[Pibe-division] DropBox Update

Wed Nov 14 15:42:03 UTC 2012

Thanks for these insights, Dr. V. I am saddened and frustrated that the 
BrailleNote Apex cannot open docx files. To my mind, this is completely 
unacceptable. Not sure though why Vejas’s BN won’t open doc files. One 
thing to note when opening doc files on the iPhone is that the 
paragraphing is often wonky. The text is there, but again, it is 
sometimes broken into distinctive paragraphs in unintended ways.

With apps such as DropVox (an app that allows for recording and direct 
upload of said recorded m4a file into a DropVox folder under DropBox, 
as well as an app called Downloads), the iPhone can be used to upload 
content to DropBox. I’m sure there are other apps for either creating 
or procuring content using an iPhone and then parsing it to DropBox, 
but DropVox and Downloads are the two with which I am familiar.

As I said before, using the dropbox.com site can be frustrating with 
JAWS. It is doable, but again, there are challenges—especially when 
inviting others to share a DropBox folder. I’ve done it, and will 
doubtless do so again, but one has to learn the process, which your 
dynamite son could of course achieve.

Like everything in life, this is not a perfect solution, but it is 
relatively painless and allows for considerable flexibility. Thanks for 
the update. I look forward to more to come!

EG

-----Original Message-----
From: DrV <pumpkinracer at gmail.com>
To: Professionals in Blindness Education Division List 
<pibe-division at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wed, Nov 14, 2012 1:03 am
Subject: [Pibe-division] DropBox Update

Hi All,This is an update on a prior DropBox inquiry post.Like Eric G, I 
love DropBox, but BrailleNote access is verydifferent than 
laptop/i-device access. Our son, Vejas, now a high 
schoolsophomore, started using DropBox this year, primarily forSpanish 
class. The following is a blend of our combinedexperiences. The 4 most 
important points are that:
1) First your student needs to 
createa DropBox account & load the folder on their laptop or 
personalcomputer. For Spanish Vejas has access to 2 subfolders, 1 to 
his Spanishclass’s general DropBox folder & to a separate personal 
folderhis Spanish teacher set up for him. The website the class uses 
for Spanishpractice is only marginally accessible, so the teacher will 
put modifiedassignments in Vejas’s personal folder. 2) Secondly, for 
Vejas to be able to “see” the 2Spanish folders, the teacher had to 
first created them on his computer, thensend Vejas a DropBox folder 
invite – a link – important point - thelink can’t be accessed on used 
via the BrailleNote, rather he had to activateit on his laptop from 
which he was prompted to download each subfolder into hismain 
laptop DropBox folder. Once he did that, he could then see theSpanish 
Folders & their content on his BrailleNote (& on his iPhone). 3) Third, 
he has found that sometimes it is hard tolog in right 
 from www.dropbox.com, and he says you need to click on a 
DropBox linkwhich then prompts you to log in. 4) Lastly, he has found 
that he files that workbest with DropBox are  “.doc” (NOT “.docx”) and  
“.txt”files; all you have to do is click on them to read them.  For 
some quirkyreason, even with the latest version of Keysoft, PDF's and 
brf's do not workvia DropBox. The end result is that now during class, 
or at homehe can use the Apex’s wireless to access 
either DropBox folder. Atthis point, it is a one-way street however – 
you can download, but not uploadvia a BrailleNote (I believe the same 
is true of i-devices at this time – ifthat is not the case please let 
me know!) An additional consideration: Vejas just got aniPhone (it’s a 
lot more portable than an iPad, & he can't see anything, sohe doesn’t 
benefit from the extra real estate of an iPad). Iset DropBox up on his 
phone. He knows how to access the iPhone withBluetooth using his Apex 
as a braille terminal. He hasn’t actually used itwith DropBox yet, but 
I have played around with it. You can open atext doc from DropBox on 
the iPhone & then export it & openit in Pages, then edit in Pages, then 
once you are done with it you can emailit to yourself or the teacher. 
There are 3 email options: Pages, WORD, or PDF.If your student emails 
the assignment to the teacher, it obviously best to doin the format 
they prefer. If the student is emailing to his/herself to withthe 
desire to then be able to access on the BrailleNote, he/she should 
emailthe file as a PDF because the Apex can read that, whereas it can 
not read a Pagesor WORD document (in the latter case it is a “.doc”, 
but for some strangereason, the Apex cant read it). If the student 
needs to be able to manipulatethe info on the PDF file they can open it 
& insert the text into a Keywordfile & he/she should be able to take it 
 from there. That’s about summarizes what I can share about thisat this 
point.If anyone else has additional insights or tips,please share.Best 
wishes,EricV
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On Mon, Sep 24, 2012 at 6:55 PM, Eric Guillory 
<ericguillory at aol.com> wrote:
i love Dropbox, but it is definitely easier to use as an installed 
application, at least in the Windows environment, than it is using JAWS 
and going to the website itself. The iPhone app is also marvelous, and 
I have had no difficulties with it. Have never tried with a 
BrailleNote, but imagine that there may be some challenges with it if 
it involves Visiting dropbox.com. Please keep us posted on this ongoing 
issue. I know others will benefit from your research and findings.

Eric G

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 24, 2012, at 8:04 PM, Marianne Denning 
<marianne at denningweb.com> wrote:

> I have a student who used her brown note and dropbox during her 
junior and senior years of high school.
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Sep 24, 2012, at 8:37 PM, DrV <pumpkinracer at gmail.com> 
wrote:
>
>> My son's high school is using DropBox for some of his classes.
>> Has anyone had success using DropBox with a BrailleNote?
>> EricV
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