Celebrating Global Accessibility Day--Let's Do This Every Day!

We're lucky in California to have a wonderful resource, Jonn Paris-Salb. He is the Education Administrator at the Clearinghouse for Specialized Media and Translations. Today Jonn sent out a wonderful link to a website celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). There's lots of great information on the website, but look particularly at the link, 'how to experience digital accessibility first-hand.' My favorite idea is listed right near the top, "Go Mouseless for an Hour." I constantly 'encourage' teachers in my program to use keyboard shortcuts (some of the teachers would say, 'badger'), Putting away the mouse/leaving the trackpad untouched would be great ways to practice those shortcuts. Start with something simple like quitting a program (Command-Q on the Mac, Alt-F4 in Windows), switching between programs (Command-tab on a Mac, Alt-tab in Windows), or printing (Command-p on a Mac, Control-p in Windows). If you learn those quickly, try some more--I have them scattered throughout my blog, and you can find tons more by Googling "Keyboard Shortcuts." You'll be surprised how much time you can save not reaching for that mouse/using that trackpad. 

One thing I've learned in my job working with accessible technology for people with visual impairments: the more I learn, the more I realize I have to learn. I'm looking forward to making it a weekly routine to check the Global Accessibility website for more suggestions of ways I can better support, encourage, and get the word out there that the Web and technology should be accessible to all. 

Gotta go ... I need to learn more about NVDA! 

Is Reading a Privilege?

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with a few of our former students from Marshall High School. They are all attending colleges/universities in California this year, and have a fantastic idea of how to share their experiences of what life is like after high school if you're visually impaired. You'll hear more about their new community in a future post, but their group is called Survive or Thrive--keep your ear to the web for more information in the new couple of weeks.
While in conversation with Ann, Karen, Paola, and Raymond, they made mention of an essay that Ann had written about how important braille is in her academic life. I asked Ann if she would send me the essay, and after reading it, I asked for permission to share it with you here. Ann is a former student of mine who is now attending the University of
California Berkeley on a ten year scholarship from the Gates
Millennium Scholars Program. She is studying Psychology and is
considering a minor in Education. She plans to apply to graduate
school and eventually become a psychologist.
Read on as she very eloquently describes of her struggles to be afforded the same rights of accessibility as her print-reading peers in college. When you finish reading, go out and let people know how important braille is in your life if you are a braille reader. If you are a print reader, think about no longer having access to the printed word; not having easy access to books, even when surrounded by books in your local library or bookstore. Think of those moments when you quietly get lost in a story, or use a graph or image to help you understand some new concept. How important is the printed word to you?

Is Reading a Privilege?
by Ann Kwong

Have you ever considered whether reading something off a physical page is a right or a privilege? This question may not have occurred to individuals with sight because reading is an everyday activity. Reading is just a normal part of daily life; it is a natural right. People with sight go to a bookstore, purchase a book, and immediately open it begin to read. They can get the information off the page at exactly the same moment their eyes move over the words. Braille readers like me are denied this right. Unfortunately, I am deprived of the opportunity to read physical text, and it is now deemed a "privilege" to read Braille.

I am diagnosed with Leber's Congenital Amaurosis and other causes that accumulate to the overall condition of being labeled "legally blind." My world is composed mainly of touch. I do not read with print; my fingertips are a substitution for my eyes, and I perceive the world and obtain information using my hands.

I do not have the luxury to go into a bookstore and read any book I desire within seconds of purchase. Transcribing literature in to an accessible format is an extensive and tedious process. In order to physically read a textbook in Braille, the process begins many months before class. I first select my courses in advance, contact the professors to obtain a course syllabus and book list, purchase and pick up the print books from the bookstore, and deliver them to the Alternative Media Center. I must then patiently wait for the staff to scan, proofread, and finally upload the material on-line so I can download and read the textbooks. Just reciting the process alone causes anxiety and immense stress! The Alternative Media Center at UC Berkeley is short staffed, so it can take an entire month for the complete process; oftentimes, it is made more difficult when professors do not post book lists until one week before class begins.

If my textbooks consists of tables, graphics, scientific formulas, or other diagrams, the difficulty of obtaining the material in a physical format increases. Textbooks for English and history courses can be read using electronic formats, but subjects that involve diagrams and formulas such as Statistics requires physical Braille books in order to understand the concepts. Normally when I work on my assignments at home I use my Braillenote Apex. With the Apex, I can physically read the numbers in Braille on the Braille display, and I can calculate my math more efficiently. During examinations however Braille students are only permitted to use Freedom Scientific's computer screen reader Job Access Window's Software (JAWS.) This means I cannot physically read the exam and must instead rely on Jaws dictating it to me. When I attempt to find patterns, compute the correlation coefficient, or calculate standard deviations for a long data set, it is frustrating to have to base everything solely on listening and memory. If I would like to find the original numbers to calculate standard deviations, I must navigate word by word or number by number with JAWS to find the original list. With the Braillenote, I can scroll back quicker to find relevant information. How I long to just read with my fingers and find the pertinent information I need expediently; these are the times when I am strongly convinced that I should have the same right of reading text off a page as my sighted counterparts. Print users can quickly draw tables and skim down or across columns and rows to obtain relevant information while visually impaired JAWS users have to listen to the entire list of numbers before finding the necessary ones. It is exceedingly time consuming to do so. Often times blind students like me are forced to rely completely on auditory aids meaning that we do not have a system of written record to help us organize information placing us at a huge disadvantage. I have tried again and again to explain my situation, but proctoring services at Berkeley are extremely inflexible and do not listen to the needs of the students. Proctoring services have also postponed my exams are many occasions, resulting in other exams on the class syllabus to be delayed, inconvenience, and frustration to the student and professor. Proctoring is unwilling to negotiate causing many students and even some professors to believe that they should just avoid the service altogether. Stresses for exams are doubled; besides worrying about knowing the material, I must consider when and how I will take the exam.

The screen reader itself is also limited in many ways. JAWS does not read certain math symbols such as delta, sigma, mu, etc. Thus I cannot read statistics formulas from my textbook. Rather than giving me insight into the world of mathematics, the limited information I do obtain flusters me because my questions are not answered. When I use the keyboard to scroll down and read with JAWS, it will say "blank" when it lands on a mathematical formula even though the notation is displayed on the screen. More complex figures are also unreadable with JAWS.

It is crucial that Braille readers are given the same opportunities to read. Reading tangible text is such a fundamental right; however, for visually impaired people it has become a rare "privilege." This right that we are deprived of is a source of inconvenience and is detremental to having a good grade; action must be taken to alter such norms. If visually impaired students do not advocate for Braille literacy and stress its significance, Braille will soon become obsolete and only a medium used in the past.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The New iPad and Thoughts on Accessible Textbooks

I've been testing the iPad with students for the past year (with the help of a couple great middle/high school students), looking at the potential for students with visual impairments. What excites me (and so many other teachers of the visually impaired) is the toolbox that Apple and developers have provided to our students for accessing the general education curriculum. Although the iBooks are not fully accessible for students who are blind, the text portion is by default (due to the great iBooks design), and I'm hoping that graphics will someday soon have descriptive/tactual features attached to them (see http://diagramcenter.org/about.html for more info).
For right now, our best hope for textbooks is with organizations such as Bookshare (www.bookshare.org) and Learning Ally (www.learningally.org, formerly RFB&D-Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic). They both have apps for the iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone, and provide many of the textbooks that our students need in an accessible Daisy format.
Now, for our low vision students, I think the iPad has become really exciting with its newest iteration. The improved camera makes it easier for the student to read what's on the board in the front of the classroom, or enlarge on the spot the worksheet that's 12-point font, by zooming in with the camera. We recently had a request for a textbook for a low vision student that wasn't available in large print. Turns out the book was available as an iBook textbook, and it is gorgeous! Compare the price of a large print textbook at prices around $750, to the iBook at $15; investing in the iPad plus the iBook is still less, AND the student can take notes, use the camera as a quick CCTV or scanner in a class, and get other texts in the future.
I recently joined several other TVI's (Teachers of the Visually Impaired) to present a workshop on Apple Devices and Accessibility at the California Transcribers and Educators of the Blind and Visually Impaired conference in Los Angeles. I have to say that I have never seen so much excitement in our field at the potential of the iOS devices to provide students with a means of access to the curriculum. An added bonus is the sense of empowerment I see in students; they are buying their own iPhones/iPod Touches/iPads AND buying great apps like Read2Go from Bookshare (more on Read2Go in a future post).
Is the iPad the solution for all our students? No, of course not. But, the potential is there for it to be a great teaching tool for TVI'S as well as an assistive device for low vision and blind students. I have created a Dropbox folder with resources about using iOS and the Mac with students who have visual impairments. If you'd like access to the folder, just send me an email, and I'll invite you to the folder (lschindler@me.com).



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Goodbye Steve, Thank You For Your Vision

All of the teachers with whom I work know two things about the tech side of me: 

1. I use keyboard shortcuts whenever I can (and constantly remind people of them), and 

2. I love Apple devices. 

A part of me is very sad to hear of the passing of Steve Jobs, both thinking of the personal loss to his family, and for those millions of us who have enjoyed using Apple products for years. 

Here's something that Steve and Apple did for me: I now look at all new technologies with the expectation that it will incorporate accessibility features into its operating system, or I won't consider it. Case in point: although I've been a huge Amazon fan for years (I bought the original Kindle--at a whopping $399, and I love Kindle books), I haven't given more than a glance at the specs for the upcoming Kindle Fire tablet. I've read that it is not accessible to people who are blind (National Federation of the Blind sent out a statement to that effect), and therefore, even though it is much less expensive than the iPad, it will not be a device that many of my students can use. Come on Amazon, start thinking the Apple way--build accessibility in from the ground up! 

All you tablet and device makers, all you app developers out there--please start thinking Universal Design. This means, plan well upfront to offer your product to the widest audience. Seek out people who access the computer via their keyboards, or depend upon captioning of all auditory media; think of how an app or a webpage is organized. Try moving around webpages using your keyboard, rather than the mouse/trackpad. Make sure you add a text tag to all your graphics on webpages. Remember Steve Jobs talking about wanting to offer a computer that EVERYONE can use. Keep his vision going. 

The Mac-cessibility website has some great posts about how Apple devices are appreciated by people who have visual impairments. Check it out here.

Another Fantastic Resource for TVI's!

Just a quick note and a link: Tech Vision is a information-packed blog created and curated by Dr. Denise Robinson. She has some amazing information and tech tips for teachers of students with visual impairments. Check it out--I've learned a lot already!!

Protecting Your Computer and Yourself Online

The beginning of a new school year is a good time to revisit how to keep yourself safe while browsing online. Microsoft has several webpages devoted to tips about how to protect your computer, and how to keep yourself safe from spam and phishing schemes. For virus protection, Microsoft has a good one that I like to use on our Windows computers, and it's free: Microsoft Security Essentials. You can find a link to their webpage explaining how to protect your computer, and tips for protecting yourself from scams by clicking here. At this site, you'll find some great information about how to create strong passwords, as well.
Have a great school year, keep those computers updated to the latest security patches, and use common sense while surfing: you are NOT going to win that free iPad by clicking on a link!

Ways to Download YouTube Videos for Class Use

Problem: You found a great YouTube video that you'd like to share with your students or present in a professional development, but your district blocks YouTube.
Solution: Check out the terrific instructional blogpost from Local District 4. I've used Zamzar for years to do this, but Antonio Hernandez details several other alternatives. This is what I love about the web: if you have a question or problem, there's usually a solution out there somewhere.

iFest 2011

I attended a wonderful half-day event at Mulhulland Middle School on Saturday. I went to a couple of fantastic workshops on using the iPad in education, and got some great resources. For next year, I might try having students and teachers sign up for, and communicate through, a Facebook-like website called Edmodo (www.edmodo.com). I need to check it out for accessibility first, but the advantage is that it can be used within the LAUSD. 

Do You Dream in Color? Kickstarter Project Featuring Laurie Rubin

Laurie Rubin, one of our former students, has a Kickstarter Project. Don't know what that is? Well, check out what she has to say below, then click on the link to find out how you can help support a wonderful idea:

In 2009, I embarked on a very exciting project which is starting to take flight.  I started writing a memoir about my life as a blind opera singer, artist, and person.  In my life, there have been so many instances of people wanting to ask questions about "my world," and they've wanted to make heads or tails of my experience in a way they could understand.  Some people have simply been curious, others have been fascinated, others have been fearful, and then a few have put up barriers as a protection to shield them from a phenomenonwhich they fear.  I hope this memoir will gently alleviate people of these fears, share  with them that I have dreams and live them every day in the form of a rich, wonderful, and beautiful life.  Mostly, I hope this will serve as a way to educate people.  I recently found out that this book will be published by a wonderful publisher called Seven Stories which is distributed by Random House.

At the same time my book was being written, a composer named Bruce Adolphe who is affiliated with Lincoln Center and who also has his own show on National Public Radio, asked to co-write a piece for me.  It is extremely rare for a singer to participate as a poet in a composition, playing a double role as writer and performer.  The poem describes many of the things my book does in a nutshell.  It's a short detour through my life via the visual things I perceive without physically seeing them.  Bruce and I were approached by a very well respected record label in the new classical music industry to release this piece among three other sets of songs, one being a set of songs by a very well known blind composer, Joaquin Rodrigo.  The album will be entitled, "Do You Dream in Color?" just like the poem.  However, because of the Internet and many other difficulties facing the recording industry, Bridge Records, among most other labels, do not have deep pockets, and require fund raising to be done for an album to be recorded, produced, released, and promoted.  We have received one small grant for this project, but need to continue raising money to make this a reality.  

We have launched a campaign on-line where people can participate in helping this project along.  This is a very important venture to me which I've worked very hard on, and put a huge part of my life and soul into as you can imagine.  I live as a blind individual every day, facing people's questions, fears, discrimination, but enjoying the joy of seeing those being educated which will help me and blind individuals for generations to come.  My belief is that my book and the CD which are slated to be released/published simultaneously, will be able to make a bigger impact than I could ever do as an individual.  People can express themselves more powerfully and learn more personally through music, and I think the ability to have this out there for people Nation and worldwide is so important not just for the blind or disabled, but for anyone who has a different path in life and who still reaches for their dreams and aspirations.  It is a universal thing I believe every individual faces in life at some point.

I recently got a small grant from Yale University Alumni Ventures to devise a curriculum for blind and sighted students, educators of both blind and sighted children, and potential employers of blind people in the workforce which will also use the recording of "Do You Dream in Color?" as a means for discussion and the basis for the curriculum.  So there are many exciting things about this project in the works.

We need to raise $20,000 in a month, and if we do not meet this bench mark, we will not receive any of the moneys accumulated up until that point.  Anything helps, whether it be a dollar.  Also, please pass this along to others who you think would be interested in this project.  If you donate certain amounts, you get certain perks like dinner with the artists, jewelry custom designed for you by me and my jewelry line, The LR Look, and many more.  Please see the link below for details, as well as a short video with excerpts from the piece.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1554137244/do-you-dream-in-color-featuring-laurie-rubin?ref=email

Thank you in advance for your help.  It is much appreciated, and I look forward to embarking on many exciting adventures with all of you via this exciting venture.

Best,

Laurie

More on Keyboard Shortcuts

Wow, I love reading other webpages that trumpet the time-saving advantages of using keyboard shortcuts! One of our sharp teachers sent me the link to this one (thanks again, Venessa!). Watch the video as Becky Worley, one of my favorite media tech people, shows some popular Windows and Mac keyboard shortcuts. Then, check out the rest of the page for links to some other great sites with keyboard shortcuts for Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu. See, you don't have to be visually impaired to love using keyboard shortcuts!! Check the yahoo webpage, Upgrade Your Life--Time-saving keyboard shortcuts

Student Shares His Experiences from the NFB LAW Program 2011

One of our students, Gabriel, who you may already have met through his Apex podcasts (see March, 2011), went on a wonderful trip to Washington, D.C. last month. The National Federation of the Blind LAW (Leadership and Advocacy in Washington) Program offered 25 blind/low vision students the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., "to explore the inner workings of our country’s government, its history, and its culture while staying at the national headquarters for the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland." [for more information about the NFB, visit www.nfb.org] Gabriel was kind enough to share his experiences of the trip with us through a 2-part podcast. In Part 1, Gabriel talks about the daily schedule of activities that NFB organized, and what he learned about both the history of the National Federation of the Blind, and about how the United States government works. Any of you who have already listened to Gabriel's Apex podcasts know that he presents his information clearly, in an organized manner, and with enthusiasm. Teachers, make sure you check out Part 1, and you'll definitely want to share it with your students!  Note that the file is about 35 minutes, so it may take a few minutes to download; it's totally worth the wait!!
Part 2 of Gabriel's podcast is my personal favorite, and I've listened to it twice already. I won't say much more than listen for Gabriel to really speak from his heart about what he learned about independence during this trip. I HIGHLY recommend you give it a listen (it's about 6 minutes)! Click on the links below to download and listen to Gabriel's fantastic podcasts, and please post a comment with your thoughts--I know Gabriel would love to get some feedback!
Link 1 to Part 1 of A Trip to the National Federation of the Blind
Link 2 to Part 2 of A Trip to the NFB, Gabriel's insights about independence as a blind person 

Another Student Weighs in on the Apex

Actually, our first Apex contest winner (see November, 2010), Karen from Marshall High, sent me a couple articles with her impressions of the new Apex accessible PDA a couple of months ago (sorry for the delay posting, Karen). One of the top features that our students want to learn about is how to get online with this cool braille device. Karen gives a nice description of how to use the new built-in wireless feature of the Apex to get surf the Internet. Read her article below:

After using the Apex for almost one month and a half, I have successfully connected to the internet via a wireless connection! I found that when setting up a wireless connection, scanning is the best means of finding your connection's SSID (service set identifier), or the name that identifies the network.  When I scan for example, various wireless connection SSIDs may appear such as 2WIRE740 or Organizer because several people may have wireless connections.  JAWS names the SSID when displaying how much signal strength is available, so when scanning for SSIDs, you must create a connection configuration for the name that matches that of the computer.  Therefore, if you have two bars of signal for the SSID titled Smith, use this SSID when creating a connection configuration on the Apex.  A connection configuration gives the Apex the information it needs for each separate internet connection such as how you connect (dial-up, wireless, etc) and specific information depending on which one is available.  You may need to create several configurations for home, school, etc.  In my case, I use a wireless ethernet connection at home and an ethernet connection at school; ethernet connections happen when you plug in the Apex to an Ethernet cable; the ethernet port is on the rightmost corner of the Apex when the thumb keys are facing you with the keyboard facing up.

A connection configuration is analogous to having different braille codes.  When using English braille for instance, there are certain dot combinations for you and others to understand the code, such as dots 256 to identify a period.  In this example, the SSID is English braille because this is how everyone identifies the type of braille you are using, and the 256 is specific to only this code.  In another example, Nemeth could be an SSID for the Nemeth code, and dot 2 is specific to the number 1.  Just like each code has specific dot combinations, each connection configuration needs specific information to be able to connect.

How do you set up a wireless connection? First, enter the options menu (space with O) and press C for the connectivity menu which consists of several items such as "create a new dial-up or lan connection" and "active connection details" which gives you information about the connection such as signal strength and whether or not you are connected to the network; use this option AFTER you have made a configuration.  Signal under -81 is very low; from -81 to -71 is average signal; between -71 ed -67 is good signal; and excellent reception is between -67 and -57.  From the connectivity menu, there are different ways to create a connection.  You can either choose "create a new dial-up or lan connection" which gives you more flexibility in choosing the type of connection, or "configure a new wireless connection" from the "wireless ethernet" menu if you know you will create a wireless connection.  Choosing either option opens the list of inputs; in this example, I use "create a new dial-up or lan connection." Under "connection configuration name," choose a name for the connection that makes sense to you; my connections for my house and Marshall are called Home and School, respectively.  Under device to use, press space with dots 3,4 to go through the different connection options such as wireless ethernet connection or ethernet network connection.  Going back to the braille example, the options under device to use are like specifying what equipment you are using to make braille such as a slate and stylus or brailler.  Depending on which connection type you use, the options after this step differ.  Assuming you choose wireless ethernet, most of the options can be left the same except for the ones explained below.  Type in your SSID if you know it; if not, you can scan for it, which is explained later.  The options "use WEP" and "use WPA-Psk" are asking you what kind of security your connection has.  According to Ms.  Schindler, WEP is an older security type that is hardly used anymore, so enter no. [Note: although WEP is an older protocol, it is still being used, especially in our schools around the LAUSD, so this may be an option for some Apex users when setting up their wireless connection.] For WPA-PSK, enter yes; the pre-shared key prompt is asking you to enter the password for the connection.  Now, press space with E followed by Y to add the record.

To scan for your SSID, turn on wireless ethernet from the wireless ethernet menu in the connectivity menu, and press S.  Choose the correct one from the list, and press enter to create a configuration as described above.  The difference between creating a connection this way is that only the fields relating to wireless connections are displayed.  Scanning is also helpful after a configuration is created because the Apex tells you whether or not which connections are available depending on where you are.  When at an airport, you could scan for a connection, create a configuration, and be online before you know it.

How do you connect to the internet? From the main menu, press I, and type in the web address.  When prompted for the connection configuration, the one you just created will be the default if only one configuration has been created.  Once you choose the configuration, you will be prompted to wait while the page loads.  Enjoy!

Back Up Your Important Files on World Backup Day

As a great reminder to us all that computers crash sometimes--and how sad if you were just finishing up your greatest term paper or had just made that wonderful digital family photo album when it happened--comes:

World Backup Day

"On March 31, as part of the global data-saving initiative, you are encouraged to back up all of your cherished photos and videos, and important documents. If you've ever had a hard disk fail, and not had a backup to fall back on, you'll know that it's a bit like losing a sizable fragment of your soul. If you've never backed up your important files -- or if you only back up sporadically -- do it on World Backup Day!" from the website http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/march-31-is-world-backup-day-2011/
Whether you use a usb drive, an external hard drive, or back up to the 'cloud', use tomorrow as the day to save your photos, music, and documents somewhere other than on your computer. Forewarned is forearmed.

Review of the Braillenote Apex by Gabriel

Gabriel has provided us with another great podcast about Humanware's Apex, the newest model of their accessible PDA/braille notetaker. This time, Gabriel talks about a lot of Apex's new features, and he compares the Apex to its previous model, the mPower. Click on the title to download the file and give it a listen!

Apex Exploration Podcast

One of the questions I asked of our students who wanted to be the first students to win the use of the Apex braille notetakers (See my November, 2010 post for more information on the contest):
"How will you 'give back'?". In other words, how would these contest winners, as premier users in the Los Angeles Unified School District of Humanware's newest accessible PDA, help other students learn about the features, advantages, and ways that using the Apex can help them in their school career? Well, Gabriel, one of the winners, is creating a series of podcasts on how the Apex can be a wonderful (and fun) tool to complete school assignments, read digital books, and even use as a GPS device! Here is the first of his podcasts. If you click on the title/heading of this blogpost, Gabriel's podcast will start downloading to your computer. I apologize to Gabriel for taking so long to get his first show posted, but I had a learning curve to figure out how to post an mp3 file to my blog. See, teachers learn new skills every day, too! So, enjoy Gabriel's first Apex podcast--I think he did a fantastic job!--and check back for another of his podcasts soon, as well as the comments from another of our Apex contest winners.

Celebrate Mardi Gras by Visiting the Bookshare Blog!

Well, it's Mardi Gras, laissez les bons temps roulez! Did you know that Bookshare has a blog? Check out their recommendations for some great New Orleans reading at http://blog.bookshare.org/
They have so many great resources on their website, check out the Training link for more information about how to use their wonderful service!

Another Honor for One of Our Apex Winners

Karen A., the Marshall High student who was a winner in our "Win the Use of an Apex" contest has just received another award. Congratulations; I'm so excited for her. I'll let Karen tell you about it (read on):

"After my GEARUP counselor informed me about the Questbridge National College Match Program, I applied. The Program assists "high-achieving low-income" high school seniors in gaining admission and full four-year scholarships at some of the most selective universities. Questbridge's thirty partner colleges include Princeton, Yale, and Stanford, as well as Amherst College, Scripps College, and the University of Southern California. Not only are the Questbridge application and the schools' application fees waived, but Questbridge also has a national Quest Scholars Network for its students to mentor one another while in college.
"In order to apply, I had to fill out an online application, including a number of written questions allowing me to give a fuller picture of myself than I could have otherwise done in a typical college application. This is because the Questbridge application asks open-ended questions such as how applicants spend their weekend; another asked what inspires students in life. Students must also rank up to eight of Questbridge's partner colleges. Finalists are then selected, and we had to send additional information to each of the schools we ranked. After a few weeks, finalists are either matched with a school, or those that are not can forward their Questbridge applications and apply to Questbridge partners through regular decision.
"I am very humbled and thankful for being awarded a Questbridge scholarship to the University of Southern California!"
For more information, please visit:
http://www.questbridge.org/students/program.html

November Keyboard Shortcut

Well, November is ending, but here's a keyboard shortcut that can carry you into December and beyond:

Quitting/exiting an application/program--for the Windows user, press and hold Alt, then press the F4 key. This works for most applications, including Type to Learn, Zoomtext, and browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox.
On a Mac, the shortcut to quit applications is Command-q. Try them out, they can help students and teachers work more efficiently on the computer by not having to search for that mouse cursor!

Congratulations to the Winners of Use of the Apex Accessible PDA!

Well, it was a difficult choice, but the winners of the "Be the First LAUSD student to Use an Apex" Contest* are: Karen A. from Marshall High School and Guadalupe G. from Nobel Middle School. We also have a runner-up, Gabriel L. from Irving Middle School. Gabriel will be assigned a special Apex that has the Sendero GPS software, maps and blue-tooth receiver while he is being trained by one of our Orientation and Mobility Instructors. All three students wrote terrific essays in response to questions I posed. Their responses are presented below. Congratulations to all the winners, and to the other 6 students who submitted essays to the contest, you will be placed in the queue to be the next students to upgrade your mPowers as we purchase new Apex accessible PDA's. Thanks to all the students who participated in our contest!

*PLEASE NOTE: the winning essays entitle each of the winners to trade up their mPower BrailleNote to the new Apex while they are students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Visually Impaired Program.

WINNER 1: KAREN A., MARSHALL HIGH SCHOOL, GRADE 12
QUESTION: We seem to be moving more and more toward digital files (electronic books as .brf or DAISY files). If you had the choice today, would you choose an embossed hard copy of your books, or would you prefer an electronic file to use on your braille notetaker? Why? Would you prefer certain types of books in one format or the other? Explain your preferences.

Winning Essay: With technological advances, I still consider embossed braille books very important. Embossed Math and Science books provide readers with proper use of the Nemeth code. Because my Calculus book is only available in audio format (CD), I have no idea on the more advanced nemeth symbols for characters like ' and Greek letters like θ. Consequently, I have low scores on standardized mathematics tests because the only time I ever see these symbols is on tests unless the problems I am solving are transcribed for me. Most of the time, I must write and solve these problems in computer braille on my mPower so my teacher can see my work in print, and because computer braille only uses the numbers from the Nemeth code, other Nemeth symbols for characters like π must be assigned on the keyboard and braille display so that they print out accordingly. Because my classes move so quickly, it takes too long to do my homework on the brailler and have someone overwrite it. I also prefer embossed science books for the same reason. In this case however, my chemistry and physics books are available electronically; both of them are very difficult to read because of the extra characters added in the files. In my Physics book for example, a problem when translated in computer braille may look like:
frac (m/s) over s/frac = frac m over s/frac × frac 1 < over s/frac = frac m over s^2/frac
because of the HTML code used for computers
In grade 2 [contracted] braille, the same problem looks identical except the less-than is spelled out. It is so much easier to simply look at the problem in an embossed book where it WOULD look like:
(m/s)/s=m/s*1/s=m/s²
Physics is already hard enough to understand with the book in front of you; students do not need the extra confusion of trying to decipher example problems which are meant to help you, NOT frustrate you.
On the other hand, I prefer electronic books for books with more text such as English and History books. First of all, electronic books allow me to access multiple books instantaneously on my mPower WITHOUT having to search for the correct volume, flip to find the page, etc. Rather than having to read one volume of a history workbook to copy the questions and through another embossed textbook to find the answers, I can access both these books with the press of a button. Secondly, obtaining an already available electronic book is much easier than accessing an embossed book which can take months. All I do is either download or request the book from Bookshare [www.bookshare.org] or WebBraille [www.loc.gov/nls], open the book file, and find the chapter or section with the find command. Although I do take the extra time to find and replace the dashes in front of page numbers, this demands much less energy than having to carry three or more volumes of the same book home. Plus, electronic books allow each person to have his or her copy of the book without having to share one volume. Thirdly, I love having novels for English electronically because it facilitates my ability to take close reading notes, which involve analyzing citations throughout the novel. If I were reading a book such as Heart of Darkness in embossed braille, I would have to literally copy the quote word by word out of the book, whereas with an electronic book, I copy and paste the quote into the file containing my notes. Despite the pros and cons of embossed and electronic books, I will continue using both to my advantage depending on what is available.

WINNER 2: GUADALUPE G., NOBEL MIDDLE SCHOOL, GRADE 8
QUESTION: How will you ensure the longevity of your Apex; in other words, how will you care for it? Write a list of at least 5 precautions you will take to keep your Apex safe and in good working order.

Winning Essay: I came to Nobel [Middle School] from Blend, Mr. Pouliot taught me to use the BrailleNote and then I was given an mPower, I have had the same mPower for the last three years it has never had to go in for repair since I have had it, I would like to be one of the first students to have an Apex to use. My mPower has been my best friend and has helped me to be a good student. ... I have always taken good care of my mPower. I don't download stuff to it, or mess around with it. I use my thumb drive, and I am always careful when I put my thumb drive in or take it out. I always try to be careful when I print to not jam the cable in or pull it out too hard. I only use the charger that came with my unit and I always charge it at home. Last week, Mrs. Tomlinson taught us a few new things that will help keep our mPower working longer. Please consider me for an Apex, I will be a responsible user and take good care of it.

RUNNER-UP: GABRIEL L., IRVING MIDDLE SCHOOL, GRADE 8
QUESTION: Being the first to receive the newest technology brings with it some responsibility. Write an essay on how you would benefit our program by being one of the first students to receive an Apex. How will you share your experiences and knowledge of learning to use this new braille notetaker? Why do you think it is important to share your knowledge?

Winning Essay: One way I would love to give back to the VI program after winning the Apex is to create audio tutorials in mp3 format that explain how to use the Apex from beginning to end. One of the things I liked when I got my Victor Reader Stream were the tutorials that were on the Stream. The thing that made these tutorials so special from all the other ones is that you can clearly hear what is going on with the Stream as the person explains it step by step. I've always loved to record things, so I have a lot of technology I can use to make sure that all the BrailleNote prompts are heard as I explain them on the tutorial. I think that audio tutorials are much more helpful to a person learning how to use any new piece of technology because when something is being read on the computer, often times it is difficult to understand. However, if you have real person going through it step by step, and allowing you to hear what the BrailleNote is doing or saying, it'll be much easier for someone who does not have much experience with this piece of technology to quickly get the hang of using it.
Another thing that I think would be very beneficial for the VI program is someone who can work with people who are learning how to use the Apex over the phone or in person. I can be that person. Often times, people who are listening to a tutorial get it right away, but sometimes people still have questions. This is where working with the person who made the tutorial over the phone or in person is helpful. I'm always reachable via my cell phone, and I am more than willing to take the time to work with people using the Apex over the phone for as long as necessary, or until they understand it. I think that this would help out the program a lot, because there might even be less BrailleNotes sent in to Humanware for repair.

Scholarship Money Available to Legally Blind College Bound Students

I got this information in an email and thought I'd pass it on to interested high school students who are college bound and legally blind.

The National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Program application is now available online. This national scholarship program is available solely to persons who are legally blind and living in the United States or Puerto Rico. There are 30 awards, from $12,000 to $3,000. In addition, each winner will be assisted to attend the NFB Annual Convention for 2011 in Orlando, Florida. The annual contest begins the first week of November 2010; all documents required from the applicants must be postmarked by the March 31, 2011, deadline. Applications and full details are available online at http://www.nfb.org/scholarships.

Questions may be emailed to scholarships@nfb.org.