[NJTechDiv] List of Resources: Links and Explanations

[Jane Degenshein]

Andy
Again, you were great and I will rely on you for assistance during our 
upcoming tech div monthly meetings
I noticed the only list we needed to add was the tech div list
woo hoo
Hugs

From: Andy
Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2020 2:46 PM
To: New Jersey Technology Division List ; Jane Degenshein ; joe ruffalo ; 
Linda Melendez
Subject: List of Resources: Links and Explanations

Hi all!  Below, I feature a list of resources.  Joe or Linda, if you could 
forward this to the distribution list, I'd greatly appreciate it.  We had a 
great convention!  I look forward to next year.

On Thursday, 19 November, I gave a presentation on a list of resources that 
are useful for all things technology.  Below you will find links and 
explanations to these resources.  This list includes email lists, websites, 
and podcasts.

Email Lists

There are many vibrant, active email lists/communities that are useful for 
assistive technology.  The PhonesForTheBlind group discusses all things 
phone-related.  This group discusses smartphones, useful apps, and phone 
accessibility.

Similarly, the VIPhone group also focuses on these topics.  Note that this 
list in particular receives a great deal of traffic.  People ask and answer 
questions about iOS devices, Android devices, and apps for both platforms. 
Feature phones occasionally also get discussed here.

Android users in particular might be interested in the Eyes-free Programming 
and development group.  It's focused on Android developers wanting to make 
apps accessible is sometimes gets technical, but Google also posts 
announcements to this list.

The NFBNet network of email lists offers several technology-related lists. 
Among these is Electronics Talk, which mainly focuses on home appliances and 
"Internet of things" devices, such as smart microwaves, ovens, speakers, 
etc.  People post questions, comments, and accessibility issues/impressions 
concerning these types of devices.

NFBNet also offers an email list called NFBCS, which focuses on computer 
science and computer programming-related topics.  List subscribers post 
questions and comments about programming languages, accessibility of code 
editors, etc.

NFBNet also offers NFB-Science, which focuses on science and engineering. 
Discussions focus on accessibility and education of all things science. 
During this convention, we had a presentation from Independence Science; 
their products have been brought up before.

The NFB's structured discovery method produces very positive results in all 
areas of blindness skills training.  For assistive technology trainers 
looking to implement this method of instruction, you might want to look into 
NFBNet's Trainer-Talk email list.  Instructors ask questions and generally 
communicate with each other about how they implement and instruct assistive 
technology topics.  It's a valuable resource for instructors.

For anyone wishing to buy and sell items, you should check out the BlindAds 
group.  List subscribers post items that they are wishing to sell.  Products 
posted include Braille displays, note-taking devices, and many others.  Note 
that, although this list is focused on blindness-specific items, people also 
post Braille books, games, and other devices.

For anyone using a Mac, you might be interested in the Mac4TheBlind email 
list.  Questions about VoiceOver, Zoom, and other Mac accessibility features 
get asked and answered by a knowledgeable user base of blind Mac users.

If you're interested in gaming, the BlindGamers list is worth subscribing 
to.  Audio games and video games get discussed for all platforms.  If you 
have questions, comments, tips, tricks, cheats, etc about gaming, then this 
is the place to go.

For general Windows 10 questions, the Win10 email list is a great community. 
A knowledgeable group of Windows users can answer all questions about 
Windows 10, regardless of the screen reader you're using.

To wrap up the section on email lists, check out the Tech Talk group.  This 
is useful for general technology questions.

Websites

There are a ton of active websites that are useful for assistive technology 
users.  Some of these contain information, others are updated very 
frequently.

The AppleVis website is very useful for everything Apple and blindness. 
Whether you have an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Watch, there is 
valuable information here.  The editors post articles about mainstream Apple 
topics, but users of the site can ask questions, post their accessibility 
impressions of apps, and much more.

Similarly, Inclusive Android is a similar resource for Android users.

There is a terrific magazine called AccessWorld.  Here, articles are posted 
about all things assistive technology.  Reviews of hardware, software and 
accessibility are popular topics.

Hadley is a fantastic resource for blindness skills learning.  Their 
assistive technology courses are top-notch, and go into great detail about 
Office, Android, iOS, and many other topics.  Similarly, they also offer 
podcasts and other resources.

If you're looking for reviews and technology news, Cool Blind Tech is a 
great place to go.  They interview people about assistive technology, post 
detailed product reviews, and have lengthy discussions about assistive 
technology.

Another resource worth looking at is BlindBargains.  Operated by the ATGuys, 
they post detailed articles about technology, deals, and other items of 
interest to the blind community.  BlindBargains also maintains a very 
informative podcast.  ATGuys is a small business offering assistive 
technology at great prices.  They sell the Orbit Writer, the Orbit Reader, 
various types of headphones, USB hubs, and other awesome products.

Another small business offering electronics at great prices is Talking MP3 
Players (also known as Accessible Electronics).  Their focus is on 
easy-to-use electronics.  They offer the Victor Stream, talking tablets, 
headsets, speakers, and other items.

A website known as Live Accessible maintains many articles of usefulness to 
blind people.  They have a list of resources, and short explanations on how 
to use built-in Windows accessibility features.

A small business from the UK, known as Hartgen Consultancy, offers many 
training courses and JAWS scripts for sale.  Brian Hartgen is the maintainer 
of Leasey, J-Say, and J-Dictate.  He also maintains scripts for Zoom.  If 
you're looking for JAWS training, Brian might be worth a look.

To round out this section, I want to bring to your attention a great 
resource to Mac users known as Maccessibility.  Maintained by expert blind 
Mac users, they post lengthy, detailed articles on how to use Mac functions. 
If you're a Mac user, you'll find this very useful.


Podcasts

I want to bring to your attention some great podcasts about both assistive 
and mainstream technology.  Podcasts are usually delivered as audio (though 
they can be video), and are updated regularly.  Content is automatically 
delivered to you.  You need a podcast client such as Apple Podcasts, 
Downcast, Overcast, Juice, or Winamp to get episodes delivered to you.  The 
Victor Stream Second Generation and the Victor Trek can also do this.  It's 
possible to manually check for episodes if you aren't interested in using a 
podcast client.

A podcast known as Blind Tech Guys mainly focuses on mobile phone topics. 
Nimer Jaber, Warren Carr, and Marco Curralejo discuss Android and 
iOS-related assistive technology news, apps, and accessibility.

ACB Radio maintains a podcast called Main Menu.  Started in 1999, it's a 
monthly podcast about technology from a blindness perspective. 
Highly-regarded, this podcast is a must-listen to if you're interested in 
blindness.  This past month, for example, they talked all about the new 
features of JAWS 2021.

Jonathan Mosen was the founder of ACB Radio.  He then went onto work at 
HumanWare and Freedom Scientific.  He's now the CEO of Workbridge, an 
organization in New Zealand.  He operates a weekly podcast called Mosen At 
Large.  Because he worked in assistive technology for so long, the podcast 
is skewed towards technology, but that's by no means the only topic focus 
on.  Recent episodes have featured guide dogs, the 2020 Election, voting 
systems, a review of the MANTIS Q40 Braille display, and smart canes.

Blind Abilities offers a podcast called TechAbilities.  Though it's only 
updated occasionally, it can be useful for iOS users.

Freedom Scientific offers FSCast, a podcast focusing exclusively on their 
products.  They talk about tips on effectively using JAWS, webinars, 
interviews, and demonstrations.

To round this out, I want to mention TWiT.  TWiT is a network of mainstream 
podcasts that doesn't focus at all on assistive technology; rather, they 
focus on everything mainstream.  They offer a podcast on computer security, 
they have podcasts on Android, Mac, iPads, iPhones, Macs, Windows, and many 
other topics.

I hope you find these resources useful.  There's a lot of great info here, 
so check out these valuable resources and learn! 
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