Voice of the Nation's Blind Blog

Is Goodwill Tricking or Treating its Contributors?

Since its inception in 1936, the federal Randolph-Sheppard program has become the most effective government employment program for the blind. Today some one thousand blind entrepreneurs operate businesses on federal property throughout the United States, ranging from full-service restaurants and cafeterias to vending machine stocking and maintenance operations.

At Desire2Learn, we really want to make it so that your focus is on taking your classes and learning the material you're in school for, not having to figure out how in the heck you're supposed to use the thing that's standing between you and those materials. So, we've tried to make navigating our stuff as consistent as we can.

Today, with the right resources and in the right circumstances, it is possible for a Braille reader to purchase a book the same day it is released by the publisher, at the same price paid by the print reader, and read it immediately on a mobile device in reasonably good quality Braille.

At Desire2Learn, we care about the user experience of all users, no matter how they are accessing our system. But we know that even when we try to make things as intuitive as we possibly can, there are going to be places along the way that make people raise their eyebrows in confusion. One of them is the WYSIWYG editor.

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (http://www.loc.gov/nls/ ) has provided accessible materials to blind (and otherwise print-disabled) patrons for more than 80 years.  In keeping with trends of technology and the needs of its patrons, it has created and provided these materials in a number of formats over the years.

GW Micro released public beta versions of Window-Eyes version 6.1 beginning on January 30, 2006 which was also the general release of Microsoft Windows Vista.  This is the first time in computer history when an MS Windows-based screen reader was available on the same day as a new operating system.  The final release of version 6.1 will follow shortly, but this serie

Most would agree that computers are not inherently user-friendly. Many find using a computer to be painful, while others find daily computer use requires significant effort. These pains and strains of computer use are even more pronounced when the user is dealing with low vision or blindness. 

EasyReader 201 - Playing your bookWhen the material is opened the playback will start automatically as default. If the material contains audio it will play but if it comes without pre-recorded audio, the text will be played by a speech synthesiser.To start and stop playback, use the Start/Stop button or press Spacebar.

TIP #1: Using Microsoft Word with EasyConverterApplying a heading style