[gui-talk] Fwd: E-Access Bulletin: Issue 121, January 2010.

[Steve Pattison]

 From:    Dan Jellinek dan at headstar.com
 To:      eaccess at headstar.com

++E-ACCESS BULLETIN
Access To Technology For All, Regardless Of Ability
- ISSUE 121, January 2010.

A Headstar Publication.
http://www.headstar.com/eab/ .

Please forward this free bulletin to others (subscription details at
the end).


++Issue 121 Contents.

01: Severely Disabled Pupils Face Wait For Home Access
- Delays in roll-out of some assistive technology.

02: Global Copyright Treaty On Access Formats Edges Closer
- World Intellectual Property Organisation begins consultation.

03: Amazon Bows To Pressure On Kindle Accessibility
- Legal settlement follows adding of extra features.

News in Brief: 04: Mainstream Issue - Disability and
employment study; 05: Mixed Results - Web accessibility in
Europe; 06: Shared Editorial -new RNIB web features.

Section Two: Focus - Home Access.
07: The Biggest IT Help Scheme In The World: The
government's Home Access scheme will provide an estimated
270,000 school pupils in England with free computers and
internet access. The scheme also features a huge provision of
assistive technology, but pupils with severe disabilities will have
to wait months to receive specialist equipment following
unforeseen supplier glitches. Tristan Parker investigates.

[Contents ends].


++Section One: News.

+01: Severely Disabled Pupils Face Wait For Home Access.

School pupils with serious disabilities are facing an indefinite
delay, likely to last six months or more, to receive the assistive
technology they need to benefit from the government's new
'Home Access' computer scheme, E-Access Bulletin has
learned.

The £300 million scheme ( http://www.homeaccess.org.uk/ ),
managed by education ICT agency Becta (
http://www.becta.org.uk/ ), is providing computers to children
aged 7-14 from low-income families. Launched this month, it
aims to help around 270,000 families by March 2011.

The project does take extensive account of pupils with special
access needs, with its basic package - computers, software,
internet access and support - coming pre-loaded with a suite of
assistive technology software, which includes literacy support
tool Read and Write ; 'concept mapping' tool MindView 3; and
magnification and speech tool iZoom.

To meet the assistive needs at home of pupils who have more
severe visual impairments or other complex disabilities such as
mobility issues or deafness, two further, more specialised
packages are available. Package one - which includes a
keyboard with larger keys and a large trackball mouse for those
with limited motor skills - is also available from the outset.

However package two, a bespoke package to provide equipment
for pupils who are blind, have cerebral palsy or severe mobility
problems such as a touch-screen, a Braille keyboard or screen-
reader software, is not yet available, and may not be for six
months or more, E-Access Bulletin has learned.

The delay is due to the original supplier tender being pulled
following non-compliance with some of its terms, according to
Mick Thomas, universal access manager at Becta. Thomas
declined to supply details of the non-compliance, but said:
"We've discussed it with other suppliers and are looking to
provide a service that's up and running before the end of the
summer holiday."

Thomas says that as well as the obvious benefits to pupils of the
assistive elements of Home Access, the programme's scale -
thought to be the largest ever provision of assistive technology in
the world - will help bring assistive technology further into the
public eye. "We've got a package that will overcome physical
access issues for a whole bunch of people, and once we get the
final piece of the jigsaw in place, it will be an amazing
opportunity. A lot of the software and hardware traditionally
thought of as being very niche is going to become more
mainstream. I've worked in the assistive field for many years,
and this is the opportunity we've been waiting for," he said.

NOTE: For the full story see Section Two, this issue.

And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=379


+02: Global Copyright Treaty On Access Formats Edges Closer.

An international treaty allowing people to share accessible
versions of copyright works across national borders moved a
step closer last month, with an agreement by the World
Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to consult on the
issue.

The 19th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright
and Related Rights (SCCR), held in Geneva in December (
http://bit.ly/cHnS2R ), agreed to host a series of consultation
meetings aimed at producing an international consensus.

The move builds on a formal proposal for a treaty on copyright
exceptions and limitations from the World Blind Union, backed
by WIPO member states Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay earlier in
2009 and endorsed in December by others including the US.

For many years, disability organisations have protested against a
frequent inability to produce accessible versions of copyright
works, since this is viewed by many legal systems as the
production of an illegal copy. Last year Amazon, the maker of
the Kindle electronic book reader, disabled the reader's text-to-
speech function after publishers protested that accessible speech
amounted to the creation of a new and unlawful audio copy (see
E-Access Bulletin, March 2009:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=244 ). Exchange of
accessible works across borders is doubly hard, as the law varies
between countries and where there is a grey area, few are willing
to risk taking any action.

Cynthia Waddell, Executive Director of The International Center
for Disability Resources on the Internet ( http://www.icdri.org ),
told E-Access Bulletin this month: "One of the main issues for
the proposed treaty is to address the book famine of accessible
works.

"At this time, it is estimated that 95% of printed works are not
available in accessible formats. One goal of the proposed treaty
is to reduce the cost redundancies for the creation of accessible
works and to remove the barriers to exporting and importing
accessible works. For example, copyright restrictions on the
internationally-bestselling Harry Potter novels mean copies
translated into accessible formats cannot be shared across
national lines, but must be retranslated in every country."

The WIPO committee undertook to circulate a questionnaire on
national views and laws on copyright exceptions to member
states, for replies by May 10, 2010. The committee will also
gather examples of accessibility practices and solutions across
member states. Results will be presented to the 20th session of
the SCCR, set for June 2010.

And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=381


+03: Amazon Bows To Pressure On Kindle Accessibility.

The online retailer Amazon.com is to incorporate extra
accessibility features into its Kindle DX electronic book reader
or 'e-reader', after several American universities rejected the
device as a potential teaching-aid, citing inaccessibility to blind
students (see E-Access Bulletin, issue 119:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=357 ).

Audible menus and an extra-large font size will be added to the
new version of the Kindle DX on its release this summer. The
menu feature addresses claims by Syracuse and Wisconsin-
Madison universities that although the Kindle features a text-to-
speech function valuable for blind users, inaccessible menus
meant that such users would not be able to activate the function.


In a related development, one US university that did use the
Kindle in a pilot programme reached a settlement earlier this
month in a lawsuit filed by the US National Federation of the
Blind (NFB) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB).

Arizona State University was one of several universities to pilot
the Kindle, all of which were due to give feedback to
Amazon.com to assist with the device's development. However
the NFB and ACB alleged that as the Kindle was not fully
accessible to blind students, its use in the university, even in a
pilot, violated federal law.

Amazon's new plans to make the Kindle more accessible have
emerged as a factor in the Arizona settlement, as was a
commitment by the university to provide students with
accessible e-book readers over the coming years.

In a statement, NFB President Marc Maurer said his organisation
was "pleased with this settlement, which we believe will help to
ensure that new technologies create new opportunities for blind
students rather than new barriers."

And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=383


++News in Brief:

+04: Mainstream Issue: Almost eight million UK adults have
sensory impairments or other health problems which could make
it difficult for them to access websites, according to a study by
YouGov on behalf of disability employment charity Shaw Trust.
The charity urged public sector bodies in particular to review
their website accessibility in light of the Central Office of
Information's 'Delivering inclusive websites' report, which set
out minimum accessibility requirements for all public sector
websites from December 2009:
http://bit.ly/8V04Sq

+05: Mixed Results: Levels of compliance with web accessibility
guidelines "remain very low" in EU member states, a new study
published by the European Commission has found. However it
is hard to accurately track what progress is being made, the
report found, since assessment against international Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) often employs a basic
'pass/fail' system based on full compliance:
http://bit.ly/4U4kve

+06: Shared Editorial: Customised content management software
and a specially developed text editor will make the new website
of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) more
accessible for both users and the blind and partially-sighted staff
who edit the site. The website uses the 'SharePoint Accessibility
Solution' (SAS) - a customised addition to Microsoft SharePoint
2007 which interacts with screen-readers - and an enhanced
version of software company Telerik's 'RadEditor' developed to
work with screen-reading technology. Both the public-facing and
internal areas of the new website conform to the RNIB's 'Surf
Right' accessible web standard:
http://bit.ly/58sDhz


[Section One ends].


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++Section Two: Focus - Home Access.

+07: The Biggest IT Help Scheme In The World.
by Tristan Parker.

A government scheme to ensure all school pupils in England
have access to computers and the internet at home could have a
huge impact on the assistive technology sector.

Earlier this month, the government announced the launch of its
'Home Access' scheme to improve technology access for school
pupils from lower-income families. Backed by some £300
million, the scheme is expected to provide computers and
internet access for home use to around 270,000 families by
March 2011.

Aimed at children in years 3-9 (ages 7-14) of state education in
England, the scheme offers grants to low-income families,
means-tested to establish eligibility, allowing them to purchase
Home Access packages from selected suppliers. The packages
consist of a computer, a year's internet access, installed 'office
productivity suite' software, and service and support for a year.

A pilot scheme run in Oldham and Suffolk during December last
year proved successful, and roll-out across England is now
taking place. The project is being managed by Becta (
http://www.becta.org.uk/ ), the government's agency for
information and communications technology in education.

So far, so good. But what provisions are made for pupils with
disabilities?

According to the programme's website (
http://www.homeaccess.org.uk/ ), all packages come pre-loaded
with a suite of assistive technology software, which includes
Read and Write Home Access Edition (a literacy support
package); MindView 3 (a 'concept mapping' programme to help
pupils visualise and solve problems); and iZoom (a
magnification and speech tool). The inclusion of these features
within the basic package - expected to reach 270,000 families -
makes the project what is thought to be the largest ever provision
of assistive technology in the world.

The 'Read and Write' and 'MindView' tools are aimed primarily
at children with a range of learning difficulties such as dyslexia,
while the 'iZoom' magnifier assists pupils with visual
impairments. However, iZoom is only adequate to cope with the
milder end of visual impairment. To meet the assistive needs at
home of pupils who are blind, have severe visual impairment or
other complex disabilities such as mobility issues or deafness,
two further, more specialised packages are available.

Package one, supplied by assistive technology company
Keytools, will be given out when requested by either the child or
their parents. It contains a 'BigKeys' keyboard with larger keys
and lettering, for mild visual impairments; a lightweight mini
keyboard, allowing easier use by those in wheelchairs, for
example; a large trackball mouse for those with limited motor
skills; and high visibility stickers, again designed for visual
impairments.

Package two is a bespoke package to provide equipment
enabling internet access for pupils with specialist needs not
covered by the basic package or package one. This may include,
for example, pupils who are blind, have cerebral palsy or severe
mobility problems.

It is the distribution of this second package which is likely to
present the biggest accessibility challenges for the Home Access
programme. Provision of equipment will be based on an
individual assessment of the pupil's needs, which are to be
gauged by talking to the pupil, his or her parents and the school.

Mick Thomas, universal access manager at Becta, told E-Access
Bulletin that this process is likely to take place remotely. "It
doesn't preclude a face-to-face assessment, but my guess is that
in 90% of the cases it will be remote."

As for the equipment provided after needs are assessed, Thomas
said: "in theory it won't exclude anything but in reality - and this
was born out from the pilot scheme - the package is likely to be
accessed more by people who have severe visual problems and
people who are blind." People with these visual impairments
might receive, for example, a larger screen, a touch-screen, a
Braille keyboard or screen-reader software, he said.

However, though the national rollout of funding and provision
of the basic Home Access package and package one began
earlier this month, package two - catering for more complex
needs - is not yet available, and may not be for six months or
more. "Our original objective was to get it running in late April
or early May," says Thomas. However, this date has now been
moved back, due to the original supplier tender being pulled.

Despite this setback, the process is continuing, albeit at a slower
rate than planned, Thomas said. "The procurement is going
ahead, but we're looking at doing it in a different way. In the
original procurement there was non-compliance from a couple
of the suppliers. We've discussed it with other suppliers and are
looking to provide a service that's up and running before the end
of the summer holiday."

The task is a considerable one for a sector that is still emerging
into the mainstream, according to Ian Litterick, founder of
educational assistive technology specialists iansyst (
http://www.iansyst.co.uk/ ).

 "For the assistive technology industry, it's quite a challenge to
produce what is thought to be around 11,000 systems on a very
short timescale," Litterick told E-Access Bulletin.

Litterick was generally positive about the Home Access scheme.
He said it should cater adequately for pupils with a range of
learning difficulties, including blind and visually impaired
students, through provision of screen-reader software and other
tools. However, he raised concerns over the level support
offered: "There's still a training need which at the moment isn't
met under the Home Access funding, but my guess is that, in
many cases, if you were a blind student you'll be prescribed
what you've already been using in school. But there is still
potentially a big need for training there."

Another potential concern is a lack of information about
package two or any fixed date for its roll-out, with the result that
pupils with more complex needs must wait at least four months
for their assessments, Litterick said.

"It's been done in a huge hurry, to extremely tight deadlines, and
not every decision along the way has been optimal, but broadly
speaking I think it is a very exciting project" he said. "They've
addressed the inclusion issue, as far as technology is concerned,
in a pretty comprehensive and broadly admirable way."

Mick Thomas of Becta says that as well as the obvious benefits
to pupils of the assistive elements of Home Access, the scale of
provision will help bring assistive technology further into the
public eye. "We've got a package that will overcome physical
access issues for a whole bunch of people, and once we get the
final piece of the jigsaw in place, it will be an amazing
opportunity. A lot of the software and hardware traditionally
thought of as being very niche is going to become more
mainstream. I've worked in the assistive field for many years,
and this is the opportunity we've been waiting for," he said.

And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=385

[Section Two ends].


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[Special notice ends].


++End Notes.

+How to Receive the Bulletin.

To subscribe to this free monthly bulletin, email
eab-subs at headstar.com
with 'subscribe eab' in the subject header. You can list other
email addresses to subscribe in the body of the message. Please
encourage all your colleagues to sign up! To unsubscribe at any
time, put 'unsubscribe eab' in the subject header.

Please send comments on coverage or leads to Dan Jellinek at:
dan at headstar.com .

Copyright 2010 Headstar Ltd http://www.headstar.com .
The Bulletin may be reproduced as long as all parts including
this copyright notice are included, and as long as people are
always encouraged to subscribe with us individually by email.
Please also inform the editor when you are reproducing our
content. Sections of the bulletin may be quoted as long as they
are clearly sourced as 'taken from e-access bulletin, a free
monthly email newsletter', and our web site address:
http://www.headstar.com/eab
is also cited.

+Personnel:
Editor - Dan Jellinek.
Reporter: Tristan Parker.
Editorial advisor - Kevin Carey.

ISSN 1476-6337.

[Issue 121 ends.]

Regards Steve
Email:  srp at internode.on.net
MSN Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com
Skype:  steve1963
Twitter:  steve9782