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Category: Accessible experts

Advantages and disadvantages of automated web accessibility testing tools: Chetan Bakhru at CSUN 2014

Published March 6, 2014 by L. Legendary

Whether you are an independent web developer or you work for a consulting firm interested in web accessibility, a veteran in the accessibility industry, a tester or a novice, you’ll want to be sure to attend Chetan Bakhru’s presentation outlining the advantages and disadvantages of automated web site accessibility testing tools. Use of these tools, while thought by some to be a labor saving shortcut, when used by someone without thorough knowledge of accessibility, can paint a misleading picture of web access compliance. For example, an automated tool cannot make a determination as to how descriptive alt text may or may not be, as it cannot interpret what is contextually relevant or considered to be descriptive enough. Chetan generously granted my request for an interview, and explained for my readers what they can expect when they attend his session at the CSUN Conference on Disability.

LL: Please describe for the readers of the AI Blog the goals for your presentation.
CB: The goal of my presentation is to educate individuals and organizations on what the advantages and disadvantages of using automated accessibility testing tools to verify the accessibility of websites are, what the characteristics of good automated testing tools are, and why the use of other methods of testing for accessibility is essential.

LL: Who is the target audience for your talk?
CB: The target audience includes testers, developers, QA engineers, and/or anyone else interested in learning more about how to properly test for accessibility.

LL: What do you hope attendees take away from your presentation?
CB: The takeaway from this presentation is that automated testing has an important place in a tester’s toolset. The use of a good automated accessibility testing tool can result in increased productivity, efficiency and in the accuracy of results. However, there are many issues that these tools are unable to check for, and users of such tools must not rely on the tool to be the final determining factor in whether their site is accessible. Anyone using these tools should be well trained on their use, how to interpret their results, and have a good knowledge of accessibility.

More about Chetan Bakhru:
Chetan Bakhru is an IT consultant, web developer, technology trainer and accessibility advocate. He obtained his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Information Technology specializing in Software Engineering from the University of Phoenix in 2009, and his Master’s degree in Software Engineering from Penn State University in 2013. Over the past several years, Chetan has worked for many organizations providing technical support to customers, training users on the use of computers and assistive technology, developing websites, and helping make existing websites, desktop applications, and mobile apps accessible to people with disabilities. He is originally from southern California, currently works in the DC metro area as an Assistive Technology Tester at SSB Bart Group, and intends to relocate back to the west coast sometime soon. On the side, he also runs a website called Blind Planet (blind-planet.com), a site which labels itself as “Your one-stop resource for anything blindness related” and which contains a wealth of technology-related material. Blind Planet also provides web development, assistive technology, and general computer training services to those who are blind or low vision at a nominal cost. Some of the websites Chetan has either developed or helped make accessible include www.nib.org, www.worldaccessfortheblind.org, www.nonvisualdevelopment.org, and www.colorfascination.com

To learn more about Chetan, or to follow his work, here are his contact details:
Twitter Handle: @cbakhru
Twitter Page: twitter.com/cbakhru
LinkedIn Page: www.linkedin.com/pub/chetan-bakhru-pmp/2a/663/15a
Facebook Profile: www.facebook.com/chetan.bakhru
Google+ Profile: plus.google.com/112898281638210974817
Website: blind-planet.com
Email: chetan@bakhru.net or webmaster@blind-planet.com
Phone: 714-816-4105

Don’t forget to click on the link to indicate your interest in this session, and save yourself a seat. Go to the CSUN Conference session details page:

www.csun.edu/cod/conference/2014/sessions/index.php/public/presentations/view/173

Be sure to use hashtag CSUN14 when tweeting about the event.

See you there!

LL

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29th Annual CSUN Conference on Disability news and info

Published March 4, 2014 by L. Legendary

It’s time to roll out my annual series of posts pertaining to the CSUN Conference on Disability. Each year I post news and information about the conference, showcase a few of the conference presenters, provide notes about special events and write a post-conference wrap-up. If you would like to add your own information as to your presentation, exhibitor booth number, or other relevant info about the conference, feel free to add your comments.

Registration is open for the 29th Annual CSUN Conference on Disability. Go to the main conference web site page:

www.csun.edu/cod/conference/2014/sessions/index.php/public/website_pages/view/1

You can either register as an attendee for the educational sessions as well as the exhibit hall, or you can register for the exhibit hall only. Both links are available on the main registration page, above. There is no cost to be admitted into the exhibit hall if you register for the exhibit hall only. To see a directory of vendors who will be showing their latest products and services at the conference, go here:

www.csun.edu/cod/conference/2014/rebooking/index.php/public/exhibitors/

Check out the roster of presenters and topics that the Center on Disabilities at CSUN is offering this year. Add a Pre-Conference Workshop to your registration to enrich your knowledge and conference experience.

There are numerous special events to attend each year. I pulled this list right from the special events page on the conference web site:

The Fred Strache Leadership Award:
Location
Harbor Ballroom, 2nd Floor
Date
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Time
5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at Keynote Address.

Featured Presentations:

Kathleen Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy
Location
Harbor Ballroom C, 2nd Floor
Date
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Time
12:00 pm

Copyrights and Third Party Captioning: Challenges and Solutions
Location
Harbor Ballroom C, 2nd Floor
Date
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Time
4:20 pm
Presenter and Author of the Report:
Blake Reid, Assistant Clinical Professor, Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic, Colorado Law
Moderator:
Axel Leblois, President & Executive Director, Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict)
The proliferation of inaccessible video contents of the Internet creates the need for third party captioning via automated or human processes, including via crowd sourced solutions. However, while those solutions provide the required accessibility to videos for deaf persons or those living with hearing loss, they can infringe on the copyrights of the owners of audio-visual contents, creating a conflict between disability and copyright laws. After conducting an in depth research on this topic with legal experts, industry and disability advocates, G3ict will publicly release at CSUN 2014 the report which will serve as the foundation for a global dialogue on solutions that could be adopted in the U.S. and internationally to solve those issues. The presentation will include perspectives from stakeholders. Audience participation (questions and answers) will be welcomed if time permits.

Exhibit Hall Opening & Reception:
Location
Grand Hall, 1st Floor
Date
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Time
12:00 PM to 7:00 PM
The Exhibit Hall in the Grand Hall will open on Wednesday, March 19, 2014 from 12:00 – 7:00 PM. There will be an opening reception at 12:30 pm. This will be your preview into the latest and greatest array of AT products and services that will keep you coming back over the next 3 days!

Sponsor News & Events:
Comcast
Location
Harbor Ballroom C, 2nd Floor
Date
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Time
6:00 PM
With your input, Comcast Accessibility is working hard to enable all customers to easily access and fully experience a range of products. Attend an evening of cocktails, light fare and demos of the latest accessible Comcast products, such as the talking TV interface. Discover the improved self-help and customer support resources and learn about their inclusive hiring practices and how to apply.

Amazon Kindle
Location
Cortez Hills A
Date
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Time
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Amazon Kindle invites you to “Play with Kindle Fire”. Come by the Cortez Hill A session room anytime between 8 am-5 pm on Thursday on March 20 to get hands-on with the all-new Kindle Fire tablets. Representatives from the Kindle Accessibility team will be on hand to listen to your feedback and answer questions about Kindle Fire’s new and improved accessibility tools. Short demonstrations will be given throughout the day and start times correspond with conference general sessions.

CSUN Cyber Café
Location
2nd floor, near Registration
The CSUN Cyber Café, sponsored by The Paciello Group, is located on the 2nd floor adjacent to Registration. It’s the perfect place to check your e-mail, follow conference sponsors and presenters on Facebook & Twitter, review the website for session changes or just surf to see what else is happening at the Conference.

CSUN Tweet-Up 2014
Location
Harbor Ballroom, 2nd Floor
Date
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Time
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
The 6th Annual CSUN Tweet-Up is taking place Thursday, March 20 from 6:30-8:30 pm in the Harbor Ballroom. Join the group and spread the word about your conference experience. Visit the web site, csuntweetup.com/ to RSVP and make sure you’re connected to the other plans and participation options the tweet-up sponsors have in store for you!

WebAble TV
WebAble TV is the official conference webcaster. The WebAble TV team will be conducting interviews with sponsors, exhibitors and featured presenters, as well as recording several general sessions. For more information please visit the WebAble TV website.
Student Poster Session
Several groups of graduate students will be presenting their work on assistive technology projects on Friday at noon in a student poster session outside the Exhibit Hall in the Grand Hall Foyer. This year the poster session will feature student projects from San Diego State University, St. Augustine University’s Occupational Therapy Program and Grossmont College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant Program.

SS12 Code for a Cause Finals – Project:Possibility
Location
Harbor Ballroom, 2nd Floor
Date
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Time
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Once again the Final Competition for Project:Possibility’s SS12 Code for a Cause will be held at this year’s conference. This exciting event will host the innovative open source projects the top teams from CSUN, UCLA and USC have created. A continental breakfast will be served following the presentations and judging, prior to the announcement of the First Place Team. We encourage you to mark your calendars for this important occasion to support the student teams and the time and work they have invested. Saturday, March 2 from 9-11 am in the Harbor Ballroom.

Accommodations:

While the conference group rate has now expired, you can still reserve a room at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. For more information, go to:

www.manchestergrand.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

You can also follow the Manchester Grand Hyatt on twitter: @ManchGrandHyatt

There are a number of other hotels near the conference venue, many of which are easily accessible, as well as affordable. If you have stayed at one of the other nearby hotels, please feel free to add a comment as to the best way to navigate to the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

Transportation:

As I recall, cab fare from the airport to the Manchester Grand Hyatt was around $15. There is also a Super Shuttle Service you can reserve in advance for airport to hotel transit. Follow: @SuperShuttle on Twitter. They often tweet out discount codes and relevant info in advance of the conference.

Navigation:

Don’t let your concerns about ease of navigation keep you from participating in the events. The staff at the Manchester Grand Hyatt has been hosting the CSUN Conference for a few years now, and they are well staffed and trained to assist anyone who needs it. There are also many volunteers, some of whom lend their time to the CSUN conference every year, who will ensure your safe and comfortable travels from point A to B throughout the week. I have found that I am seldom able to wander too far afield before someone is at my side, asking if they may be of assistance. There is also an orientation and mobility lesson available for anyone who wishes to familiarize themselves with the vast hotel property. The lesson will be Wednesday morning, march 19th, and you will be asked to express your interest in attending the training during the registration process. You will be in good hands, thanks to the excellent customer service provided by the team at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

Finally, follow @CSUNCOD on Twitter for the latest announcements, and use hashtag #CSUN14 when tweeting about the event. Please return here to the Accessible Insights Blog for more information about a few presenters I’ll be featuring in an effort to showcase their work. If you haven’t already, make plans now to attend the 29th annual CSUN conference on Disability.

I look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

LL

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Easy Chirp returns with new sporty features and more power under the hood

Published October 29, 2013 by L. Legendary

A few months ago, the social networking site Twitter made an important update to its API, which necessitated some serious scrambling by third-party users of the previous API version. One of the third-party clients was Easy Chirp, the accessible, cross-platform Twitter alternative. Many users were forced to find other ways to tweet their updates while Easy Chirp and other Twitter clients either faded into the sunset, or in the case of Easy Chirp, went down, but not out, for the count.

Dennis Lembree (@DennisL), creator of Easy Chirp, decided this API update presented an opportunity to rebuild Easy Chirp, updating the back-end architecture and adding some new bells and whistles.

After months of a from-the-ground-up rebuild, Easy Chirp is back. Just within the last week, Lembree quietly reintroduced Easy Chirp, with a middle-of-the-night tweet announcing a “soft launch.”

Happily, Dennis had already invited me to test drive the beta version, which can be found at www.easychirp.org for now. The revised app will be available on the regular dot com domain during the official launch, reportedly within a few weeks. I was so excited that my preferred web-accessible Twitter client was back, I immediately flew to the site to check it out.

The first thing I noticed, which surprised me, was that the new version is almost exactly the same as the previous version. For some reason, I had expected a completely new look and feel. However, the differences between old and new versions quickly became obvious. The “under the hood” changes are what make Easy Chirp 2 a new experience.

First, it is much faster. I am using NVDA as my screen reader and the latest version of FireFox as my browser. Wow…The page loads and navigation were blistering fast. Also, because of improved page organization in some areas, navigating from various elements has been streamlined.

Mr. Lembree partnered with Seattle developer Andrew Woods (@awoods) to complete the project. After considering a number of partners for the work, he chose Woods because of his experience with PHP. Mr. Woods recommended a PHP development framework called CodeIgniter. One reason Lembree decided to go with this framework was that it offers translation features, allowing Easy Chirp to be translated into multiple languages. First after English will be Spanish, says Lembree, which is “about 98% done.” German and Arabic translations are in the works, and other languages such as French are also planned for future availability.

While Woods worked on the back-end architecture, Lembree focused on the front end, populating the data and reworking many aspects of the user interface. “Between the new PHP framework and the new Twitter API, it’s a lot faster,” says Lembree. “Another one of the big coding changes is moving from XHTML to HTML5,” he adds.

There are a few new features of the platform. Notably, the option to choose a dark or light theme, which is useful for people who have light sensitivity or difficulty with light/dark contrast perception. One of Lembree’s favorite new features is the “quick search,” and the “go to user” functions, which are accessible modal windows. If that means nothing to you, I suspect this is one of those esoteric’s that only a developer can truly appreciate.

There is a short list of development tasks that are yet to be completed, which you can review on the Easy Chirp 2 home page. Among the most important of these tasks is the addition of a pagination type of behavior, available currently only on the main timeline page through a link at the bottom that reads, “view older tweets.” More tasks and features are planned but not yet made public.

If you enjoyed using Easy Chirp prior to the “API-pocalypse,” (I still can’t stop saying that, I’m so proud of it), then give Easy Chirp 2 a try. Don’t forget to click on the “donate” button on the home page, and thank Dennis and Andrew for their hard work by tossing a few bucks in the development tip jar.

About Dennis Lembree:

Mr. Lembree has over 15 years experience in web development. He’s worked for a variety of startups as well as large companies including Ford, RIM, Disney, and is now on the accessibility team at PayPal in San Jose, California. Mr. Lembree enjoys attending and presenting at conferences and social media. And besides Easy Chirp, he runs WebAxe.org, a blog and podcast on web accessibility.

You can follow Dennis on Twitter at: @webaxe or at: @EasyChirp for more info and updates.

LL

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Need access to better nutrition? There’s an app for that

Published April 26, 2013 by L. Legendary

Kel Smith, author of the just-released “Digital Outcasts,” and about whom you will soon read more here on the Accessible Insights Blog, has been reaching out to his fans, friends and colleagues in an effort to bring attention to a great cause. Just this morning, Kel sent out information about his project, and I was so eager to get the details to my readers that I asked Kel if I could post excerpted content of his email below. Want to make a real difference in the health and well-being of people with limited access to nutritious food? Read on to find out how.

Kel’s project is called Aisle Won. For screen reader users, note that the spelling is w o n, as opposed to the numeral one. It’s a combination mobile app and outreach program to connect people living in “food deserts” with sources of healthy, affordable food. Kel has been developing this for the past year or so, and just launched the pilot. Now, he is reaching out to folks to help spread the word.

Kel writes: “An estimated 23.5 million Americans live in food deserts and rely on unhealthy sources of nutrition, such as corner bodegas and fast food restaurants. To say that this is a health problem of growing national concern would be an understatement. For people with disabilities who cannot leave their homes, it’s an even greater burden.”

Here’s how it works: shoppers place an order and check a map to see where locally-grown produce is available in their neighborhood. They can maximize purchases according to individual budgetary and dietary needs. They can also peruse recipes that are delicious and easy to prepare. Local urban farms, then, expand their reach into more areas. Everybody wins.

Anikto completely self-funded the first pilot, now being launched in the Clifton Park section of northeast Baltimore. “We have participating support from the Mayor’s Civic Works office and a six-acre plot called Real Food Farm.” Smith says. “To get Aisle Won to the next level, though, I’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Wednesday was the first day and we already gathered 10% of our goal!”

So … if you follow nutrition literacy, are interested in urban farming, or just appreciate the importance of healthy eating — then please go to:

igg.me/at/aisle-won/x/3047094 where you’ll see details of the campaign, which will be live for 40 days. Please contribute to this delicious cause!

Connect with Kel:

215.285.2274
Kel.Smith@anikto.com
anikto.com
@KelSmith on Twitter
@DigitalOutcasts for info on Kel’s new book.
“Digital Outcasts: Moving Technology Forward Without Leaving People Behind”
digital-outcasts.com

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Help build an inclusive Twittersphere with Easy Chirp 2

Published April 8, 2013 by L. Legendary

For those of you who follow these things, you already know that Twitter (www.twitter.com), the social media micro-blogging platform, is making changes to its Application Programming Interface (API). For those of you who have no idea what that means, or why it’s significant, allow me to get you up to speed.

According to Wikipedia, An application programming interface (API) is a “protocol intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other. An API is a library that may include specification for routines, data structures, object classes, and variables.” If you want to read more, go here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface

Twitter has only had a single version of the API in its entire history. Now, they want to make changes, and update to version 1.1. They have announced new developer “rules of the road,” and have outlined the proposed changes here:

dev.twitter.com/blog/changes-coming-to-twitter-api

The changes will affect all third-party applications that interact with Twitter, such as those you might use as an accessible alternative to the main Twitter web site. Some of these third-party Twitter clients have already completed the necessary adjustments, while others may not even bother, and may simply disappear. Time is running short, however, because Twitter has announced the “sunset” of version 1.0 of the API here:

dev.twitter.com/blog/api-v1-retirement-final-dates

Ever since I first discovered Twitter, I’ve been using the accessible alternative created by Dennis Lembree. Originally called Accessible Twitter, the web-based version now goes by the name Easy Chirp. Due to the changes made by Twitter to the API, Dennis has been forced to reinvent Easy Chirp, soon to be Easy Chirp 2. Dennis needs your help. He has started a kickstarter profile, and needs your pledges. The money raised will be used to compensate the experts Dennis has hired to assist with the project. As usual, when making a contribution to a Kickstarter project, you will receive a thank-you gift commensurate with the amount of your donation. See more info here:

Help build an inclusive Twittersphere: tinyurl.com/c9fsj5v

“I created Easy Chirp over four years ago and am touched by the support it’s received from the community. Now it must be rebuilt due to the Twitter API change, and I hope to collaborate this time with a few other developers.” Lembree says.

Dennis plans some new features and additional streamlining to make Easy Chirp 2 even faster and more accessible. It will continue to support keyboard-only users, will work without Javascript, and will be better optimized for mobile devices. Of course, it will still feature the user-friendly interface you’ve come to expect, useable by people who have a variety of disabilities, and who use a variety of assistive technologies.

Says Lembree: “To me, Easy Chirp exemplifies what a web app should be: platform agnostic, accessible, and simple. It provides a unique and necessary service in the social media space.”

There is no shortage of Twitter clients in the market, which can be used with different operating systems and device types. I use Easy Chirp for my own reasons, not the least of which is that I know Dennis, like him, trust him, and appreciate his work. If you have used Easy Chirp in the past, but have never clicked on that “donate” button just below the sign-in link on the Easy Chirp home page, then scrape a few coins out from between the sofa cushions and send them Dennis’s way. We’ll be tweeting at one another again before it’s time to fly south for the winter.

Pledge to the Easy Chirp 2 Kickstarter here:

www.kickstarter.com and perform a search, or go directly to the Easy Chirp 2 project page here: tinyurl.com/c9fsj5v

For all things Twitter API, go here:

dev.twitter.com/docs/api

You can follow Easy Chirp: @EasyChirp for updates, or you can follow me @Accessible_Info on Twitter as well.

LL

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Novel approaches to icon-based AAC presented by Karl Wiegand

Published February 21, 2013 by L. Legendary

One can easily argue that few are as keenly interested in the well-being of a person with a disability as is a parent. Expanding from that core of support one can also include siblings, guardians, educators, social workers and health care professionals. One can further include advocates, friends, spouses and co-workers, all of whom are concerned about quality of life. That covers just about everyone, and just about everyone should be in attendance at Karl Wiegand’s presentation at this year’s Conference on Disability, hosted by CSUN.

Mr. Wiegand is presenting some astonishing work in the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). His presentation, entitled “Novel Approaches to Icon-Based AAC,” will explore two different methodologies for message construction and input. These two approaches can elevate the quality of communication for a person who has locked in syndrome. “Locked in syndrome” is an umbrella term that describes people who may have paralysis to the degree that the individual is unable to move any major body parts, except for above the neck. Even a person who may be in a full body cast is an example of someone who may have near complete lack of motor function, albeit temporarily.

The choices in alternative and augmentative communication devices now commonly involve the use of mouth sticks, switches or eye gaze input devices that can be cumbersome and fatiguing for the user. The current systems were designed based on an assumption that the user can press a button, make repetitious movements, or is able to maintain movement or body position for extended periods, so as to select letters or short words or phrases from choices on a menu. Using letter-based systems can be time consuming, because a letter-based system is more generative than the icon-based system that some users prefer in face-to-face or real time communication situations.

The challenge for Wiegand and his colleagues was to answer the questions: How can you redesign a screen such that you can display a large number of icons, but not all at once, which can be cognitively burdensome? How can icon-based systems be redesigned for faster and more efficient communication, as well as to accommodate users with upper limb motor impairments?

Together with his advisor and colleagues at Northeastern University, Wiegand is working on initial designs of two new approaches to icon-based
AAC: one using continuous motion and one using a brain-computer interface (BCI). The continuous motion system, called Symbol Path, consists of 120 screen icons of semantically salient words. “Continuous motion” means that a user can touch a word to begin a sentence, and without breaking contact from the screen, swipe or drag from icon to icon, ultimately completing a sentence.

His second approach makes use of a practice borrowed from the field of psychology. It is a system that shows icons to a user that represents a word or small phrase, in a serial fashion. It’s called Rapid Serial Visual Presentation. It allows for more efficient sentence construction, rather than presenting the user with a screen full of icons that must be made small in order to offer the user a full compliment of choices, which may be overwhelming.

This method of presenting information in rapid-fire fashion has been used before. If it sounds familiar, you may have once used this same technique if you’ve ever tried to tackle “speed reading.”

“My goal is to build a star trek computer.” Wiegand declares. He went on to explain. “A computer like the one in the program Star Trek, that can understand anybody, and will do it’s best to fill a person’s desires or needs.”

Karl was gracious enough to patiently explain what essential elements of communication would be required in order to make a “Star Trek computer” possible. First, a computer would have to be capable of parsing, which senses for context and speech recognition. Another element would include learning contexts, whereby a computer would understand how people interact with systems and expected responses from users. Finally, artificial intelligence would have to be achieved, enabling problem-solving with incomplete information, and natural language processing.

Until the point at which Mr. Wiegand has utterly changed our lives, and I do not doubt for a moment that he will, Wiegand says he’d like to work on Siri. To achieve his ultimate ends, Karl has worked in a number of other fields that have led him to this research. “I like AAC.” Wiegand continues. “It is a very focused area that is actually a vertex for four or five other fields.”

At CSUN, Karl will demonstrate the SymbolPath system, a prototype version of which is currently available for free on the Android app store (search for “SymbolPath”), show the BCI system, explain how both systems work, and talk about future directions for both. Wiegand hopes to have a system in place at his CSUN session so that attendees who interact with AAC users, friends or loved ones of AAC users, or AAC users themselves, can help create a corpus — a data set that shows what certain users want in certain times or settings or situations.

“We have revised both approaches based on initial testing and user feedback, and we are currently conducting several iterations of user-assisted design and revision before proceeding to full user testing.” Wiegand notes.

Attendees can help build this database by contributing realistic text, utterances, or phrases that AAC users like to say. If you attend the session, or find Karl throughout the week, you can contribute to the database or ask questions. In exchange, Karl will give you a copy of Symbol Path.

Karl will be presenting on Friday, March 1st at 3:10 pm in the Ford AB room, third floor.
Here is the link to the session page:
bit.ly/15yOOND

More about Karl Wiegand:

Karl Wiegand is a Ph.D. student in computer science at
Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. He works in the
Communication Analysis and Design Laboratory (CadLab) under the
advisement of Dr. Rupal Patel. Since joining the CadLab in 2009, Karl
has been working on alternative methods of communication for users
with neurological
impairments and severely limited mobility. His research includes
aspects of interface design, artificial intelligence, and language
theory.

Here are more ways to contact Karl, and help with his corpus gathering project:

Karl Wiegand’s homepage: www.ccs.neu.edu/home/wiegand/
Karl’s lab: www.cadlab.neu.edu/
Link to Karl on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/karlwiegand/

Finally, if you know or love an AAC user, you can help get the ball rolling on data-gathering here:

www.cadlab.neu.edu/corpus/

Don’t forget to use hashtag #CSUN13 when tweeting about the event. See you in San Diego!

LL

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Sina Bahram to present an accessible, gesture-based approach to controlling classroom technology

Published February 19, 2013 by L. Legendary

There are any number of reasons one might attend a particular session at the upcoming 28th annual International Assistive Technology and Persons with Disabilities conference. You might want to learn more about a ground-breaking awareness project, you might want to learn a new skill, you might want to find fresh inspiration for your own work. One reason to attend Sina Bahram’s session is that he has helped to solve a problem that has affected educators, lecturers, or corporate presenters who are blind or visually impaired, as well as people who use tech automation in the workplace. He will discuss an accessible, gesture-based approach to controlling the technology in either a classroom or corporate setting.

Sina Bahram is a technical consultant and accessibility researcher pursuing his PhD in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. His field of research is Human Computer Interaction (HCI) with a focus on the use of innovative environments and multi-modal approaches to facilitate eyes-free exploration of highly graphical information. Combining artificial intelligence, intelligent user interfaces (IUI), and HCI, Sina devises innovative and user-centered solutions to difficult real-world problems.

Bahram’s session will show you how an instructor who is blind can independently give a presentation. typically, when using the technology available to a sighted presenter, there are barriers imposed by the device that is used to control the projector, the microphone, document camera, and other input devices. This controller, usually either a Crestron or AMX technology box, allows for many inputs that can be managed by way of a touch screen. This touch screen interface is inaccessible to blind instructors, and presents numerous difficulties for a speaker or educator with low or no vision. For example, without sighted assistance, there is no way to know the state of readiness of the technology being used. There is no feedback alerting the presenter as to whether the projector is warmed up, or how he or she might adjust the volume level of the audio. Bahram will discuss and demonstrate how this approach to an embedded system allows blind or vision-impaired instructors to control classroom technology.

The project is a collaboration between North Carolina State University, Bahram, Ron Jailall, who works in control systems programming and classroom design, and Greg Kraus, who is Coordinator of Campus Accessibility. They have devised an approach whereby simple gestures, swipe up, down, and to the right, are used to move about various screen elements. Further, computer-generated speech is used to provide menu and status information.

“We have an underrepresentation of persons with disabilities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM),” says Bahram. “In particular, people who are blind or visually impaired. This is one of the approaches that can help address this problem, in a small way, without having to depend upon a teaching assistant or student to assist. Now, a blind instructor can manage classroom technology independently.”

No matter the context in which you give presentations, craft accessibility policy or purchase tech for employees or students who are blind, this session is for you. No special skill level is required to attend. All are welcome. Sina will be available for questions, demonstrations, and further discussion, at any time you can catch him throughout the conference week.

More about Sina Bahram:
In 2012, Sina was recognized as one of President Barack Obama’s Champions of Change for his work in enabling users with disabilities to succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. You can read more about Sina and his research on his website, www.SinaBahram.com, or follow him on Twitter via @SinaBahram.

Be sure to check out the links below for more information.

For further ways to contact Sina, see his contact page at:
www.SinaBahram.com/contact.php
Read Bahram’s blog here:
blog.SinaBahram.com
Discussion of an Eyes-Free Approach to Controlling Classroom Tech:

Demonstration of an Eyes-Free Approach to Controlling Classroom Tech:

For more videos on other topics, Sina’s YouTube channel is at:
www.YouTube.com/sbahram

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #CSUN13 when tweeting about the event.

LL

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Join Joseph K. O’Connor in a global effort to build a more accessible Word Press

Published February 15, 2013 by L. Legendary

The session that will be presented by Joseph Karr O’Connor at the CSUN 2013 International Technology and Persons with Disabilities conference in San Diego, California, promises to be a popular one. Joe will be focusing on WordPress accessibility, will be showcasing the work that has been achieved by the WordPress accessibility team, and will talk about Cities, a global effort to create free accessible themes for use with the WordPress blogging system.

WordPress is currently the most popular free blogging system in use on the web. It has many features including a template system that makes sites look and function as they do. Templates are free and available at wordpress.org/extend/themes/ where there are currently 1,691 themes. Only a handful of those themes allow information to be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. WordPress server software has recently been upgraded to version 3.5 with some new accessibility features for site owners, but it is not fully accessible. The presentation will report on the people involved in making the back-end of WordPress accessible, and the teams of accessibility experts from Mumbai, Sydney, New York, and several other cities who are building accessible themes.

O’Connor has an impressive history of contribution to the technology industry. He regularly attends local meetup groups in Santa Monica’s Silicon Beach to introduce the concept of accessibility to developers. During one of his many visits to local WordPress and general tech industry meetups to advocate for online accessibility, one member of the audience interrupted Joe. “Excuse me,” she said, “What is ‘accessibility’?” This is why Joe believes outreach is so important.

O’Connor realized there was much work to be done to raise awareness as to the specific barriers imposed by web developers who failed to create accessible online destinations. After years of searching for accessible themes for clients, Joe was struck by inspiration for the Cities project. He challenged teams of accessibility practitioners around the world to create accessible Word Press themes for free.

Joseph is also working with the team at WordPress.org to implement a voluntary theme accessibility assessment process. “Theme developers can submit themes with tags or categories for assessment.” O’Connor says. “This will be part of the regular theme checking process, but will be voluntary.”

Whether you are a WP theme developer or just a Word Press devotee, you are encouraged to attend joseph’s session. He hopes to have some themes ready at the time of his presentation, and sing the praises of the teams of volunteers working to submit accessible WordPress themes, which will be available through the themes directory. The presentation will be held on Thursday, February 28 at 1:50. All are welcome.

As if O’Connor isn’t busy enough, he is also hosting a WordPress Tweetup during the CSUN conference. The WordPress Accessibility Tweetup is on February 26, 4:30 – 5:30 pm, at the Hyatt, in the Paciello Group Suite. Show your support by signing up on Lanyrd at: lanyrd.com/cmhqy or just show up!

Joe will also be doing WordPress 3.5 usability testing at the CSUN conference, and is seeking a wide range of users with whom to spend a few minutes to create screencasts that will be shown to WordPress developers.

More about Joseph Karr O’Connor:

Joseph Karr O’Connor lives in Santa Monica, California, with his wife Linda, daughter Siobhan, daughter’s skilled companion dog Harriet, and cat, Achoo! His first career was in motion picture post production. Starting in 1991 his second career was computing in education. He found his true calling when Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act was enhanced to include web accessibility in 1998. Starting with pasadena.edu in 1999 and moving to csun.edu in 2005, web accessibility has been his focus. Now an accessibility consultant, he is working with Silicon Beach startups and international accessibility companies. He envisions a future where information is equally accessible to all.

You can follow @AccessibleJoe on Twitter, or you can visit his web sites:

Cities: Creating Accessible WordPress Themes
www.accessiblejoe/cities/

Black Telephone, Disability Rights
www.blacktelephone.com/
Twitter: @blacktelephone

To RSVP to attend O’Connor’s session, go here:
www.csun.edu/cod/conference/2013/sessions/index.php/public/presentations/view/210

Don’t forget to use hashtag #CSUN13 when tweeting about the conference.

LL

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First ever Accessibility Camp L. A. promises education, inspiration, integration

Published October 16, 2012 by L. Legendary

On Saturday, October 20, 2012, the first ever accessibility camp will be held in the Los Angeles area.  The "un conference" will be held on the CSUN campus, in the Student Union.  The event runs from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and admission is free. 

Joe Devon (@joedevon) co-founder of Diamond Web Services, and Jennison Asuncion (@Jennison), co-lead the barcamp style gathering, and everyone is encouraged to attend.  "This is an informal, unstructured event," says Asuncion.  "This is not just for the advanced developer, or accessibility guru.  Everyone is invited, at all skill levels.  Beginners, as well as actual end-users who have disabilities, are critical to understanding the end-user experience." 
       
The L. A. accessibility camp was first conceived as a way to bring accessibility concepts to the attention of the many meetup groups scattered throughout the region.  Joe Devon, who is active in the Los Angeles area tech community, but not previously familiar with accessibility, became interested when he watched a video on screen reader technology for blind users, and was amazed.  "Screen readers are such an interesting technology," comments Devon.  "Then many years later I saw my Dad struggle with banking web sites and that got me thinking about it even more."

Mr. Devon used his personal and professional experience to make a difference.  "I wrote a blog post about how developers go on and on about changing the world, yet they build sites every single day that are inaccessible. That we should have a global accessibility awareness day for developers, which morphed into UI/UX as well."

Asuncion spotted Devon’s blog post, and the two connected.  They decided to collaborate on an event that became the Accessibility Camp L. A.
"The local tech community is the primary audience for these types of events, " says Asuncion.  Since the agenda is attendee generated, the speakers are not entirely known in advance.  "while some of the presenters may be names we know, such as John Foliot (@JohnFoliot) and Dennis Lembree, creator of Easy Chirp, (www.easychirp.com @webaxe), some are not necessarily well-known in the accessibility field," continues Asuncion.  "In fact, on the registration form for the event, we asked each registrant to check the box that best describes their level of expertise.  The balance of the registrants checked the boxes that indicated ‘beginner’ or ‘just starting out’ in accessibility." 

Jennison hopes to ensure that no one feels too intimidated to ask a question or to just take someone aside for a chat about an issue.  "The emphasis here is on discussion, rather than presentation," he notes.  "We strongly advise people to use the ‘two feet’ rule, where if you find yourself in a session thinking, ‘Wow, this presentation is way over my head,’ feel free to just get up and leave."

If you have not already registered, you can do so at: accessibilitycampla.org/.  Be sure to make note on the registration form if you have any special requirements or if you need assistance, such as a guide, or if you have questions about transportation or access to food or other amenities.  You can follow @A11yCampLA on Twitter for news and information about the event. 

Finally, Jennison points out that while topics discussed include those that touch the blind or visually impaired community, this is meant to be a cross-disability gathering, covering technology accessibility topics that are important to individuals with a range of disabilities.  Further, you need not have a disability to attend.  "Any developer or average user who just wants to get their feet wet in accessibility, has a growing interest, or who just wants to learn in a non-threatening, informal environment can ask the questions they may not feel comfortable asking in a larger forum," Asuncion concludes. 

About Jennison Asuncion:
For the last three years, working alongside other peers in accessibility, Jennison has been actively organizing a series of accessibility barcamps/unconferences (link www.accessibilitycamp.org), where the goal is to educate on accessibility using a less formal approach than a traditional conference.

About Joe Devon:
Joe Devon is a computer programmer with over 20 years of development experience. Joe has worked on projects spanning Search Engine technology, Performance Management, scaling Wide Area Networks; for Internet backbone providers, Investment Banks, Telcos & Media. In addition to starting several companies, Joe serves on the advisory boards of leading development industry conferences, and the organizer of several technology oriented meetup groups in Los Angeles.  Joe co-founded Global Accessibility Day, bridging the gap between disabled citizens and the Internet.  For more about Mr. Devon, go here:
 
www.linkedin.com/company/diamond-web-services
 
 
LL

 

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IT’s all about adapting with Triumph Technology

Published June 28, 2012 by L. Legendary

Since there are several national conference events taking place one right after the other, I’ve been putting together an article series previewing some of the people and products you can expect to see.  In this case, my subject coincides with the other articles I’ve been posting on the topic of entrepreneurship.  Here, an entrepreneur who is blind is the president of a company exhibiting at both the NFB and ACB national events.

 

Earle Harrison has nearly 25 years of experience as an adaptive technology industry leader. As president and owner of Triumph Technology, LLC.–a small company based in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, he has developed an international reputation for his innovative approach to adapting off-the-shelf mainstream technologies for people with visual impairments. Harrison is also known for his work on the earliest versions of JAWS for Windows–the world’s first screen reader that could be installed independently by a blind person.

 

 

In June of 2005, Harrison launched a home based business, which he called Triumph Technology.  The new company quickly became known for bundling Code Factory’s Mobile Speak screen reading applications with various mainstream PDA’s and cell phones, and for providing top-notch technical support.

Mr. Harrison agreed to answer a few of my questions regarding his thoughts on entrepreneurship.

     

LL:  Is there a single aspect of Triumph Technology of which you are the most proud?
 
E H:  I am proud of the reputation my company has earned and sustained for over 7 years in providing quality service and support.

LL: What “conventional wisdom” about entrepreneurship are you glad you ignored?
 
E H:  Fortunately for me, most people who knew me when I told them of my plans to start my own company were very supportive. Some people did however think I was crazy for giving up a perfectly good government job for the stress and uncertainty of self employment. I must say however that often it is my own doubts and perceptions that I have needed to learn to ignore.

LL:  Are there any personal traits or characteristics that you believe have held you in good stead as an entrepreneur?
 
E H:  Above all, no matter how difficult things get, and no matter how easy it would be to do otherwise at times, my desire to always act in the best interest of the customer remains well in tact and I’m pretty proud of this ethical standard.

LL:  What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

E H:  It isn’t enough to just understand that being an entrepreneur involves a tremendous amount of risk and hard work, you have got to be absolutely driven to succeed and at the same time be able to summons the energy to pick yourself up out of the mud when you fall flat on your face. I also think it is very important that blind entrepreneurs support one another whenever possible.  Network and surround yourself with people who share the same ideals and thank God every morning when you receive the gift of a new day.

 

More about Triumph Technology:  Today, Harrison employs others who are blind or have low vision, and maintains a robust international distribution network for the product lines he represents. In addition to its thriving consumer, corporate, government, and institutional sales, Triumph Technology, LLC. offers adaptive technology training and consultation services in both Canada and the United States. The company’s slogan, "It’s All About Adapting," acknowledges the trend in the information technology industry toward universal accessibility, and emphasizes the need for assistive technology companies to evolve accordingly.
 
Go to the Triumph Technology News and Reviews blog for the most up-to-date trade show information at:

www.attriumph.com

 

Click on the link entitled news and reviews Blog.

 

If you are planning a visit to the exhibit halls of the upcoming NFB and ACB national conventions, stop by the Triumph Technology booth to see their latest offerings. 
 
NFB:  Booth 27-B

ACB:  Booth 31

LL

 

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