Although people who are blind use speech output systems to read aloud electronic documents, tactile formats are often most effective in highly technical disciplines such as mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. Braille translation software translates electronic documents into braille code. From these files, a refreshable braille display can present tactile braille or a braille embosser can produce a hard-copy on special paper.
Accessibility Demonstration Experiences (ADEs) are a set of on-line tutorials that include activities specifically designed to help software and user interface designers understand the needs and expectations of users with disabilities.
Google Apps is a free suite of hosted communication and collaboration applications that includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, Google Docs, and Google Sites. Google Apps Education Edition is a bundle of apps specifically marketed to education institutions. Whether Google Apps is accessible is a question of considerable debate.
Tactile graphics, sometimes referred to as the haptic sensory modality, deliver information through touch. They often accompany Braille textbooks to convey content in maps, charts, building layouts, schematic diagrams, and images of geometric figures. Tactile graphics are often handmade by Braille transcribers as part of Braille textbook production. In some cases, the creation of tactile graphics is facilitated by automated processes using various software applications. Some methods used to create tactile graphics are described below.
Yes. Established in April, 2007, the Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR) provides assistance to injured marines and their families. WWR services help marines and their families
The National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam is for high school students with visual impairments who want to engage in challenging activities designed to build confidence and increase science literacy. At the 2007 and 2009 Youth Slam events, teams from the University of Washington offered instant messaging (IM) chatbots as a topic for student in the computer science track.
Yes. MathML is the guideline adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for the presentation of math content on the web. MathML was specifically created as a universally designed format for mathematical expressions, and it is supported by many assistive technology applications, such as screen readers.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) publishes a newsletter, VA Research Currents, that shares research related to serving veterans. The newsletter, written by the VA Office of Research and Development, provides information about research results, new projects, awards and research funding, and other related topics.
For more information about VA publications, visit the VA Publications website.
With sponsorship from AccessComputing, Georgia Computes, GVU Center, and the Institute for People and Technology, Georgia Tech hosted A Capacity-Building Workshop for Georgia Tech. The workshop aimed to increase the participation and success of people with disabilities in computing fields, particularly at Georgia Tech.
Since 2005, Professor Richard Ladner from the University of Washington in Seattle has introduced tactile graphics to his undergraduate computer vision students. Traditional computer vision classes introduce students to image analysis and interpretation of three-dimensional information from two-dimensional image data. Traditional topics also include image segmentation, motion estimation, object recognition, and image retrieval. Dr.