Blind and Visually Impaired Community
↑
3
↓
Help needed. Presenting to a group of visually impaired high schoolers and parents. (self.Blind)
submitted 7y ago by snowgimp
Hello all, first time posting in this sub and hoping for some help. My work group and I will be presenting to a group of visually impaired high schoolers and their parents on the different ways tech can help them in day to day life. We're going to be discussing a lot of the enhancements built in to operating systems and wearables but I'm hoping some of you may be able to turn me on to some helpful apps out there. Any help is greatly appreciated.
fastfinge 2 points
For IOS apps, check out applevis (www.applevis.com). No matter what you need to do, Applevis probably lists several apps for doing it, with detailed comments about how accessible they are.
On Windows, $1 is a good starting point to find all of the essential accessible software.
Right at this moment, I'm particularly enjoying $1. It isn't school related, but combining all of my entertainment options (YouTube/Netflix/Livestream/etc) into an application that has the same interface for all of them is quite an accessibility win for me. It's almost nice enough to tempt me to abandon my Apple TV, once they get one or two bugs straightened out.
On Windows, $1 is a good starting point to find all of the essential accessible software.
Right at this moment, I'm particularly enjoying $1. It isn't school related, but combining all of my entertainment options (YouTube/Netflix/Livestream/etc) into an application that has the same interface for all of them is quite an accessibility win for me. It's almost nice enough to tempt me to abandon my Apple TV, once they get one or two bugs straightened out.
snowgimp [OP] 1 points
Excellent, thank you! A quick google search popped that site up but I didn't know the reputability. If Kodi is a potential Apple TV replacement, is it chromecast capable?
fastfinge 1 points
I honestly have no idea. I don't own any google hardware at all, because I don't believe Google has any interest or commitment to accessibility. $1 says everything I have to say about Google better than I could say it myself. Apparently there is something called KODICast, but you need to have an Android phone to make it work. Kodi is fully AirPlay compatible out of the box, and that's all I care about.
geoffisblind 1 points
So for technology I guess it kind of comes down to the application of it or the OS. I prefer Windows so I use Zoomtext 10 by AiSquared for magnification and NVDA as a screen reader. NVDA is free and open source, Zoomtext is not and is quite expensive. You can also get JAWS as a screen reader but JAWS is very expensive and many people don't think it is better than NVDA. On Mac magnification and color correction are built into the OS along with a stock screen reader.
I am currently an Android user on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 but that is likely to change within the next year to ios. I've come to the conclusion that ios is better in terms of visual accessibility. This is sad because I'm kind of an Android fanboy. Anyway, on the Note 4 I just use the stock Samsung accessibility features and they work pretty well. Google TalkBack is getting better, they recently pushed out an update that seems to be an improvement but Apple still has Google beat on the the mobile screen reading.
On ios I have been exposed to a couple of apps, most for mobility. You have BlindSquare and The Seeing Eye App which are both great but are both kind of pricey. On both Android and ios you have apps that are not necessarily blind specific but that are very helpful. I like Google Maps Walking Directions and an app called Transit. Transit provides real time public transit updates. There is another app on ios called Hopstop that does this too.
In terms of hardware, I really like the Humanware Trekker Breeze platform as a mobility GPS, I have one of those on the way and I've had a chance to trial one for a few weeks and loved it. I also use an Eschenbach Smartlux Digital video magnifier which is great. People also like the Freedom Scientific Pebble. I also have a full size CCTV by Enhanced Vision called the Davinci. In addition I use a Bradley Timepiece for time keeping which is super awesome.
If you are presenting to students I would also mention Bookshare as a resource for text books in accessible formats because it's completely free. I think that wraps it up, I'll edit in anything that I have forgotten. Let me know if you have any questions.
I am currently an Android user on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 but that is likely to change within the next year to ios. I've come to the conclusion that ios is better in terms of visual accessibility. This is sad because I'm kind of an Android fanboy. Anyway, on the Note 4 I just use the stock Samsung accessibility features and they work pretty well. Google TalkBack is getting better, they recently pushed out an update that seems to be an improvement but Apple still has Google beat on the the mobile screen reading.
On ios I have been exposed to a couple of apps, most for mobility. You have BlindSquare and The Seeing Eye App which are both great but are both kind of pricey. On both Android and ios you have apps that are not necessarily blind specific but that are very helpful. I like Google Maps Walking Directions and an app called Transit. Transit provides real time public transit updates. There is another app on ios called Hopstop that does this too.
In terms of hardware, I really like the Humanware Trekker Breeze platform as a mobility GPS, I have one of those on the way and I've had a chance to trial one for a few weeks and loved it. I also use an Eschenbach Smartlux Digital video magnifier which is great. People also like the Freedom Scientific Pebble. I also have a full size CCTV by Enhanced Vision called the Davinci. In addition I use a Bradley Timepiece for time keeping which is super awesome.
If you are presenting to students I would also mention Bookshare as a resource for text books in accessible formats because it's completely free. I think that wraps it up, I'll edit in anything that I have forgotten. Let me know if you have any questions.
snowgimp [OP] 1 points
Awesome, thank you so much for a starting point. I'll follow up if I have any questions after doing some research on the stuff you suggested.
Harmoniously 1 points
Great advice thanks for sharing. I have a 10 year old son with low vision. Always looking for resources.
This nonprofit website is run by volunteers.
Please contribute if you can. Thank you!
Our mission is to provide everyone with access to large-
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
scale community websites for the good of humanity.
Without ads, without tracking, without greed.
©2023 HumbleCat Inc • HumbleCat is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Michigan, USA.