[nfbcs] Future goals for the division

Kevin Fjelsted kfjelsted at gmail.com
Wed Jul 20 19:49:24 UTC 2016 

I would recommend Wordpress. It will be easier for a broader development community to 
participate.
My group  has  taken a number of web sites and simplified the development environment by using Wordpress. One would not be able to tell that a site is even using WordPress.

I give as an example http://alticomcti.com/ <http://alticomcti.com/>

-Kevin

> On Jul 20, 2016, at 2:38 PM, Andy B. via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> We must decide on some sort of CMS. Drupal or Wordpress?
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kevin Fjelsted
> via nfbcs
> Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 2:01 PM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Kevin Fjelsted <kfjelsted at gmail.com>; Jim Barbour <jbar at barcore.com>
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Future goals for the division
> 
> There is need for a web site architecture that not only supports wiki but
> static structures as well such as blog postings, podcasts or other
> audio/video  resources   an an overall link map and search structure. If we
> also link to publication sites such as Bookshare  or another type of
> repository such as Git for program code it would be useful to come up with a
> web design that supports   access from one nFBCS domain so that information
> is easy to fine, and that domain can be a hub for NFBCS.
> 
> The hosting facility should be robust enough to support these functions. 
> Also, creation of the web site should permit testing areas where new persons
> such as students or other CSCI folks can contribute. Half of the value in
> creating a web site is the collaborative experience that can be gained by
> permitting a number of folks who wish to construct portions of the site to
> participate.
> -Kevin
> 
>> On Jul 20, 2016, at 12:19 PM, Kathryn Webster via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
> wrote:
>> 
>> Debee and all,
>> 
>> 	I would be exceedingly interested in contributing to this. I'd like 
>> to echo Jim's suggestion of a wiki as that would be easy to maintain, 
>> edit, and expand.
>> In terms of publicity, I'm eager to take the lead on marketing any new 
>> intiatives to help blind students through our master database and website.
>> Collaboration amongst divisions is a significant goal of mine, and I 
>> see the CS Division as an ideal place to continue that effort. Our 
>> student division leaders, particularly Bryan Duarte and myself, are 
>> both very in touch with CS and student issues, so there is some place for
> us to start.
>> If our CS Division leadership chooses to move forward with this idea, 
>> count me in on all accounts. I am more than happy to help with 
>> whatever is necessary in kickstarting this effort.
>> 
>> What a fabulous idea!
>> 
>> Best,
>> Kathryn
>> 
>> Kathryn Webster
>> President | National Association of Blind Students
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jim Barbour 
>> via nfbcs
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 1:07 PM
>> To: Deborah Armstrong via nfbcs
>> Cc: Jim Barbour
>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Future goals for the division
>> 
>> 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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