In June of 2014 Freedom Scientific released the JAWS Training Bundle, a collection of over 50 hours of JAWS instructional webinars and other learning sessions for Microsoft Windows and Office.

Recently, Freedom Scientific added a second title, the Apple iOS Training Bundle, to its instructional roster. Like its predecessor, the iOS Training Bundle is aimed toward first-time, novice users. Also like its predecessor, it has been produced in DAISY 2.02 audio format with navigational headings and bookmarking capabilities. As we will see, however, this is pretty much where the similarities end.

A Note on Pricing

The iOS Training Bundle costs $599, which to many may seem excessively expensive. Indeed, after its release my Twitter and newslist feeds veritably exploded with messages of outrage about the price. What few mentioned, however, is the fact that the iOS Training Bundle comes preloaded on a Plextalk portable DAISY book player. The player itself retails for $400, although it can be found for as little as $370. This brings the actual content cost down to approximately $230. Freedom Scientific has not made a formal statement about pricing for the bundle without a DAISY player, but they do offer the option to purchase the JAWS Training Bundle without the player, and I can't imagine they would forfeit a sale if asked. The company's reasoning for including the player is that most of their sales will be to new accessibility users, and they want to make the experience as simple as possible. This thinking only goes so far, however, since one of the first accessible devices most newly blind individuals learn to use is an NLS DTB player, which will play the bundle just fine. I think at the very least Freedom Scientific should offer the option to purchase the materials preloaded onto a writeable DTB cartridge.

There are several excellent introductory iOS ePub titles available for considerably less than the Freedom Scientific iOS Training Bundle, but its price does compare favorably to the similar audio tutorial series from Mac for the Blind, which run between $30 and $40 per lesson. Books have their place. Personally, I prefer them to audio tutorials, but for many, especially beginners, an audio tutorial is a better way to learn, since you can follow along and actually hear what the screen reader should be voicing with each command.

What Is Included In the iOS Training Bundle

The iOS Training Bundle consists of approximately ten and a half hours of step-by-step follow-along lessons recorded by Freedom Scientific Director of Blindness Communications and current host of the FSCast podcast, Jonathan Mosen. Mosen is a familiar name within the accessibility community. I first encountered Mosen over the internet in the year 2000 when he founded ACB Radio and hosted the network's premier show: Main Menu. Podcasts didn't exist back then, and for several years I eagerly awaited each new Main Menu episode, which I downloaded from the archives using my blazing fast 56k modem. That way I could listen and re-listen as Mosen introduced me and others to a wide range of accessible software packages, interviewed accessibility mavens, and kept us up on the latest advancements in accessibility. Mosen's teaching style was clear and concise; his production values meticulous.

Happily, Mosen demonstrates these same skills and production values in the iOS Training Bundle. It is an excellent beginners guide, especially for individuals with no previous touch screen experience who—and this does happen all too often—have been handed a new iPhone by his or her rehab agency and told, "We'll send someone out once every other Wednesday for an hour's training session."

Mosen begins from the very beginning, with an iPhone just out of the box with the plastic film on the front glass. After offering a touch tour of the device itself he goes through the setup twice—once for those whose iPhone is set up for them at the store, and a second time for those who need to insert their own SIM and start from scratch. iPad setup is not demonstrated, nor is the iPad even mentioned in the setup section, or much at all elsewhere in the bundle. Granted, the setup process is similar for both devices, minus the SIM card insertion, at least for a Wi-Fi only iPad. But there are definitely times when the screen layout is different, for example, the way Mail displays the message list down one side of the screen and the message content on the other on the iPad. I would not usually quibble about this, but it is called an iOS Training Bundle, after all, not an iPhone Training Bundle.

Mosen does an excellent job demonstrating various touch gestures in a way that someone who has never tried them can easily imitate. He introduces gestures organically, as they are needed to proceed with a lesson, and since this is an audio tutorial the reader is able to follow along and verify he or she is performing each step correctly.

Both virtual and Bluetooth keyboard text entry are covered thoroughly. QuickNav, Keyboard help and other VoiceOver keys are described, but VoiceOver for Mac is not mentioned. It is assumed that the user is running a Windows PC with JAWS for connecting their iPhone to a computer to sync content and make backups. Naturally, Freedom Scientific wants to promote their own products whenever possible, but this is a limitation—connecting to iTunes for the Mac, or to Windows using other screen readers, should at least have been mentioned. That said, Mosen does an excellent job simplifying iTunes, and untangling the web of Apple music services including Apple Music, iCloud Music Library, and iTunes Match.

What Is Missing From the iOS Training Bundle

The Mail, Calendar, and Messages apps are all well covered, as is Siri. Accessibility settings are introduced as they become relevant, but not all are covered. Nothing was said about adding high quality voices to the VO Rotor control, for example, and little to nothing was said about Zoom and other low vision accessibility features. This last is a major omission, in my opinion, and limits the bundle's usefulness significantly for novice iOS users with low vision.

I would not expect any guide for novices to cover every built-in app (for example, Compass, Voice Memos, and Calculator), however there are at least three significant omissions.

• One of the true joys of owning a smartphone is the mapping and GPS navigation features. Apple Maps is not even mentioned in the iOS Training Bundle, much less the ability to create a route and have turn-by-turn directions announced as you travel.
• The iPhone and iPad cameras are extremely useable by the blind, and they can provide a wealth of information to the user. Mosen demonstrates FaceTime in the bundle, but I think a more thorough discussion of how to take photos and videos is warranted. Video playback commands should also have been discussed.
• For novice users who want to learn more, there is a wealth of information to be found through podcasts. Unfortunately, the built-in Podcast app is not mentioned. I would like to have seen a demonstration on how to subscribe to and play a podcast: AppleVis, for example, or even the FSCast.

If you are a current iPhone or iPad user and you have a friend who just obtained their own iOS device, you know that one of their first questions, even before they have mastered basic VoiceOver skills, will be "What apps should I download?" Mosen does show how to download a news app from the iOS App Store, but I think he should have at least mentioned a few of the more essential accessible apps, such as the BARD Mobile app, a currency identifier, and the Be My Eyes remote sighted assistance app. Even a brief mention of these and a few others would have given the user just a tiny taste of what the future holds with continued smartphone use.

And speaking of the future, even though currently only the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus support 3D Touch, all upcoming models will likely include this capability. Mosen only mentions it insofar as to warn users not to press too hard or else they might invoke an unwanted command. I do think a more complete discussion of 3D Touch commands should have been offered.

Final Thoughts

To echo what I wrote when I looked at the JAWS Training Bundle, with the aging population demographics, the number of individuals who could benefit from an accessible smartphone is increasing every year. Qualified trainers are already at a premium, and training budgets strain to keep up. Distance can also be a problem, as many of the newly sight-impaired have yet to develop the mobility skills needed to reach a training center on a regular basis. Others live in rural settings, where one-on-one training is difficult to arrange.

I, like many AccessWorld readers, learned most of what I know about accessible smartphones from podcasts, newslists, and yes, even Apple's sparse documentation. I already had accessible screen reader skills, though. For others, especially those who are newly blind, the iPhone may be their very first experience with accessible computing of any kind. For these individuals the Apple iOS Training Bundle is a good starting point for learning VoiceOver (but not the iOS low vision features). Rehab agencies, Lighthouses for the Blind, and other educational organizations will also benefit from owning a copy or two to loan to their students to reinforce hands-on training sessions.

Comments from Freedom Scientific

Freedom Scientific would like to thank AccessWorld and author Bill Holton for a thoughtful review of the iOS Training Bundle. For customers who already own a hardware DAISY player, please contact our Sales department for an option to purchase the training on SD card only.

Product Information

Product: Apple iOS Training Bundle
Cost: $599 preloaded onto a Plextalk portable DAISY player; availability and pricing have not been announced for the Training Bundle without the player.
Available from: Freedom Scientific, 800-444-4443

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

• Stream It! Music, Movies, and More with Apple TV and VoiceOver, by Jonathan Mosen: A Book Review by Jamie Pauls

More from this author:

• Workflow: Powerful Automation Made Simple…and iOS Accessible by Bill Holton
• eSight Eyewear and Smart Glasses from Assisted Vision by Bill Holton

The profile of the CCTV, also called an electronic video magnifier, has changed a lot in recent years. These days, it's not enough to mount a camera above an LCD monitor. Professionals and students, for whom portability and connectedness are as important as powerful magnification, are embracing a new breed of magnifiers that also function as computing devices. This is especially true in the mid-range of the marketplace, where you'll find HumanWare's Prodigi Connect 12. The device, which combines a 12-inch Android tablet, a reading stand and, optionally, a distance camera, exemplifies the ways assistive technology companies can provide both important accessibility features and modern computing power all in a compact, lightweight package.

The Prodigi Connect 12 consists of a 12.2-inch Samsung Galaxy Note Pro tablet, a stand, and an optional distance-viewing camera. In addition to the standard Android operating system, the Prodigi Connect tablet includes a suite of apps for managing magnification, OCR scanning, and accessing popular services from Google, Dropbox, Bookshare, BARD, and others, along with apps that provide smart board connectivity. The Prodigi Connect 12 arrives in a compact laptop bag and has a total weight of less than two pounds.

Caption: HumanWare's Prodigi Connect 12

Set Up and Using Magnification

Getting started with the Prodigi Connect 12 for close-up magnification is as simple as mounting the tablet in its resting place atop the folding stand. The base of the stand is approximately 12 by 16 inches, with the stand's two hinged legs connected at the rear. The tablet clamps to the stand's platform oriented with the screen up, with the camera located closest to you as you face the unit. The camera lens is visible through an opening in the stand's platform, which is also hinged, to allow you to tilt it. With the stand's legs straightened, the tablet is held eight inches above the base of the stand. Because of the camera's location at the bottom of the viewing area, you will need to adjust the position of reading material, and/or the angle of the stand, to get the upper portion of what you're looking at to appear in the viewfinder. The stand can be adjusted in two ways: you can change the angle of the legs, or tilt the tablet itself. If you read and view items of varying sizes, like books, mail, package labels, or craft projects, you will use these adjustments quite a bit to get the camera and reading angle just right.

When you turn on the Prodigi Connect, you choose whether to engage magnification mode or activate the Android tablet. If you choose magnification, a banner with large, bright buttons fills the bottom quarter of the screen. You can zoom in or out, scan an image, turn the light on and off, or adjust a variety of display and audio settings. You can also zoom with a pinch gesture on the tablet screen, and quickly switch between positive and negative contrast with a vertical swipe on the right edge of the screen. The banner icons are easy to see and interpret, and the text-based buttons that control device settings are large and easy to read. The contrast and color settings you can apply to the magnifier display carry over to the settings screens, so if, for instance, you want a black background with yellow text under the camera, the settings screens will mirror that selection. In addition to options for positive/negative contrast, Prodigi provides eight color schemes.

OCR

The Prodigi can scan and read text, and save text to the Prodigi gallery. From there, files can be exported to the Android file system, so you can view, edit, and share them at will. Pressing the Capture button on the main icon banner initiates scanning. When complete, the scanned image appears onscreen, and can be zoomed for reading there, read with speech, or saved to disk. When scanned text is displayed onscreen, Prodigi Connect uses the color and contrast settings you've chosen for viewing with the camera. Choose to view text in line, column, or the default mode, which preserves the appearance of the original page.

The Prodigi Connect offers full-page scanning, but you'll need to turn your document horizontally to achieve it, since the camera cannot otherwise see all of a normal-sized page. To enter full-page mode, turn the document so that the top of the page is near the left edge of the tablet and press the Zoom Out button, onscreen. Next, do a long press on the Capture button. Prodigi will attempt to capture all of the page's text. Unfortunately, even with these settings engaged, the full-page mode is a challenge to use, since the camera, when mounted on its stand, is so close to the material to be read and the stand can't be angled with the same degree of flexibility that's available when you're viewing pages vertically.

Using the Tablet

The 12.2-inch Samsung Galaxy Pro tablet at the heart of the Prodigi Connect is a full-featured Android device. It's powered by a 1.9 GHz. Quad A15, and 1.3 GHz. Quad A7 processors, and ships with Android 5.0 (Lollipop) installed. The unit includes 32 GB of storage, plus a microSD slot, should you need more. The camera is an 8MP unit with LED flash. Networking features include dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, and Bluetooth. There's also a GPS receiver and accelerometer. HumanWare says the tablet provides up to 12 hours of battery life. Your experience will vary, and using the camera and LED light for magnification are likely to reduce battery life. Reviews of the Galaxy Note Pro do praise its battery's longevity.

Other vendors with tablet offerings have chosen to wall off aspects of the mobile operating system in deference to customers who are inexperienced with Android, or don't require all of its capabilities. The Prodigi Connect is definitely aimed at users who want to use all aspects of the mobile operating system, and who wish not only to use BARD and Bookshare, but also want the flexibility to choose their own apps from the millions available via the Google Play Store. The Galaxy Note Pro has standard Android accessibility features, most of which are not enabled by default, though large fonts are used. You can enable the TalkBack screen reader, inverted colors, and high-contrast options. The default home screen contains a small selection of the numerous apps installed on the tablet. If you explore the environment, you can easily find the rest and add your own from the Play store. In short, if you're an Android phone user, you'll feel right at home. HumanWare does not document the Android environment, or its accessibility options. Much of the information you need is available on the web and within the Android help documents provided on the tablet itself.

Distance Magnification

For an extra $300, you can add a wireless Sony camera for distance viewing to the Prodigi. Use the included clip-on mount to connect the camera to the reading stand, a table, or other sturdy object. The camera is small and round, about the diameter of a detachable lens for an SLR camera. You can view your surroundings with the distance camera, or take photos and video, which can be saved to the tablet, or to an optional SD card in the camera. You can choose distance viewing from the Prodigi's magnification interface, and operate the camera using the included app. The flexible but sturdy mount makes it easy to change what you see in the camera, and you can zoom in or out, using a rocker switch on the camera itself. HumanWare and the Sony documentation warn users against attaching the camera mount to an unstable surface, and this is good advice. Connecting the unit to the platform, or leg of the reading stand works well. The mount's mechanism allows you to swivel the camera easily. You can even use it for self-view functions by turning the lens to face you.

Portability and Documentation

The Prodigi Connect's compact but roomy carrying case is a standard laptop bag, which provides ample protection for the unit and is easily carried over one shoulder, or in one hand, using the handles. Packing the unit away is as simple as unplugging the charging cable (and distance camera, if you're using it), folding the reading stand down, and slipping the Prodigi into the bag. You can remove the tablet if you want to work with it on its own, but since the unit grips the tablet rather tightly it's easier to keep it in the stand when transporting. This is a feature, not a problem, in our opinion.

Assistive technology vendors who build custom products that consist of several other products have sometimes found integrating documentation for all the pieces to be a challenge. HumanWare does a better-than-average job of explaining how to use Prodigi Connect. The package includes a 66-page, large-print user guide that describes each component and hardware feature along with how to assemble the unit for use. You also learn how to work with Prodigi's magnification and OCR software, and how to switch among the unit's various modes. Use of the Android environment is covered briefly—full documentation of the tablet's functions is certainly beyond the scope of product documentation—but a bit of orientation to the Prodigi's Android Home screen and included apps, along with pointers to the tablet's accessibility settings, would have been welcome. The package includes documentation from Sony for the distance camera. The small, one-sheet quick start guide (an excellent candidate for magnification with your new Prodigi) explains how to charge the camera's battery, but doesn't offer much help for a user working in the Prodigi environment. HumanWare's user guide pictures the camera's components, and refers you to the Sony documentation (you'll need it to retrieve the Wi-Fi password for the camera). The Prodigi tablet does include the software needed to run the camera, along with links to web resources for its use, but we would have liked to a bit more explanation from HumanWare about initial camera setup for the Prodigi environment.

The Bottom Line

It is often the case that accessible technology products represent compromise for power users. Older hardware, locked-down software, and clunky styling are too often the rule. Prodigi Connect does not fit this stereotype. The high-quality, full-featured Samsung tablet at its heart uses a recent version of Android and provides access to the full range of apps from Google Play, while still offering a full suite of accessibility tools. HumanWare's magnification and scanning software is straightforward and flexible. The folding stand is lightweight and quick to set up, making the whole package highly portable and easy to work with on the go. Like most products in this category, the Prodigi comes at a high price, but if you intend to purchase a video magnifier, Prodigi Connect stacks up extremely well against competitors. It is truly a video magnifier for power users.

Product Information

Product: Prodigi Connect 12
Price: $2,695, or $2,995 with distance camera
Available from: HumanWare, 800-722-3393

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

• A Review of Prodigi Duo, the Electronic Magnifier by HumanWare: When Desktop and Handheld Magnifiers Meet by John Rempel
• Choice Finds from the ATIA 2016 Conference Exhibit Hall by Jamie Pauls and Shelly Brisbin

More from this author:

• Best Android Apps for People with Low Vision by Shelly Brisbin
• Sitecues from Ai Squared: Magnification and Speech for Websites by Shelly Brisbin

Dear AccessWorld readers,

That's right, we are listening to your comments on articles, reflecting on your questions about both mainstream and access technology, and hearing your thoughts and opinions on everything from the future of braille and braille technology, to video description, to television programming access, to frustrating and inaccessible apps and feature phones, to all the good, the bad, and the ugly with all things Windows, Apple, and Android.

The AccessWorld staff enjoys and, more importantly, very much appreciates hearing from all of you. Quite often a comment or question from a reader turns into an article that, in turn, provides information to the tens of thousands of readers who visit AccessWorld each and every month. In the coming months, the staff and I will be increasingly looking to your feedback to drive content decisions we make for AccessWorld. In addition, we are always seeking feedback on the AccessWorld app, which is available free in the Apple App Store. If you haven't yet tried it out, I encourage you to download it today. So, lay it on us!

We are looking for both quantitative and qualitative feedback. Right now, I encourage you to use the "comment on this article" link at the very bottom of each article to provide feedback, positive comments, and, yes, constructive criticism, for me and the AccessWorld authors. You can also use that link to ask specific questions about each article. If you prefer, you can also send an e-mail directly to me. When you write in, remember that we may choose to publish your letter in the Letters to the Editor section of AccessWorld. The staff and I also believe it is important to know who says what. To that end, both first and last names (when available) are published in the Letters to the Editor section. If you do not want your name published, just let us know when you write in and we'll refrain from publishing your comments.

This is your opportunity to have your voice heard, so speak up! The AccessWorld staff is listening!

Sincerely,
Lee Huffman, AccessWorld Editor-in-Chief
American Foundation for the Blind

Dear AccessWorld Author Bill Holton,

I really enjoyed reading your article, Running the ChromeVox Screen Reader on a Lenovo IdeaPad 100S Chromebook in the January 2016 issue of AccessWorld.? I am an assistive technology instructor and would love to try the Chrome OS on a 2010 Dell laptop.? Do you know where I can get complete instructions on installing it?

Jay Pellis

Dear Jay,

A good place to start is at the Chrome OS Wikipedia page.

If you simply do a google search for "Chrome OS on old laptop" you will find plenty of help.

Thanks,

Bill Holton

Dear AccessWorld Editor,

I work for a community college, and one thing that disappoints me every year with CSUN is how products are designed around feature lists rather than use cases. In a use case, a real person is imagined using the device. And our use case, that of a library, classroom, or computer lab, seems never to be addressed.

Take for example a portable video magnifier. I want one that I can lock down to a desk or table. I don't want it to get stolen. But do they come with a standard Kensington lock port as do most modern laptops? No! Why can't the manufacturer include a method for locking the magnifier down and add that as a feature. Most of my low-vision students don't need HD resolution, but my administration needs some guarantee that an expensive device won't disappear out of a classroom!

Now look at braille displays, where feature-creep continues to dominate. I want a display with fewer frills, because it's too easy to press the wrong button. I would like a blind student to be able to sit at a computer and be using braille in five minutes without need for a massive orientation. How about a simple display that just works with all screen readers and doesn't have a braille keyboard, rocker bars, whiz wheels, multiple switches, display buttons, satellite buttons, and multiple chords to master. I'd like cursor routing buttons and an intuitive way to move the display back and forward and that's it. If the thing needs configuration, let that be doable on the computer, so a teacher can adjust it for different students.

Or, why not build a braille display directly in to a keyboard with braille labels on the keys? Blind people need to learn to type in the real world, so in this case, extra buttons aren't a factor. Baum tried this in the 1990s, but their device had multiple round buttons, square buttons, and tiny switches which caused confusion for the beginner.

My blind student might visit our computer lab to do research, complete homework, check in to his online class or take a proctored exam. He's not the owner of this display so it needs to be easy to master and not require so much memorization because he's using it for only an hour or two each week. The same goes even more for libraries, where equipment is used briefly by multiple people. The user shouldn't be able to get stuck in the setup mode, or press a key which will exit the current dialog box by mistake. ?It's as if some of these braille displays were deliberately designed to be as complicated as possible!

OCR is the same situation. I need a way to introduce OCR to newbies that's not overly complex. I want something that looks like a monitor with a built-in camera on a bar beneath it. You slide the page under the bar and there's no need to press a button: it simply magnifies and reads out loud. No keypad with a dozen keys whose purpose needs to be memorized, no foldable camera that will easily break, no scanner where the book needs to be aligned with exactitude. Perhaps one simple knob to adjust magnification, and if you press on the knob you can change the contrast. If the voice needs changing, the teacher can do it by connecting the device to a computer and through USB running a configuration utility. Again, a user in need of more features can graduate to Kurzweil or […] OpenBook.

And when these things run on batteries, they should have a real power off button. With the plethora of suspend features you find nowadays, devices self-discharge even when not in use and supposedly off. If it's labeled "Off," it should cause the device to stop using any power.

One point the manufacturers fail to grasp is that our time to spend one-on-one with individuals is limited. It would be great to put a newbie in front of the device and not have to hold the person's hand. It would be good to have technology that's been tested in library situations where casual walk-in patron use was planned as part of the design.

I think product managers figure if the product is too simple, a user will quickly outgrow it and complain it can't do more. But that's because they need to market the device to training centers and libraries, where its use will be casual. If an individual user wants more, they can always buy the company's more feature-rich offerings.

A shining example of design simplicity is the Easy NLS DAISY player with its brightly colored, braille labeled, intuitively shaped buttons. I really can teach that to someone in just a few minutes. And if they need additional features, they can graduate to the more complex Plextalk pocket or Victor Reader Stream.

At CSUN, why can't product managers have focus groups to learn from us rather than product announcements to sell to us? Bring in someone who has never used your device, give them a 30-second orientation, and videotape the user struggling to master your device. If it takes less than five minutes, give yourself a grade of A, Mr. Manufacturer, you're now on target with my use case.

Deborah Armstrong

American Printing House for the Blind and Freedom Scientific Partner to Make JAWS and MAGic Student Edition Available on Quota

American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and Freedom Scientific have partnered to make a JAWS and MAGic Student Edition available to students who are blind or visually impaired in primary and secondary school in the U.S. using Federal Quota Funds.

American Printing House for the Blind now offers JAWS and MAGic Student Edition for purchase with Federal Quota funds. These licenses are sold exclusively by APH as annual subscriptions and will allow students who are visually impaired to install full versions of the screen reader software JAWS and/or the screen magnifying software MAGic on any computer they use, including computers at home. This will allow students to have 24-hour, 365 days-a-year access to their computers at both school and home. The annual subscriptions are priced at $300 per student. Read details about the products and how to order at the APH Shopping Site

AFB Press Release of iOS in the Classroom: A Guide for Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

AFB Press is pleased to announce the recent publication of iOS in the Classroom: A Guide for Teaching Students with Visual Impairments, by Larry L. Lewis, Jr.

iOS in the Classroom is an illustrated step-by-step resource guide to teaching the use of the iPad running iOS 9 to students with visual impairments. The book explores the extensive accessibility options available, where to find them, and how to configure them. iOS in the Classroom is geared toward allowing students with visual impairments to use the iPad to complete the same classroom tasks as their sighted peers. The book is 138 pages long and is now available in paperback for $29.95; e-books for $20.95; and online subscription for $17.95.

ENVISION Names Joshua A. Miele, Scientist and Inspirational Speaker, Keynote Speaker for 2016 Conference, Sept. 7-10 in Denver

Specialist in Information Accessibility, Survivor of Childhood Attack That Blinded Him, Highlights Four-Day Multidisciplinary Program on Low Vision

Envision recently announced that Joshua A. Miele, founder and director of the Video Description Research and Development Center and associate director of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco, will deliver the keynote address at the 11th annual Envision Conference, Sept. 7?10 at the Grand Hyatt Denver. The Envision Conference is the multidisciplinary conference where optometrists and rehabilitation therapists to special education teachers and government policy makers can receive updates and collaborate on the latest ideas and advancements in vision rehabilitation, research, practice and technology.

Dr. Miele will speak Sept. 8 during the Opening Plenary Session. He will discuss issues related to accessible technology, self-determination, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math education), disability, inclusion, universal design and The Maker Movement. His expertise in these topics comes from his personal life and 25 years of professional experience in developing innovative, information-accessibility solutions for people who are blind and visually impaired.

An unprovoked and senseless acid attack when he was only 4 years old left Dr. Miele blind and caused permanent deformities to his face and other parts of his body. Despite these physical setbacks, he completed a mainstream education in New York and then moved to California to attend the University of California, Berkeley. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, he worked for a technology company that invented a screen reader for Macintosh computers, a critical development at a time when blind and visually impaired individuals feared losing employment opportunities as computing shifted from command-line to the then-new graphic user interface (GUI). Dr. Miele provided technical support on the product and later helped guide its expansion to the Windows platform. The experience sparked his interest in information accessibility and he returned to school to obtain a graduate degree and then a doctorate in psychoacoustics, the study of auditory perception.

Open eBooks App Announced by White House

On February 24, the White House blog announced the availability of Open eBooks app, which had initially been announced as a work in progress in April 2015.

Open eBooks contains thousands of titles, available for free to children in need.

Any adult who works in a Title I (or Title I eligible) school, or a program or library that serves at least 70 percent of children from in-need families can sign up with First Book. Educators and library administrators can then access codes for children. Teachers and program administrators who primarily serve children with disabilities are also eligible to sign up.

The app is currently available on iOS and Android. Subsequent versions will be optimized to support as many open platforms as possible. There will be a web-optimized version coming in 2016. Open eBooks uses the EPUB3 standard but will expand to include PDFs in early 2016.

Built with Readium's rendering engine, the Open eBooks App takes advantage of the accessibility features that are native to the EPUB3 format in which the books are rendered. Open eBooks is compatible with Apple and Android's text to speech functionality. In the future we plan to improve the implementation of Readium to make this even more robust.

We're working on improving the experience and accessibility in future updates and versions of the app and its content. Again, making this content accessible is a top priority and we are working with all our industry partners to make progress in this area.

We also encourage families, teachers and librarians of readers with print disabilities to try applications like BARD, BookShare, and Learning Ally. These great resources can help students build an even bigger collection of eBooks.

Open eBooks supports Open Dyslexic Font for those with Dyslexia.

In March of 2016 Apple held a special event at their headquarters in Cupertino, California, where they introduced the iPhone 6SE (a four-inch phone) and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and presented several new Apple Watch bands. Apple also announced that they had updated the operating systems of their iOS devices, Mac computers, the Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

A general note: if a device is not running normally after an OS update, try restarting the device before calling tech support.

iOS 9.3

Before updating your iOS device, make sure it is backed up. An iPhone 6 was used for this article to review the new iOS 9.3 update.

The Alex VoiceOver Voice

If you are currently using the Alex voice, he will speak very slowly once the iOS is updated. Nothing is wrong. Alex now speaks at the same rate as the other VoiceOver voices such as Samantha and Karen. I used to have Alex's speaking rate set to 50%; I have changed him to 70%.

Four-Finger Flick

It is now easier to switch among open apps. Instead of going to the App Switcher, use the four-finger flick gesture. Flicking to the right will move you through previous open apps and flicking to the left will move you in the opposite direction. The app you use to perform the gesture must be open for this gesture to work.

Offline Voice Dictation

This feature is currently available on the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. If Wi-Fi and cellular service are unavailable, such as when in Airplane mode, voice dictation is still possible.

Securing Notes

Notes can now be secured with either a password or touch ID. Open the Notes app and create a note. Next, activate the "Share Note" button and then choose "Lock Note" from the list of options.

You will be prompted to enter a password and confirm it. This password will be used for all your locked notes. The next edit box is for entering a password hint. Next is a button to choose whether to use Touch ID for unlocking notes. If your phone already uses Touch ID, this button will be enabled by default. It can be turned off without interfering with the ability to use Touch ID to unlock your phone. Activate the "Done" button when finished. There will then be a message to tap the lock icon in the toolbar or lock your screen to lock notes.

Open a locked note by locating it in the Notes app. There will be a button labeled "Locked." Activate the button and you will be prompted to enter your Notes password or, if it is enabled, to use Touch ID. The same button will toggle to "Unlocked" once you've successfully unlocked the note. Toggle back to "Locked" when you've finished editing or accessing the note.

Night Shift Mode

If you have some vision or live with people who are sighted, Night Shift mode may be a convenient feature. With this feature enabled, the device's display is shifted toward the warmer part of the color spectrum at night. This may help some people sleep better.

Access the Night Shift mode settings by going to Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift. By default, this feature is turned off. The first control in Night Shift's settings is a "Schedule" button. When this button is activated, there are options for when Night Shift starts and ends. There are additional controls to manually enable and to select color temperature. Night Shift can also be turned off and on through the Control Center.

3D Touch for Apple Apps

This feature only works on the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Some native Apple apps, including Settings, App Store, and Weather, have a new 3D Touch feature. If the 3D Touch gesture is performed on some Apple apps, new options will appear without having to open the app. Flick with one finger to review the options.

OS X 10.11.4 for Mac

According to Apple, this update will improve stability, compatibility, and security for your Mac.

Password Protection for Notes

The main change for VoiceOver users is the ability to password-protect individual notes. If your notes are set to sync with iCloud, and you have already set up a Notes password on your iOS device, the same password will work in Notes.

If your Notes are not synced with iCloud, the first time you want to password protect a note, a password must be created. After writing the note, activate the menu bar and go to the Notes menu, located between the Apple menu and the File menu. Select the Create Password option. You will be prompted to enter and then confirm a password. Next is an edit box to write a password hint. This is highly recommended. Finally, either cancel out of the dialogue or set the password.

Lock a note by selecting "Lock This Note" from the File menu or selecting the "Lock" button from the toolbar.

Open a locked note by locating it. VoiceOver will indicate that the note is locked. Tab once to the edit field to type in your password and then press the Return key.

iTunes 12.3.3

This version of iTunes provides support for the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

When you download a playlist from Apple Music, you now have the option to automatically add those songs to My Music. The setting is found in the General tab of iTunes Preferences. There is a checkbox labeled, "Add songs to My Music when you add them to a playlist." By default, this box is checked. Uncheck it if you don't want songs automatically added.

Apple Music can be disabled through the Restrictions tab in iTunes preferences. Check the box for Apple Music.

Within the Get Info dialog for each track there is now a checkbox to show the composer in all views. The composer's name must be in the Composer edit field for it to display. If this box is left unchecked, the composer's name will appear only in the views that iTunes used prior to this All Views option.

Apple TV OS 9.2

In OS 9.2, Apple has restored the ability to use Bluetooth keyboards with Apple TV. Before using a keyboard, first pair it with the Apple TV. Go to Settings > Remotes & Devices to do so. Once the keyboard is paired, there is a new option called Disconnect Device. If you use your Bluetooth keyboard for other devices, and do not have a keyboard that can handle multiple devices, this new option only disconnects the keyboard. When you go back to the Apple TV with the keyboard, you do not need to pair it again.

Siri can now be used to dictate text into edit boxes. When dictating into an edit box for your email or password, you can spell the information. Speak normally when dictating into a search field. The first time you use dictation, you will be asked to authorize the dictation feature for your Apple TV.

You can now create folders like on your iOS device. Locate an app you want in a folder, then press and hold on the touch screen of the remote. VoiceOver will first say, "starting moving." VoiceOver will eventually prompt you to press the "Play" button for options. If you want to create a new folder, select the New Folder option. Any folders that have already been created will also be in the options list. Apple will create a name for the new folder but you can change it with dictation or with the keyboard. Move an app to a pre-existing folder by selecting the folder from the list.

Apple Watch OS 2.2

This update has some new features including the ability to pair more than one watch to an iPhone. Update the app through the Watch app on your iPhone. Go to My Watch > General > Software Update. Before beginning the update process, your watch must be near the iPhone, be on its charger, and have at least 50 percent battery power.

Paring Multiple Watches

When paring multiple watches with one iPhone, the iPhone must be updated to iOS 9.3 and each watch must be running Watch OS 2.2.

Maps

The Maps app now has an option to locate points of interest quickly. There are also buttons to quickly get directions to work and home.

Conclusion

The latest updates for iOS, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch are definitely worth installing. Each has convenient new features. Updates contain internal fixes that the user may not even notice.

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

• A Review of My Mac Pages: A VoiceOver Guide to Word Processing, by Anne and Archie Robertson by Bill Holton
• The Fourth-Generation Apple TV: An Accessibility Evaluation for People with Visual Impairments by Shelly Brisbin

More from this author:

• AFB Leadership Conference 2016 Highlights by Janet Ingber
• An Introduction to the Apple Watch by Janet Ingber

For many of us, the idea of using robots in our daily lives is still the stuff of science fiction. But what if creative minds really could harness the power of technology in ways that would not only serve as tools of convenience, but perhaps even provide indispensable assistance that couldn't be measured in dollars and cents?

For the people who are a part of Toyota's Partner Robot Group, using technology to help improve the lives of regular people is more than just a passing idea; it is what they do every day. Partner Robot Group works to assist people in four main areas: 1) domestic duties, 2) nursing and medical care, 3) manufacturing, and 4) short-distance personal transport. They are working on robots that play the violin, travel places that humans can't easily go, and assist with the medical care of people who are ill.

Doug Moore is one of the members of the Partner Robot team at Toyota, and he is currently working on technology that might eventually aid blind people as they travel. Before you stop reading and say to yourself that you already have all the aids you need, from good cane and dog guide-handling skills to an array of GPS apps on your smartphone, stop and think about the last time you went to a large hotel or shopping mall. The place was probably very crowded, and the acoustics were possibly not conducive to good travel, either. And where were any easily discernible landmarks that you could use to reliably map out your surroundings? This is what the Partner Robot Group is working on: indoor navigation. What if you could easily find a desired office or restaurant in a large building with little or no difficulty? And what if you could do this in a way that did not draw unwanted attention to your blindness? If this sounds appealing to you, then keep reading.

Project BLAID: a Possible Solution for Indoor Navigation for People with Visual Impairments

Recently, Toyota's Partner Robot Group began thinking of ways to assist blind people in the area of independent travel. They realized that there are already many excellent solutions for outdoor travel. There plenty of good mainstream and assistive technology solutions that people who are blind can use in order to determine where they are, map a route to a desired location, and successfully navigate to that location using a combination of good orientation and mobility training and new hardware- or software-based technology. But there is still much work to be done in the area of indoor travel. The team began exploring various forms that this new travel aid might take, and they talked with many blind people, including those from the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind. Internally, the project was known as BLAID, which is short for "Blind Aid." As of this writing, Project BLAID does not yet have an official title.

Rather than creating a companion robot that would accompany a blind person everywhere, the team decided to take a look at wearable devices in order to determine if that might be a better solution. Focus groups were presented with shoes, gloves, belts, headgear, and many other wearable options, but the team eventually settled on a device to be worn around the shoulders, much like a neck pillow.

How Project BLAID Provides Navigation

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Partner Robot team member Doug Moore about Project BLAID. As I learned through my conversation with Moore, many of the questions I posed were the same as those being asked by the team itself.

One of the first things I asked was whether it would be necessary to pair the wearable device with a smartphone. Although this may be an enhancement that some will take advantage of, it will not be necessary to use anything other than this device when navigating.

The Partner Robot Group is working to ensure that this over-the-shoulder device will be as fashionable as possible. Focus groups were presented with many different designs, and the end result was a sleek design that the test participants were very pleased with.

I next asked about how the wearer would access information on the device in a way that would not be distracting to others, and would allow the wearer to maintain personal privacy. According to Moore, the device will not only have built-in speakers and a headphone jack, but will allow for Bluetooth connectivity to devices such as the AfterShokz bone conduction headphones. Vibrations will also be available if desired, for use with or without sound.

As I continued to visit with Moore, I was struck by the sheer magnitude of providing meaningful data for this unit. How would it be possible to map every building that a blind person would want to visit, and how would that information be kept current?

Navigation information will be stored on the wearable device itself, but there will certainly be a need to constantly update existing information. Wi-Fi connectivity and SD cards are certain to be part of this process. It will be necessary for the device to integrate with other technology such as iBeacons in order to obtain information about hotels, malls, airports, and the like.

The Bottom Line

As you read this article, stop and allow yourself to recall a project that you started, but soon gave up on because there were simply too many details—too many unanswered questions. For Doug Moore and the other members of the Toyota Partner Robot Group, those impossible questions are where the hard work really begins. As Moore talked about his work, I gained the sense that he really was proud of the accomplishments that the Partner Group has achieved. They are able to see the positive impact that their efforts have on people's lives—this is what keeps the team going.

One day, when Project BLAID has an official name, and when we are all using a cool-looking wearable device to navigate the hotel where we are playing with all the newest technology at the latest CSUN convention, perhaps we will take a moment to thank the members of Toyota's Partner Robot Group for not giving up on finding answers to the hard questions.

As with most projects, the work being done on Project BLAID will provide a springboard for new projects. What yet-to-be-released technology will make the difficulties associated with indoor navigation a distant memory? In the short term, perhaps developers of technologies such as Apple's iBeacons can work with Toyota and others to bring the needs of the visually impaired community to the forefront. We have most likely just scratched the surface of what is to come in the area of indoor navigation, and there are bound to be some exciting times ahead. Will it be possible to take the knowledge learned from the work being done on indoor navigation and apply that knowledge to outdoor travel as well? Will Toyota's Partner Robot Group be a part of that work also? Only time will tell, but there is no reason to think that this innovative, hard-working team won't continue to enrich the lives of the blind community for many years to come.

Product Information

This video with audio description provides more information about Project BLAID.

Visit the Toyota Partner Robot Group website to learn more about their work.

TheToyotaEffect.com is a great way to find out all of the things that Toyota is doing to enrich the lives of people everywhere.

Comment on this article.

Related articles:

• A Review of the Be My Eyes Remote Sighted Helper App for Apple iOS by Bill Holton
• LowViz Guide: Indoor Navigation for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired by Deborah Kendrick

More from this author:

• LinkedIn Career Networking Website and App: Assessing Accessibility for People Who Are Blind by Jamie Pauls
• Cruising as a Senior with a Visual Impairment: How to Get the Most Out of Your Adventure by Jamie Pauls