Is LinkedIn worth the hassle?

LinkedIn is a challenge for job seekers using screen-reading and magnifying software. The interface keeps changing and it is complex. Is it worth it? YES!

Just having a complete profile helps manage your online presence when employers do a simple Google search. Recruiters use LinkedIn. You can connect with people in your field. There are many resources on the site. 

So here are some take aways from Andrew LaCivita’s video to get noticed by recruiters.

The search engine on LinkedIn behaves differently than Google. First, what results rank high depends on the recruiter’s behavior. Second, your profile views affect how high you rank in a search.

Here is what you can do from the static side:

1. Complete and update your profile: good photo, good summary, list all the employers, awards, etc.

2. Skills are one of the most popular searches that recruiters conduct, so wax eloquent.

3. Connections, the site is about connecting. How are you developing those relationships? Connections: the more the better. Within that profession or company if possible. Identify them.

4. Use standard titles--just be professional. If your company uses unusual titles, ditch them for what is recognized in the industry.

5. New: check out the Tell Recruiters option, 

Next, take a dynamic approach:

To get more profile views, here is what you do to drive traffic.

1. Share articles, tips, status updates

2. Write your own long-form posts, like a blog, post a photo, build collateral for a career change, post once a week. If you are a college student, post once a month. By the time you graduate, you willl have built a network.

3. Like and comment on posts

4. Respond to your notifications

5. Join a group related to your career path

I will be sharing these tips with my students learning adaptive software.

https://youtu.be/hG9y29SRBm8

Getting up to speed with iOS device

One-on-one instruction is the best way to go and the cost is worth every penny. The instructor usually covers the basics and offers resources to learn more on your own. The amount of new information takes time to absorb. Some falls by the wayside.

In Seattle, the SightConnection agency started an iPhone support group for low-vision and blind users. With this approach, everyone gets a turn to share something they learned. The instructor facilitates the meeting, offers some assistance, and emails notes to the group.

As a volunteer, I come away with some new ideas and appreciate how this supportive approach motivates people to expand their skills. The experience certainly has motivated me to dig in on features I previously ignored. Not only that, but I've been able to help my sighted friends with their iPhones.

AppleVis.com is a fabulous web resource. There are also excellent podcasts from the A.T. Guys, Cool Blind Tech, and Easter Seals.

Camera shake

Being blind or visually impaired, iPhone training usually doesn’t cover the camera. We have challenges. However, we still love to share moments with others. While home recovering from knee surgery I decided to take an online iPhone photography course to see if those challenges could be addressed. Below are five tips to improve results.

Touching the shutter button on the iPhone screen can introduce camera shake. You end up with a blurry photo, especially in low light conditions. The volume buttons on the side of the iPhone can also release the shutter, but this too can introduce shake.

1. Before pressing the shutter, steady yourself by having your elbows close to your body or resting on a solid object like a table.

2. Turn the timer setting on. Once you press the shutter button you have time to steady yourself.

3. Tripods are affordable. You’ll need to get an iPhone mount from Amazon to attach your iPhone to the tripod. Still, pressing the buttons on the iPhone can cause shake, unless you use the timer.

4. Apple ear buds with volume buttons can release the shutter. Combine this with a tripod for a sure-fire way to avoid camera shake.

5. Another good option with your tripod is to use a bluetooth remote shutter release. They are easy to use and pare with your iPhone. Just remember to turn the remote off when done to save its battery.

I'm hoping that when the knee is better I can attend some beep baseball games and get good photos to share. Cowabunga!

Free OCR option for students

Does your professor scan articles and send them as an image in a pdf? If you use screen-reading software you know what a hassle this scenario presents.

Good news: you no longer have to rely on Student Disability Services or expensive software to access the text. Google offers Optical Character Recognition (OCR)!

1. Download Google Drive to your computer.
2. In File Explorer, paste the pdf into the Drive folder.
3. Open Chrome and sign into your Google account.
4. Open Google Drive in Chrome.
5. In Chrome, highlight the file.
6. Press App Key.
7. Arrow to “Open with Google Docs” and press Enter.
Give the process a moment because there is no audio feedback.
8. Press Control +A to copy and open a Word document/
9. Press Control V, and Control T quickly after pasting to clear formatting.
There may still be some clean up.

This tip came from Dr. Denise M. Robinson. She's got a YouTube Channel.

Device curriculum

New venture: Washington State Dept. of Services for the Blind asked me to develop a curriculum to get college-bound students up-to-speed with the Stream by HumanWare. This week the lesson plans were approved. A contract is in the works.

Why would a student use a Stream rather than a small digital recorder or their iPhone?

The Stream is much more versatile than a recorder. It's more rugged, affordable, less obtrusive, and easier to use than the iPhone.

The Stream interface is all tactile--similar to a game controller. A student can load books, their notes, record lectures, find references, bookmark, download podcasts, and listen to Internet radio stations. The recording capability works very well in large rooms.

The Stream lets students search and save Wikipedia references. Since colleges do not allow students to cite Wikipedia, this option is still useful in finding better sources.

The lesson plans will assist me in getting students signed up with the National Library Service and Learn Ally--a great option for accessible textbooks--and in utilizing other online content.

To learn more about the Stream, visit the HumanWare site: http://bit.ly/2d8UxGn
Cowabunga!

King County website

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to sit in with the King County Information Technology management and representatives from the Blind, Deaf, and Deaf-Blind communities to discuss web accessibility.

Back story: The county website use to be very accessible, but got redesigned. This issue came to the attention of Councilman Upthegrove, whose father is now legally blind. A few months ago, Councilman Upthegrove called a hearing where people testified about challenges. The website was a common theme.

I was unsure how this initial meeting would be productive. We were asked to bring suggestions to make the site accessible. Ask 40 different people and you get 40 different answers.

We were asked if there was a state website that serves as a good example of accessibility. No. The State of Washington is tackling the same issue. At the time of this post, their own employees cannot access basic information using screen reading software.

Note that public servants genuinely desire to do the right thing. This is a learning curve that is being addressed across the country.

Thank God we had a seasoned accessibility consultant in the crew to steer conversation toward the best resources and a plan. Below are some of the take aways.

1) The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are online.
2) WebAIM offers a checklist: http://webaim.org/standards/wcag/checklist
3) The County needs to develop a broad strategy. What areas are priorities? What areas are low-hinging fruit?
4) Then the County should consider hiring an accessibility consultant because this project needs to be done right and ensure that accessibility becomes policy.
5) When the County gets to the testing phase, please consider paying people for their time. The people who came to this meeting already volunteer much of their time.

Accessibility policy will make King County a better place to live and benefit everyone who uses the website. When Major League Baseball made their sites accessible, their web designers discovered that it can improve SEO and made them look cutting edge rather than retro. Web designers need us.

Making the leap to screen-reading software is a tough step for people losing their vision.

I am one of those people.

My job for the last few years has been to train people in screen-magnification software, the Windows environment, and the Office Suite. Very gratifying to see people gain confidence in their abilities.

This past year it's been my good fortune to learn to use JAWs from Freedom Scientific and train two students.  On any given day, teaching the Windows platform can be very humbling because of computer glitches, anomalies, and student challenges.

One nice discovery is that JAWs is more manageable than I once thought.

Teaching screen-reading software with the Internet will be the big test because it will require patience on the student's part. Why? 1) It's all audio, and 2) the software reads the structure and content in a linear manner. Screen-reading software can drive you mad with too much information.

To approach a website, the user arrows down through every bloody link, header, form, text, and table to evaluate the quickest way to the desired content or field. To just blunder your way through could take even longer. (Pass the Valium.)

Today I'm thankful that smart people are developing affordable software such as NVDA. This week I will see if this open-source option handles busy sites as well as JAWs. We use news sites, Orbitz, Google Maps, job posting sites, and Linkedin to prepare our students for school and career.

I'm thankful that web accessibility is gaining more attention because it will benefit EVERYONE. We've got such a long, long way to go in social media and corporate career sites.