[nfb-talk] Fw: Tuesday Topics: Making New Technology Accessible

[Christopher McMillan]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Edwards" <edwpaul at comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2006 7:29 AM
Subject: Tuesday Topics: Making New Technology Accessible


This week on Tuesday Topics, we will have a chance to talk with Anna Dresner
who perhaps more than any other single person has made it her business to
make the new marvels available through the Internet and technology
understandable by ordinary blind and visually impaired people, Anna Dresner.
She has published a number of books through the National Braille Press which
explain accessing electronic books, using an IPOD Shuffle, and , most
recently, what a blog is and how to do it.  She lives in Hawaii and will be
talking with us about her books and about her take on where we are and where
we are going with technological access.  I hope you will join us a little
before nine PM on Tuesday October 17th, 2006 to test your microphone and be
a part of this opportunity to talk with someone who dares to try while
others wait to see how she does.  Now, here is more information about how to
get to the Politics room and what to do when you get there.



First open your web browser. Use whatever method you need to to get to
the place where you type in a location where you want to go. Then type
or paste:

http://ourplace.acbradio.org

When the page comes up:


Go to the Politics room and press enter.

Use whatever approach your browser and/or your screen reader uses to
allow you to go directly to a form or edit field that you will find on
this page,

If you need to do something so you can actually type into the form
field, go ahead and do that. You may need to turn on forms mode with
Jaws by pressing enter. If you are a Window Eyes user, press enter on
a form field and your speech should say:

M S A A off.

Type your real name and press enter.

If you are using the chat software for the first time, there will be a
short pause while an application that will enable the Talking
Communities software to work  with your computer is downloaded.

Whether you are a new user or not, after a few seconds, you will be
announced as having joined the session. That's all there is to it!
You're done.

Now that you are in the room, notice you have several areas to explore
including the ability to type a text message while somebody is
actually  talking using a microphone. That message will go to everyone
in the  room. You can use the first list you come to to change who you
want to  send the message to and no one except the person you are
messaging  will be any the wiser.

The next area of the screen is where other programs  can run. For
instance, a power point presentation could run there. You could  put
up samples that you wanted the group to look at or graphs and  charts
that visually impaired users will only be able to benefit from if they
are described.

To the right of that edit field there is a listing of all the people
who are signed on to this room. Further to the right there are slide
volume controls which can be used to set the microphone volume or to
adjust the volume of the output to your speakers.

Remember to get there early so you can test out your microphone. Also,
check out the file menu and the help menu of the chat client for  ways
that you can change things.

Finally, here are some rules that we would like you to follow once the
program has begun to be recorded. First, remember that there are lots
of people in the room and each may want to talk. So, be careful not to
monopolize the conversation. Second, if you can, please use
headphones. That way we will not hear your screen reader in the background
when someone arrives or leaves or when your computer  says something out
loud. It is a good idea to identify yourself to the group each time
you speak. Even though those of us who are there can figure out who
you are, people listening on ACBRADIO cannot look at the top of the
participant list which is where the name of the person speaking always
appears. The main rule, though, is come prepared to share your
thoughts and ideas. You are what makes Tuesday Topics work. I am told
that one of the first signs of insanity is talking to oneself. Please
do not make me have to do that during Tuesday Topics.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for deciding to give
Tuesday Topics the pleasure of your company.


Remember Tuesday Topics is broadcast starting at 1 uTC on Tuesday.  It is
broadcast every two hours for the next day and is then available on the on
demand page on the ACB Radio web site.





Paul Edwards
Telephone: (305) 692-9206
Address: 20330 Northeast 20 Court
Miami, Florida 33179
Home Email: edwpaul at comcast.net
Work Email: pedwards at mdcc.edu

Beauty is in the soul of the beheld

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