Our last GTT national conference call of the year will take place on Wednesday December 14 at 7 PM eastern, 4 Pacific. Our topic is streaming services. Wondering about the differences between apple music, spotify and others? What about streaming radio and podcasts? Come and join in the discussion. Share your tips and tricks.
Call in info 1-866-740-1260 Passcode 5670311
Category: GTT national conference call.
GTT National Conference Call Summary Notes: All About Windows 10 and Screen Readers, November 9, 2016
GTT National Conference Call
Summary Notes
November 9, 2016.
Screen Readers:
Screen readers being used by people on the call.
• JAWS, ranging from Version 13 to 17, paid only with time limited trials available.
• Window Eyes, free, trial and paid versions available.
• System Access, free, trial and paid versions available.
• NVDA, free with a suggested $30 donation.
• Dolphin Guide, paid only with a free 30-day trial.
• Many people are using windows 7, a few windows 8.1 and some windows 10 with one person still on xp but looking to change.
• One person is using ZoomText Magnifier/Reader but changing to NVDA.
Brainstorming specific questions:
PDF’s
Someone was trying to convert PDFs received by email into word documents without a scan and read program.
There are three main blindness specific scanning programs, and one that isn’t specific to blindness. There are also free web sites available to convert PDF files to text documents, and two of the screen readers discussed this night are able to convert PDF files to text on the fly.
• ABBYY FineReader, which is not a blindness specific program, however that is being used successfully by screen reader and magnification users.
• Kurzweil 1000, which is aimed at the blind market has been around a long time, and is used almost exclusively in the school and post-secondary systems. This program is available for the PC, and its sister program, Kurzweil 3000 is aimed at the Learning Disability sector on both the Mac and PC platforms.
• Openbook is also blindness specific and is a product of Freedom Scientific. It is only available for the PC platform.
• DocuScan plus is a blindness specific program and is created by Serotek, the makers of System Access. It is a stand-alone scan and read program that is self-voicing, and available for both the PC and Mac platforms.
DocuScan plus by Serotek appears to be the least expensive of the known scan and read software and is very easy to use.
Someone said that they try to read a PDF using Acrobat Reader and it says converting but then the screen reader says empty document.
This may be because the file has been scanned as an image and not converted for OCR. OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, and you can learn more here. When someone is setting up their scanner they need to check the box which says check OCR so that it creates PDF files that will be readable by screen readers.
When a document has been scanned as an image file or when PDF files are received by email, programs like ABBYY FineReader, Kurzweil, Openbook and DocuScan can convert them to text based files electronically.
Also, sometimes iDevices read pdf’s that computers can’t access easily.
• The VoiceDreamReader app is good at converting and reading PDFs.
• The KNFB Reader iPhone app can also convert PDF files to text.
There is an OCR add-on that you can download from Freedom Scientific called, Convenient OCR. It is built into the latest versions of JAWS.
To OCR a document with JAWS, do the following:
1. Press jaws key plus the space bar
2. Press O for OCR then D for entire document.
3. Once converted to readable text one may select all or some of the text for pasting into an MS Word document. See more details by accessing the above link.
NVDA also has an OCR Add-on for converting PDFs to readable text. Download it by accessing the above link.
There are web sites that are free to convert PDF and other formatted files too many text based editable formats. One of them is, PDF to Text, and it can be found here. Narrator.
• In Windows 10 you can do more with narrator. You can move around your screen with it. It is not as robust as the above noted screen readers, however you can use narrator for the built in Live Mail and Edge Browser programs for Windows 10.
• You can use narrator to get to a website say to set up NVDA. Edge and Windows Live Mail are very inaccessible with any other screen reader.
• Narrator is not a full-fledged screen reader yet but people are encouraged to try it with Windows 10.
• It is free.
Google Searches:
It was pointed out that if you’re looking for download links to free software like NVDA, try typing in your Google Search NVDA Screen Reader Download or Thunderbird Download and it will usually take you right to the downloads page. Also, Google searches that start with “How do I…” will almost always get you good and helpful results.
General Questions:
Someone asked what version of JAWS is needed in order to run Windows 10? It is JAWS 16 or higher.
NVDA updates are always free and the software is free unless you buy the Eloquence Synthesizer voices which is around 80 dollars Canadian.
Once you have purchased the System Access screen reader, all updates are free, and it does work with Windows 10.
*Note: if your needs are being met with Windows 7 or 8.1 you don’t have to move to Windows 10. Those two operating systems will be supported by Microsoft for several years yet. However, if you are upgrading from Windows XP or Vista it might be worth your while to embark on a Windows 10 upgrade as you will be entering a significant learning curve anyway.
NVDA is a great screen reader developed by two people who are blind and they are updating all the time. This program is open source so some workplaces may not let you install or use it.
Many of the key strokes are very similar between NVDA and JAWS.
Trouble-shooting and training apps:
• JAWS offers a built-in training and trouble-shooting utility called Tandem which allows someone helping you to access your computer provided both are running JAWS.
• NVDA has a similar program called NVDA Remote.• TeamViewer is another utility that can be used for trouble-shooting and training that is not screen reader specific. Difference between screen readers on the PC and mac?
• The Mac has only one choice for screen reader. It is called VoiceOver and is built-in. It is available on all Macs and you do not need to buy it separately.
• All the native Mac apps, (Mail, Web Browser, Spreadsheet, iTunes, Notes, Word Processing work well with VoiceOver.
• It has good high quality voices.
• The way you use this screen reader is very different than on the PC so there is a learning curve.
• There are good books through National braille press, as well as guides and podcasts through AppleVis.com and many resources to help you with the Mac and other iDevices.
• If you use other iDevices, your content will sync well between them and the Mac.
• The Track Pad on the Mac lets you do many gestures which are the same as those you use with your iPhone.
• If you have a friend with a mac and you want to try it out, hold down the Command Key and type F5 to toggle it on and off. The Command Key is known as the Alt Key on a PC, and is found to the left and right of the Space Bar.
• When you launch VoiceOver on the Mac, you are asked if you want to run the VoiceOver Tutorial, which helps you learn the basic keyboard commands.
• One other advantage is that you can run a copy of Windows on your Mac with NVDA. So, you can have both systems running on one computer. You might only want to do this if you love technology however.
• If you have questions about the Mac, Kim Kilpatrick uses it almost exclusively and can talk to you about the pros and cons.
• Mac computers are more expensive than many laptops but they are good quality.
What resources are out there for learning screen readers?
There are many good free and paid resources for learning to use your products and screen readers.
Often if users are having trouble, it is because they have not taken the time to set up the machine for maximum benefit from screen readers, or they haven’t learned enough about how to access the computer with their screen reading software.
• CathyAnne Murtha textbooks are very good and highly recommended.• NVDA has put out a very good manual for learning how to use it and someone said it is one of the best manuals he has seen. The cost for it is 30 dollars Australian and it can be found on the NVDA web site.
• There are many other useful things on the NVDA Web Site including some tutorials, downloads of the software etc.
• Serotek also has good materials for learning the screen reader and the programs it supports.Disability Answer/Support Desk:
The below free technical support hotlines are reserved for screen reader, magnification, hearing or physical disability software users. All reports are that the people working these hotlines are quick, respectful, expert and friendly.
Someone was having an issue getting iCloud Mail running on the PC or on Android. No answers came out of the group gathered this night, so it was suggested that he call the Apple Accessibility Support number:
1-877-204-3930
For all troublesome matters related to screen reader or magnification users and the Microsoft Operating System or MS Office products, the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk number is:
1-800-936-5900
It was suggested you could use two different email programs on the PC. Say Outlook for Gmail and Thunderbird for iCloud.
It was pointed out that Thunderbird is a good email program and is recommended by those developing NVDA, but there can be a few problems such as not landing directly in your inbox.
The Edge Web Browser does not work well in Windows 10 but you can use Google Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer.
Next meeting, December 14, all about Streaming Services.
Respectfully submitted,
Kim Kilpatrick and Albert Ruel
Next national GTT teleconference on Wednesday October 12 IOS 10 low vision and voiceover features and introducing a new IOS app.
Hello there!
Hopefully everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Our next national call is tomorrow night October 12.
We have several things to discuss.
First, a young lady has developed an app she feels will be beneficial for our community. She asked to come on the call to discuss this app.
Next, several people have been calling and asking for help with IOS 10 both for voiceover and the low vision features. We will have a discussion and show some of these features.
Also, we have had responses about upcoming topics and want to go through some of the most popular ones and see if anyone knows who might best speak about them.
Here is the call in information.
Date: October 12, 2016.
Time: 7 PM Eastern
Call in info: 1-866-740-1260
Passcode 5670311
If you have questions or concerns email
Gttprogram@gmail.com
Or call 1-877-304-0968
Next National GTT Conference Call all about note taking on your IOS device. Wednesday July 13 at 7 PM eastern.
Our next national GTT call will take place on Wednesday July 13 at 7 PM eastern time.
We had a request to review and discuss the main notetaking apps that someone might use on an I device.
Rebecca Jackson and Kim Kilpatrick have done this and will lead the discussion on the following notetaking apps and their pros and cons and capabilities.
access note
the native apple notes app
the native apple pages app
voicedream writer.
The call will take place on Wednesday July 13 at 7 PM eastern time.
The call in info is as follows:
1-866-740-1260
Passcode 5670311
For more information contact Kim at
1-877-304-0968
Or at gttprogram@gmail.com
Next GTT national conference call Wednesday June 8 7 PM Eastern, 4 Pacific. New devices seen in recent GTT groups.
Our next national GTT conference call will take place on Wednesday June 8 at 7 PM Eastern 4 Pacific. Several GTT groups have seen or have had members see some very new devices recently. We will have a discussion about the following new devices:
NuEyes Visual Prosthetic device
Braille note touch
Orcam
Orbit braille display.
Come and share your thoughts and ask any questions you might have about these devices.
Here is the call in info
1-866-740-1260
Passcode 5670311
REminder GTT national Conference call all about web browsers tonight March 9 7 PM eastern 4 pacific.
This is just a reminder of our regular GTT national conference call being held tonight March 9 at 7 PM eastern 4 Pacific.
OUr topic tonight is web browsers.
Which one do you use the most?
Which are the most accessible?
Which do you use on what device or system?
We will discuss the major browsers and talk about their pros and cons.
Bring your tips and suggestions and questions as well.
Here is the call in info
1-866-740-1260
Passcode 5670422
Reminder: National GTT Conference Call tonight 7 PM Eastern An Introduction To The Mac Computer
This is just a reminder about our GTT national conference call. It will take place tonight, January 13 2016. The topic is All about the mac computer.
The call in time is 7 PM Eastern time, 4 Pacific time.
We will talk about the different Mac computers available. What you need to ask when you buy one so that it can be accessible.
Ali Moosa will talk about the basic commands needed to get you started on the mac using voiceover.
Kim Kilpatrick will talk about using the mac from a totally blind person’s perspective.
Lorne neufeldt will discuss the mac from a low vision perspective.
Bring your questions and expertise.
Here is the call in info.
1-866-740-1260
Passcode 5670311
GTT national Conference Call Notes for December 9 2015 on GPS Solutions for people who are blind or have low vision.
Summary Notes
GTT National Conference Call
Get Together with Technology
December 9 2015.
GPS Solutions
Presenters:
Tom Dekker Donna Hudon Albert Ruel (facilitator and presenter),
1. Blind Square GPS App:
Tom started out the presentation on BlindSquare. Blind square has its own voice, and works well with Voice over as well. The buttons and tabs you will find on the app include:
Search, Add Place, Tools, 4Square, Other Button and Filter Announcements.
Tom reviewed the options available in the Filter Announcements and recommends the use of Streets and My Places. That will announce all streets as they are crossed and the locations you have favorited.
2-finger double tab turns on and off the Blind Square voice, and a 3-finger double tap turns on and off the Voiceover voice. The Blind Square voice mute is at the top right corner of the screen and is a toggle meaning that if you double tap it once, it mutes speech and if you double tap with one finger again, it unmutes speech.
Add Places: allows the operator to add Points of Interest by categories, address and while one is standing near it.
Tools: the Look Around is a valuable feature in the Tools Tab and will announce intersections and Points of interest in the area and in the direction the operator is pointing the iPhone. Limits can be set for the range within which Blind Square will announce what it finds.
Search: uses a variety of categories from which to suggest places one might be interested in, and once located the operator can double tap the Favourite toggle and have Blind Square announce each time it gets within range of the device. When a location is selected more info can be read for that place or business.
Blind Square does not give you turn by turn directions. The Tracking feature can be invoked which will tell the operator how far away and at which direction the specified location will be found. Blind square can be asked for nearby addresses to that location as well. Check it out at:
Q: Can plan a route be used if a location is not favourited?
A: Yes. As long as you can select it you can start to track toward it. Addresses can be taken from the iPhones’ Contact List and tracked from there as well.
Q: Does it only give directions by the clock or compass?
A: You can set it to give direction using Cardinal Directions as well.
Q: Does it matter which direction you hold the phone?
A: Just having the phone in your pocket it will determine your direction of travel. Some bone conducting headphones will allow you to operate the app using the in-line buttons. Pointing the phone in various directions will allow you to determinpoints of interest (POIs) and other info in that direction. Also, shaking the phone will invoke the Look Around feature providing next intersection and travel direction info. Lots of features can be turned on or off in the Other Button menu.
Q: If I were walking to a corner in my City will Blind Square tell me about the building and the businesses therein?
A: Not yet, however Apple has available something called iBeacons that will provide access to interior spaces. Tim Horton’s in Ontario has started a pilot project of making iBeacons in some of their stores.
As you walk along the street, Blind Square will announce the stores or buildings you pass in many cases. Sometimes they even announce bus stops if they have been marked by someone.
Irene indicated that she uses blind square when riding her horse. She sets up Way-Tags in the Add Places Tab for places like the mailbox, ditches and so on. Blind square then warns her as she approaches them allowing her the time to steer the horse around them without injuring her shins.
Tom indicated that BlindSquare is the app that has helped him to learn the Victoria downtown area since moving there about 2 years ago.
2. Trekker Breeze Stand-alone GPS Device:
Donna started out the demo on the Trekker Breeze by turning on the Key Describer feature, hold down the button 3, so that each time a button is pressed Trekker will announce what each key will do. The new Breeze is smaller than the original. There are 9 buttons in a number keypad configuration.
Trekker will announce how far you’ve travelled, your altitude and many other helpful bits of info. Trekker can also reverse routes once you have reached your destination, and addresses can be inserted for turn by turn instructions to your favourite places. Points of interest in many categories can also be used to receive turn by turn instructions, and landmarks can be set and labelled as Points of interest along the way. It ships with all Canadian maps, and additional world maps can be purchased for trips abroad.
The Explorer feature allows the user to virtually walk a neighbourhood anywhere on the installed maps from the comfort of their living room.
Note: that blind squarevery has a simulation mode which allows you to find out what is around a location you may be travelling too.
Kim used this when travelling to the braille conference in Toronto to find out what was around the hotel.
Donna offered to take questions rather than work through each item that can be done with the Trekker. A question was asked about the battery, which is thought to be about 15 hours of constant use. The Trekker shifts from vehicle mode to pedestrian mode automatically, and offers different levels of info depending on those modes. More intersection info is available in pedestrian mode.
Donna reiterated that because Trekker is separate from her phone she finds it more convenient.
Addresses can be typed in with the number keypad, and landmarks can be marked for future use, like garbage cans, park benches etc.
Donna indicated that her recent upgrade didn’t seem to add functionality, and others indicated that the battery life is since increased as a result. James indicated that his works better in the downtown concrete canyons, and Donna hasn’t found that to be the case with her upgraded Trekker. The old Trekker Breeze often lost contact with satellites, which was to be remedied with the 2015 $200 upgrade. It was suggested that the Trekker be turned on a few minutes before leaving so that connection can be secured before the trip begins. Trekker seems to connect better than trying it once movement has started.
Maps are upgraded on regular bases so new places of business and new neighbourhoods become available quite quickly. Map updates are free.
Trekker gives intersection info like, 3-way, 4-way and 5-way intersections, city boundaries for larger metropolitan areas, and name changes of streets as one travels by vehicle or pedestrian. Without inserting an address one can merely walk while Trekker announces the streets as they are approached. It will also announce your points of interest as you pass them, which offers a means of familiarizing oneself with a community.
An external speaker is available that clips to a collar so that it can be heard without blocking ones ears for safety. Bone conducting headphones can also be attached to this device for the same reason.
Note: You cannot use the bluetooth bone conduction head phones with the trekker. You must get wired headphones for this.
The bluetooth bone conduction headphones will work with blind square.
The most common bone conduction headphones are made by afshokz.
Many of the access technology companies in Canada sell them but they can also be purchased on amazon and now even in the apple store online.
For more info check out:
http://www.humanware.com/en-usa/products/blindness/talking_gps
3. iMove GPS App:
A question was asked about iMove by Everywhere Technologies, an app for the iPhone which seems to be free, and available for iPhone, iPad and iPod. You can learn more at:
http://www.everywaretechnologies.com/apps/imove
4. Seeing Eye GPS App:
Albert then gave an overview of the Sendero Seeing Eye GPS app for the iPhone. It is currently being used as a subscription app that appears to fetch a price of $79 USD for an additional year, and $6.99 for additional months. Albert indicated that it cannot be purchased outright, which has since been determined to be incorrect. The outright purchase of the app is $399 USD. A similar app is available for the BrailleNote and BrrailleSense note takers.
The main front screen offers many helpful items like the nearest intersection, nearest address, direction of travel, location accuracy and altitude. The menus are, Routes, POIs, Location, Maps and Settings. Other than the Maps Menu all are very accessible. Maps takes you to Google maps which appears to require vision to use effectively.
Note: You can use google maps but it does take some learning. Kim is able to use it on the iphone after much practice. If anyone wants some help with it, let her know.
The Look Around Wand in Seeing Eye is very similar to that which Tom demonstrated with Blind Square. It allows you to see in different directions all that is in your vicinity. I have also purchased a $5 Sendero app called Look Around that will give me that info by merely shaking the phone.
The Route Creation Menu offers several ways to get to where I want to go. The first is a Route to Home button which will give me turn by turn instructions back to the address I’ve labelled as “Home”. The POI Button will offer many categories of businesses, schools, churches and other types of places I might wish to find and be directed to. The Address Button allows me to insert any address and have Seeing Eye take me there. The History Button takes the user back to previously accessed addresses or Points of Interest.
The POI Menu allows me to type the name of a business I want, and Seeing Eye will search for and list the findings from my area. Double tapping on the desired one provides the options of being directed as a pedestrian, driver, transit user or bicyclist.
One of the drawbacks to the app is how quickly it drains the battery. For daily use of this app to get to and from work one will be wise to secure an additional battery pack. Albert has noticed that Blind Square uses less battery power than Seeing Eye.
For more info check out:
https://www.senderogroup.com/products/shopseeingeyegps.htm
A question was asked as to whether Blind Square and Seeing Eye would be used together, and which might be preferred. They are not used together and they don’t necessarily do the same things. Granted, all three GPS devices presented today will tell you where you are and they will announce streets as you travel, however Blind Square doesn’t give turn by turn instructions and both Trekker and Seeing Eye do. All three use POIs as a means of locating and alerting the user to their having arrived.
What’s the difference between the free Sendero Look Around and the Seeing Eye app? The Look Around app merely gives the user nearby intersection, POI and address locations, whereas Seeing Eye will guide the user to selected locations with turn by turn instructions. I also use the Seeing Eye to keep an eye on the driver’s speed of travel, altitude and direction of travel while on route.
5. Nearby Explorer for Android Smart Phones:
A question was asked about accessible GPS apps for Android. There is one called Nearby Explorer which was produced by the American Printing House for the Blind.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.aph.avigenie&hl=en
A question was asked about the data usage for these iPhone apps. Lorne Webber indicated that Seeing Eye uses data to load the map when a search for an address is done, and that no further data will be used once the map is loaded. If another search is conducted then it will access data once again. No firm answer was available regarding Blind Square and data usage though, however it isn’t believed to be large as no pictures or other large items are being accessed by the apps. Donna indicated that Sendero Look Around requires data in order to function.
6. MyWay Lite and Classic:
Another app mentioned is My Way Lite, which is free, and My Way Classic which costs about $20. They both use data in order to download the maps to your iPhone, then don’t require data to do the actual navigation.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/myway-lite/id494516234?mt=8
Irene indicated that with the screen locked she uses Blind Square with little in the way of battery drainage and hardly any data provided the wayfinding tags are saved. Data will be required for the saving of any additional wayfinding tags though.
7. Kapten Plus GPS and App:
Irene asked about the Kapten Plus GPS device. Leader Dogs in Michigan used to provide these devices for their graduates, however they have since stopped doing so. She used it for about 4 years and found that it worked fairly well, however that it didn’t give her as much info as Blind Square or Trekker. Irene further suggested that the Kapten Plus app for the iPhone was impossible for her to manage so she is recommending that it be avoided. It is available through Canadialog:
http://www.canadialog.com/en/node/250
8. Ariadne GPS App:
Donna mentioned Ariadne GPS which she also uses on her iPhone. It can be found at:
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/ariadne-gps/id441063072?mt=8
9. Google and Apple Map Apps for the iPhone:
Lorne suggested that Google Maps when he’s travelling with a sighted driver offers him good info regarding the lane to be in when accessing needed off-ramps. Although blind travelers don’t always need such info, it can be helpful when he’s navigating for the driver, and his experience is that it’s very accessible with Voice Over. Apple Maps are also good, however Lorne prefers Google Maps.
10. Bad Elf GPS Antenna:
Lorne further suggested that separate GPS antenna can be purchased for use with iPhone GPS apps. One such example is the Bad Elf GPS Antenna. Visit http://www.bad-elf.com to learn more about the Bad Elf GPS, GPS Pro/Pro+, and the GNSS Surveyor accessories, which add a high performance GPS receiver to the iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad via the 30-pin dock connector, Lighting connector, or Bluetooth. The GPS data is usable by ALL location-based iOS applications in the App Store.
If anyone has any more GPS solutions for people who are blind or have low vision, please let us know at
Gttprogram@gmail.com
Or call Kim at 1-877-304-0968 X. 513.
Or Albert at 1-877-304-0968 X. 550.
Useful resource for everyone all about labelling on the GTT national call last week.
All about labeling, and identification.
November 11, 2015.
There were 20 participants on this very lively and useful conference call.
I am always amazed and really enjoy all of these calls with all of the wonderful information that comes to us from all across the country.
Sometimes the blind/low vision community seems small and scattered but it feels larger and much more unified when we all Get Together.
I want to thank everyone for all of your participation and ideas.
Wherever you have a GTT, (Whether in person or on a call) thank you for all you give and share with others.
A huge thank you to Lorne from the Edmonton GTT group.
He provided me with many e-mail resources on this call which I include in the notes below.
Lorne Weber is blind. He is the accessibility specialist for Norquest College and a volunteer on the GTT Edmonton team.
Also Donna Jodhan sent along a blog post about locator dots which I have incorporated into these notes as well as it is very relevant to this topic.
Once again, thank you all for your sharing and generosity.
Albert talk about the Orcam.
OrCam optical character recognition, face recognition head mounted device.
The web site is
Camera is on the right arm of the glasses. Behind it is a bone conducting speaker. Just around your right ear. There is a processing unit 6 inches long, a inch wide. 4 hours of continuous use. One trigger button, up and down volume and power.
Can set up menus with trigger plus volume.
Face recognition. Pretty accurate with face recognition. It was tested with the same person wearing and then not wearing glasses and it still picked them up.
It cannot pick people up from a distance.
It is Light dependent and people have to be within 5 or 6 feet of the person in order for it to recognize them. It cannot recognize them as they come into a room or across the room and your face/orcam would need to be pointing directly at them.
If there is a certain product you want to identify regularly, take picture of it and every time that product is there, it will identify it. You can hold a book or piece of paper in front of you and it reads. Albert did a demonstration. Can read books. Cannot save the file and read later. If want to read part of a sheet, hold your finger near your face point it at the sheet it will hopefully read.
It was able to Read text of buttons on a washing machine.
Can it pick up text on a screen. Yes it does and on the iphone screen.
Does KNFB reader work on a screen? Yes.
how does the weight feel? The weight is not heavy but the cable coming off the back is bothersome.
There was talk about Google glass and possible similar products.
Google glass was banned for privacy reasons because people did not like others taking pictures of them without their knowing it.
It is interesting to think about this in relation to people who are blind and needing to take pictures of things in order to identify them.
Google glass has a head phone jack.
We talked about how expensive iphones are and talked about people being able to now use ipod touches for almost everything.
The new ipod touch which came out in the summer has a camera which is as good as the iphone 6. Also the processor is as good as the iphone 6 as well.
This means that for much less cost, you can now use an ipod touch for almost everything and you don’t need to incur the monthly fees of a cell phone.
Wherever there is a wifi connection you can use the ipod touch.
Use it for everything except making calls or GPS.
Fongo gives you a phone number for Ipod touch.
It is voice over internet calling service.
You can make free calls as long as you are within range of your wifi.
You can also use it for text messaging if you pay a small fee.
You can have a voicemail box too and it gives you a phone number.
Note: Kim signed up for fongo. The app itself is accessible but the sign up process is not very accessible. There are captias that are not accessible and also a few check boxes that were not readable with voiceover on the I device.
Kim is contacting the company to point this out to them.
The new ipod touch also reads well with KNFB reader but KNFB reader costs over 100 dollars.
Voice is a free alternative to KNFB reader.
fopydo provides a fairly inexpensive stand to use with your phone or device for scanning pages and products.
My fitness pal app for iphone is not necessarily designed to read bar codes but it does a good job for bar code reading.
Crowdvis is a new IOS app that is similar to bemyeyes in that it puts you in touch with people who can give you descriptions of things.
It is an app that is similar to a facetime or skype call in that you are using your video camera and hearing audio of the other person who is helping you.
Pen friend is used for many purposes by many people on the call.
They include:
Labeling Seed packets and also labeling the markers for what is growing in your garden.
Use pen friend also for labelling food items.
Put a label on the top of a spice jar and keep the lid each time you replace the spice.
PUt Put the label on a card before putting it on something in your freezer.
Put a label on a magnet before sticking on a can.
For clothes Can buy water proof ones last up to 70 washes.
Pen friend labeller can also label chords, label cd’s, and anything around the house, also labelling medications.
Possibly use double sided tape to stick braille labels on plastic bottles such as medications.
We talked about locator dots.
Futureaids has a pack of locator dots that come in all different shapes and sizes.
Donna Jodhan told us that she has used them for many purposes.
CNIB sells them.
www.cnib.ca and look for the shop.
Futureaids has them very inexpensively and seems to have more variety.
What do people use the different shaped ones for?
One option is for marking stoves or appliances where there are arrows.
Use the triangular ones to mark the up and down arrows.
If you are at the gym or other place where you would regularly need to place locator dots on a machine that others use, (examples washers/dryers in an apartment building, equipment at a fitness facility, etc, you might be able to create or have someone with sight create a sheet of plastic built with locator dots so that you could put it over the panel.
We talked about colour identifyers and colour identification apps.
The Colorino Color identeifyer unit has also a light detector and some said it is very good and easy to use and has lasted a long time.
Another person had the Colour reader by cobalt.
There are a few apps that can work well but are not fool proof.
Aid colors is the one Kim uses.
She also uses the app called light detector for determining whether or not lights are on.
We talked about labelling clothes as colour identifier apps and systems do not always work well.
One good way of labelling clothes is to use Brass safety pins. They have to be Good quality.
We talked about labelling stove tops and how some of the flat stove tops are not as accessible.
Someone suggested using a template to put over the stove top.
Solid state stove top is easier to feel.
WE talked about the speed dots screen protectors for I devices. No one on the call was using these. Some people like them and others not so much.
Here are the excellent resources from Lorne Weber.
Additional Resources
GTT National Conference Call
November 11, 2015
iPhone technology that will puff out tactile buttons on the screen of your phone and then will flatten out again once the keyboard disappears is from a company called Tactus Technology,
they’re offering it in the form of a case you put your phone into (currently sold out), and it’s called Phorm (spelled with the PH). you can find out more
information if you go to the following website and go to the 4th heading down from the top where they have a frequently asked questions section:
A free app you can get that will give you a free local inbound and outbound Canadian phone number + voicemail, and will let you make unlimited long
distance calls across Canada is called Fongo, you can download the app here:
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/fongo-free-calls-+-free-texts/id473770452?mt=8&ct=fongo_web
However be warned, if you sign up using the app on the phone there is a CAPTCHA. if you opt to sign up for the free pc or Mac option, then you can fill
out all the information on your computer using Jaws, etc., so you could use Firefox and the Web Vism plugin for solving CAPTCHAS.
https://www.freephoneline.ca/accountRegistrationStepOne
Another app I suggested as a free alternative to the KNFB Reader app is called Voice – Take Pictures & Have Them Read/Spoken In Many
Languages with Fast OCR, and it can be found here:
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/voice-take-pictures-have-them/id903772588?mt=8
and here is Applevis’s excellent page describing it:
and there is even a demonstration of it from Applevis:
We discussed the Six Dot Braille Labeller, a new cheaper alternative to a full Braille Embosser for making braille labels, this is it:
http://www.aroga.com/6dot-braille-labeller/
it seems the PenFriend Labeller is quite popular with GTT groups. CNIB is selling it for $199 here:
https://shop.cnib.ca/ProductDetail/liv0513210002_penfriend2-talking-labeller
And here are some demos of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePE0-U73Ajc
and:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXqBZvLfiLY
During the call we tried to remember the name of the cheaper alternative to the PenFriend labeller that Aroga sells. It’s called the AnyBook Reader, made by Franklin
Electronics, for $40, more info is here:
GTT national Teleconference call all about labeling, identifying things in your house, and OCR
I know this is an ambitious topic but I think all of these things are connected.
the next GTT national teleconference call will take place on WEdnesday November 11 at 7 PM eastern 4 pacific.
Our topic will be an open discussion about labeling things. How do you label and identify food items, shampoo and other bottles, medications, etc.
Do you use bar code readers or scanning apps or devices to tell what things are?
Come and join the discussion.
The call in info is
1-866-740-1260
The passcode is 5670311
National GTT conference call October 14 2015: 7 PM Eastern, 4 Pacific. Topic: How to surf the web!
Hello everyone.
Our next national GTT conference call will take place on Wednesday October 14 at 7 PM Eastern, 4 Pacific. Gerry Chevalier will lead us through tips and tricks on how to browse the web if you use screen reading software. I know this has been a topic of interest for quite some time.
Here is the conference call information.
1-866-740-1260
Passcode 5670311 If you have questions, contact
gttprogram@gmail.com
Reminder: National Conference Call Tonight Wednesday September 9: 7 PM Eastern, 4 Pacific: Face To Face with Facebook
Reminder: Next National Conference Call for GTT will take place tonight, Wednesday September 9. Our topic for the night concludes our series on social media.
In the spring, we had a presentation on twitter and one on linked in.
Tonight, Leona Emberson from CNIB who was instrumental in the founding of GTT in Ottawa will tell us all about facebook.
What it is, what it does, when and how to use it, and what are the most accessible ways to access it.
Come one come all and learn about facebook.
The time is 7 PM eastern 4 Pacific.
The date is Wednesday September 9.
The call in info is below.
If you want more information, email gttprogram@gmail.com
Or call Kim at
1-877-304-0968 This is the call in info for the conference call. Call in number:
1-866-740-1260
Passcode: 5670311
Next national GTT conference call. Face to face with facebook: Wednesday September 9.
Next National Conference Call for GTT will take place on Wednesday September 9. Our topic for the night concludes our series for now on social media.
In the spring, we had a presentation on twitter and one on linked in.
Next week, Leona Emberson from CNIB who was instrumental in the founding of GTT in Ottawa will tell us all about facebook.
What it is, what it does, when and how to use it, and what are the most accessible ways to access it.
Come one come all and learn about facebook.
The time is 7 PM eastern 4 Pacific.
The date is Wednesday September 9.
The call in info is below.
If you want more information, email gttprogram@gmail.com
Or call Kim at
1-877-304-0968 This is the call in info for the conference call. Call in number:
1-866-740-1260
Passcode: 5670311
Call in info for the national call tomorrow night.
Here is the call in info for our session on calendars tomorrow night August 12 7 PM Eastern. So glad so many of you will join us.
1-866-740-1260
Passcode 5670311
Reminder national conference call all about calendars.
This is just a reminder of the national conference call taking place on Wednesday of this week at 7 PM Eastern. The topic is calendars. Someone asked if you needed to have a lot of high tech knowledge to come to this call. Not at all! However you schedule and keep track of appointments and to do lists, whether using high tech or low tech solutions, we would love to have you on the call. The call in info was posted previously but if you need it again, please email gttprogram@gmail.com
Reminder national conference call all about calendars on Wednesday August 12 2015 at 7 PM Eastern time.
Our next national conference call is fast approaching. It will take place on Wednesday August 12 at 7 PM Eastern time.
The topic this time is calendars.
What are the most accessible calendar apps and programs for people who are blind or have low vision?
How do you schedule and remember appointments?
Join us for a lively discussion about this topic.
Bring your tips, tricks, and questions.
Here is the call in info:
1-866-740-1260
Passcode 5670311
For more information, call
1-877-304-0968
Or email
gttprogram@gmail.com
GTT national call on dropbox.
Hello everyone..
During our last national teleconference in June, we decided to carry on with national calls this summer.
Our July call will be all about dropbox.
Dropbox is a wonderful service which allows you to share and work on files across devices and operating systems and share files with others as well.
Our presenter is Maryse Glaude-Beaulieu.
Maryse loves using dropbox and will share with us all about it.
What it is
how to get it
what it does
What devices she uses it on
And more.
Come with your questions and dropbox tips.
The call will be on Wednesday July 8 starting at 7 PM eastern time (4 pacific)
Here is the call in number.
We have a new conference line as of last month.
It works very well and is easy to use.
1-866-740-1260
The pass code is 5670311
I would like to get an idea of numbers of participants.
Please send me an e-mail or call just to confirm you will be on the call.
gttprogram@gmail.com
1-877-304-0968
(613) 567-0311
Thanks.
Very important! We have a better conference line for our national call tonight! Note the new number and call in info!
I am sorry for the short and last minute notice on this. However, we just got (thanks to CCB) a brand new conference line which will take many many more people. we want to try it out for the national call tonight Wednesday June 10 at 7 PM Eastern. Reminder, the call will be on linked in. Tom Dekker is doing our presentation. Can you please share this new call in info with all of your networks.
You can always email me with any questions at
gttprogram@gmail.com
Here is the call in info.
We have enough space for all.
1-866-740-1260
The call in cone is 5670311
National teleconference call on linked in. June 10 2015. 7 PM eastern, 4 pacific.
Hello everyone.
Our next national teleconference call is fast approaching.
The topic for this call is linked in.
Do you know what it is? What it does? How best to access it?
Join our call on June 10 2015 to find out more.
Tom Dekker will lead us through a demonstration and discussion about linked in.
Spaces are limited so please RSVP to Kim Kilpatrick.
The time will be 7 PM eastern, 4 pacific.
The date is June 10 2015.
Please RSVP by e-mail at
gttprogram@gmail.com
Or by phone at
1-613-567-0311
1-877-304-0968 Toll-free
Huge apologies to anyone who was not able to get into the national conference call last night. Searching for solutions.
hello everyone.
On the bright side, GTT is growing across Canada and the interest in and enthusiasm about our programs is growing too.
Thank you to all of you for your generous and enthusiastic support and participation.
We had some glitches on the conference call last night.
Some people were unable to get in. Our call was very popular. Some people got in and got bounced out.
We are looking for a solution. If anyone has suggestions please get in touch.
We would like to be able to do the following:
1. Be able to mute all callers while the presentations are taking place and then mute when question time comes.
Have people participating on the phone line and also online if they wish.
Have people be able to text in or ask questions on the phone line.
Have a good quality line for everyone.
Have all of this be totally accessible.
Any suggestions, please send them to
gttprogram@gmail.com
Thanks again.
GTT Program blog and resources 
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