Accessible Technology and Public Computing

Bringing the net to developing countries

MeganKeane — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:47:00 GMT

TechSoup blog points to a recent article in the Economist on the challenges of bringing the Internet to developing countries. I've been watching efforts such as the "One Laptop Per Child" project and curious what others know about other Internet development projects. What ways do you think the obstacles of bringing the net to developing countries can be overcome?

--Megan

screen reader survey update

petercheer — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:15:37 GMT

Web AIM (http://www.webaim.org/) conducted a survey of screen reader use last year and they have followed it up this year with another one. The survey sample is small, self selected and probably biased towards more experienced screen reader users based in North America.

Even when this is born in mind the results of the two surveys make interesting reading. JAWS is still the leading screen reader by a long way but compared to last year the free screen readers such as NVDA show a steep rise in use although often not as the primary screen reader. Also around half of the latest survey considered the free screen readers to be a viable alternative to JAWS. It is taking time to chip away at an established near monopoly but these surveys hint that change is on the way.

For anyone interested in assistive technology or accessiblity issues it is worth reading both the original survey and the latest results.

Peter Cheer

Assistive Technology Trainer

Kenya Society for the Blind

Nairobi

Assistive Technology Certification

CALIFMARY — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:14:12 GMT

O. K. I did a search in this Website on this subject and found no results so I'm gonna post my question here. I am a sysadmin and have recently learned about and have an interest in Assistive Technology Certification in California.

I want to know if anyone out there holds such a certificate and how may class hours were needed for the cert and how often they have to get re-certified. I checked the Dept of Rehab Website and am dizzy with trying to find answers to my questions.

Those of you that work in this field, what is the work like? Are you employed in a profit/non-profit/contractor capacity?

Any guidance in this area is appreciated. Thank you!

--Mary

Quickbooks - multiple user licenses

IntegralYouthServices — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:39:13 GMT

I plan on buying the quickbooks for nonprofits for our organization. The problem is that we would need to use it on three computors. Since quickbooks from techsoup only comes with one user license, how do I get two others. We will be networking this together.

Thanks in adavance

Larry

Wipe/Erase Unallocated Disk Space

cavan — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:15:06 GMT

Could someone please recommend software I could use to wipe/erase the unallocated portions of my hard drives and portable drives?

I want to use the DoD and/or the Gutmann standard on those unused/unallocated portions.

Thanks.

File access

mcornejo15 — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:43:39 GMT

I've been tasked to find a way for our VP's to store files that are HR senstive that only they have access to. They do not even want the IT people to have access to these files. We run Windows Server Ent. 2008. IMOH, I believe it's just bad policy to not even have the IT have access to this and I've mentioned this to one of the VP's.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to accomplish this? Even if it means minimal access to the file.

Good Translation SW for Website

mhaggerty — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:59:52 GMT

Hi,

We would like our website to also be accessible in Spanish. We would like to have some sort of button on each page so that a visitor to our site can just click the button and get the Spanish version.

I know there are free translators on the web but we don't want our users to have to look for that. Also it seems like these free web translators don't keep the css formatting, are there any that do?

Thank you,

Marie

Shared Auto Syncing Calendars

doremonz — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:57:09 GMT

I have been assigned the task of finding a low cost shared calendar that can be auto synced across a network of somewhere between twenty to thirty users. The application will be used to set appointments for our match support specialists and sometimes multiple people will be setting appointments simultaneously. I have looked at the free online calendars like google calendar but the free ones tend not to fit our needs and the organization is currently using shared Outlook calendars or Excel based spreadsheets with less than stellar results.

What are you guys using to set your appointments?

How much does the service cost, if anything?

Are there any products you would NOT recommend?

Org needs free conference calls

mjgould — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:31:07 GMT

My boss wants me to hunt down conference calling with the following three limitations:

1. Calls must be free

2. High speed internet must not be required

3. No long distance charges

I have researched freeconference.com and freeconferencecall.com, but I do not think either service will allow us to work without high-speed internet at NO cost whatsoever. Am I right? Are there other services I have overlooked?

Microsoft Sharepoint Designer 2007 is Now FREE!

wboyd50 — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:12:53 GMT

If you are looking for a web design program, as of March 2009, Microsoft Sharepoint Designer 2007 is FREE!

You may download it here

[Self-promotional link removed by admin]

Bridging the Digital Divide -- GENDER

jcravens42 — Wed, 27 Aug 2003 09:01:00 GMT

Welcome to day three of TechSoup's discussion about the Digital Divide! Today's focus is women and girls and the Digital Divide, but you can certainly feel free to post to any of the folders regarding other aspects of the Digital Divide here on TechSoup. Discussions may continue long after the official "day" ends.

I encourage everyone to be generous with each other regarding trying to understand different points of view on this and other topics. There is not one of us who can speak on this topic with complete and utter authority -- you all have something to say, and I hope you feel comfortable saying it here, even if someone -- or even everyone -- doesn't agree with it.

My co-host for this discussion is Latifat Kadir, who lives in Lagos, Nigeria. She will post more information about herself here momentarily. I am in Bonn, Germany, and that means both Latifat and I are on very different time zones than the rest of you -- for those of you in North America, we probably won't be around for your afternoon discussions.

TOPIC INTRO

There are barriers that keep women and girls in particular away from computer and Internet-related classes and community technology centers. These barriers are even more pronounced in developing countries, but certainly still exist in the U.S.

What are the barriers? I'm going to speak generally, and with the knowledge that these are present in varying degrees, and that these are in no particular order of importance:

-- lack of childcare

-- reluctance by other women and girls, family members, tech-related class organizers and tech center staff to support women and girls in participating in tech classes or in using tech ("Why do YOU need computer training?")

-- class and tech center structures where "squeaky wheels get the grease", meaning that unless you know how to be very verbal and demonstrative about needs and opinions, you won't be attended to or supported much

-- cultural barriers, as in a woman may feel uncomfortable being the only one, or one of just a few women, in a computer class

For women in developing countries, there is also a lack of education/literacy that affects this issue more than women in "The North," as well as a profound lack of TIME. Women in these countries are engaged in childcare, income generating activities and managing the home -- unless they give up sleep, when would they be able to use a community tech center?

What are other barriers that keep women and girls away from computer and Internet-related classes and community technology centers? Or do you think there is no such digital divide and, if so, why?

SOME OF MY THOUGHTS

Actually, I've shared a lot of my thoughts already on this subject in the "Gender and the Digital Divide" folder already here on Tech Soup. But here they are in one fell swoop:

I have observed and experienced the reluctance of many woman -- not all women -- to attend workshops that have something to do with computers and the Internet, to ask questions if they do attend, and to experiment with these tools. Other trainers I have talked to, with rare exceptions, experience the same thing. When I have worked with women regarding computers and the Internet, the phrases I hear often (but never from men) are:
-- I am really stupid about computers/I cannot use computers well
-- I have a stupid question
-- I'm not a techie and I don't really understand the Internet
-- I don't think I can learn this.
-- I don't understand how a computer/the Internet are really going to make that much of a difference in my job/my life; it just seems like more work to me

There does seem to be insecurity issues for some women regarding technology that don't seem to be there for men, generally speaking. The "I'm stupid" comments break my heart -- how did so many women get the idea that they are stupid? As a result, when I do workshops, I always say early on that I believe non-techies and those who are great at working with people are the ones who do the most exciting, the most interesting things with technology, and there are absolutely no stupid questions. I also make sure everyone understands that I am not a techie either -- I don't know how my car works, but I sure take it to some really exciting, wonderful places.

And, yet, ultimately, from what I've experienced and what I've heard from others, women perform as well or even better with computers and the Internet once they have the confidence that they can do it. For me, the older the woman or the lower-the economic level of the woman, the more insecure she seems to be about her abilities to learn about computers and the Internet -- or anything "new", for that matter. And, yet, once we find that comfort zone, off they go, as well as anyone else and, often, even better.

OTHER QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE:

What does the gender-related digital divide look like to you?
How have you seen it or experienced it yourself?
What steps do individuals, nonprofit organizations/NGOs, instructors, and even governments need to take to address this gender digital divide?
Does the corporate world have a role to play?

And, finally, some resources:

ICT & Gender News and Resources
From the Development Gateway

Women's Net Organization
Offers an abundance of information and resources that are relevant for those interested in a wide variety of Gender and ICT issues.

Gender Information Technology, and Developing Countries: An Analytic Study
A paper about the information technology divide among women in developing countries. It opens up to the readers the current situation of gender information technology in developing countries, the issues concerning women's access to them and the possibility of women's political and economic empowerment through IT.

Be sure to view the the "Gender and the Digital Divide" folder already here on Tech Soup for more thoughts on this subject.

-- Jayne
http://www.coyotecommunications.com/aboutme.html

mobile internet access

sberliner — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:05:54 GMT

I work for a non-profit and one of the things I do is teach basic computer skills to seniors. We bring several laptops to two different locations each week for the classes. We are currently paying for internet access in both locations and using a router to get them on-line. I am interested in seeing whether there is any more cost-effective way of doing this--does anyone have any expereince with this? Are there mobile devices we could be taking from one location to the other to enable us to connect with the internet so that we are only paying one rather than two access fees each month? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Evaluation Forms - What are people using to tabulate results?

canaden — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:00:26 GMT

I am looking for some information on some available online software or package that would help me manage the results from our workshops and training courses through evaluation forms. Currently, when someone attends a workshop, at the end of the course they are asked to fill out an evaluation form (paper version), we then take all of those forms and then input them into an Access database, to tabulate and get a report back summarizing the feedback. 6 weeks after to course, we send the attendees an online survey via SurveyMonkey to get feedback, on weather or not the information proved to be effective in their learnings, etc.

Here is the issue, the Access database is corupt, and I don't have a lot of knowledge about Access or the patience either to fix the problem. I did take a course, but can seem to get it right. SurveyMonkey, is great for the second part. I am getting behind on the evaluation forms, and need some help.

I am hoping to find a software package, or online tool that we could input the results of those workshops into, and get some reports. Or if there is a different manner to do evaluations of workshops, via text messaging, or any other methond. Anyone have any ideas.

Canaden

elearning MyiCourse

rebecka7 — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:12:16 GMT

Has anyone heard of or used MyiCourse (myicourse.com) I've been through the tutorial and did some experimenting. Looks great and its free. For a small fee you can remove the small google ad at the top of the page and keep that space blank or ad your own ads.

Seems like a great tool for the non-profit sector. I'm getting ready to utilize it myself but was wondering what others thought of it. ALSO wanted to let everyone know of this tool. Can't beat the price of free!!

Software for assisiting volunteers with visual disabilities

hlischeron — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:50:03 GMT

Good Day,

I am writing to see if anyone can assist me with software that is similar to JAWS for Windows Pro that would be cost effective for my volunteers who have visual disabilities. I am new to this type of software and my current volunteer is using JAWS for Windows 7.0 which is not compatible with some of my programs. They recommend JAWS for Windows Pro, which at $800 + is not practicle at this time.

I would really appreciate any help you can give me in assessing the other programs that are available, and have read the posting from April regarding other types like Thunder and NVDA. If you have any experience with these types of programs please help me.

Thanks, and good luck to everyone.

Low Income College Students Need Laptops!

marniepb — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:40:30 GMT

Hi Everyone,

I work for a grant program at Grand Valley State University and we help empower and assist low income, first-generation college students succeed in college. We work with a number of students who have no computer and rely on the on-campus computer labs for their technology. The problem with is the computer labs are overcrowded and many of these students try to live at home (with no computer access) or commute from off-campus for cheaper housing.

I am working to get some laptops that we can gift our most impoverished students. This would help them achieve academic success without the obstacle limited access to computer technology.

Would anyone know of any organization that donates laptops or any grants that may be available to help me help these students? Any help would be greatly appreciated~!

Marnie Parris, Educational Support Program at GVSU in west Michigan

Accessible Web calendar in tabular form

MeganKeane — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:31:36 GMT

Hi all--

I am looking for a web calendar in tabular/graphical form that is accessible. Currently I'm using a Google Calendar and the embed code uses iFrames which are not accessible. I'd like to have a little calendar widget on another page (such as the one you see here).

Anyone know of an accessible Web calendar option? Or a way to make iFrames accessible?

Thanks,

Megan

Free webinar: Multimedia & Youth Programs

kamig — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:39:30 GMT

Technology and youth can go hand in hand…if you have the right tools, techniques and training. This webinar will highlight the work of two successful nonprofits that are using Adobe and other software to engage their youth. They are teaching skills that not only captivate the imagination, but create general technology awareness, and build skills for developing a college portfolio and securing internships.

On Thursday, May 28 I will interview Erika Padilla-Morales from Streetside Stories and Will Hammond from BAYCAT to learn more about their programs and what makes them successful.

Webinars generate great questions, many of which can't be answered in an hour. We will use this forum following the webinar to continue the discussion and address unanswered questions. The webinar is Thursday, May 28 at 11 a.m. Pacific (12 p.m. Mountain, 1 p.m. Central and 2 p.m. Eastern). Sign up for the live webinar here. Space is limited!

FTP Site

janak916 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:00:41 GMT

I am looking for a free FTP site that I can upload large files to for others to download.

thank you.

How to I control a vista lab with an XP machine

Saldyan — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:05:04 GMT

I run a homeless shelter where my clients have access to a 4 computer lab that is set up on a wireless network. My office computer runs XP and the lab computers run vista. I do have Safekeeper filters on all of the client computers but I need a way that I can monitor the lab computers remotely from my office computer while clients are actively logged into the lab computer.

unfortunately my budget for software and hardware is $0 and I do want my client's to be able to access e-mail and word processing (resumes) and even some just harmless browsing, but I still need to monitor the computers in real time because of the instant messaging they can do without having a messenger clint on the computer.

any suggestions would be helpful

Thank you

How Remote Demonstration of Voice Recognition Software

Anna — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:48:56 GMT

We received this issue in the registration form for our upcoming webinar. I don't think we will be able to touch on something so specific, so I thought I would put out this issue to the community to see if anyone had any ideas.

We provide demonstrations and training of assistive technologies to individuals with disabilities. I am mostly interested in learning if there is a way to demonstrate voice recogntion software (ie Dragon NaturallySpeaking) remotely. At this time we use logmein and a telephone if the person is interested in seeing demonstation on our computer, or we are troubleshooting issues on their end when they have the software installed.

The issue comes when we are working with a high level quad who then needs to either use a headset mic that allows them to switch between the phone and computer (at which time we are not able to communicate with them), or for the individual who does not have the program installed on their computer and would like to develop a voice file (in a remote manner) to test the program.

Providing Self paced online/distance training?

moeagcjatt — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:38:39 GMT

Hello,

We are a small non-profit that provides training. It is necessary for us to provide self-paced online/distance training, so that some folks can get the training at their location when it's convenient for them.

What is available for us to provide this at a low cost and without an IT specialist? I am fairly computer capable but not a programmer so it would need to be user friendly to set up.

Any information would be wonderful..!!

Thank you ~ Lisa

IT and visual impairment

petercheer — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:59:05 GMT

From July I will be based in Kenya for eight months on a VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) placement with the Kenya Society for the Blind, part of the role will be providing general IT support and partly training trainers to use specialist software. I have been familiarising various products both commercial (Dolphin, Jaws) and open source (Thunder, NVDA, Orca, Vinux).

What I would be interested in hearing are the experiences of folk in providing IT training to people with visual impairment.... what is the best approach to take, have you any examples of what has worked well and why? From the other end of things do you have any examples of what not to do and mistakes that I should avoid.

Pete

Info on inclusive, community websites desired

alterstarr — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:59:35 GMT

HI there,

I am working on developing a community website in Napa County with a focus on families. My question is does anyone know of a model of a community website in CA or elsewhere that includes high and low SES families and English and Spanish speakers?

I notice parent-led, community websites are sustainable in ways that grant-dependent organizations are often not. Fundamentally, my experience in the community suggests that parents hunger to come together (our kids are all in schools together; we share small towns, as neighbors) and that a website inclusion project could potentially help to surmount obstacles in being a "we" rather than an "us" and "them." I have friends and nonprofits here interested in helping a volunteer-led project like this succeed.

Since I cannot find examples of projects on-line for the hybrid-organization I hope to create, I have some nagging concerns as to whether our project is viable as an inclusive model. I read through sites like The Children's Partnership to understand how to cross the digital divide effectively - -e.g. to address different literacy levels, etc.

Any assistance is appreciated.

Debbie Alter-Starr, LCSW / parent

Software Licensing for Public Access

johnw1204@gmail.com — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:32:49 GMT

I am working on a public access computing project in Ukraine for libraries. Ukraine has over 500 library legal entities. (Regional Library Districts and State Library Districts)

What is the best way to request software licenses? If we request software licensing for 500 legal entities individually, it would be very bureaucratic and difficult to track.

If our non-profit organization request a single batch of software, and then transfer the licenses (and PC) to library entities, does that violate the license?

If anyone has experience overcoming this issue, I would appreciate hearing about your experience.