Seeking information about os and free software beneficial to students with disabilities

[sylvia...@gmail.com]

Greetings from Canada. At SCoPE we're into week 3 of a seminar
discussion on the "Use of Open Source and Free Software in Education".
As part of that discussion I attempted to gather some resources in
preparation for our December seminar: "Accessibility of eLearning",
facilitated by Catherine Fichten and Jennison Asuncion from the
Adaptech Research Network (http://adaptech.org). Adaptech is seeking
information about open source and free software that would benefit
students with disabilities. So far we have zero items on our list! I'm
hoping members of this list will have some suggestions, and can help
spread the word about this request.

Thanks a bunch!
Sylvia
SCoPE Coordinator, http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca

[gnuchris]

Hey Sylvia,

Here's some links that you might find useful.

OATS (Open-source Assistive Technology Software), the development of the
first open-source software repository and forge dedicated to Assistive
Technology (AT)
http://www.oatsoft.org/Software/listing/Repository

Audio GNU/Linux distro for visually impaired persons
http://www.oralux.org/

A Braille and Speech Mini-Distribution of GNU/Linux
http://www.brlspeak.net/

GNOME Accessibility Developer Information
http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gap/
Open Source for Windows
http://osswin.sourceforge.net/

I had a look at your moodle course and was a little disappointed to read
this.

"2. GPL = General Public Licence ... Richard M Stallman's greatest
invention ... founder of the opensource/freedomware movement,
philosopher, ardent defender of the faith, wild-haired, wild-eyed
hippy."

Richard Stallman is the founder of the free software movement and has
nothing to do with the open source/freedomware movement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_movement

Chris Harvey
FSF Associate Member
fsf.org
http://chris.superuser.com.au/

[sylvia...@gmail.com]

Chris, thanks so much. This is a gold mine! Also, I appreciate your
corrections on the information posted by one of our seminar
participants. I'll cross reference this thread in our discussion.

BTW, SCoPE seminars are free and open to the public, and facilitated by
volunteers in the community. Anyone is free to join in or read along. I
thought I should mention that because you referred to our "course".

Cheers and thanks again.
Sylvia

On Nov 22, 3:43 am, gnuchris <gnuch...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Sylvia,
>
> Here's some links that you might find useful.
>
> OATS (Open-source Assistive Technology Software), the development of the
> first open-source software repository and forge dedicated to Assistive

> Technology (AT)http://www.oatsoft.org/Software/listing/Repository
>
> Audio GNU/Linux distro for visually impaired personshttp://www.oralux.org/

>
> A Braille and Speech Mini-Distribution of GNU/Linuxhttp://www.brlspeak.net/
>
> GNOME Accessibility Developer Informationhttp://developer.gnome.org/projects/gap/

> Open Source for Windowshttp://osswin.sourceforge.net/

>
> I had a look at your moodle course and was a little disappointed to read
> this.
>
> "2. GPL = General Public Licence ... Richard M Stallman's greatest
> invention ... founder of the opensource/freedomware movement,
> philosopher, ardent defender of the faith, wild-haired, wild-eyed
> hippy."
>
> Richard Stallman is the founder of the free software movement and has
> nothing to do with the open source/freedomware movement.
>

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_softwarehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_movement

>
> Chris Harvey
> FSF Associate Member

> fsf.orghttp://chris.superuser.com.au/

[Leigh Blackall]

The following from Andrew Downie, advisor to the Centre for Learning Innovation in NSW Australia:

----

Hi Leigh

 

It's a very broadly based request.  "Students with disabilities" covers a multitude of issues.  I did a quick Google search and discovered the Thunder screen reader from http://www.screenreader.net/.  It's only free for personal use.

 

Someone was doing a free text/graphics enlargement software program, but I can't remember the details offhand.

 

One of my favourite tools is Autohotkey from www.autohotkey.com and it's free.  It is a scripting language for Windows and has huge potential to provide facilities for people with a very broad range of disabilities.  Of course, someone has to have the skills and desire to write suitable scripts.  The following are just some examples of how I've used it.

 

I use it to break up text files prior to putting them through TextAloud (www.nextup.com) to produce high-quality synthetic speech MP3 files.  Another application is a script so I can read the level meeters in Adobe Audition (a screen reader can't read the coloured line but the script can).  I also use it to speed up track selection in the multitrack mode.  It's abbreviation expansion has lots of potential for people who have trouble entering text.  I use two different screen readers for testing purposes.  I have a script which turns off the one which is running and starts the other one.  I wrote a script for a student who has problems pressing multiple key combinations so the function keys could highlight text in Word.

 

TextAloud isn't free, but it's not very expensive and is great for people wanting to augment visual display with synthetic speech and/or to produce audio files.

 

Audacity would meet needs of people with some types of disability - very poor screen reader access.

 

Don't forget the features built into both Windows and Mac OS for people with various disabilities.

 

WordWeb (www.wordweb.co.uk) is either free or very inexpensive, depending how mean you are.  It's a great resource for anyone who has trouble accessing a paper dictionary and even for those who can.  WordWeb Pro includes wildcard searching, which I find very helpful.  It also has some other niceties not included in the free version.

 

They are some ideas which have come to mind quickly.  I'm sure there's lots more available.  While the "you gets what you pay for" adage is often true, the above examples fly in the face of that concept.

 

 

 

Andrew

Hi Andrew

 

I was at an Open Source meeting last week, and a piece of software called Dasher was quickly demonstrated. It was mentioned that it was useful for people who have difficulties using a keyboard for entering text.

 

You probably have heard of it, but if not, the website address is http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/

 

Barb

 

---

From: Leigh Blackall [mailto:leighb...@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, 23 November 2006 07:59
To: Downie, Andrew
Subject: Fwd: :: TALO :: Seeking information about os and free software beneficial to students with disabilities

Hi Andrew, do you know of any FOSS being used for people with disabilities? see below where this request comes from..

Regards
Leigh

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sylvia...@gmail.com < sylvia...@gmail.com>
Date: Nov 22, 2006 5:10 PM
Subject: :: TALO :: Seeking information about os and free software beneficial to students with disabilities
To: Teach and Learn Online <teachAndL...@googlegroups.com>


Greetings from Canada. At SCoPE we're into week 3 of a seminar
discussion on the "Use of Open Source and Free Software in Education".
As part of that discussion I attempted to gather some resources in
preparation for our December seminar: "Accessibility of eLearning",
facilitated by Catherine Fichten and Jennison Asuncion from the
Adaptech Research Network (http://adaptech.org). Adaptech is seeking
information about open source and free software that would benefit
students with disabilities. So far we have zero items on our list! I'm
hoping members of this list will have some suggestions, and can help
spread the word about this request.

Thanks a bunch!
Sylvia
SCoPE Coordinator, http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca

leigh_blackall
http://leighblackall.wikispaces.org/

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--
Leigh Blackall
+64(0)21736539
skype - leigh_blackall
http://leighblackall.wikispaces.org/

[sylvia...@gmail.com]

Thanks again for your help with the request for open source and free
software for students with disabilities. It was a great contribution to
our seminar discussion: The Use of Open Source and Free Software in
Education, and to the Adaptech Research Network. Next week we're moving
into a new seminar discussion where we will be looking closely at
accessibility of elearning. As part of that discussion we'll explore
the tools you recommended further.

And while you're marking your calendars, George Siemens will kick off
the new year with a 3-week discussion on his new book: Knowing
Knowledge (January 10 - 30)

Cheers! And thanks again.

========
Seminar: Accessibility of eLearning
Dec 4 - 17, 2006
Facilitated by Catherine Fichten and Jennison Asuncion
For the past three years, the Adaptech Research Network has been
investigating the accessibility of eLearning (e.g., PowerPoint in the
classroom, online tests) to Canadian college and university students
with visible and invisible disabilities. During this seminar, Jennison
and Catherine will describe the research and share some early findings
from their 409 research participants:
* college and university students with disabilities who have used
eLearning
* professionals who provide disability-related accommodations on
campus
* faculty who have taught a course where they used some form of
eLearning and had at least one student with a disability in that
course, and
* individuals who support/drive eLearning at their institution.

They will also be eager to hear about your experiences teaching using
eLearning with people with disabilities, your successes, and lessons
learned. Wherever possible, they will provide guidance and suggestions,
as well as facilitate the sharing of best practices among participants.

Access the seminar directly:
http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/mod/forum/view.php?id=336
To contribute to discussions and customize your visits to SCoPE you
will need to self-register http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca

SCoPE is an online community hosted by Simon Fraser University.
Discussions are free and open to the public. Please spread the word!

--
Sylvia Currie
SCoPE Community Coordinator
<http://scope.lidc.sfu.ca/>
scu...@sfu.ca (250) 318-2907

...an open, online community for people like you

[disillusionedstudent]

[disillusionedstudent]

The following is a list of software that is free which is helpful for a
person with disabilities.
Mouse switch software free download and instructions . The link to free
download is at bottom of page.
http://www.betterlivingthroughtechnology.com/accessibility/winxp/mouse_swap.htm

Multiweb browser
A web browser that incorporates disability specific technology suitable
for computer users with multiple disabilities. It is designed to be
used without other adaptive software and includes a speech engine, text
enlargement, and scanning for switch devices.
http://www.deakin.edu.au/buslaw/infosys/multiweb/download.htm#UserManual

iZoom A free professional grade screen magnifier and reader from
Issist. http://www.issist.com/

Click and type An on-screen virtual keyboard designed for people unable
to type using a standard computer keyboard. Requires mouse control,
trackball or other pointing device. The software can send keystrokes to
virtually any Windows application or DOS application that can run
within a window. http://www.lakefolks.org/cnt/

Braillesurf is an Internet browser for users with vision impairment,
which allows a simplified reading of the information available on the
Web. BrailleSurf shows this information in a text form. This
information can then be displayed on a braille bar, or it can be spoken
out by a speech synthesiser. The text can also be presented on the
screen for people with low vision, and used to provide a fast review of
the accessibility level of a website for visually impaired people. Note
new users need to click on the complete download link
http://www.snv.jussieu.fr/inova/bs4/uk/telechargement.htm

Aloud4ie is software which reads web pages in ones explorer browser.
http://www.madoogali.com/Aloud4ie/

A helpful aid for teachers and students alike when a person uses sign
language and they want to communicate without an interpretor is this
sign language program which is wonderful. Learn to speak in sign
language, just type in the key you want and a picture view of that
letter will be shown.
http://www.downloadsmachine.co.uk/

As a student with disabilities I have used many programs but these are
the ones that I found user friendly and helpful in the online learning
environment. Many students do not know all the free resources that are
available to them and money for a person with disabilities is often
tight. Thank You for sharing this.
Marlene S.