[Bradford] Fw: E-Access Bulletin

Fri Mar 29 19:37:06 UTC 2013

Don't know if anyone subscribes to this but I often find it useful/interesting. Apologies for any duplication or irrelevance!

P.

----- Original Message -----
>
>From: Dan Jellinek [mailto:dan at headstar.com]
>Sent: Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:51:59 -0000
>To: eaccess at headstar.com
>Subject: E-Access Bulletin, March 2013: Smartphone for older people; Neil Cottrell interview.
>
>> 
>> +++E-ACCESS BULLETIN
>> Access To Technology For All, Regardless Of Ability
>> - ISSUE 156, March 2013.
>> 
>> A Headstar Publication.
>> http://www.headstar.com/eab/ .
>> In Association With Go ON Gold:
>> http://www.go-on-gold.co.uk/ .
>> 
>> Please forward this free bulletin to others
>> So they can subscribe directly, at no cost.
>> (subscription details at the end).
>> 
>> 
>> ++Issue 156 Contents.
>> 
>> 01: Tech Giant Launches Smartphone For Older People
>> - Audio and touch screen features enhance usability.
>> 
>> 02: UK Government Funding For Assistive App “Georgie”
>> - Free user training for 200 visually impaired people.
>> 
>> 03: Web Content Accessibility Checker Pitched At Wider
>> Audience
>> - Switch to JavaScript hoped to open up QUAIL content
>> checker.
>> 
>> News in Brief: 04: Partner Power – national Go ON Gold
>> campaign increases its reach; 05: Tech4Good Returns –
>> accessible internet nominations; 06: Social Awards – request
>> for projects; Newspaper Problems – news website falls short;
>> 07: Generous Grant – digital accessibility prize.
>> 
>> Section Two: Inbox.
>> 07: Smarter Homes – more ICT in homes doesn’t always mean
>> more accessibility, warns one analyst.
>> 
>> Section Three – Profile: Neil Cottrell, founder of LexAble.
>> 09: How To Spell Innovation: After encountering barriers in his
>> university studies due to his dyslexia, Neil Cottrell built his
>> own autocorrection tool to help him write essays. Several years
>> later, Cottrell has started his own company and sold thousands
>> of copies of the spelling tool he developed. He explains how it
>> all happened to Tristan Parker.
>> 
>> [Contents ends].
>> 
>> 
>> ++Section One: News.
>> 
>> +01: Tech Giant Launches Smartphone For Older People
>> 
>> A smartphone designed for elderly people has been developed
>> by global technology company Fujitsu.
>> 
>> When setting up the Stylistic S01 phone the user inputs their
>> age, which customises some aspects to work differently. For
>> example, the audio frequency range will be optimised for older
>> people so they can clearly hear the voice of the person they are
>> speaking to, and the phone can also slow down the speech of a
>> caller without losing audio quality, again making it easier to
>> understand.
>> 
>> The Stylistic also features a forgiving touch-screen which
>> highlights icons if they are only touched lightly. This means
>> that accidental touches – common by people not familiar with
>> smartphone controls – will not immediately lead to an
>> undesired function.
>> 
>> Each sub-screen on the phone also contains a question mark
>> icon which gives the user
>> guidance for that page.
>> 
>> “People are living longer, have access to better healthcare and
>> want to have access to the same communications channels
>> (email, social media) that their younger family does.” James
>> Maynard, product marketing director at Fujitsu, told E-Access
>> Bulletin.
>> 
>> The Stylistic S01 phone will be released in France in June. The
>> cost has not been confirmed, but it will be priced as a “mid-
>> range handset”, Maynard said. The phone’s release in other
>> countries is under discussion between Fujitsu and
>> telecommunications partner Orange.
>> 
>> Fujitsu also recently unveiled another technological innovation
>> designed to assist elderly people, the ‘New Generation Cane’.
>> This is a prototype of a walking stick with built-in GPS and
>> heart-rate monitor, which could send the user’s location and
>> health data to a cloud network. Data could then be sent back to
>> the cane to help direct the user. Family members can also
>> check the heart rate of an elderly relative using the cane via the
>> cloud, to check that they are not encountering difficulties.
>> There is currently no indication of if and when the cane might
>> become a purchasable product, however.
>> 
>> And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=838
>> 
>> 
>> +02: UK Government Funding For Assistive App “Georgie”
>> 
>> Up to 200 blind and visually impaired people are to be trained
>> to use a package of smartphone apps that can help with
>> communication and everyday tasks, with £14,000 of funding
>> allocated by the UK government.
>> 
>> The training is for an app bundle for Android smartphones
>> named “Georgie”, developed by husband and wife Roger and
>> Margaret Wilson-Hinds through their company
>> Screenreader.net. The apps help blind and visually impaired
>> people operate smartphones using functions such as voice-
>> assisted touch-screen operation, and also help people with
>> daily tasks such as catching public transport, reading printed
>> text aloud and navigation outdoors (see also our previous
>> report on the apps – full link:
>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=751 Short link:
>> http://bit.ly/X8zS7I ).
>> 
>> The free training sessions will be available at 30 locations
>> across the UK with funding from the Department for Work and
>> Pensions (DWP) provided to the charity Communication for
>> Blind People, the parent organisation of Screenreader.net. As
>> well as funding the trainers’ time, the money will help buy
>> phones and develop learning resources including Braille and
>> large print manuals, Tim Carrington, Screenreader.net’s
>> business development manager, told E-Access Bulletin.
>> 
>> The app training programme is part of a three million pound
>> government funding project entitled Strengthening Disabled
>> People’s User Led Organisations, launched in July 2011.
>> 
>> “A training session will enable a hesitant smartphone user to
>> learn how Georgie can provide them with the confidence to
>> better venture out into the world”, Carrington told E-Access
>> Bulletin. “Trainers will provide hands-on use of Georgie to
>> Blind Association staff who will go on to act as local learning
>> champions, to support Georgie users and direct them to web
>> pages and other learning resources once the trainer has left.”
>> 
>> Local maps and data will also be integrated into the sessions,
>> Carrington said. For example, one of Georgie’s features is a
>> bus app, and this will use local information to help users find
>> their nearest bus stop, see bus times and find out when to get
>> off at the right stop.
>> 
>> Sessions will begin in May, and blind and visually impaired
>> people can find out more by emailing:
>> mailto:reply at screenreader.net.
>> 
>> And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=836
>> 
>> 
>> +03: Web Content Accessibility Checker Pitched At Wider
>> Audience
>> 
>> An updated version of a free web content accessibility
>> checker, originally developed because its creator was frustrated
>> at the limitations of similar products, has been launched in
>> JavaScript to allow wider usage.
>> 
>> QUAIL ( http://quailjs.org/ ) is a piece of software that uses
>> more than 200 tests to assess if web content conforms to the
>> widely used Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
>> 2.0.
>> 
>> Kevin Miller, a web developer at California State University,
>> Monterey Bay, developed the first version in 2009 after he
>> found other accessibility checkers that he used in his job too
>> limited. “I wrote QUAIL out of frustration about what products
>> were out there at the time,” Miller told E-Access Bulletin.
>> 
>> Issues for which QUAIL can test include seeing if headers on
>> web pages are being used correctly; if links to other pages
>> make sense when read on their own – perhaps by a screen-
>> reader; and if images have appropriate text to describe them for
>> someone who cannot see the image. It can be used to provide
>> accessibility checking for any web page, including learning
>> management systems, social media sites or content
>> management systems.
>> 
>> The software is aimed primarily at developers and content
>> authors. “Ultimately, the goal was to provide instant feedback
>> to content creators, kind of like spell-check-as-you-type lets
>> users know they misspelled a word with a red underline,
>> QUAIL can do the same about images missing a description …
>> When a document is easier to read for everyone, it’s also a big
>> win for users with assistive technology” Miller said.
>> 
>> QUAIL has now been converted from PHP (a programming
>> language commonly used in web developing) to a jQuery
>> plugin – software that uses the widely used JavaScript
>> programming language – to open it up to more users. “I really
>> wanted this to be a project that could be embraced regardless
>> of what someone was building”, Miller said. “Because
>> JavaScript is ‘the programming language of the web’, moving
>> to JavaScript meant a much broader potential audience.”
>> 
>> Speaking about how he would like to develop the software in
>> the future, Miller said that QUAIL can help make accessibility
>> testing a more automated and integrated experience, by
>> registering and testing every change made when a web
>> application is being built, for example.
>> 
>> And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=834#more-834
>> 
>> 
>> ++News in Brief:
>> 
>> +04: Partner Power: Go ON Gold, the national campaign to
>> raise awareness of the barriers faced by disabled and elderly
>> people in accessing the internet and digital technologies, has
>> signed up several new high profile new partners. These include
>> the Rix Centre; Birmingham-based Castle Vale Community
>> Housing Association (CVCHA); and the Scottish Disability
>> Equality Forum. All partners have agreed to helping to raise
>> awareness of the barriers faced by disabled and elderly people
>> in accessing technology and the internet. To find out more
>> about how your organisation can help the campaign, see:
>> 
>> Full link:
>> http://www.go-on-gold.co.uk/resources/champion/partner-
>> signup
>> 
>> Short link:
>> http://bit.ly/11nW8rU
>> 
>> +05: Tech4Good Returns: The third annual Technology4Good
>> Awards is now open for nominations. The event, organised by
>> technology charity AbilityNet, celebrates the power of
>> computers and the internet to affect positive social change.
>> Categories include an Accessibility Award, which recognises
>> the work of an individual or organisation using digital
>> technology to help people overcome a disability. Nominations
>> close on May 3:
>> 
>> Full link:
>> http://www.technology4goodawards.org.uk/
>> 
>> Short link:
>> http://bit.ly/gwQUvZ
>> 
>> +06: Newspaper Problems: Changes made to the website of
>> daily Australian newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald – to
>> link in with the printed paper moving to a smaller, tabloid size
>> format – have created a number of accessibility issues, claims
>> IT consultant and web accessibility expert Tom Worthington.
>> Worthington found 29 problems with the site by using the
>> AChecker tool, which bases its tests on the widely used Web
>> Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0:
>> 
>> Full link:
>> http://blog.tomw.net.au/2013/03/new-tabloid-sydney-morning-
>> herald-fails.html
>> 
>> Short link:
>> http://bit.ly/WPNmUO
>> 
>> +07: Generous Grant: US accessibility software company
>> Deque is offering 10,000 US Dollars to one innovative idea –
>> with working prototype – that makes the internet more
>> accessible. International applications are allowed for the
>> Amaze Digital Accessibility Grant, with the deadline for
>> submission 1 May:
>> 
>> Full link: http://www.deque.com/amazegrant
>> 
>> Short link:
>> http://bit.ly/YJdVX2
>> 
>> [Section One ends].
>> 
>> ++Section Two: 'The Inbox'
>> - Readers' Forum.
>> 
>> Please email all contributions or responses to:
>> inbox at headstar.com .
>> 
>> +08: Smarter Homes: Australian accessibility academic and
>> consultant Tom Worthington, a regular contributor to the
>> bulletin (see News in Brief, this issue), writes in to point
>> readers to a response he has posted on his “Net Traveller” blog
>> to a story in our last issue on the release of some new Smart
>> Home Accessibility Guidelines by John Gill Technology (E-
>> Access Bulletin, February 2013 – Full link:
>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=821 Short link:
>> http://bit.ly/160aLCL ).
>> 
>> “These recommendations suggest that ICT in the home can
>> help the elderly and others with disabilities, but only if their
>> needs are taken into consideration when designing the
>> interfaces for the smart home”, Tom says. “I suggest that voice
>> and other hands-free controls would be useful for the
>> population generally, as well as those with a disability. Also
>> designers of smart home controls and displays tend to make
>> them too complex and hard to use, and so an accessible design
>> would benefit everyone.
>> 
>> “However, I question the value of controls and displays for
>> smart homes. A truly smart home should anticipate needs and
>> adjust, without having any explicit input from the occupants
>> and any need for them to look at displays.
>> 
>> “Smart meters are an example of what is not a ‘smart’
>> technology. Householders should not have to read the tariff
>> from a meter and then manually adjust the appliances in their
>> home: this should happen automatically. Smarter technology
>> has existed for decades with off-peak electric hot water
>> systems, which switch on automatically when tariffs are low.
>> An electronic smart meter should be able to be interfaced to
>> major energy using appliances, which also monitor the pattern
>> of use and so can optimise energy saving without bothering the
>> householder.”
>> 
>> More can be found at Tom’s blog, below:
>> 
>> Full link:
>> http://blog.tomw.net.au/2013/03/accessible-smart-home-
>> guidelines.html
>> 
>> Short link:
>> http://bit.ly/160aLCL
>> 
>> [Comments please to inbox at headstar.com ].
>> 
>> [Section Two ends].
>> 
>> Section Three: Profile
>> - Neil Cottrell, Founder, LexAble
>> 
>> +09: How To Spell Innovation
>> By Tristan Parker
>> 
>> After being diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, Neil Cottrell
>> used various forms of assistive technology to help him study.
>> He went on to develop his own autocorrective software, Global
>> AutoCorrect, forming the company LexAble to develop and
>> market it. Global AutoCorrect has now sold about 10,000
>> copies. E-Access Bulletin spoke to Cottrell about how his own
>> innovations helped him achieve a first-class degree at
>> university and start his own business.
>> 
>> E-Access Bulletin: How did it all begin?
>> 
>> Neil Cottrell: I was identified as being dyslexic when I was
>> about 10 or 11-years-old. I was a very bright kid but my
>> dyslexia was really quite severe, so it meant that I was really
>> good at some things and really bad at others.
>> 
>> I ended up using lot of technology through school and
>> university. My Local Education Authority bought me a laptop
>> with a couple of assistive technology (AT) programs on, which
>> I used in all of my lessons. My computer would read
>> everything aloud to me, and I was using it to help organise my
>> ideas. So I grew up benefiting from technology from a young
>> age.
>> 
>> Then when I got to 15, I started doing my GCSEs. Once I’d
>> written something I could read it back with text-to-speech and
>> spell check and all those things, but where I still had a problem
>> that the AT wasn’t solving was with the process of writing.
>> 
>> I’d start writing a sentence and get to a word I didn’t know how
>> to spell, then the red underline would pop up from the spell
>> check and when that happened, what I’d do – which was a
>> really bad strategy – was stop mid-sentence and go back and
>> work out how to spell that word. I’d lose track of the sentence,
>> because I was constantly switching between the processes of
>> writing and checking. What I often ended up with were
>> sentences that were disjointed and didn’t make practical sense.
>> 
>> So I started developing a tool for myself which would
>> automatically correct my spelling as I was writing. Whether I
>> was writing in Microsoft Word or doing a PowerPoint
>> presentation or using Facebook, I could have this tool that
>> would sit in the background. It really helped because it meant I
>> wasn’t worrying about how I was spelling a word when I typed,
>> I could just get my ideas down and not have to go back and
>> correct things later on.
>> 
>> EAB: How did you learn to build this tool?
>> 
>> NC: Basically using the internet and online tutorials. Initially, I
>> hadn’t envisaged this being something that thousands of people
>> would use, it was just a case of, “I’ve got this problem, so it’s
>> worth investing a few hours to do something that’s going to
>> make everything a lot easier.” I enjoy writing software and in
>> order to get it working pretty crudely it was quite quick, but
>> then I was making a lot of improvements and building it up to
>> work better. I got really into it and saw the benefits.
>> 
>> EAB: Did the tool help you with your studies at university?
>> 
>> NC: Yes, I had a very basic version I could use and then it was
>> just adding improvements as I went through school and
>> university. My degree was an essay-writing subject,
>> Psychology, so I had to write projects and other things. I did
>> very well actually, I graduated with the top mark in my year in
>> Psychology at Cardiff University and I also got the top mark
>> for an essay in my year out of everyone who took Psychology,
>> so it showed me that once I had overcome those barriers, I was
>> quite good at the fundamentals of writing essays – coming up
>> with ideas, forming arguments, putting it together logically. It
>> was just the spelling and my thought process getting disturbed
>> that was causing problems.
>> 
>> EAB: How did LexAble and Global AutoCorrect take shape?
>> 
>> NC: I set up LexAble as soon as I graduated and built a
>> commercial version of the tool, which became Global
>> AutoCorrect. Then I started to show people Global
>> AutoCorrect, asking companies if their clients would benefit
>> from the software.
>> 
>> That lasted a couple of years, then it got to the point where, as
>> LexAble developed, I would call people up and ask if they
>> wanted to know more about the software, and they would say
>> ‘Oh yes, I’ve already heard about it, my colleague
>> recommended it.’ So, we hit critical mass when we realised that
>> people were becoming aware of it. And at that point, things just
>> really exploded.
>> 
>> EAB: You went on to win the ‘Accessibility’ category at the
>> Technology4Good Awards…
>> 
>> NC: That was really useful for us, partly as a validation that
>> what we were doing was a really good thing, but it also
>> introduced us to some corporate clients. Some of the people we
>> met at the awards are now helping us to distribute Global
>> AutoCorrect across large companies.
>> 
>> EAB: Do you think people with dyslexia and other print
>> impairments might struggle with computer-based tasks but not
>> know how they can go about overcoming those difficulties?
>> 
>> NC: Yes, I’m sure they do. If you have the correct, easy-to-use
>> assistive technology on a computer, it can actually circumvent
>> a lot of the problems that you have.
>> 
>> When you’ve invested time and perhaps when you’ve got
>> some support with using a computer and technology, then
>> actually, using a computer can make your life so much easier
>> and more fulfilling.
>> 
>> Using a computer is quite a stressful, new thing, and you’ve got
>> to learn skills in order to start using it. For some people that can
>> cause a lot of anxiety and stress. The same goes for pieces of
>> software. There are a lot of things out there that can help
>> people, but you’ve got to find out what suits your working
>> style and how to use the piece of kit. Once you’ve got over
>> those initial barriers to using computers and AT, the benefits
>> they can give in terms of productivity and reducing stress are
>> absolutely massive.
>> 
>> NOTE: You can find out more about Global AutoCorrect at
>> LexAble’s website: http://www.lexable.com/
>> 
>> And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:
>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=831
>> 
>> 
>> [Section Three ends]
>> 
>> 
>> ++Sponsored Notice: Accessify Forum
>> - Accessibility Discussion.
>> 
>> Established in 2003, Accessify Forum is a popular destination
>> for accessibility discussion. The “site critiques” section has
>> helped hundreds of people improve their websites, with
>> members offering friendly, no nonsense advice.
>> 
>> You'll find discussion of accessibility at all levels, from
>> beginner to guru. So whether you’re looking to learn more
>> about accessibility, want to help others and improve on your
>> own knowledge, or just to browse the archives, head over to:
>> 
>> http://www.accessifyforum.com/ .
>> 
>> [Special notice ends].
>> 
>> 
>> ++End Notes.
>> 
>> +How to Receive the Bulletin.
>> 
>> To subscribe to this free monthly bulletin, email
>> eab-subs at headstar.com
>> with 'subscribe eab' in the subject header. You can list other
>> email addresses to subscribe in the body of the message. Please
>> encourage all your colleagues to sign up! To unsubscribe at any
>> time, put 'unsubscribe eab' in the subject header.
>> 
>> Please send comments on coverage or leads to Dan Jellinek at:
>> dan at headstar.com .
>> 
>> Copyright 2013 Headstar Ltd http://www.headstar.com .
>> The Bulletin may be reproduced as long as all parts including
>> this copyright notice are included, and as long as people are
>> always encouraged to subscribe with us individually by email.
>> Please also inform the editor when you are reproducing our
>> content. Sections of the bulletin may be quoted as long as they
>> are clearly sourced as 'taken from e-access bulletin, a free
>> monthly email newsletter', and our web site address:
>> http://www.headstar.com/eab
>> is also cited.
>> 
>> +Personnel:
>> Editor: Dan Jellinek.
>> Reporter: Tristan Parker.
>> Editorial advisor: Kevin Carey.
>> 
>> ISSN 1476-6337.
>> 
>> [Issue 156 ends.] 
>> 
>> 
>>________________________________
>Please consider the environment before printing this email. 
>
>t: 01274 722772  w: www.bradfordcvs.org.uk 
>
>Bradford CVS is a member of Bradford District Infrastructure Partnership. 
>
>Bradford Community & Voluntary Service is registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee (no. 428003), and as a charity (no. 1090036). 
>Registered address 19-25 Sunbridge Road, Bradford, BD1 2AY. 
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.lug.org.uk/pipermail/bradford/attachments/20130329/59f6c130/attachment.html>