[nabs-l] Seems we lost an ally

[Chris Nusbaum]

Hi all,

Wow! It does seem that way! A few of us are planning to contact 
Dr.  Maurer about this and to write a letter to Learning Ally 
stating the inaccessibility of their download manager software, 
and explaining how critical it is that they make it accessible.  
We need stories from our fellow students explaining what RFBD has 
done for them and the barriers the inaccessibility of their 
software that would be placed on blind students who need their 
textbooks in an accessible digital format.  Please contact me if 
you are interested.

Perhaps this is also an issue which the Federation should take 
on, which is why I'm contacting Dr.  Maurer.  I would suggest 
that a resolution be written for consideration and passage at 
national convention, but I believe national convention in early 
July would be too late for us to address this issue; I think it 
should be addressed as soon as possible by the students division 
and/or the Federation at large.  If you have any thoughts or are 
interested in helping us by writing a story for the letter we 
will write to RFBD, please contact me.
Thanks,

Chris

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The 
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that 
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and 
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical 
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan (President, National Federation of the Blind, 
1968-1986

 The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps blind and visually impaired youth 
in Maryland say "I can," by empowering them through providing 
assistive technology and scholarships to camps and conventions 
which help them be equal with their sighted peers.  For more 
information about the Foundation and to support our work, visit 
us online at www.icanfoundation.info!

----- Original Message -----
From: Antonio Guimaraes <freethaught at gmail.com
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:35:04 -0500
Subject: [nabs-l] Seems we lost an ally

Dear NABS members,

It is more than obvious to me that the new Learning Ally download
features fall short of offering blind screen reader users the 
services
we've come to know in previous years.

Today I experienced at least an hour of frustrations trying to 
use their
new and improved program for downloads.  I have listened to their 
You
Tube video explaining the process, and then reached out to people 
like
you for some feedback.

There are several reports that blind readers can not use Learning 
Ally's
download features.

I am not a happy scholar.  I am writing to find out if you too 
have come
up against issues with the download service.

The NABS division and its membership should not accept lack of 
access
from an organization that has long been at the forefront in 
providing
access to recorded texts for blind users.

Your experience will only help confirm some of the reported 
issues, and
hopefully result in rectifying what must certainly be an 
oversight on
Learning Ally's part.

Sincerely,

Antonio Guimaraes




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