Cool Resources
This page contains cool stuff or places to go that have accessibility taken into consideration. Scroll down and see what you find!
P o d c a s t
If you would like to subscribe to the H&T Podcast, use this link in your podcatcher or add it to your browser feed list.
WebAnywhere is a web-based screen reader for the web and it's completely FREE to use! It requires no special software to be installed on the client machine and, therefore, enables blind people to access the web from any computer they happen to have access to that has a sound card. For a training video and info go to http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu/ To start right away go to wa.cs.washington.edu to access WebAnywhere directly.
I use Skype to talk with my friends and to do interviews. My user name is duhlman Below is a paragraph from Skype and a link.
We all love something for nothing. With Skype’s free software – by the way, it works seamlessly with your internet connection – you can chat away with free Skype-to-Skype calls and never worry about cost, time or distance. Share the love and get your friends to download Skype so you can talk, instant message (IM) or make video calls for nothing. You can also make local, long distance and international calls to phones and mobiles at great rates too.
Click this link to go to Skype.com
Sansa E250 talking MP3 fully upgraded with Rockbox from Accessible Electronics
The menus are completely accessible, because they are voiced. The folders and file names can be made to be voiced as well. It plays a variety of file types. It has an FM radio, and you can record from the radio or from the built-in microphone. The memory is expandable from 2GB to 32 GB. The battery charge lasts for up to 20 hours of play time. Accessibleelectronics.com sells them completely set up. Players start at $42 for a 2 GB model, and none of the players cost more than $90.
http://www.accessibleelectronics.com
Rockbox Talking Software for MP3 Players
Rockbox is an open source firmware for mp3 players. It runs on a wide range of players:. All supported models have large text and have the ability to talk to you - menus can be voiced and filenames spelled out or spoken. See all the features at their homepage. http://www.rockbox.org/
"Touch The Universe " Braille and Large Print - book link below desciption.
Touch the Universe is a unique and innovative astronomy book that will help visually impaired people "see" the wonders of our universe. Using a combination of Braille and large-print captions that face 14 pages of brilliant Hubble Space Telescope photos, it is embossed with shapes that represent various astronomical objects such as stars, gas clouds, and jets of matter streaming into space.
"Universally designed" for both the sighted and visually impaired reader, Touch the Universe takes readers on a voyage of discovery, starting at Earth, proceeding through the solar system, and ending with the most distant image taken by Hubble, the mind-boggling "Hubble Deep Field" photo -- the first telescope image ever to bring home to human consciousness in a deeply fundamental way the literally infinite reaches of our universe of galaxies.It may be on sale at the link below. You will have to add it to the shopping cart to see the sale price of $8.75..
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIC PRESS BOOK LINK
Web Accessibility Checker
AChecker is used to evaluate html content for accessibility problems by entering the location of the web page or uploading a html file.
AChecker produces a report of all accessibility problems for your selected guidelines.
http://www.atutor.ca/achecker/demo/checker/index.php
Cincinnati Art Museum touch tour call (513) 639-2975
You are invited to experience the Cincinnati Art Museum's collection using descriptive language and hands-on activities in a docent guided touch tour. .
Other accessible features:
Large Print Labels
Assisted Listening Devices
Sign Language: Interpreters
For more information see the VISIT tab on the website.
Tips for Describing Birds
This hand-out will give you some ideas about leading a group of blind people on a bird listening hike. I have listed these ideas after leading a few hikes. Basicly a sighted hike leader needs to change how they think about identifying birds. A list of bird markings and colors becomes confusing. Remember your first hike how difficult it was to tell the difference between a Hairy and Downy Woodpecker. For a blind person markings are a list to memorize, that they will never use. Rather I reccomend a hike where the sounds of the forest describe the behavior of birds. A Wood Thrush's song and a Chickadee's Ch CH CH scaulding call.tell the listener volumes about what is going on. An active, moving forest is much more interesting than a list. I hope this doc will give you some ideas about how to make sense out of all those wild noises.
Click on the below link to download this document
Search here for more accessibile software and hardware.
Accessible Sidewalks Video Series
Accessible Sidewalks is a four-part video developed by the Access Board to illustrate access issues and considerations in the design of sidewalks. The series covers access for pedestrians with mobility impairments, including those who use wheelchairs, and pedestrians who are blind or have low vision. Each segment of the series can be accessed through the links below and will play in a new window through Flash software. (Once selected, a segment will play automatically, though this may take time depending on the connection speed. The viewing window can be resized and should be closed before selecting another segment.) All videos are open captioned and incorporate running descriptive audio.
Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design
"Exhibitions are complex presentations that convey concepts, showcase objects, and excite the senses. However, as museums recognize the diversity within their audiences, they realize that exhibitions must do more: exhibitions must teach to different learning styles, respond to issues of cultural and gender equity, and offer multiple levels of information. The resulting changes in exhibitions have made these presentations more understandable, enjoyable, and connected to visitors? lives."
NPS's Harpers Ferry Center: A Leading Resource on Exhibit Access
The National Park Service's Harpers Ferry Center, which oversees interpretive media for national parks, recently released updated guidelines for accessible exhibits and other media. The "Programmatic Accessibility Guidelines for National Park Service Interpretive Media" outline best practices for providing access to exhibits, artifacts, audio visual programs and tours, signage, and publications. While developed for national parks, the guidelines can be consulted in designing exhibits and visitor information at other sites.
http://www.nps.gov/hfc/accessibility/#
DOJ ON-LINE COURSE ON REACHING THE DISABILITY MARKET:
The U.S. Department of Justice's Disability Rights Section's has an online course for businesses, "Reaching Out to Customers with Disabilities." The course explains how the ADA applies to businesses in ten short lessons. Putting these lessons into practice enables businesses to both comply with the ADA and attract the disability market. The course is at
http://www.ada.gov/reachingout/intro1.htm
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