From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Wed Aug 4 15:25:17 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 08:25:17 -0700 Subject: [Uabs] Reminder: Nabs membership conference call sunday! Message-ID: Happy Summer Fellow Students! We hope that wherever your travels took / are taking you enable you to gain enjoyment and excitement. For all of you that were able to join us in Dallas, thank you for sharing in another great convention. For those who were there in spirit; thank you for doing just that and we are excited to get to see you in Orlando next year! But, enough about the past and the future; we?re here now in the present, and as you all know, there?s a lot of work and exciting things to get done! With that, your nabs board is getting ready for another great year working with and serving you. As you probably know by now, the national Association of Blind Students operates year-round via its board of directors; many of us co-chair committees that are vital to the success of the division. On Sunday, August 8 at 7 p.m. eastern time We will be holding a conference call that we would like to invite all of you, our fellow students, to attend. On this call, we will introduce the various committees we have, what these committees do, and the board members who chair them. It is at this call where we are looking for any of you who have a wit for websites, feel for fundraising, eye for editing and writing or a mind for membership building who might have that itch to join a committee. Maybe you have an idea for a committee? Bring that too! We would appreciate your attendance, encourage your sharing of suggestions and ideas, but more than that, welcome your participation in all of our committees! So, come and join us, work with us, let us get to know each other and how we can change what it means to be a blind student together! Information: What: Getting to know the Nabs Committees When: Sunday, August 8. 7 p.m. EST. How: Call-in at 712.775.7100 (pass code 257963) Or listen via www.nabslinkaudio.org Thank you and we look forward to getting to know and work with you all. With warm regards, The committees of the national association of blind students From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Mon Aug 9 18:30:59 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 11:30:59 -0700 Subject: [Uabs] please remember to text your vote for youth slam! Message-ID: Hey fellow nabsters! I just texted my vote (101913) for nfb youth slam to PEPSI (73774)! it's real easy to do and takes practically no time to do, yet will benifit many many blind youth from all over the country. You can ask any past participant or mentor about how amazing of a project youth slam is and what an amazing oppertunity this can be if we do our part to make sure youth slam is one of the top two vote getters in the pepsi refresh everything project! Rumor has it we are right around number thirty in rankings and with all of us students and our amazing ability to text, we can help change that ranking in short order! So, lets work together in making youth slam 2011 a reality! Working with you always for the common goal, Darian -- Darian Smith Board member/ membership co-chair National Association of Blind Students Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/goldengateace ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin From JFreeh at nfb.org Tue Aug 10 07:42:21 2010 From: JFreeh at nfb.org (Freeh, Jessica) Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:42:21 -0500 Subject: [Uabs] National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights of Blind Students Message-ID: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Chris Danielsen Director of Public Relations National Federation of the Blind (410) 659-9314, extension 2330 (410) 262-1281 (Cell) cdanielsen at nfb.org National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights of Blind Students Calls for Equal Access to Information and Technology in America?s Universities Baltimore, Maryland (August 9, 2010): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) responded today to recent attacks on the right of blind students to have equal access to technologies used by America?s universities and to the textbooks and course materials offered by institutions of higher learning. The NFB and the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, have come under attack in recent days for reaching settlements with universities requiring that the universities refrain from purchasing any e-book technology that is not fully accessible to the blind. Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: ?Blind students must have access to the same textbooks and course materials and the same technology to read them as all other students. This is not only a matter of fairness to blind students but a requirement of federal law. For this reason, we applaud the United States Department of Justice, acting at our request and pursuant to its mandate to enforce this nation?s disability rights laws, for reaching landmark settlements with colleges and universities ensuring that e-book technologies deployed by these institutions will be accessible to all their students. With the announcement of a new accessible Amazon Kindle, the recent introduction of the Apple iPad, and the promise of future accessible e-book products?many of which would not have been made accessible without our advocacy efforts?colleges and universities will find it increasingly easy to procure e-book technology that benefits everyone. These settlements benefit not only blind students, who will now have access to the same books at the same time and at the same price as their sighted peers, but also institutions of higher learning, which will no longer incur the administrative burden of producing or procuring accessible books through separate and inferior methods. To the extent that inaccessible e-book technology remains a barrier to the equal education of the blind, however, the National Federation of the Blind will continue to fight for the educational and legal rights of blind students, and we will not hesitate to call upon the Department of Justice and other government authorities to assist us in doing so when necessary.? ### About the National Federation of the Blind With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people?s lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From skane at uw.edu Tue Aug 17 09:37:36 2010 From: skane at uw.edu (Shaun Kane) Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:37:36 -0500 Subject: [Uabs] Survey on Accessibility Barriers Message-ID: I have been asked to circulate the following: David Andrews >> ---- >> >> student survey: help with university of washington accessibility research >> >> Hello, >> >> My name is Shaun Kane, and I'm a doctoral student at the University of >> Washington in Seattle, WA. Our research group, the AIM Research Group >> (http://depts.washington.edu/aimgroup) is working to develop new tools >> to improve the accessibility of computers and other technologies for >> blind and visually impaired people. >> >> We are currently conducting research to remove accessibility barriers >> in schools, especially for group classroom activities. To help with >> this research, we are currently conducting a survey to understand >> current accessibility problems in classrooms for blind and visually >> impaired people. >> >> This survey is for current college students or people who attended >> college courses within the last 5 years, who are blind or visually >> impaired. You must be 18 or over to complete this survey. >> >> The survey is available over the web at http://bit.ly/classroomsurvey >> . The survey should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete, >> and is anonymous. >> >> Whether or not you complete this survey, we would appreciate it if you >> could pass this announcement on to anyone who might wish to complete >> it. This research will help us to develop new tools and technologies >> to improve accessibility in school and classroom settings. >> >> If you experience any problems with the survey, or if you have any >> questions about the research in general, please contact me, Shaun >> Kane, by email at skane at uw.edu or by phone at 206-923-8306. >> >> Thank you for your time. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Shaun Kane >> PhD Candidate >> The Information School >> University of Washington >> skane at uw.edu >> http://students.washington.edu/skane >> Phone: 206-923-8306 >> From dsmithnfb at gmail.com Thu Aug 19 20:45:02 2010 From: dsmithnfb at gmail.com (Darian Smith) Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:45:02 -0700 Subject: [Uabs] Remember to vote for youth slam!! Message-ID: Hey fellow nabsters! I just texted my vote (101913) for nfb youth slam to PEPSI (73774)! it's real easy to do and takes practically no time to make it happen, yet will benifit many many blind youth from all over the country. You can ask any past participant or mentor about how amazing of a project youth slam is and what an amazing oppertunity this can be if we do our part to make sure youth slam is one of the top two vote getters in the pepsi refresh everything project! With our amazing ability to text, and our tremendous persistence, we can help in a big way to secure a wonderful opportunity for our youth in short order! So, lets work together in making youth slam 2011 a reality! Working with you always for the common goal, Darian -- Darian Smith Board member Membership Co - Chair National Association of Blind Students Skype: The_Blind_Truth Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/goldengateace ?We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.? - Teilhard de Chardin