[BlindRUG] VS Code setup for screen readers

[Jonathan Godfrey]

Hello Esteban,

I welcome your question about using VS Code, especially because  it is more accessible than RStudio. I hope the experts will step up with the corresponding advice for its use.

As an educator with a busy, sometimes frantic, workload, I am loathed to make a significant change like dropping RStudio for any alternative. I might welcome alternatives if and when students want/need one though. I’ve generally kept away from having to support multiple cohorts within the same course, except in a planned transition year. I also operate in a collaborative teaching group and making a change is not just about what I want to make happen; some colleagues over the years have been quite backward with respect to modernising their teaching methods and materials.

One key aspect for using RStudio in my teaching, even though I can’t use it myself, is that the product has remained relatively stable in recent years. I seldom need to alter any descriptions of processes etc. within the course material. Another is that I have zero setup concerns once the student has installed the basic software. This has reduced my headaches from bearable to almost non-existent. Dropping this near-optimal scenario for an unknown is somewhat counter-intuitive to my general philosophy.

When/if the way people work in VS Code is as mature as it is in RStudio, including how well blind people and non-Computer Science students can fare, I’ll expect a major migration and welcome it. In the meantime, I support the vast majority of the student body in as simple a fashion as I can manage, leaving me more time to help the extraordinary cases.

So, what makes an improved course and materials for successful inclusion? I’ll be announcing changes to my WriteR app sometime soon, which supports screen reader users; it could be used for students not so happy in RStudio too. The long term strategy for my teaching is to ensure that as much of my material is totally accessible. Everything except for an assignment (legacy process) is made in HTML via R markdown.

I would probably give serious consideration to using Quarto documents instead of R markdown if I was starting a new course and had the cooperation of my colleagues. Knowing this is coming means I am going to have to make sure I have an accessible environment for editing and processing my Quarto documents. Perhaps VS Code will be that environment.

All the best,
Jonathan









From: BlindRUG <blindrug-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Esteban Montenegro via BlindRUG
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 5:54 AM
To: blindrug at nfbnet.org
Cc: Esteban Montenegro <estebanmonte at gmail.com>
Subject: [BlindRUG] VS Code setup for screen readers

Greetings list members,

I'm Esteban, I'm a faculty member at California State University, Stanislaus. Currently, I'm preparing materials to make my lectures and teaching method more accessible for screen readers. I teach statistics using R and RStudio, but I know RStudio is not friendly with screen readers.

As an alternative, I've been thinking to use VS Code to teach R, does any person in this list have attempted to use VS Code for teaching R? Do you use VS Code with screen readers? If so, would you share with me your setup and possible add-ons for VS Code?

Finally, any recommendations on how to teach R and screen readers are always welcomed!

Have a great week!

-------------

Esteban Montenegro-Montenegro, PhD.
Assistant Professor
Psychology and Child Development
California State University, Stanislaus
Stockton Campus
612 E Magnolia St, Stockton, CA 95202
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindrug_nfbnet.org/attachments/20240916/360a7b1b/attachment.htm>