[Athen] distance magnification aids

[Linda Petty]

Hi,
I cruised the ATIA exhibits last year looking at CCTVs, and then year we arranged for local vendors to bring in portable CCTVs, and viewed the offerings by Optelec, Ash, Reineke, Clarity, Acrobat, Enhanced Vision, etc.

Generally, our students are using laptops, and looking for something small and lightweight that can be stowed with the laptop, instead of the camera with a screen. I used to prefer the ClearNote by Optelec, but there are a few issues with that- have to train every USB port on the laptop to use the CCTV driver, or you lock up your system, etc. In the end we went with the Transformer, by Enhanced Vision. It is only 3 lb, very compact, and could work in most lecture hall environments. You still need to be able to sit at the front, to get clear line of vision, but with that you can generally get quite good images of the board or AV presentation,etc.
While the ZT idea of a videocamera is good, it doesn't help those who need reverse polarity, or false colours, as the video image would come in in real colour. I'd attach a transformer photo, but I doubt that the list serve software would allow attachments. The unit has also been quite handy as a document camera, to demo iPod/Pad aapps, etc. with video projection, or for signing confidential paperwork.
The Reineke (the German company- ?SP) is great- it can do video, display things from quite a distance, but it has a very heavy base to keep it stable, so not great from a portability perspective. 

I also thot I'd cross post some tutorial info from GWMicro, on Window Eyes tutorials, in case anyone is interested, but doesnt' get these.
Take care!
Linda

Linda Petty, O.T. Reg. (ON)
Assistive Technology Consultant
AccessAbility Services
a division of Student Affairs

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCARBOROUGH
Science Wing, Room SW302G
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario  M1C 1A4
Direct Line: 416-208-5144
Tel/TTY (appointments): 416-287-7560
Fax: 416-287-7334
www.utsc.utoronto.ca/ability

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GW Micro Announces "How Do I Do That?" Series

Feb-6-2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fort Wayne, Indiana (February 6, 2012) - GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com) announced a new "How To" series of free video tutorials entitled "How Do I Do That?"  These high quality tutorials are designed to be concise, informative and fully accessible to a blind or visually impaired computer user as all of the instructional content is available via audio.  

To enable sighted trainers, teachers, friends, family, IT professionals, colleagues, and others to be able to better utilize Window-Eyes or to assist Window-Eyes users, the videos also contain special effects to help sighted individuals better understand how to interact with Window-Eyes as well as to visually highlight what the audio is describing on the computer screen.  For example, when a hotkey combination is pressed, the video portion of the production will display the hotkey combination making it easier for sighted individuals to follow along with the tutorials.

The audio portion of How Do I Do That? is completely accessible to a blind user, and is designed to help a blind or visually impaired person easily follow along with each step of the tutorial.  Typically, each How Do I Do That? production is less than ten minutes and typically focuses on one specific skill or concept.  This free educational series will allow anyone who is interested to quickly find the skill they are interested in, and then learn about how to perform that skill by watching the step-by-step tutorial.

The How Do I Do That? series begins with the release of the first production, which demonstrates how to attach a file to an email in Outlook 2010 using Window-Eyes.  Please stay tuned as more tutorials will be coming soon.  The How Do I Do That? series of video tutorials can be accessed at http://www.gwmicro.com/Training/Tutorials/. 

Contact:
Jeremy Curry, Director of Training
jeremy at gwmicro.com
(260) 489-3671

###


bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Buchmiller, Peggy
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2012 2:29 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network; Students with Disabilities
Subject: [Athen] Recommendations for a magnification product to enlarge the board for a visually impaired Student

Good Morning,
Our campus is looking for recommendations for a magnification product that your campus has used to enlarge the board in class for a visually impaired student . We are researching products on line but would like a recommendation for a product you may have used successfully on your campus for this situation.

Thank you,

Peggy Buchmiller
Assistant Dean
Student Programs and Support Services
Director, Resource Center
Columbia Basin College
509-542-4444
pbuchmiller at columbiabasin.edu<mailto:pbuchmiller at columbiabasin.edu>

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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 11:40:37 -0500
From: "Jennison Mark Asuncion" <asuncion at alcor.concordia.ca>
Subject: [Athen] new LinkedIn group focusing on campus ICT
	accessibility and people with disabilities
To: athen-list at u.washington.edu
Message-ID:
	<e7278ad015d5fe56d5c25a8794d02660.squirrel at webmail.concordia.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1

Hello,

The ICT Accessibility in Higher Education Network LinkedIn group has been
created for faculty, staff, students with disabilities, and others
directly involved or interested in ensuring that all information and
communication technology (ICT) that colleges and universities consider for
adoption, purchase, support, and use is accessible to people with
disabilities.
?
Typically, issues related to technology accessibility for people with
disabilities at colleges and universities are assumed to be the exclusive
responsibility of the individuals and offices on campus who deliver
disability-related support and services, or such issues are forgotten
about or left until it is too late. The goal of this group is to leverage
LinkedIn to broaden the campus ICT accessibility conversation to include
everyone who has a role in the selection/purchase, implementation,
support/training on, and use of technology in the college and university
setting, in and out of the classroom. Only in this way can we assure that
the full campus experience can be made technologically accessible to
everyone, particularly people with disabilities.

Join the conversation at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=4286825
and please share this with others at your college or university.

Jennison

-- 
Jennison Mark Asuncion
Co-Director, Adaptech Research Network http://www.adaptech.org
LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennison
Follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/jennison
Accessibility Camp Toronto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeP5Kl4GDgA




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