://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap/acc_proc/acc_learn_assist.cfm> “Dolphin launches the world’s first access on a portable Pen”. Dolphin Computer Access. 11 May 2005. 2 August 2005. <http://www.dolphincomputeraccess.com/news/2005/pen_release_launch.htm> Enabling Technologies. New Products Page. 19 July 2005. 1 August 2005. <http://www.brailler.com/new.htm> Humanware website. Press Release 2005. 28 June 2005. 2 August 2005. <http://www.humanware.com/About/news/press280605.asp> “Maestro – The First Accessible Mainstream Handheld PC”. Technologies HumanWare Canada Inc. 2005. 31 July 2005. <http://www.visuaide.com/HW/en/maestro.asp> National Captioning Institute. “NCI Described Video”. 24 July 2005. <http://www.ncicap.org/> Sara-Serrano, Maria Cristina, and Dr. John R. Mathiason. “The Standard Rules: A Short Tour.” WorldEnable: Internet Accessibility Initiative. 24 April 2004. 17 July 2005. <http://www.worldenable.net/standardrules/Default.htm> ScanSoft. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8. 2005. 1 August 2005. <http://www.dragonsys.com/naturallyspeaking/home/> Tagarno. At School: Cobra Flex Duo. 2 August 2005. <http://www.tagarno.com/default.asp?id=112>
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