[nabs-l] Accessibility work arounds for Google Docs, When is Good, etc.

Bill K. Dengler codeofdusk at gmail.com
Sun Aug 24 22:58:08 UTC 2014 

>From http://chromevox.com : 
"ChromeVox is a screen reader for Chrome which brings the speed, versatility, and security of Chrome to visually impaired users."

Bill

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ashley Bramlett via nabs-l
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2014 6:55 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Accessibility work arounds for Google Docs, When is Good, etc.

hi,
so what's chromevox? if it’s a screen reader just for google, I agree.

Google needs to get on the accessibility bandwagon.

-----Original Message-----
From: Littlefield, Tyler via nabs-l
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2014 11:54 PM
To: Bill K. Dengler ; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Accessibility work arounds for Google Docs, When is Good, etc.

chromevox is far from intuitive. I also am not really thrilled about the idea of a self-voicing shell on top of a web browser to make sites that should already be accessible more accessible. Jaws 14 is much better with this since Google has been all over aria lately, I hear jaws 15 has better a11y support as well, but I've not tried it as of yet.
On 8/21/2014 11:40 PM, Bill K. Dengler via nabs-l wrote:
> What about Google Chrome/Chrome vox? I've always been able to access 
> Google Docs/Sheets/Slides that way.
>
> Bill
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti 
> Shelton via nabs-l
> Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2014 10:05 PM
> To: Katie Wang; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Accessibility work arounds for Google Docs, When 
> is Good, etc.
>
> Hi all,
>
> Thanks for the suggestions, and I'll particularly check out the 
> article Katie Wang just posted for ideas.
>
> I think most of the time we use the spreadsheet feature on Google 
> apps.  I tried to use this last year, along with the accessibility 
> tips in Google help files, and had significant problems with it.  It 
> was much easier to use Windows magnifier to read the screen visually, 
> which in itself didn't make the task very easy and strained my eyes 
> after a few minutes.  We also use the calendar, and this has worked a 
> little better for me once I manage to get the events to display in 
> list format rather than in calendar view.
> using Jaws 13 I had issues getting to the button to make this view 
> change, but I have always used IE, which could have been the issue there.
>
> Like I said, google forms for surveys, and of course gmail, have 
> worked fine for me.  I can't really use the dropbox idea, which is 
> unfortunate because as easy as it would make life for me, it wouldn't 
> be easy for the file to be continuously updated by various chapter 
> members, and I would also be subject to missing information due to not 
> having access to those updates if the person in charge of updating the 
> dropbox file forgot.  Like I said the 20 something other girls in the 
> chapter already have their system, so we're trying to find ways to 
> make it accessible for me with the existing platforms we have rather 
> than to change platforms entirely for the chapter.  I would love to 
> use dropbox though rather than Google drive, and will probably see if 
> it can be managed for a committee, or projects I may undertake with a 
> small group of people.
>
> When is Good is still going to be problematic.  Does anyone know of 
> work arounds for that?  I've been sending my schedule and availability 
> to people who send out the surveys, but I always feel a little awkward 
> about it because I know sometimes there is other information listed in 
> the survey that I am not privy to.  E.G, only certain meeting times 
> will be shown as possible options, or the survey creator will put a 
> note in the survey for people to read that I miss out on.  I'll keep 
> sending my availability via email if I have to, but if anyone has 
> happened to find a way to make When is Good work, or has found a 
> comparable service that is accessible I can tell my chapter about, I 
> would really appreciate it.
>
> On 8/21/14, Katie Wang via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Kaiti,
>>
>> I recently came across the following blog post about the 
>> accessibility of Google apps. According to the author (and a number 
>> of other blind people I know), most features of Google apps are 
>> actually now relatively accessible. I haven't personally had a chance 
>> to test out the tips/suggestions mentioned here but hope you will 
>> find them helpful. Good luck!
>> http://www.marcozehe.de/2014/07/08/accessibility-in-google-apps-an-ov
>> e
>> rview/
>>
>> Best,
>> Katie
>>
>>
>> On 8/21/14, minh ha via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> Kaiti,
>>>
>>> Can you give a little bit more information about which features of 
>>> google drive you are having problems with? I've been figuring out 
>>> the functions of google drive bit by bit and have found that 
>>> although a little challenging at times, most of the apps are 
>>> accessible. From my experience, firefox seems to work best with the 
>>> suite of apps; I'm using Jaws 13 but have also used it with Jaws 14.
>>>
>>> Minh
>>>
>>> On 8/21/14, Sofia Gallo via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> Hi Kaity
>>>>
>>>> This isn't a work around, but what about dropbox? I use Exel 
>>>> worksheets with the desktop app?
>>>>
>>>> Sofia
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>>> On Aug 21, 2014, at 2:22 PM, Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l 
>>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi NABS,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm in a fraternity which relies heavily on Google Apps to 
>>>>> organize events, set up calendars for the chapter, make sign up 
>>>>> sheets for bake sales and other table activities, etc.  We also 
>>>>> frequently use the site When is Good to find times for committee 
>>>>> meetings and other small groups to get together to work on 
>>>>> projects.  As you all know, this creates an accessibility 
>>>>> nightmare for me, since I can't access any of the information 
>>>>> easily.  While I didn't have much success in working with last 
>>>>> year's exec board to work around these issues, the president for 
>>>>> this year and I have met and discussed these problems.  Though she 
>>>>> has no prior experience with these issues and is just another 
>>>>> student, she is willing to help me look into other options which 
>>>>> might make it easier for me to have access to the chapter 
>>>>> information.  She has expressed interest in reaching out to the 
>>>>> Office of Learning Resources where our disability staff works, and 
>>>>> seems to be making a good effort, for which I am really
> appreciative.
>>>>> However, the president and I agreed that one of the issues we 
>>>>> might face if alternative ways of accessing the existing systems 
>>>>> aren't available to me, might be getting the chapter to make changes.
>>>>> Last year the big issue was, "We've been using google docs for 
>>>>> years, and that's the system we've already set up, so just do the 
>>>>> best you can with it."  I had a job in the fraternity which 
>>>>> required me to use a Google Docs spreadsheet to monitor sign ups 
>>>>> for events, and it was very difficult for me to give back to the 
>>>>> fraternity to the best of my ability because of that technical 
>>>>> problem and the accessibility issues.  The president knows I am 
>>>>> completely capable of being a valuable asset to the fraternity, 
>>>>> and that if given the proper access to the tools we use I could do 
>>>>> a fine job of organizing and/or leading projects alongside my sisters.
>>>>>
>>>>> Though I will be living in the house with her and several other 
>>>>> exec board members this year, I do not want to have to rely upon 
>>>>> them to complete when is good forms and to check the calendar.  I 
>>>>> think that I could use my living situation to closely work with 
>>>>> these board members to educate them about the accessibility issues 
>>>>> I have with Google and to work for a positive solution to the 
>>>>> problem.  I am asking if anyone on this list has found work 
>>>>> arounds for using Google docs and When is Good forms in these situations.
>>>>> So far the only thing I've managed to work out is the google forms 
>>>>> app we use to take surveys for the chapter, but not having access 
>>>>> to things like sign up sheets and the calendar are really big 
>>>>> problems I hope to solve this year.  Any suggestions would be great.
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Kaiti
>>>>>
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>>> --
>>> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the 
>>> dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was
> vanity:
>>> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on 
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>
> --
> Kaiti
>
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--
Take care,
Ty
http://tds-solutions.net
He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave.


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