Computer anxiety

Al Yardley told me that a good teacher needs to be a good student. You are always preparing. It's almost impossible to keep all the key commands in your head.

Computer students often experience anxiety--thinking they need to know everything right now and be perfect. That's not how learning works. Instructors also experience anxiety, especially when a situation stumps them. At that point you say,"I don't know the answer, but I will find out."

Studying for the ZoomText and JAWS certification exams definitely prepares a person to be a better informed instructor. Taking an exam is free. You are given one hour and over 80 multiple choice and true / false questions. Purchasing certification is $99.00 and your name is entered on the Freedom Scientific website.

This year I gained more confidence with the products and services. Freedom Scientific offers live and archived training webinars that I find very helpful. For example, the other day, a participant asked for steps in navigating captchas. YES! Those captchas can be a bear. I've requested those steps because my students will benefit.

Studying for these exams also meant developing good study notes that I can load onto my Victor Stream for review.

Now to dive into the scary world of braille displays and Android gestures. Notes. I will take lots of notes and review. Baby steps... like that movie, "What About Bob?"

It never ends.

Sighted people, rise up and rebel!

Last weekend, a friend's car was having major problems and he forgot his cell phone. Fortunately, I had my iPhone. He gave me the number for State Farm roadside assistance. I called and the human-quality voice directed to hit a series of buttons, then retrieve a code from my text messaging app, then go to their website and finish filling out a form.

"You've got to be kidding me!" and I hung up on them.

Even if I were not legally blind using screen-reading gestures, this would have chapped my hide.

This is even more than a usability issue. This is adding insult to injury.

Your car has left you stranded somewhere and State Farm wants you to screw around with three apps and a form? What do you pay this company money for... and why?

Rise up and rebel!

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!