GTT Vancouver Summary Notes, January 20, 2016

Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB) 3 Minutes

Summary Notes, GTT Vancouver

January 20, 2016

Topic of the day was Siri and many of the ways he/she can make your life easier, with 17 in attendance and Matt and Clement conducting the session:

1. Use Siri to search for things like the score in the hockey game, what movies are playing, what time it is, dictionary definitions, weather where you are or anyplace else you can name, etc. Sometimes Siri will give you the answer verbally and sometimes she will tell you to take a look. When she says take a look you have to use your finger to check what is on the screen and double tap on the one you want to see more closely.
2. Creating reminders – Ask Siri to remind you to make a call when you leave this place, or when you get to work or home, provided both places are programmed into your contacts it will remind you when you get there, or when you leave.
3. Creating events – if you want to add something to your calendar you would say something like “Create an event for Jan 21 at 1:30 PM titled, Dentist Appointment with Sally Sue. That will have Siri create the event with a Subject Line and if Sally Sue is in your contacts list she will receive an invitation to the appointment by email. Events in your calendar will need to be checked. Siri will only remind you about an event in your calendar if you have also set default reminders. If you create an event in your calendar you will find a reminder button. If you click on that it will ask you remind me in an hour, a day, a week, etc. You can also ask Siri if you have any appointments on April 7th, or when is my next Dentist appointment?
4. Setting alarms – Wake me up at 6:00 am or turn on my 9:00 alarm, and you can also turn off all alarms by asking Siri to do just that.
5. Calling and Facetiming people – You can say “Call persons name” if they are in your contacts. If they are not in your contacts you can say their phone number. Facetime is free to another person with an Iphone or Ipad. It’s an Internet call that requires an Internet connection
6. Turning on the timer – Say “Set a timer for 10 minutes – Great for cooking. You can also set a timer while you are walking on the treadmill, listening to music or to a book
7. What time is it will have Siri tell you the time, and if you ask for the time in Toronto Canada it will give you that as well. You can also ask what day is it, or what day will April 7th be.
8. What song is playing – If a song is playing in the background it will tell you.
9. Play songs from your favourite artist – If you have an artist on your phone you can ask Siri to play songs by Bon Jovi for example. If you have Apple music it will even play artists that are not yet on your phone.
10. Make reservations if the restaurant that does reservations through Open Table.
11. Ask Siri to open any app on your phone like mail, messages, settings, Blindfold Blindfold Blackjack, etc.
12. Performing calculations – Ask what is 24 times 3 will give you the answer. The answer will be on your screen so you can use your finger to refer to it again.
13. Conversions – You can ask Siri to convert dollars to pounds or metric to inperial. How many cm is 3 feet.
14. Dates – What day of the week is Chinese New Year or or Ash Wednesday this year it will tell you, and if you ask it what day of the week your birthdate was it will show you the results.
15. Use Siri to change settings – Ask it turn on blue tooth, turn on airplane mode, or turn off cellular data.
16. Mapping – Ask how do I get home or how do I get to White Spot. It will start up directions and it will give you the turn by turn directions
17. Texting – To send a text to a person in your contacts you say “Tell Matthew hello”. Siri says “Your message to Matthew says Hello” Do you want me to send it? You say yes, and the text is sent. You can reply to a text with Siri as well. Tip: Hold the home button until you stop speaking so Siri doesn’t cut you off before you are finished your message. If you know the number on your regular bus stop you can text 33333 which will give you the bus schedule for that stop.
18. Movies – Ask Where is Star Wars playing or What time is Star Wars playing at the Landmark cinema.
19. Following sports – What was the result of the last Canucks game, when will they play again or who scored during their last game.

Topic for next time – iCloud on Feb. 10 from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM.

Published by Albert Ruel

The Albert A. Ruel Road to Blindness A 21 year old man stood on the beach at the Sproat Lake Provincial Park with friends early in May of 1977, and upon gazing across the lake found the Gulf Oil sign missing from the dock-side filling station there. When this fact was shared with his companions they glanced at him with puzzled looks and said, “No Albert, the sign is still there”. That was the beginning of a road through confusion, anger, isolation, loneliness and discovery for me. It all began with a visit to a local Optometrist who could see that my vision wasn’t right, but that corrective lenses wouldn’t help. He then referred me to a General Practitioner, where I received a clean bill of health and an additional referral. This time to an Ophthalmologist. Immediately upon peering through the dilated pupils, Dr. McKerricher was able to see the problem, Retinal Vasculitis. Now, you would think that all would start to improve at this point, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You see, CNIB, from 1918 until 1985 only served the needs of people who were “Legally Blind”, a level of vision loss I wouldn’t reach until November of 1979. The words of Dr. McKerricher still echo in my mind today, “Albert, I don’t know what has caused this and nothing we’ve tried is helping to stop it, and you’re not blind enough for me to refer you to CNIB”! In the middle of this transition from 20/20 vision to “Legally Blind” came the Motor Vehicle Branch and it’s rules of the road. On August 3, 1978 I drove a car for the last time as my vision had reached the level at which operating a motor vehicle became too dangerous, further intensifying feelings of fear, isolation and anger. Sadly, through this period the only available guidance and support was through family and friends, but not the experienced professionals I needed at the time. Although these support systems are critically important they can often be smothering and facilitating, rather than encouraging and supportive. With gratitude, and some trepidation I finally was able to access CNIB services in November of 1979, and the world opened up then. There I was able to meet other blind people and receive the daily living and mobility skills required to live independently in this sighted world. I learned elementary braille and began to discover technology as necessary tools of independence. Thankfully, in 1985 CNIB’s National Board altered the course of service to visually impaired Canadians forever. They added a third prong to their Mission Statement, “To promote sight enhancement services”. This opened the door to all Canadians who were beginning to lose sight, as well as those who had a fear of vision loss to access the full range of CNIB Support and Rehabilitation Services. So now, whether it’s someone’s Mother who is experiencing Macular Degeneration, or an Uncle experiencing the affects of Glaucoma, all have the ability to seek information, guidance and support as all involved deal with the fear and anxiety that accompanies such life altering experiences. With the help of professional Rehabilitation Workers and Employment Counselors I was able to continue traveling independently within my own community, and even more remarkably anywhere in the world I desired to go. I managed to attend College in Nanaimo and New Westminster, as well as traveling to the Mayo Clinic and to doctor’s appointments in Nanaimo and Vancouver without assistance. All of this while living with some usable vision, but not yet needing a white cane for travel. During the mid 1980’s I was a stay-at-home Dad and did all that was required of that challenging work, from changing diapers to preparing meals, and from cutting the grass to maintaining our home. I even took a woodworking course through Alberni’s Adult Education program and built and restored several pieces of furniture. Of course the 1958 Chevy Impala in the garage was my pride and joy, and I devised ways to do much of the work it required. I also joined and participated in many community activities, like the local Car Club, and a disability support group that catered to the needs of people with many different disabilities. Of course, continued participation in family life remained of critical importance through this period. In 1989 a secondary condition began to extinguish the vision that remained, which set into motion a new stream of professional rehabilitation services and supports. By the spring of 1990 Glaucoma had turned out the lights completely, and the darkness I had feared so desperately was upon me. Strangely though, I found this to be a great relief rather than the tragedy I had imagined it would be. Through several professional rehabilitation sessions, and by joining peer mentoring and advocacy groups I was able to come to terms with this strange feeling, and to learn additional skills and strategies for living with no visual cues of the world around me. This is also about the time that I decided to explore CNIB as an employer, and to see if I could provide the sort of guidance and support to others that had been my pleasure to receive. Those 14 years were a wonderful experience of ongoing discovery for me, as teaching may be the best way to solidify one’s own learning. In other words, those we assist through this transition in turn help us all as we develop best practices and improved service. Following a 14 year career with CNIB I also served the blind community as the first National Equality Director employed by the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC), and as a Basic Computer Literacy Trainer with the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB). Most recently I have enjoyed coordinating the CCB’s newly launched Get Together with Technology Program in Western Canada, which brings to the fore my passion for assistive technology and the power of peer mentoring. Without sight I have continued to travel far and wide, with trips to Conventions of and for the Blind in Anaheim California and Melbourne Australia, as well as to many events and activities in Toronto and Vancouver. Of course my work has taken me to many communities throughout Western Canada, and most particularly nearly all regions of BC and on Vancouver Island. None of which would have been possible without the services and support of organizations like CCB, AEBC and CNIB. For most people blindness generates a fear of extended movement, both within one’s home and community, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Independence comes from personal desire and increased skill. Many community organizations can assist with both through their mentoring and skill development programs. I remember always that life has little to do with what happens to me and 100% what I do about/with it. There is a quote I like to use from the National Federation of the Blind in the USA, “With adequate skill development and opportunity blindness can be reduced to the level of a nuisance”, and nothing could be closer to the truth. Helen Keller said many years ago, “There is nothing more tragic than someone who has sight, but no vision”. She also challenged the Lions Clubs of the world to become the “Knights of the Blind, and to take up the crusade against darkness”. I too joined a Lions Club in 1992 and continue to work on the crusade that Helen Keller began in the 1920-s.

Published