Dear AccessWorld Editor,
This letter is in response to J.J. Meddaugh's October 2012 article entitled "A Step Forward for Accessible Textbooks: A Review of the STudent E-rent Pilot Project".
I just wanted to say how glad I was to hear about this program. The more choices we have for access to college textbooks, the better it is. I can also sadly relate to the author's college experiences as the disabled student services office where I went to graduate school was slow and did not understand my needs. I would have done better on my own and avoided a layer of bureaucracy.
I will be certain to share the information in his article with the college students I know. Again, thanks for the useful information.
David
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I have been hearing about the note taking app being developed by AFB, and I read in a previous issue of AccessWorld that the app would be available at the end of the summer. I understand it is not yet available. Do you have any new information as to when the app will be available?
Thanks,
Bill
Answer from AccessWorld Editor:
Dear Bill,
Thank you very much for this great question and for your interest in THE AFB AccessNote app. Originally, there were plans to launch the app in early September with support for wireless QWERTY keyboards and, then, add full support for braille displays with version 1.1 later this fall. However, after getting some great feedback from AccessWorld readers, blind testers, and advisors across the country, it was decided that full braille support would be included from the beginning. That work was just finished and is now being tested, so everything should be equaled for QWERTY and braille users. Creating the user guide is the next step, and the launch is now planned, hopefully, for November. The AccessNote development team thinks note taker users will really like the app, and they think it will have significant added value over commercial note taking apps.
Lee Huffman, AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief
