Comp 080 Enabling Technology

On Thursday Diane Brauner will talk to us about orientation and mobility for people who are blind. Check out this short introduction to O&M before then.

International Rett Syndrome Association

From CNN , sounds like an accessible version of Guitar Hero. I’ve been trying to think about how to do something like this.

I think I enabled posting for all of you. If you see something interesting post it for us all to see.

Interesting article in the News and Observer about mainstreaming of vocational work programs .

Check out the video on Tenori-On a cool music sequencer interface. A simplified version could make a really cool project idea.

I think you will all agree Karen’s talk was really interesting today. Brainstorm about things we might do and be prepared to talk about them in class on Tuesday. Begin by sharing ideas here. I’ll send Karen the link so she can comment if she likes.

I think making a book would make a cool project. Look over the examples at Route 66 site and especially the demo link . I bet you could make a book that their readers would find really interesting. Making the tactile aids she described could be fun too.

If you have questions (or thanks) you want to direct to Karen send them to karen_erickson@med.unc.edu.

I’m a lousy speller. I see that some of you are too. Yikes!

I suggest you get the Firefox browser free online. It is a great browser with lots of cool features like AdBlock (download the Add On) and tabbed browsing. But possibly its greatest feature is built-in spell checking for all text fields. So when you’re posting comments to our blog your misspelled words will be underlined in red and you can fix them before posting.

CS graduate student Peter Parente is doing his thesis research on a new kind of audio display that improves on screen readers like JAWS. He needs three more participants in the sighted part of his study. It pays $20 for 2 hours of work. A requirement is an interest in mobile audio such as iPod and basic email skills. If you’re willing to help out, let me know and I’ll give you Pete’s email address.

Check out their page before Karen Erickson comes to speak. The info on Jake is particularly interesting.