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Tag Archives: assistive technology
How the visually impaired can use a computer?
Thanks to NASSCOM Foundation for publishing my below article.
Most often, people have a question – can a blind person use a computer? If so, do they need a special keyboard or a special computer?
Before answering this question, let me take an example of a typist who never looks at the keyboard but can type with speed and accuracy. How is it possible? Practice! Yes, it’s the same in case of people with vision impairment. They just need to be trained. They do not require a special computer – all that they need is assistive technologies.
Firstly, let us understand that vision impairment is of two categories:
1. Total Blindness
2. Low visionDefinition of blindness: http://www.nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/fr/fr19/fr05si03.htm
A person who is totally blind would be able to use the computer with the help of screen readers or Refreshable Braille Display. A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen (or, more accurately, sent to standard output, whether a video monitor is turned on or not). This interpretation is then presented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a Braille output device. Screen readers are a form of assistive technology (AT) potentially useful to people who are blind, visually impaired, illiterate or learning disabled.
A Refreshable Braille Display or Braille terminal is an electro-mechanical device for displaying Braille characters, usually by means of raising dots through holes in a flat surface. This would be useful to those who are blind or deaf-blind. Because of the complexity of producing a reliable display that will cope with daily wear and tear, these displays are expensive. Usually, only 40 or 80 Braille cells are displayed. Models with 18-40 cells exist in some notetaker devices. A person with low vision would have to opt to use screen magnification software that allows the user to increase / decease the size of elements, change the contrast, use variety of mouse pointers etc.
With the help of these kind of assistive technologies, users with vision impairment can use almost all the applications in any computer such as word processing, spread sheets, presentations, internet, email clients, web designing tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver,programming tools like Visual Basic, .net, database management systems etc.
Although, they rely on audio output, they can work at an amazing speed! All this is possible since assistive technologies provide them the flexibility to read only the information they require. Let’s look at an example of how one can navigate through a web page using a screen reader – Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) – a free and open source screen reader.
- Press “Windows” logo key to activate the start menu
- Activate option “Run” and type the choice of application e.g. Firefox
- Once the Firefox application starts, press “Alt + D” to access the address bar
- Type choice of URL, e.g. http://www.yahoo.com
Now let’s understand how the screen reader actually reads. There are several ways to navigate the page using screen reader:
- By using the down arrow key to read the entire page.
- By using the “Tab” key to browse through the elements such as links and hit enter to activate the desired element.
- By using quick navigational keys such as H and Shift + H for headings, K and Shift + K for links, F and Shift + F for form fields, G and Shift + G for graphics,etc.
Also, most of the screen readers such as NVDA offer list of elements in a dialog box such as with NVDA, by pressing Insert + F7, user can revoke elements list box that consist of links, headings and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) landmarks.
As explained above, users will have a lot of flexibility with these assistive technologies and can perform operations at a rapid speed!
Some of the popular screen readers:
- Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA), Free – http://www.nvda-project.org
- JAWS for Windows, Commercial – http://www.freedomscientific.com
- Dolphin Hal, Commercial – http://www.yourdolphin.com
- Window Eyes, Commerical – http://www.gw-micro.com
Tip: If you are don’t have time to download the screen reader, but need a screen reader to surf the Internet, just visit http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu and type the web address, and it will read aloud for you!
Now, let’s talk about people with low vision. Around 60% of people with low vision do not possess enough level of vision to see the monitor and for some, this vision may not be stable. Hence they prefer to use screen readers to avoid strain of the eyes. But the other set of low vision users use Screen magnification software to use the computer. Some of the feature that a screen magnifier have are:
Zoom-in and zoom-out the screen
Set the desired contrast for foreground and background
Increase and type of the mouse pointer
Adjust the speed of mouse pointer
Some have screen reading feature as combinationSome of the popular screen magnifiers:
– Dolphin Supernova, Commercial – http://www.yourdolphin.com
– ZoomText Xtra, Commercial – http://www.aisquared.comTo conclude, with the help of assistive technologies, a person with vision impairment can use computer for everything like any other user!
Tagged accessibility, assistive technology, disability
Solutions for people with low vision
Early 2010, I have contributed to Accessibility Knowledge Series by BarrierBreak Technologies and thought, now I should quote that here and add some more tips.
Much often, we attend meetings and conferences; Today, mostly every speaker uses Power Point Slides to express what they will have to say. Although they speak most of the time, there would be some important content / pictures that convey information more than the talk.
Telescope or hand held magnifiers would be of immense help for people who are partially sighted to get access to these presentations.
Telescopes come in variety of ranges such as 2x, 4x etc. and they can either be hand held or can be mounted into spectacle frame and the distance can be adjusted as needed. These gadgets could also be of help to school going children who have difficulty to see the board.
Secondly, to read business cards and other printed material, portable magnifiers such as Optelec’s Portable Magnifiers could be helpful.
Using this, one can adjust size of the font, adjust the contrast as needed such as black on white, white on black, yellow on blue etc. Even one can take the snap of the material and read at a convenient distance.
Reference:
For a long time, I was looking for a solution that would enable me to read the slides shown by the presenter in any conference or meeting and a very simple technique helped me a lotin the recent past. I took out my hand phone (Nokia E71) and turned ON the camera. Using the zoom option, I was able to read clearly. Another option is to capture the slide and read but for this, in some cases, one need to obtain permission from the presenter.
Tagged accessibility, assistive technology
How the visually impaired can use a Computer?
Most often, people have a question – can a blind person use a computer? If so, do they need a special keyboard or a special computer?
Before answering this question, let me take an example of a typist who never looks at the keyboard but can type with speed and accuracy. How is it possible? Practice! Yes, it’s the same in case of people with vision impairment. They just need to be trained. They do not require a special computer – all that they need is assistive technologies.
Firstly, let us understand that vision impairment is of two categories:
- Total Blindness
- Low vision
A person who is totally blind would be able to use the computer with the help of screen readers 
or Refreshable Braille Display .
A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen (or, more accurately, sent to standard output, whether a video monitor is turned on or not). This interpretation is then presented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a Braille output device. Screen readers are a form of assistive technology (AT) potentially useful to people who are blind, visually impaired, illiterate or learning disabled.
A Refreshable Braille Display or Braille terminal is an electro-mechanical device for displaying Braille characters, usually by means of raising dots through holes in a flat surface. This would be useful to those who are blind or deaf-blind.
Because of the complexity of producing a reliable display that will cope with daily wear and tear, these displays are expensive. Usually, only 40 or 80 Braille cells are displayed. Models with 18-40 cells exist in some notetaker devices.
A person with low vision would have to opt to use screen magnification software that allows the user to increase / decease the size of elements, change the contrast, use variety of mouse pointers etc.
With the help of these kind of assistive technologies, users with vision impairment can use almost all the applications in any computer such as word processing, spread sheets, presentations, internet, email clients, web designing tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver, programming tools like Visual Basic, .net, database management systems etc.
Although, they rely on audio output, they can work at an amazing speed! All this is possible since assistive technologies provide them the flexibility to read only the information they require. Let’s look at an example of how one can navigate through a web page using a screen reader – Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) – a free and open source screen reader.
- Press “Windows” logo key to activate the Start menu
- Activate option “Run” and type the choice of application e.g. Firefox
- Once the Firefox application starts, press “Alt + D” to access the address bar
- Type choice of URL, e.g. http://www.yahoo.com
Now let’s understand how the screen reader actually reads. There are several ways to navigate the page using screen reader:
- By using the down arrow key to read the entire page.
- By using the “Tab” key to browse through the elements such as links and hit enter to activate the desired element.
- By using quick navigational keys such as H and Shift + H for headings, K and Shift + K for links, F and Shift + F for form fields, G and Shift + G for graphics, etc.
Also, most of the screen readers such as NVDA offer list of elements in a dialog box such as with NVDA, by pressing Insert + F7, user can revoke elements list box that consist of links, headings and ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) landmarks.
As explained above, users will have a lot of flexibility with these assistive technologies and can perform operations at a rapid speed!
Some of the popular screen readers:
- Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA), Free
- JAWS for Windows, Commercial
- Dolphin Hal, Commercial
- Window Eyes, Commercial
Tip: If you are don’t have time to download the screen reader, but need a screen reader to surf the Internet, just visit Web Anywhere and type the web address, and it will read aloud for you!
Now, let’s talk about people with low vision. Around 60% of people with low vision do not possess enough level of vision to see the monitor and for some, this vision may not be stable. Hence they prefer to use screen readers to avoid strain of the eyes. But the other set of low vision users use Screen magnification software to use the computer. Some of the feature that a screen magnifier have are:
- Zoom-in and zoom-out the screen
- Set the desired contrast for foreground and background
- Increase and type of the mouse pointer
- Adjust the speed of mouse pointer
- Some have screen reading feature as combination
Some of the popular screen magnifiers:
- Dolphin Supernova, Commercial
- ZoomText Xtra, Commercial
To conclude, with the help of assistive technologies, a person with vision impairment can use computer for everything like any other user!
Online Banking Exam and need of a scribe?
Today, I saw a posting on one of the mailing lists in India requesting for a scribe to write an examination for visually impaired. There’s no surprise in it, but what made me to feel surprised is that the candidates has to appear a bank examination conducted online!! If the examination is conducted online, why should there be a need for a scribe?
While I have investigated further, I am yet to get complete information but it appears either bank examination centre do not equip with Assistive Technologies or Examination system is not accessible and hence candidate is looking for a scribe!
I feel, at such scenario, the change needs to come at both bank authorities, candidate and individual / organizations who would be putting efforts to help respective candidate.
As far as bank is concerned, they should ensure to provide assistive technologies to the candidate. I know, some of the assistive technologies like JAWS , that most users are comfortable but the software is expensive. One way to deal with this is to use evaluation copy of the same, if examination do not exceed 40 minutes. If not, bank should provide open source screen reader NVDA , that is equally a powerful screen reader.
Second thing banker should ensure that examination system is accessible as per Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and comply with Guidelines for Indian Government Websites .
As far the candidates are concerned, they should be comfortable in taking up online exams and be able to explain the authorities about assistive technologies. Most often, bank authorities would be willing to make necessary accommodation, but they would not aware of about advancement of technologies.
Today, unfortunately, most of the visually impaired candidates are not comfortable to take up online exams and it’s due to lack of qualitative training, although, there are several organization claim they impart computer training, it’s sad that except a very few of them, most organization do not have quality training programs. So again, I would urge that all the organization working in the disability sector need to keep track of advancement of technology and offer appropriate training programs.
Tagged accessibility, assistive technology, banking, disability, exams, india, NGO, online
My experience at Techshare India 2010
Techshare India 2010 was another unique experience and an excellent platform to network, learn and share!
I have reached Delhi on 14thFebruary, 2010 (hmm. enjoyed business class flight in spite having economy class flight due to overbooking of the flight!) and visited India Habitat Centre in the evening; it was pleasure to meet whole gang of my BarrierBreak friends! Charminar area was full of working going on and getting ready for Techshare India 2010. Again, it was fun to be with Sachin Verma of EmployAbility who was putting Braille labels in the lifts!
15th February, with fellow Yahoos, I have reached venue at 7:30 AM and our event vendor has done a great job and Yahoo! stall was looking so colorful. Thank you guys!! Thanks Shilpi for the great help at the last minute…
Techshare India 2010 started with the Welcome address by Ms. Shilpi Kapoor, Managing Director, BarrierBreak Technologies, she explained her intention behind bringing Techshare to India in 2008 and developments took place during this two years. A few highlights we have seen in India after Techshare India 2008 are India has come up with Guidelines for Indian Government Websites, a few Indian Government Websites have become accessible including National Portal of India (English), National Portal of India (Hindi), RTI Website and recently, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. There’s also an effort in progress to bring National Policy on Electronic Accessibility which would be open for public review soon.
Kevin Cary, Chair, Royal National Institute of the Blind People (RNIB) has mentioned about the RNIB’s prospective behind organizing Techshare and expressed happiness to see their brand conference in India. Also, he expressed that soon Techshare will be organized in other countries like Africa, China etc. He mentioned, India is one of the first countries to ratify the United Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Javed Abidi, Director, NCPEDP shared his view what the accessibility is all about and it’s important. He says there are about 5000+ Indian Government websites that are inaccessible as per the survey they have conducted during 2008 and he hopes to see all of them accessible soon.
Techshare India’s Assistive Technologies Exhibition was inaugurated by Shri. Mukul Wasnik, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India; while addressing, he expressed his happiness to see such a fantastic exhibition and offered his full support both at his level as the Minister of SJ & E and at a personal level.
Further for next two days, there were 3 tracks of presentations focused on the importance of accessibility from business prospective and how it help not only people with disabilities but to everyone. Also, there was a workshop track for the duration of 2 hours each which was a platform to learn a specific technology like DAISY etc. Some of the key speakers include P. Anandan, Managing Director, Microsoft Research Lab India, Swaran Lata, W3C India Office, Steve Benette, Sales Director, Dolphin Computer Access, Anandraj Thangappan, Wipro Limited, Shilpi Kapoor, Managing Director, BarrierBreak Technologies etc.
Subramanyan Murali, Technical Lead, Yahoo! presented a paper on Fixing the Developers Mindset that has received a overwhelming response. I also take this opportunity to congratulate him for winning the Yahoo! Ratna Award, an annual recognition program at Yahoo! in India.
I have presented a per on Need for Web accessibility in Developing Countries – Yahoo! Initiatives. Please view below slide share presentation.
There’s also a great response received for Yahoo!’s booth at Techshare India 2010 Exhibition. We have showcased Yahoo! Home page, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Cricket and Yahoo! Careers. Also, we were happy to use open source screen reader NVDA to demonstrate Yahoo! properties and it’s glad that we have created awareness about this open source project which most of the visitors were not aware.
Another highlight besides the video of Accessibility Lab at Yahoo! stall is we have demonstrated how one can use different automated web accessibility tools to do a preliminary test of their website.
Kudos BarrierBreak for organizing and congrats Yahoo! for receiving good response.
Tagged accessibility, assistive technology, BarrierBreak, concference, india, RNIB, TechshareIndia, Yahoo
Techshare India 2010 – An Accessibility Conference and Assistive Technology Exhibition in India for 2nd time!
Techshare India was organized for the first time in India during February, 2008 by BarrierBreak Technologies in partnership with Royal National Institute of the Blind People and received a fantastic response with around 400 delegates, huge number of visitors saw the assistive technology exhibition. That was beginning of more innovations in India from technology prospective and I believe that has created a path towards everyone talking about accessibility in India. With great response received for the conference, Techshare India was also taken to Mumbai and Bangalore as roadshows!
Now, for the 2nd time, Techshare India 2010 is being organized on 15th & 16th February, 2010 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. This time, there’re more exiting presentations and exhibitors and an opportunity to see many assistive technologies. I am hoping this will be a path way to bring more assistive technologies at affordable prices in India.
I’m excited to share that Yahoo! India R & D is one of the sponsors and exhibiting the thoughts and experiences. What else? my colleague Subrahmanyan Murali is talking about “Fixing the mindset of Developers” on 15th at 5:00 PM to 5:40 PM and I ‘ll be speaking on “Need for Web Accessibility in Developing Countries: Yahoo! initiatives” on 16th at 3:00 PM to 3:40 PM. Hope to catch up some of you there!
Below is an announcement by the organizers:
Techshare India 2010 – India’s Largest Conference on Accessibility and Assistive Technology Exhibition is being organized by BarrierBreak Technologies on 15th and 16th Feb 2010. This year the theme of the conference is “Bridging the Barriers”. This 2-day conference and exhibitions is a pan-disability event, where technology professionals meet to share experiences, products and research in the field of digital assistive technology.
The three main objectives of Techshare India 2010 will be to increase consciousness about accessibility, to offer a platform for knowledge sharing, and to extend the use of assistive technology. It is hoped that these objectives will be met by the inclusion of a wide variety of presentations and exhibitions from organizations and leading figures representing the digital technology disability sector.
View Agenda: http://techshare.barrierbreak.com/agenda2010.php
To register visit: http://techshare.barrierbreak.com/confreg.php (Special discounts for education institutes, NGOs and persons with disabilities)
Techshare India 2010 will also host a range of exhibits featuring the best in cutting-edge developments in assistive technology across India and beyond. We want to bring together a bouquet of products from switches, track balls, adaptive keyboards, sip-n-puff, screen readers, DAISY players, AAC devices, software for learning disabled to independent living products. Some of our exhibitors: Microsoft, IBM, Adobe, Yahoo! India, Dolphin Computer Access, Optelec, AbleNet and PRI Liberator.
The exhibition is a great place for teachers and parents of persons with disabilities, senior citizens, occupational therapist, persons with disabilities, etc. So if you know people who aren’t attending the main conference but may be interested in the visiting the exhibition which is Free, please pass on this message so they can experience part of Techshare India 2010.
View Exhibitors and Products: http://techshare.barrierbreak.com/exhibitorsfor2010.php
For more details write to us techshare@barrierbreak.com or call Pooja Nahata at +919820725102
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Tagged accessibility, assistive technology, conference, india, techshare
