Browsing by Subject "screen reader"

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    TEDI 3 Week 3 - Common High Technology Devices
    (2019-06-01) Webster, Jennifer
    In this video, Jennifer Webster discusses the digital assistive technology she uses as a visually-impaired person. She discusses how to use common accessibility features such as free screen readers available on Apple and Android devices, barcode readers and other specialised software that can provide information about items and identify common items like currency, and more sophisticated devices such as handwriting readers. She discusses several paid-for services that can be used on devices as well and the more advanced features they offer users. She demonstrates how to use cradles and stands in conjunctions with some of these tools that can be used to scan physical texts (books, etc) and convert them into screen-readable text.
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    TEDI 3 Week 3 - Conversations on the Experience of Accessible and Inaccessible Learning Material
    (2019-06-01) Watermeyer, Brian; Leteane, Benedict; Lourens, Heidi; Botha, Michelle
    In this video, members of the TEDI-VI MOOC panel discuss their experience of accessible and inaccessible learning materials. Benedict reflects on his experiences as a learner in the special school system, in which there were not sufficient braille books for the number of visually-impaired learners in the classroom, and insufficient tools (such as Perkins braillers). He explained the difficulties of having to rely on partially-sighted learners in the classroom, who had to take on additional responsibilities in the classroom, and the anxieties this could induce in the classroom. Heidi, who had full access to accessible learning materials, discusses the difficulty of submitting assignments which were scoped in inaccessible ways (such as requiring images and photographs) for visually-impaired learners. Michelle discusses the difficulty of advocating for her needs and negotiating for assistance with different teachers, which she had to do herself, and the experience of feeling singled-out as the only child with visual impairments in the classroom. She discusses the experiences of shame of asking for consideration from her teachers and the sense of imposing on their teaching techniques, and how her school experience and grades were very dependent on the willingness of her teachers to accommodate her learning needs. Heidi discusses the lack of accessible leisure reading material in the school library and the lack in general of recreational activities for learners with visual disabilities. The panel closes by discussing the transformative potential of assistive digital technology while being aware of the pitfalls, particularly with the focus on audio at the exclusion of braille.