[nfbcs] Future goals for the division

[Cricket Bidleman]

Also willing. Let me know how I can help!

On 7/20/16, Bryan Duarte via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Jim,
>
> I am willing and think it is a great idea!
>
> Go Devils!
>
> Bryan Duarte software engineer
> ASU Computer Science Ph.D candidate
> QwikEyes CEO http://www.qwikeyes.com/ <http://www.qwikeyes.com/>
>
> “let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, all things are passing
> away: God never changes. patience obtains all things. whoever has God lacks
> nothing; God alone suffices.”
> -- St. Teresa of Avila
>
>> On Jul 20, 2016, at 10:07 AM, Jim Barbour via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> I think Debee has a great idea.  I actually think it's a very good
>> application for a wiki.
>>
>> One person won't know everything about what is accessible and what isn't,
>> even in the developer and IT focused worlds.
>>
>> If we agree, I'd be happy to work with Curtis W on setting up a wiki and
>> start populating it.  I'd like to hear from folks that we think this is
>> worth collaborating on.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 20, 2016 at 04:54:45PM +0000, Deborah Armstrong via nfbcs
>> wrote:
>>>> I'm interested in hearing from folks on this list about things they'd
>>>> like to see the NFB in Computer Science do in the future
>>> I'm changing the subject line so people won't skip over it.
>>>
>>> I think one of the most crucial things is to put together an online
>>> paper, that is updated regularly, that spells out what one needs to know
>>> to get started in any computer science related field. This would be
>>> different from what sighted people need to know; it would focus on which
>>> current tools are accessible, which aren't, and include the resources
>>> such as books or online training that were discussed over in the other
>>> thread.
>>>
>>> I work at a college, and I know new blind students get stymied by the
>>> simplest things because they lack experience and so do their sighted
>>> helpers. For example, I heard of a student who dropped a Linux class
>>> which was all command-line based, because the rest of the class was using
>>> telnet built in to Windows to log in to the class server. Not sure why
>>> they used anything this insecure, but I wasn't administering that system
>>> and heard about it third-hand. And JAWS was not accurately reading what
>>> appeared onscreen, nor was it tracking the cursor when the student tried
>>> to use Emacs. As a Linux-head I had to laugh a bit about the ignorance
>>> that lead the student and his professor to conclude the coursework was
>>> inaccessible, but it's not a laughing matter, when a beginner doesn't
>>> know where to turn.
>>>
>>> The document could have sections: What you need to know to Learn C++" or
>>> "What you need to know in your first Visual Basic Class" etc.
>>>
>>> I also think we need to nail down and possibly explain the reasons behind
>>> the inaccessibility of many current tools. For example, if the QT4
>>> library is used in creating interfaces, screen readers only partially
>>> identify or even recognize the existence of controls. If in learning SQL
>>> the difference between inner joins and outer joins is explained through
>>> the use of diagrams only, then it's not going to make sense to any blind
>>> student. That caused me, an experience programmer to drop a course just
>>> last year. I would have loved to be able to find a paper that outlined
>>> where I could go to locate a book that explained these concepts in plain
>>> English.
>>>
>>> Another thought about UML: wild idea here, but how about digital tactile
>>> diagrams of the symbols that could be embossed? I know different
>>> embossers have different codes for doing graphics, but someone who knows
>>> more about this than I could perhaps take the lead here. A student could
>>> simply emboss the shapes, or get their school to do it, and then using
>>> post-it note glue which comes in sticks, post their charts on a classroom
>>> wall, doing homework along with a sighted class.
>>>
>>> One way in which I can contribute is writing, and I'd be happy to take
>>> the lead on that part.
>>>
>>> --Debee
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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