[nfbcs] Future goals for the division

[Mike Freeman]

Worth a try!

Mike Freeman


-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jim Barbour via
nfbcs
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 10:07 AM
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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