Using the System for Accessibility

To follow on the Enable in Microsoft Windows post, let's talk about a few of the features that you might not ordinarily think about as aids for seniors.

First the screen. Simply changing the screen resolution to something like 800 x 600 pixels will increase the size of the icons and related screens. Yes, you'll lose desktop space, but the screen will be easier to navigate for seniors and those with low vision. Switching to Larger Fonts will also help. Both of these options can be changed under display options.

Second (and this is always a big issue with seniors), it's easy to lose the cursor (mouse pointer to most people). There are several different options you can try. First change the size of the mouse pointer itself - there are several different larger different colored mouse sizes you can select. You can also click an option to use the CTRL key to locate the pointer.

Third, for someone who has never used a tracking device or mouse before, double click is a hard skill to master (if you want to have fun with an experienced user have them triple-click a paragraph in Word.) you can go to the button option under the Mouse and slow down the double click speed.

These options can be accessed from the control play, display and mouse respectively.

Microsoft and Disabilities

I know it's become very chic these days to talk bad about Microsoft (PC vs Apple commercials), especially how "bad" Vista is. But the truth is, there is a lot of good in Microsoft and Vista. It's always easy to find fault with the "standard" and overlook the good parts.

One of the "hidden" divisions of Microsoft is the one responsible for accessibility. Simply named Enable on their website. This part of the Microsoft website provides information on all of the accessibility options for all Microsoft products. Some you have heard of or even used, others you might surprise you.

For the hearing impaired, the ability to turn on visual notification for sounds or for people with dexterity issues, sticky keys or using mouse keys. There disability accommodations built into MS products are free except for the base product price.

Take some time and browse through the Enable site and then stop and consider that Microsoft really didn't have to take their accommocations to this level. In all fairness, I don't think Apple has placed as many resources towards accommodations.

SMART WHEELCHAIRS/MOBILITY DEVICES

Researchers at MIT have developed a mobility system that can navigate to a memorized location autonomously. The system goes around the areas once and is told the important points – “This is the cafeteria”, “this is my room” – and then using a simple voice command, the chair will navigate its way to the location.

The MIT researchers are using a GPS system outside, but inside are using a series of Wi-Fi nodes for mapping and navigation.

A trial has begun at a local nursing home in Boston

Original article is here: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/wheelchair-0919.html

Speech Recognition Input Skills

There were two input technologies that Bill Gates recently discussed, touchscreen and speech recognition. Right now I am currently using speech recognition. This whole document will be dictated, edited and eventually published to the blog using my Dragon system.

Using speech recognition is like anything else, it is an acquired and learned skill. Initially, it requires patience, practice, and a willingness to work through the initial issues. Daily use is essential. Besides training the computer to recognize your voice and specific speech patterns for specific words, you’ll also be fighting syntax of the language itself. This will be true, whether using Dragon, Windows speech recognition, or the over speech recognition found in Word 2003. You also have to learn to be more organized doing dictation. Dictation is a lost art, which you’ll need to recover and learn in order to effectively use speech recognition.

Think of dictation skills as dictating to a stenographer. If you need examples of dictating to a stenographer, watch any movie from the 30’s, 40’s or 50’s with business scenes. By implication, dictation requires an organized series of thoughts. This may require more discipline than most people want to deal with. This lack of discipline or organization of thoughts could become so frustrating that people are convinced that speech recognition is not worth the trouble.

The Missing Link(s)

The Missing Link(s)



Is mouse dependency slowing you down? Over the years since
the advent of point and click, I've seen people reach for the mouse for
the most trivial of actions.



If you're attempting to do word processing, or writing your
productivity is being severely impaired. In many instances
the keyboard is not only more efficient, but faster.



Anything you can do with a mouse, I can do with a keyboard. Vision impaired users and users
using speech recognition routinely eschew the mouse for the keyboard.



Most of us have forgotten how to use keyboard shortcuts. Most
program menus show the option list but also show the keyboard strokes
you can use to directly access the command. Hopefully you're
using CTRL + C (copy) and CTRL + V (paste) on a regular basis along
with CTRL + S (save) to speed up your work. But there are
many more you can access.



For a start, press the F1 key on your keyboard and Whoa!
Where'd Help come from?



Your Help (whatever program) should have a Search Tab. Type
keyboard shortcuts and you should have a list of the keyboard shortcuts
available for your program.



That's how simple it is - now you make them part of your everyday
computer use by using them!

Word and Research Papers

The more technology advances, the more I wonder – Where was this when I could have used it?

Besides all the wonderful features of word processing we take for granted, Word 2007 has raised the bar by adding a citation and bibliography category.

No more fighting stylistic syntax. No longer do you have to remember the which parts are italicized, where the commas go and what is bolded and do I have to have the ISBN number? Word will take care of that for you. Select your source type, the style (MLA, APA, etc.) and Word will pop a box and let you fill in the blanks.

Need to enter the citation, hit a button and the citation is entered, logged and uses the proper syntax.

Creating a bibliography is just as easy – hit the button and there it is.

Since the information is stored in a master list, so you can reuse your research and switch from MLA to APA with the click of a mouse.

Almost makes me want to go back to school. - Almost

Mark Your Calendar

If you’re going to be in Atlanta or close in late October, mark your calendar for October 22-26, 2008.
The 2008 Touch the Future/Transition and SERID will be on those dates.

From the website:

Touch the Future/Transition and SERID (Southeast Regional Institute on Deafness) embody the spirit of cooperation and collaboration in presenting this conference. At its heart, the joint venture acknowledges that all people are unique individuals, and encourages them to celebrate their similarities and differences. While the conference will focus on the needs and priorities of people with disabilities, it aims to inspire all attendees to become a catalyst for positive long-term change in their communities.

For further information, visit 2008 Touch the Future/Transition and SERID

See you there – Look for us in the AT Solutions Lab

Word Is Broken

Not really, but in one aspect, it might as well be if you’re using Office 2003. Previous versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint could open and work with the newest versions of these programs. You could save a file in Word 2003 and use it in Word 97. With the release of Office 2007, Microsoft broke the compatibility with previous releases. You can’t open Word 2007, Excel 2007 and PowerPoint files using earlier versions of Office.

Since the only version of Office now available is Office 2007, you’ll begin to notice this problem when you receive Office files you can’t open.

You have three options:

1. Upgrade to Office 2007 – Student Home edition is only $149 retail

2. Ask the person sending you the file to save it in the Office 97 – 2003 format

3. Download the Microsoft Compatibility Pack to allow older versions of Office to work With Office 2007.

Bioptics

Going beyond corrective lenses for those of us with low vision, are bioptic telescopes. These are designed to help the visually impaired see things further away. Among the drawbacks, they have been very conspicuous and a narrow field of view.

Dr. Eli Peli of Schepens Eye Research Institute has developed a bioptic telescope which is embedded in the lens itself, which makes it less conspicuous, easier to focus and the potential for mass production. More information can be found at Schepens Eye Research Institute.

Bioptic telescopes can be used to meet the driving vision requirements in a number of states. You should check with your state’s DMV since the requirements vary by state.

More information for some states can be found here:

http://www.lowvisioncare.com/visionlaws.htm

Universal Design Strikes Again

From Science Daily - new research about usability from the University of Manchester. Designs for accessibility will probably end up in the mainstream to help non-impaired users. Showing once again UDL works!

Mobile phone owners make similar mistakes to physically impaired computer users when using the technology, according to new research from The University of Manchester.

The first set of results from research funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) indicates that many able-bodied people make the same errors -- and with similar frequencies -- when typing and 'mousing' on mobile phones, as physically impaired users of desktop computers.

According to researchers in the School of Computer Science working on the RIAM (Reciprocal Interoperability between Accessible and Mobile Webs) project, mobile owners press the wrong key and press the same key repeatedly by mistake.

They also found mobile users tend to click the wrong area of the screen, click the screen multiple times in error, and make mistakes when trying to drag and drop information.

"These types of errors have been a big problem for physically impaired users for a long time," said Dr Yeliz Yesilada, a senior researcher on the project. "But solutions have been developed for all of these problems in the form of small assistive computer programmes, which supplement Windows and Mac operating systems."

Speech and Vista

Quick Post

Everybody’s down on Vista these days. If you’re installing new hardware broken drivers are a real issue.

There is one killer feature which might convince you to move away from XP – Speech Recognition. New and improved from speech recognition found in Office 2003. Definitely more command and control as well as improved dictation.

In the future, I’ll have a longer post about SR in Windows, but SR in Vista is moving Microsoft closer to Dragon Preferred.