National Public Radio's All Things Considered:
http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/
National Federation of the Blind Secures
Court Ruling Against Cardtronics
Click here to read
Paul in the Media
Click here to read The Daily News article
Catching the Snowflake: A photo story of Asperger’s Syndrome (Part one)
Click here to read the Street Roots article.
EVERGREEN RADIO READING SERVICE TO CHANGE FORMAT JANUARY 2012.
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A Honduran teenager has an eye tracker that solves the problem: A $300 open-source kit meant for people with disabilities. It's called the Eyeboard.
Click here for more
ReCell Kit Grows Spray On Skin At Your Bedside In Just Half an Hour
Click here for more
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: White House Disability Group <info@messages.whitehouse.gov>
Date: Mon, Nov 7, 2011 at 5:05 PM
Subject: President Obama Announces Appointments
To: publicradio113@gmail.com
Click here to read the article
Subject: Justice Department Resolves Lawsuit Alleging Disability Discrimination in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Click hear to read the Article
Click hear to read the Article
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen@nfb.org
National Federation of the Blind Condemns
Lack of Access to New Kindle FireBaltimore, Maryland (September 29, 2011): The National Federation of the Blind commented today on the release of Amazon's new Kindle Fire, which cannot be used by people who are blind.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "Blind Americans have repeatedly asked Amazon to include accessibility for the blind in its Kindle product line. The feasibility of including accessibility in similar products has been demonstrated. The Department of Education and the Department of Justice have made it clear that Kindle devices cannot be purchased by educational institutions, libraries, and other entities covered by this country's disability laws unless the devices are fully accessible. Despite all this, Amazon has released a brand new Kindle device, the Kindle Fire, which cannot be used by people who are blind. Enough! We condemn this latest action by Amazon and reiterate that we will not tolerate technological discrimination. The National Federation of the Blind seeks nothing less than equal access to all technology for blind people. It is one of the most critical civil rights issues facing blind Americans in the twenty-first century, and we will do everything in our power to see that this right is secured."
Tactile Pixels Will Make It Easy To Read Braille On Touchscreens
Kwame Opam — It's a familiar complaint. Even as companies like Apple try to tie the computer interface back to the natural world, touchscreens are still woefully flat. But recent developments, including Senseg's new E-sense technology, could bring real-world touch into everyday computing.
Obviously, this is nothing new. Research into programmable friction has already yielded impressive results, especially in the realm of stickiness. But this concept accomplishes the same goal by using "tixels" or tactile pixels to create an electrical field you can feel. Your skin responds by feeling whatever the interface wants it to feel: Buttons, perhaps, or even the fur of a virtual pet.
The project sounds really promising, and Senseg already has Toshiba backing them. Imagine video chat aided by tactile pixels. Being able to gentle touch the face of a newborn baby. Or the hand of a distant lover. The possibilities are as endless as ever. [The Next Web via Geekosystem]
ed: I doubt these links are screen reader friendly.
-Julie
The July Sounds of Awareness features an interview with Gala Miller of Columbia Springs. We are talking about programs that are available to the public that are inclusive of people with a disability.
Click here
Could new technology alienate the disabled? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9483829.stm
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Grant Programs Directorate Information Bulletin.
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Remarks by the President:
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On 16 March 2011,
Paul Van Dyck and his Guide Dog Einstein were guests of puppy raiser Scott Davis at the Longview, Washington Rotary Club. Paul answered questions about his home and work environments and demonstrated how the dog communicates through the harness.
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The School of Piano Technology for the Blind: A serious look.
By Paul Van Dyck
Our Mission:
The School of Piano Technology for the Blind provides specialized quality education for blind and visually impared individuals leading to successful careers in the field of piano technology.
REALLY?
I am a graduate of the school that was formerly designated “The Piano Hospital”. There is no other school like it in the United States simply because there is no demand, although there are courses and internships for those who do not necessarily need or want specialized training for the blind.
Piano tuning and repair requires some specialized “old world” skills working with wood, leather, felt, plastic, metal, etc. These skills are not exclusive to piano tuning or repair, but are certainly good to have. Most farmers I know can make repairs to just about anything they have, and orthopedic surgeons work with instruments that resemble carpenter’s tools as well. Certainly the tuning itself is easily accomplished as any other skill with a certain degree of aptitude, average intelligence and plenty of practice.
Where I am at odds with the school is first in their mission statement. They are not in business to provide specialized quality education for blind and visually impaired individuals leading to successful careers in the field of piano technology; they are in business to MAKE MONEY. The school is supported by the $25,000 + they get each year from each student, usually through vocational rehabilitation agencies paid for by you and me, not by tuning pianos. They seem to need a lot of grants and fundraising events to even stay in business.
What do we get for our money?
They claim that most of their students have jobs when they graduate.
When we say that somebody is “employed” do we mean full-time, benefits, paid leave? Do we mean working for a music store on call? Do we mean a school district with 75 pianos? (Tuning 4 pianos a day, how long will that last?) The tuner can boast “I can tune 4 pianos a day … … if I have them.” I had a job when I graduated – tuning my friend Earl’s piano.
There are really fewer institutional jobs and these are usually contract work, per diem if you will. Tuning can work if you have other income while you are building up a business. One of the successful piano technicians received an inheritance from his family in Canada to tide him through some lean times. Not all of us have that kind of support.
FUTURE:
In 1967 there were 131,000 pianos sold in the United States, according to the Piano Technicians Guild. In 2007 only 31,000 were sold. In addition to the sales of digital pianos, fewer people have jobs to pay for piano tuning, and fewer people taking piano lessons, and more tuners per capita than before looking for fewer jobs, is it any wonder that the majority of the piano technicians see it as a part-time job?
An additional handicap is the blind tuner’s inability to drive. Public transportation does not always take you door to door, and almost never in a timely manner. If you pay a driver you are quite literally working for half price because the driver needs to be compensated for their time and car expense. If your spouse drives for you then you might factor in the cost of a babysitter. On it goes.
It is quite satisfying to finish the job, close the lid on the piano and play a little Chopin or Bach, collect your $100 and think, “wow! Ten more of these will pay my mortgage this month. Give $30 or $50 to your driver, go home and feel depressed the rest of the night and thank the Lord for your SSI.
If the reader disagrees with my point of view, don’t get ugly and personal, just send me your W2 and prove me wrong if you can.
WHY BRAILLE?
(Washington State School For the Blind, 1959 – 1967)
By
Paul Van Dyck
After Walter Dry, then superintendent of the Oregon State School For the Blind, determined that I, as a partially-sighted student, should be mainstreamed to public school, I went back home to Lake Oswego, Oregon, where my 3rd grade year was spent at Forest Hills Elementary School. That probably could have worked had Braille been my primary reading tool, but experts at the time insisted that large print was what one used if one had any vision whatsoever. So there we were, a guy with an IQ of 130, failing subjects all the way through high school and even some college courses in my major, and being labeled as “lazy”.
During my 3rd grade year my parents divorced, and my grandmother became my legal guardian. I attended WSSB. The important skills I learned included typing, though because I was such a poor reader my spelling was atrocious. The totally blind students (who read Braille) were academically superior to the rest of us who struggled with large print at 20 words a minute. Most totally blind went on to successful careers while some of us were shunted off to piano tuning school because we were scholastically deficient.
It was not until 1980, when, after moving to several different cities in search of gainful employment as a piano technician I took a course in Braille from the Hadley School for the Blind, then enrolled in the medical transcription course at the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. I have been gainfully employed in that field since then. I still play music, not as a piano player in a blind school circus, but for audiences who appreciate my worth.
Thankfully, attitudes of educators have changed and even the partially sighted are given tools for success.
By
Paul Van Dyck
After Walter Dry, then superintendent of the Oregon State School For the Blind, determined that I, as a partially-sighted student, should be mainstreamed to public school, I went back home to Lake Oswego, Oregon, where my 3rd grade year was spent at Forest Hills Elementary School. That probably could have worked had Braille been my primary reading tool, but experts at the time insisted that large print was what one used if one had any vision whatsoever. So there we were, a guy with an IQ of 130, failing subjects all the way through high school and even some college courses in my major, and being labeled as “lazy”.
During my 3rd grade year my parents divorced, and my grandmother became my legal guardian. I attended WSSB. The important skills I learned included typing, though because I was such a poor reader my spelling was atrocious. The totally blind students (who read Braille) were academically superior to the rest of us who struggled with large print at 20 words a minute. Most totally blind went on to successful careers while some of us were shunted off to piano tuning school because we were scholastically deficient.
It was not until 1980, when, after moving to several different cities in search of gainful employment as a piano technician I took a course in Braille from the Hadley School for the Blind, then enrolled in the medical transcription course at the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. I have been gainfully employed in that field since then. I still play music, not as a piano player in a blind school circus, but for audiences who appreciate my worth.
Thankfully, attitudes of educators have changed and even the partially sighted are given tools for success.
Feds: Colleges' e-readers must be accessible to blind
Federal officials are requiring colleges that use Kindles and other electronic book readers in the classroom to make sure the gadgets have accommodations for blind and vision-impaired students.
By DORIE TURNER
The Associated Press
Related
ATLANTA — Federal officials are requiring colleges that use Kindles and other electronic book readers in the classroom to make sure the gadgets have accommodations for blind and vision-impaired students.
The U.S. departments of Justice and Education sent a letter to college and university presidents Tuesday instructing them to find alternatives for blind students if the devices are required in the classroom.
Not doing so would be a violation of federal law, said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department.
"It is unacceptable for universities to use emerging technology without insisting that this technology be accessible to all students," Ali wrote in the joint letter with Thomas Perez, assistant U.S. attorney general.
The federal government began examining last year whether the use of Kindles and other e-readers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act after a blind Arizona State University student sued the campus in June alleging that Kindle's inaccessibility to blind students constituted a violation of federal law.
The lawsuit was settled in January with the help of the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind.
Many e-readers have text-to-speech functions, but those don't apply to menus, which means that a blind person would still need help using the device, Ali said.
"The key here is fully accessible, not in-part accessible," Ali said. "Blind users cannot navigate the menu. They couldn't fast forward or even know which book they were reading."
So far, four universities — including Princeton University — testing Amazon's Kindle in the classroom have struck deals with the Justice Department and agreed to shelve the e-readers until they are fully functional for blind students. The other campuses are: Pace University in New York, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and Reed College in Portland, Ore.
The company has said it is working on expanding features of the Kindle to ensure blind people can use them independently.
Ali said the policy also would apply to any K-12 schools wanting to use e-readers in the classroom, but so far only the school district in Clearwater, Fla., has expressed such interest.
By DORIE TURNER
The Associated Press
Related
ATLANTA — Federal officials are requiring colleges that use Kindles and other electronic book readers in the classroom to make sure the gadgets have accommodations for blind and vision-impaired students.
The U.S. departments of Justice and Education sent a letter to college and university presidents Tuesday instructing them to find alternatives for blind students if the devices are required in the classroom.
Not doing so would be a violation of federal law, said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department.
"It is unacceptable for universities to use emerging technology without insisting that this technology be accessible to all students," Ali wrote in the joint letter with Thomas Perez, assistant U.S. attorney general.
The federal government began examining last year whether the use of Kindles and other e-readers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act after a blind Arizona State University student sued the campus in June alleging that Kindle's inaccessibility to blind students constituted a violation of federal law.
The lawsuit was settled in January with the help of the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind.
Many e-readers have text-to-speech functions, but those don't apply to menus, which means that a blind person would still need help using the device, Ali said.
"The key here is fully accessible, not in-part accessible," Ali said. "Blind users cannot navigate the menu. They couldn't fast forward or even know which book they were reading."
So far, four universities — including Princeton University — testing Amazon's Kindle in the classroom have struck deals with the Justice Department and agreed to shelve the e-readers until they are fully functional for blind students. The other campuses are: Pace University in New York, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and Reed College in Portland, Ore.
The company has said it is working on expanding features of the Kindle to ensure blind people can use them independently.
Ali said the policy also would apply to any K-12 schools wanting to use e-readers in the classroom, but so far only the school district in Clearwater, Fla., has expressed such interest.
