Insomnia has its benefits - Google Reader & LifeHacker

For some reason, the hours between 3 and 5:30 seem to be a difficult time for me to actually stay asleep. But that’s good news, blog readers, because last night I had a wonderful time prancing around the ‘Net and found great blog fodder!

Some of you may have already found Google Reader, another of the ever-growing number of free applications provided by the advertising geniuses at Google. Google Reader is an RSS feed, which brings updates from websites directly to your desktop (or browser, as in this case). Think of it a bit like a running stock ticker for news, exciting blog entries, or anything else on which you want to keep up to date. Ho-hum, not really blog-worthy news, right?

Well, think again. Google has just announced that its Reader feed is accessible to screen readers! This is news, because most dynamic (constantly updating) content on the web is not screen-reader friendly. Granted, there are limitations… it’s currently only accessible to Firevox, the self-voicing extension for Firefox, and Firefox 3, which is still in beta. However, this is a step in the right direction, making dynamic content usable to people with print disabilities.

The other place I spent a lot of time last night (or morning?) was on LifeHacker. Ok, any site that easily steals an hour from you without you knowing it doesn’t really qualify as saving you time… but in my defense, I was catching up on stuff posted there that had long passed me by! While LifeHacker isn’t really assistive technology per se, I did find a large number of items that would be of especial interest to those with learning disabilities or ADD. Particularly interesting were the items in the “Mind Hacks” category… all kinds of ways you can train your brain to work more efficiently.

Time to get off your duff and take a class

Loyal readers of this blog (there are a couple of you, right?) will know that I really like playing with new technology. Those of you who’ve been in my office will know that I really like explaining how it can work for you. So here’s your opportunity…

Beginning Spring term, I’m teaching a 2 credit class called Technology for Learning. (That’s USEM 199 for those who want to find it in the class schedule right now.) This class is open to everyone and will go through a truly broad range of technology tools that can help you be a better student. Every student has to do some of these things at some point in each class:

• read
• write
• research
• math
• organize
• study
• network with others

This class will help you to do all those things in ways that work best for you! I’m designing this class under a Universal Design for Learning format, which means I’m going to make this class as accessible and usable for the largest number of people possible. (For example, one of the “readings” in the first week is an ASL video on multiple intelligences!)

I’m hugely excited about this class. If you have questions about it, please let me know. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Thank you, U.S. Department of Education!

If you are eligible for alternate format text, I’ve got some very exciting news for you! The U.S. Department of Education has granted Bookshare.org a rather generous amount - $32 million, to be exact. Why is this important for you? Well, this grant allows all United States colleges and universities a free membership to Bookshare.org… and any student with a print disability now has access to free memberships through their college or university.

This means you can look for your own accessible format books, download them, and use them… all independently. Matter of fact, Bookshare even includes a free reader (Victor Reader Soft, which we have in several locations on campus) You never have to return these, and DSS’s only involvement is a once-a-year certification.
Ok, you know I have to say it… there’s advantages and there’s disadvantages to this little deal.

Advantages

• FREE BOOKS! As an obsessive reader myself with way more books than any human being should ever have to move from house to house…. I think this is huge. No membership cost, no software cost, no book cost… wow.
• Accessible books with great navigation tools. Bookshare.org’s books are in DAISY format, which works really well for people with visual impairments, learning disabilities, and mobility impairments. Find a specific page, find a specific phrase, read from front to back, jump around, bookmark, change the reading speed… anything.
• Hey, Braille readers - Bookshare.org has Braille-ready files (.brf)!
• Access to find books anywhere, anytime. No requests to DSS, no waiting period. Find it, download it, read it. That’s it.
• Newspapers and periodicals, too!
• Books for school, books for fun - all available to you. 35,000 of them and growing every day.
• Oh, and did I mention FREE BOOKS? And that you don’t have to purchase the book in order to download the accessible version? I think that means FREE BOOKS.

Disadvantages (relax, there’s not many of them)

• If you aren’t familiar with Victor Reader Soft, you will need to learn it. Not a huge deal, but there nonetheless.
• The biggest disadvantage is that Bookshare.org doesn’t have a huge textbook collection, so this won’t supply all of your textbooks. (Sorry, you’re still stuck with me. This at least gives you an option, though.)

Too blog-worthy to resist - Free reading service

Ever come across a website that you think - wow, this is really innovative? Well, this one crossed my email awhile ago. I ran across it again today, as I was cleaning out the inbox.

ReadThisToMe.org provides a FREE, on-demand reading service for people who are visually impaired. What makes this uniques is that, because it is staffed by humans instead of computers, the service makes available items that would otherwise be inaccessible. Examples include: handwritten notes, labels on cans, diagrams…the list goes on.

So how do you get this great service? Easy! Fax your document to ReadThisToMe.org, and they call you back at the number you list and read it to you.

No fax machine, you say? If you have an internet connection and a scanner, you have a fax! Windows and Mac both have ingenious little applications that make this work.

And yes, the service is free. They do, however, accept donations.

What's New for '07-'08?

New Academic Year’s Resolutions

Everyone else makes New Year’s Resolutions, and never being one to follow a convention just because it exists, I’ve decided to make some New Academic Year’s Resolutions.

• I resolve to blog more often. (The nice thing about saying “more often” is that it’s nebulous and y’all can’t pin me down to specific timeframes.)
• I resolve - again - to look for more resources for math and science.
• I resolve to create more online training materials. I’m thinking about a Blackboard class for technology and disability.
  

New Stuff at SOU This Fall

This summer, once again, we’ve been busy re-imagining the student experience with SOU. And the results?

• JAWS went to a network version! Now, if you are a JAWS user, you can use it just about anywhere on campus. Not on Macs, obviously…
• Dragon is in the process of being updated. The adaptive stations in the library and main lab have the new version (9), and the AT Lab is next.
• Priority Registration is now available to eligible students online. No more picking up pieces of paper in the Access Center, heading over and standing in line… only to find out you need instructor approval for a class. Why is this in the AT blog? What better demonstration of how technology assists us than to use an online service to do something quickly and independently, and in our pajamas if we want to?!
• You can now access the request form for an accommodated test online. We’re working on some other very exciting changes in the testing process… keep watching for this!
• The new DSS Student Handbook is available for download from our website. This handy book includes procedures, form samples, resources, your rights and responsibilities… just about everything you could want to know. You can use any of your favorite assistive technology to access the handbook.
• We now have a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Coordinator, Ila Sachs. She and I work together on FM Systems, VRS, TTYs, and other hearing-related technology.

More improvements are coming. If you have ideas that you would really like to see implemented, tell us in the comment field!