A Unique Resource For the Blind of the World

The National Federation of the Blind says it best when they call the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind a “unique resource for the blind of the world.” This center, located at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland reviews technology, both products created specifically for the blind and products created for the mainstream market but which is accessible in one form or another, sometimes completely accessible, either through intentional universal design or by chance (such as the iPod Shuffle, a media mp3 player that is accessible because it has no screen, though the design was intended for people who are doing active exercise and cannot pause to look at a screen. The latest version of the iPod Shuffle, the iPod Shuffle 8.0 is even more accessible, as it has a Voiceover that tells the user the title and author of the song and has a folder feature.)

The staff at the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind evaluates, demonstrate, and train people in the use of the products they have. If you are able to visit the center, as I did on May 17, they can demonstrate the products in person. While there, I learned about various note takers, testing weights and ease of use. Because of my quickness to fatigue and pain, a note taker that is easy on my body and not too heavy is very important for me. However, I had very little access to the variety of note takers that are available on the market today. Before visiting the technology center, I had only seen three: the BraillePlus, the PacMate, and the BrailleNote, and had not had the chance to test any of them, as they are essential parts of the owners’ lives. So, when I was given the opportunity to visit the National Center for the Blind with a group from my state, I was overjoyed, knowing I would get to see many different note takers and test them. I was in for a surprise!

The technology center tries to have one of every product available that is accessible to the blind in some fashion….that includes two long tables full of note takers and similar electronic interfaces, dozens of ways to print, type, and read Braille, and hundreds of products for reading, writing, and daily living. I had limited time, so I concentrated my time on the note takers there, and had no chance to see the rest.

However, I still have the chance to learn about the other products, as do the millions of blind people who cannot go to the center in person because of distance, finances, or any other reason. The staff can also consult with blind people, professionals, or family members via phone. Some of the questions they get asked often, according to the NFB’s website include:

What do I need to get a blind person on-line and connected to the Internet?
How can I make my website accessible to the blind?
What electronic note taker is “best” for a person who is blind?

The website says they welcome questions, and the staff I spoke to in person was very welcoming and friendly, as well as knowledgeable and helpful. The Center is located at 200 East Wells Street at the Jernigan Place in Baltimore, Maryland. Their phone number is (410) 659-9314, x5. Further, they can be reached via fax at (410) 685-565, or via e-mail at access@nfb.org. For more information about the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, visit the NFB's site for the Center.

YeoSoft Text to Speech Recorder

Ever wanted a quick and easy way to record what you typed up, whether it’s a grocery or shopping list, notes you took while doing a phone interview, or notes you typed while listening to a book, movie, or speech? It takes forever if you hold your recorder up to the speaker, and the sound is not great. Using a text to speech recorder is a much better way of converting your text files to MP3 files. I found quite a few on the Internet Archives, and tested most of them, but only one was easy to use with a screenreader, and allowed me access to all of the program’s features. Some of them were hard to figure out, and a few of them did not have full access via screenreader.

Yeosoft Text-to-MP3 , which can be downloaded as a free trial,> appears to be fully accessible with the JAWS screenreader. A friend noted that it is very difficult with NVDA, however. Please comment and let me know how it works with other screenreaders (WindowEyes, ScreenAccess, etc.)

Blind Mice Mart's Movie Vault
www.blindmicemart.com

Are you tired of asking your friends to describe scenes when you get together to watch a movie? Do you want more DVS (Descriptive Video Services)? Check out Blind Mice Mart's movie vault for thousands of recorded DVS movies in mp3 format! There is a wide variety of movies, from black-and-white oldies to modern favourites like Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series (six of seven). Best of all, the movies are free. The only downside is for people with some usuable vision; because the movies are in MP3 format, they are audio only. Therefore, there is no visual. This has not been a problem for me (I'm unable to see what's on the screen anyway), my friend who has some residual vision (he has 20/200 vision), or my sighted friends who "watch" these movies with me. Because it has DVS, which describes all the important visual actions (such as someone gesturing instead of speaking), seeing the movie is not necessary for enjoyment. In fact, a few of my sighted friends have told me that they prefer these DVS movies because it lets them use their imagination more. I think of them as half way between an audio book and actually being there.


Go to the Blind Mice Mart website at www.blindmicemart.com, go down to the heading that says “Blind Mice Movie Vault,” click on that, and you'll go to the movie vault page in a seperate window. It is seperated into headings that are easily navigated by screenreader users. The actual download part takes a little getting used to, though, because of all the advertisements in the download page.

On the Movie Vault page, the next from last Heading gives basic instructions for downloading. I do one thing different, and that is that when I get to the Sendspace popup window after pressing “Regular Download,” I press the N key (for non-link text) until I hear “Note” and arrow up. There is a blank line, then a graphic, another blank line, and the next line is the download link. I find this faster than tabbing up from the bottom.

Another Note: Some of the movies are categorized differently. For example, while Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is under the C Heading, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is under the T heading (for The). So, if you don’t find the movie you are looking for at first, try it under alternate alphabet headings. So, you might look under the S heading for “The Sixth Sense,” but it’s under the T heading for “The,” and while some of the Agatha Christi movies are under A for “Agatha,” some are under the actual name of the movie (for example, the Number heading for “13 for Dinner”)

If you have any trouble with the DVS movie vault, let me know, and I’ll see if I can help! Enjoy your movies and being able to talk to your friends about the movies you watched and could actually understand.

Look for future posts in this blog about:
The National Library Services’ DVS services
Movie Theatres that have DVS
Organizations’ work toward access to DVS for theatres, DVDs, and television programs

When these posts are added, I will make the above into links.