[Trainer-Talk] Teaching Gmail

Tue Apr 23 18:39:48 UTC 2019

Hello,

As an instructor, I always taught standard view with the keyboard
shortcuts. I did this for a couple of reasons:
1. Gmail is best used as a web app. Web apps have their own shortcuts, but
many of them are useful when transitioning to another web app. As an
example, j and k go to next/previous post in Gmail, but they also do this
in Twitter, Facebook, etc.
2. Learning these standard keyboard shortcuts will allow them to use pretty
much any screen reader so long as it supports aria standards. And it is
very important that a blind person knows how to use multiple screen reading
solutions.

I also think that teaching web navigation skills is appropriate, though,
but I don't do this with email. And I don't teach outlook as many companies
these days use some sort of webmail, usually either G-Suite (which is the
same as Gmail) or Office 365 which also has a web app. Many schools and
universities are using G-Suite. And the standard version of Gmail with
keyboard shortcuts works great with Chromevox, for instance, on
Chromebooks, but it also works with NVDA, JAWS, Voiceover, and Orca.

Thanks, and hope this helps.

On Tue, Apr 23, 2019 at 10:57 AM Greg Aikens via Trainer-Talk <
trainer-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Hi Marianne,
> That's a good idea. I'll check her site.
>
> When you teach standard view, are you using the Gmail keyboard shortcuts
> or just normal screen reader navigation?
>
> Thanks for your response.
>
>
> Greg Aikens
> Senior Assistive Technology Instructor
> Center for the Visually Impaired
> 739 West Peachtree Street NW
> Atlanta, GA 30308
> 404-602-4285
>
>
>
> CVI empowers those with vision loss to live with independence and dignity.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Trainer-Talk [mailto:trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Marianne Denning via Trainer-Talk
> Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2019 1:48 PM
> To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology <
> trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Marianne Denning <marianne at denningweb.com>
> Subject: Re: [Trainer-Talk] Teaching Gmail
>
> I teach students to use standard view. I don't have any handouts because my
> students don't use them. I, personally, still use basic view when I need to
> go into my contacts. I have not found an easy way to get into the contacts
> and go through them in standard view. Have you checked to see if Dr. Denise
> Robinson with Your Tech Vision has any videos on using Gmail in standard
> view?
>
> On Tue, Apr 23, 2019 at 12:23 PM Greg Aikens via Trainer-Talk <
> trainer-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> > For those of you teaching clients to use Gmail, I would be curious to
> hear
> > what approach you are using. Are you still teaching clients to use Basic
> > html, are you teaching them to use Standard view with the standard html
> > navigation commands from the screen reader, or are you using Standard
> view
> > with keyboard shortcuts enabled?
> >
> > I teach Gmail fairly early in the course after basic web navigation has
> > been covered. I tried Standard view with keyboard shortcuts enabled but
> > found that most of my clients struggled with this approach, especially as
> > new screen reader users, turning the virtual PC cursor on and off added a
> > layer of complexity most were not ready for yet.
> >
> > I switched to basic html because of how predictable navigation is and how
> > it reinforces html navigation concepts. However, that interface has
> gotten
> > so old that so many of the new and convenient features are not available.
> > Recently, I checked out the new Gmail Standard view and found that it is
> > far more predictable to navigate with standard html navigation keystrokes
> > than I ever remembered.
> >
> > I have been pretty happy with this approach for the last few months and
> am
> > now in search of resources to support my clients, such as handouts, blog
> > posts, etc. where they can do further reading outside of class. . Before
> I
> > start creating resources, I wanted to see if anyone could recommend some
> > that explain/describe navigating standard view using region/landmarks,
> > headings, form fields, etc.
> >
> > Thanks for any thoughts/resources you can share. I would love to hear how
> > you guys are teaching these concepts.
> >
> > Best,
> > Greg
> >
> >
> > Greg Aikens
> > Senior Assistive Technology Instructor
> > Center for the Visually Impaired<http://www.cviga.org/>
> > 739 West Peachtree Street NW
> > Atlanta, GA 30308
> > 404-602-4285
> >
> > [Title: CVI Logo - Description: CVI Logo]<http://www.cviga.org/>
> >
> > CVI<http://www.cviga.org/> empowers those with vision loss to live with
> > independence and dignity.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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> >
>
>
> --
> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
> (513) 607-6053
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-- 
Best,

Nimer Jaber

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