[nfbcs] Java and JAWS was RE: Questions Regarding Employment and Tools used in the Workplace

Fri Aug 2 01:39:47 UTC 2013

What version of Windows are using, and what version of Java is installed?
Try turning on the JAB switch in the control panel. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike Jolls
Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 5:03 AM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Questions Regarding Employment and Tools used in the
Workplace

Regarding time reporting

I work for a major corporation and we have time reporting software ... and I
believe it's a Java application too.  If I get into that application with my
screen reader on, it's totally useless.  I have to kill the screen reader to
be able to enter my time.  I've submitted requests for them to fix that
problem, but as I see it, the request has fallen on deaf ears.  The screen
reader I use is Jaws.  Even if I try to enter commands to put the Jaws in
data entry mode, that fails with this software (web application).  All I can
do is kill Jaws to regain control of the keyboard so I can enter my time.
Thank God I have vision or else I would be toast.  I believe this problem is
symptomatic of the larger problem in the corporate world that is .... "if
only one person is being affected by this problem, it's not worth the money
and time necessary to fix the problem".  And so, after having reported this
problem a few months ago, the problem still goes on.  But yes, time
reporting is a pain.  As I say, thank God I have vision (and screen
enlarging software ZoomText) or else I'd really be up a creek without a
paddle so to speak.

And here's a side comment to this which you didn't ask for .... may be an
interesting discussion point

My real need, as a low vision person in the corporate world, is to use Jaws
(or perhaps I should say any accessibility software as there could be other
packages that others use) as much as possible since it can read things to me
faster than I can see and read them.  That helps me be more productive than
my natural vision allows me to be.  In certain applications (such as non-web
applications which are windows based applicatios) you can generally use the
screen reader.  After all, the screen reader was initially designed to work
with the desktop windows application.  However with web applications, you
can't always be as successful with the screen reader.  In these situations,
the HTML has to be formatted properly to ensure Jaws (or other screen
readers) can successfully read the content.  This is not always the case ...
the HTML might work and display properly, but it also might not be
completely formatted, and it might be missing elements it needs so that the
screen reader works.  The problem here in the corporate world is that you
can request a change when your screen reader has issues, but the mentality
of managers is that if the change is being made only for accessibility
purposes, and it only benefits one person, managers (in my opinion) weigh
the cost of the change against the benefit.  Since there's no business
function benefit, and it only helps one person (or perhaps a ery small group
of people) the change isn't made.  Thus, as in the case of the time
reporting software, even though I made a request for change the request goes
un-done.  Then you just have to make out the best you can.  And this doesn't
just happen in time reporting software.  What if you're having difficulties
in a development platform?  Answer - you may be toast and you just can't
work in the environment you'd like to.

This all brings up the fact that corporations need to be sensitive to the
needs of accessibility on all platforms.  It hasn't been my experience that
this is the case.

> From: jordyn2493 at gmail.com
> Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 22:28:10 -0500
> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbcs] Questions Regarding Employment and Tools used in the 
> Workplace
> 
> Hello all,
> This summer I had the pleasure of working as an IT intern fixing
accessibility defects on a company's website. This was my first job, and I
just had some quick questions regarding what you've experienced in the
workplace.
> What do you do if a tool used by the company is inaccessible? For example,
the tool we use to enter our hours on our timesheet is completely unusable
by a screen reader. I think it is a Java app or something.
> We also use a tool for code review which highlights code in different
colors and associates the highlighted code somehow with comments made by
reviewers. How would you deal with a situation like this?
> Also, is there a way to accessibly use the web developer tools to read the
HTML for a specific link or web element in IE?
> When you are fixing something like accessibility defects in code, how do
you efficiently go through someone else's code to find the errors when there
are multiple files and a zillion lines of code? I need to find the places
where HTML needs to be added so the screen reader reads content properly.
> I really do appreciate any help and insight you can give me. If these
questions are extremely broad, please let me know. This summer we did paired
programming, so my partner and I figured out things together. However, when
that's not the case,I want to be as efficient, independent, and productive
at my job as I possibly can.
> Thank you,
> Jordyn
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