The Dragnifier

Have you ever had to squint at the screen to see what's there? Do you create graphics for a living, and need accuracy? Do all those tiny icons get lost on your desktop?

The "Quick Dragging Magnifier" (or Dragnifier) is just what you need. One click or keypress will bring up a computerized lens, which lets you see every last detail on your screen at 2x, 4x, even 8x the original size. Whe

n you're not using the magnifier, you won't even notice it. An icon rests next to your system clock, ready to hop to service whenever you need the Dragnifier.

Dragnifier has been demonstrated as an excellent tool for those with sight disabilities. Sometimes a website will include very small print, or sometimes the icons on today's programs are too small to see clearly.

If you're laying out web pages or other graphic arts, having a measuring tool can be handy. Dragnifier's reticule helps you line up items or compare their sizes quickly.

Click this link to learn more about the Dragnifier.

The "How to Clean Stuff" Website

I am always looking for new or better ways to clean. More importantly, I love to find ways to clean more efficiently and with this site, not only can I get cleaning tips, I can submit my own as well!

This site is pretty easy to navigate. On the main page, you'll find the featured articles on "How to Clean" in the middle of the page. To browse more articles, use the tabs along the top of the page. The sections are: Main, House, Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom, Laundry, Office, Garage, Outside, Life, Other and the World. Click the tab to view the cleaning tips for each section.

Know what you're looking for? Then try the search engine to see if they have a tip on it. You'll find this just under the World tab. Can't find what you're looking for? Well, in that case, you can fill out a Submit Request form and then check back later to see if someone has posted something on that topic.

If you find a tip you like, you can also click the Share with a Friend link on that page to email them about it.

I have been looking for a good way to clean my microwave for oh, about a month now. I am afraid to use cleansers in it, because I cook food in there and with the whole heat issue. So, I headed to the Kitchen tab and found a tip on cleaning the microwave. And let me tell you, it worked like a charm!

Do you have a stellar cleaning tip you'd like to share? Then do so! Just fill out the form and if it gets published on the site, they will donate 25 cents to the Clean Water Fund. You'll find a link on the Submit page for the Clean Water Fund so that you can learn all about what their cause is as well.

So, what are you waiting for? Check out these tips now. They'll make cleaning so much easier for you!

Click this link to visit http://www.howtocleanstuff.net.

Online Banking: Is It Right for Me?

A reader recently asked: Can you give me some advantages and disadvantages of doing online banking? Is it accessible? I'm not sure if I should start using it or not.

That's an excellent question! I'm sure you all know that you can handle your banking on the Internet now. It's been around for awhile, but more and more people are taking advantage of it every day. But, as with anything else on the Internet these days, there are myths of it being of a bad interest, while others say it's the greatest thing in the world. Below, you'll find some pros and cons for this banking method and I'll just let you decide for yourself!

Before I go any further and just for your information, most banks and credit unions offer some form of online banking these days. It's also known as PC banking, home banking, electronic banking or even Internet banking. The banks who offer this service have been working for several years to find the best possible way to provide online banking to their customers so that they will be able to use it easily and more importantly, trust it. Feature accessibility will vary so if you do decide to give it a try, log onto your bank's website and check that the features you want are compatible with your screen reader/assistive technology.

Pros

- One of the big advantages of online banking is that it's a big time saver. It doesn't try to change the way you handle your money, but it does save you time from sitting down and writing out all those checks. It also speeds up the amount of time it takes for a transaction to process. It sometimes even gets it done faster than an ATM. As a totally blind person, you don't even have to fool with writing a check, or getting someone to assist you!

- Online banks are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so you never have to worry about the bank closing, having transportation to the bank or not being able to get your transactions done in time. It's all just a mouse click away!

- If you're out of state on vacation or even out of the country, you can still do your banking. If a money problem comes up, you just have to either find a computer or use the internet features of your notetaker and it can be taken care of any time of the day.

- Without having to keep track of paper checks, you save money on buying those and you're able to handle your banking more efficiently. Along with efficiency, you can access and manage all of your bank accounts from one secure Website, no more having to memorize long strings of numbers to get to your account.

- Online banking sites are starting to offer more banking tools that you can use to get your business done easier and faster. Some of these tools include account aggregation, stock quotes, rate alerts, portfolio managing, etc. These help you complete your banking in a more effective manner.

Cons

- Now, even though online banking is supposed to be timely, sometimes the site can take awhile to load or even come up on your computer. If the site is having any type of trouble on any given day, it could prevent you from handling your banking. You always have to be prepared for something like that to happen.

- You do have to register on your bank's Website before you can begin any banking. You will probably have to provide a user ID and a password, which you may have to get from your bank's branch office. This could take some time, which is a big disadvantage if you're in a hurry to get started. Also, if you're married and want to manage your account along with your husband or wife, you may have to go through a power of attorney type of thing to be able to access the same account. This just depends on the bank you work with.

- You have to take some time to learn your bank's Website. This can take a little while, depending on how easy or difficult your bank makes the site design. You'll definitely need to sit down and learn the site before you do any transactions. You may need to run through the tutorials as well, which can take up your time. Remember, not all features may work for you.

- Banks like to change their site design without any prior notice. If this happens, you'll have to learn it all over again. Also, if they do this, it's possible you would have to sign up again and re-enter your information.

- One of the biggest things with online banking is the trust issue. Should you jump right in and trust the world of online banking? You may often wonder if your transaction really did go through or not, did you happen to do it more than once on accident, etc. You can always print your records each time you visit the site, but it's still a trust issue you have to handle yourself.

Well, there you have it. What do you think? Will you do online banking or not? It's all up to you, but at least you know both sides of the issue!

Special Function Keys

Message: I just bought a new keyboard and I love it, but I can't figure out what the keys across the top are for. Can you please help me with this? Thanks!
location: Kentucky

Sure! I know exactly what you're talking about. The keys you're referring to are called special function keys. They are small buttons that run along the very top of the keyboard. Different keyboards have different keys, but the most common ones are an email button, a search button, a connect button (for the Internet) and a calculator button. Some even have a sleep mode function, a volume control right on the keyboard itself and multimedia keys.

These extra keys are nice to have, if you want to get into your email or use the calculator, for example, you can just hit that button one time and the program will pop right up on your screen. It's like your wish lies right at your fingertips.

If you've already been using the special keys, that's great and you should keep doing so. If you have the buttons, but don't know how to use them, you should refer to the software that came with your keyboard. Look through the manual as well and there should be instructions on how to configure the buttons so you can start to use them.

Every keyboard is different, so it's hard to tell you how to make these work without skipping over someone's model, but all the answers should be right there in your manual. Once you get them working, I don't think you'll ever want to stop. Check them out today!

Personal Hygene in the Bathroom

Message: I have been asked how to teach a recently blind person on how to clean themselves after toileting. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
location: Montana

Blind people come in all shapes and sizes and levels of ability. Is this an adult, child, does he/she live in a rural or urban setting, has he/she always been blind or did he/she function with a reasonable amount of sight at one time?

Some years ago, along about 1982/84, The American Foundation for the Blind published a basic "how to" book of step-by-step information on such things as washing ones face and hands and all sorts of basic skills. AFB received an enormous amount of flack from an organization of the blind criticizing it for stating the obvious and on and on. Don't know if this publication still is in print but it might be worth the questioner trying to pursue it.

Assuming that this individual is an adult and does not have additional disabilities, I would guess that sighted persons develop fairly automated, routinized procedures for this task, just as we all do for everyday routine activities. I would guess that visual checks are somewhat difficult and are not a part of typical procedures for sighted persons. As with many activities, sighted persons have learned to consider vision as the reliable sense; after losing vision, people need to learn to trust nonvisual senses, even though they may have been using nonvisual senses all the time to do a task.

Remind the person that he/she had methods for taking care of these issues before losing sight and that he/she probably did not use vision to do them at least some of the time. Perhaps start with the experience of cleaning something like a kitchen counter to show patterning, overlapping, and point of reference. This can show the person that activities that ensure that an entire surface is covered in combination with tactile verification provide valid nonvisual methods for getting something clean. The person should understand that good coverage and tactual verification ensure cleanliness for our bodies as well as for our environments.

There can be cultural, religious, or emotional issues that could require additional attention; however, without knowing more about the individual, it would be pointless to guess about these things.

Special Thanks to Terrie Terlau, APH's Adult Life Project Leader and Fred Gissoni of Customer Service for their thoughts.

Monitoring Illnesses

Don't get rid of that baby monitor when the babies are grown. Hang on to them and use them around the house.

If your kids get sick leave one in their room and carry the handset around with you. Now you will know instantly if your kids need you.

This works great for kids of all ages, including spouses and seniors.

Cell Phones for the Blind: An Introduction

The advancement of accessible cell phones has sparked a lot of interest in the blind community. Our friends at blindbargains.com have written an introduction to cell phone access for new and advanced users alike. Read it to learn more, or send it to a friend who is curious about how a blind person can use a cell phone.

Click this link to read the article Cell Phones for the Blind - An Introduction.

An announce-only, low-traffic mailing list has been created to keep people informed about new developments regarding accessible cell phones. To join, send a blank message to information-subscribe@blindphones.info.

Mobile Space, A Blog for Accessible Phone Users

BlindBargains.com found a great resource called Mobile Space, a well-maintained blog focussing on accessible mobile phones, primarily for the Symbian operating system.

Recent posts include a review of the N81, links to applications that work well with the phone, and thoughts and updates from Code Factory and Nuance. It's definitely worth an add to your RSS reader, and they recommend you give it a look.

Click this link to visit the Mobile Space blog: http://mobilespace.wordpress.com.

AccessiblePhones.com

BlindBargains.com has launched a website that aims to help you select and compare phones usable by the blind and visually impaired.

At AccessiblePhones.com, you can choose a wireless provider, screen reader, phone manufacturer, or feature, and learn about accessible phones which are available. "We'll give you detailed specifications, links to purchase the phones and software, and any manuals and resources we've found. We'll also be expanding this site with more features, phone reviews, and new phones in the coming weeks and months. We include phones which work with a screen reader as well as phones with proprietary, built-in accessibility, making it the only known resource of its kind. Please let us know what you think of the site and how we can improve."

Click this link, and welcome to the world of accessiblephones.com.

Download Complete Music Albums for Free

It's time to open your mind to music that's not on the Billboard charts or on the radio. I'm not sure if you're going to like all the music this site has to offer, but it's free and certainly worth a listen.

What makes Free Albums Galore special? Four things, as I see it:

1. They post only complete albums, not individual or scattered tracks.
   
2. They post only albums with permanent off-site hosting, unlike "album of the week blogs.
   
3. They post only legally free albums, instead of blindly hoping copyright owners won't mind them distributing their music.
   
4. They post at least one complete album per day, that's a lot of music!

An RSS feed is available to keep you current on the latest posts and who knows, you may find some great tunes here. Give it a try!

Click this link to visit Album Galore at http://freealbums.blogsome.com.

It's a Library Thing

Have you ever bought a book only to find that you already had a copy? Or, have you been in a book store or library at any time, looking through books and wondering if you already had copies of the same titles at home? Or maybe you took all afternoon to look for a particular cookbook that you know was around there somewhere?

If any of those things have happened to you, or if you just like to be organized, Library Thing is for you.

Library Thing makes it easy to enter all of the books in your library and keep track of them. You can enter books by author, title or the ISBN. The site keeps track of your inventory for you.

There are some extra features, which are really nice. You can search your books, sort your books or edit the book information. view your list online of course, or view your catalogue on your notetaker, which could come in really handy when you are out at the store or library.

Library Thing is also a community, linking you with others who share your book interests and providing forums to chat. Algorithms are in place, so Library Thing can give you book recommendations based on what you already have in your catalogue of books.

Library Thing is free to users who register, at least for the basic service. You still get all of the standard features, but you are limited to listing 200 books. If your collection is larger than that, you'll need to pay a $10 fee for the year, or $25 for a lifetime membership.

To visit Library Thing, click this link: http://www.librarything.com.

A Weekly Test For Your House

You know the drill. Something eventually stops working and you know you could have prevented the breakdown if you had only paid better attention. You can set yourself on a simple schedule to check a few items to help prevent a larger disaster.

Set a day, once a week, to walk down the hallway and check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. (if you have any gas appliances you'll really want one of those)

Now walk in your utility room and take a peek at the hot water heater. Is there any water dripping out of the faucet? Did you find a puddle on the floor? These small drips or puddles can become big trouble if you don't notice them early enough.

Don't forget each time you do laundry to clean out the lint trap. This will help your clothes dry faster, your drier will be more efficient and you will reduce the risk of fire.

Protect Your Pipes From The Big Freeze

You have heard people talk about pipes breaking under their houses during the winter and causing lots of damage. You have a well insolated house so you shouldn't have to worry about it, right?

Wrong! This can happen to anyone in an old or new house. Before the hard freezes of winter hit you need to detach any sprinklers from hoses and then the hoses from the house.

Store your hoses and sprinklers in a shed or on a porch, but not attached to an outside spigot.

Vinegar: Not Just for Cooking

Vinegar is the unsung hero of the kitchen. It has plenty of uses around the house, besides just cooking.

If you have painted a room and the smell of paint is taking a long time to dissipate, place a bowl of vinegar in the room. The vinegar will help to dispel the paint odor.

If you have a clogged showerhead from hard water and minerals, place the showerhead into a bowl. Pour in enough vinegar to cover and let set for 15-20 minutes. Remove the head from the bowl and scrub with a toothbrush. Place the showerhead back on the nozzle and run water through to make sure that all the holes are cleared. If you still have a few plugged holes just use a toothpick, when the water is off, to break any clumps free.

If you happen to get stung by a bee or mosquito, you can place a paper towel soaked in vinegar on the site to help alleviate some of the pain and itching.

After you have washed your hair, mix a tablespoon of vinegar with a cup of water and use as a final rinse. This will help strip any extra soap buildup and help your hair to shine.

When baking bread you can brush a little vinegar on the top just before baking and it will help keep the crust a bit softer.

If you have problems with hard water buildup on your chrome fixtures, just soak a paper towel in vinegar and place it on the affected area. After about 5 or 10 minutes, rub vigorously to remove the stain.

If you are preparing fish and you find that your hands smell more like fish than your dinner, rinse them with vinegar and then wash. This will also work with other strong odors like onions.

Brass polish: Dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of vinegar and stir in flour until it becomes a paste. Apply the paste to the item and let it stand for about 15 minutes. Rinse with clean warm water and polish until dry. You will be surprised at it's shine!

We have got a massive ant problem here this summer, no clue why. Try washing your counter tops, and floors with vinegar. It lessens the problem dramatically! Not to mention your counters and floors will shine beautifully.

I will always recommend a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for any bathroom cleaning project, vinegar works great too and is less expensive! In fact, just use the vinegar as it is, and wipe everything clean. Your bathroom will shine and sparkle and all stains and smells will be removed!

You can keep your flowers fresher longer if you add two tablespoons of sugar and two tablespoons of vinegar to your vase of water (approximately 1 qt). Be sure you also trim the stems and change the water every five days.

Add a cup of apple cider and vinegar to bathwater to soothe tired muscles and relieve dry itchy skin. This also works great for sunburns.

Make your own playdough by mixing two cups of flour with one cup of salt, one-half cup of water and one teaspoon of vinegar. Mix the flour and salt first then slowly add water and vinegar, stirring all the time until the mixture is stiff. Use your hands to kneed the dough. You've now got playdough that's ready to use. You can brighten up your playdough with the addition of a little food colouring.

Add a few drops of vinegar to shop-bought polish to improve the shine on wooden furniture.

Keep colours on striped towels looking great by washing in hot, soapy water mixed with a cup of vinegar.

Add a teaspoon of vinegar to water when boiling fish to keep it firm and white.

Add a little vinegar to water used to clean leafy vegetables. You'll find insects and caterpillars will float to the surface and make cleaning easier.

Use hot vinegar compresses to relieve pain from injury or arthritis and rheumatism. The lotion also benefits common sprains and strains.

Remove mineral deposits from a steam iron by filling it with equal parts of white vinegar and water. Let it steam until dry before rinsing thoroughly with clean water.

When a dishcloth gets slimy and starts to smell, immerse it in a solution of water and vinegar in equal parts. Leave to stand overnight and in the morning rinse thoroughly with clean water.

Ink stains can be removed by soaking the fabric in vinegar for an hour or two before washing in the usual way.

Stickers and their gooey remains can be removed by soaking the article in vinegar until the pieces float free.

Remove salt stains from shoes in winter by wiping them with a cloth wrung out in a mixture of one tablespoon of vinegar and a cup of water.

Braille On Walls, the Latest Form of Art?

We're all looking for new ways to promote the use of braille and this guy, "The Blind", "L'aveugle t'a vu" certainly has his own ideas of how this can be accomplished. Apparently, he puts braille on walls, in the streets, on the museum's facades or churches. He has a braille dictionary on his MySpace page to help sighted folks decode his work. He's a young 24 year old guy, living in Nantes (France). Click this link to view the artwork of L'aveugle t'a vu.

Power Text to Speech Reader

Power Text to Speech Reader is an inexpensive program that lets you listen to documents, email messages or Web pages instead of reading on screen. It uses voice synthesis to create spoken audio from text with natural voices.

What I like most is that you can listen when you have the time. For example, you can listen on your PC or save text to MP3 or wave files for listening later. Even better, if you have a portable audio device you can take your text as MP3 files to the gym, the classroom or anywhere you need to go. It can directly open Plain Text files , Microsoft Word files, PDF files, email files, Rich Text files, and HTML files. For low vision Microsoft Internet Explorer users, Power Text to Speech Reader supplies a handy toolbar plug-in for Internet Explorer and for Microsoft Outlook. It supports dozens of male, female, and robotic voices and more than 11 languages.

Power Text to Speech Reader can monitor the Windows Clipboard and automatically process its contents. This feature makes it easy to read Web pages, email messages, documents, and much more. System requirements: A PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Give it a listen.

Click this link to learn more or to purchase Power Text to Speech Reader.

Intro to Visual Impairment

By Carla Ruschival

About 10 million people in the United States are blind or visually impaired, according to the American Foundation for the Blind. Approximately 5.5 million of these are elderly, age 65 or older. Of the 75-and-over age group, one of every four people in the country has a significant vision loss, most often caused by age-related macular degeneration or diabetes.

The American Foundation for the Blind estimates that 93,600 children are blind or visually impaired, with 55,200 being legally blind (seeing 20/200 or less with best correction).

Blind and visually-impaired people come in all shapes and sizes. They come from all races and ethnic backgrounds. They may have a Ph.D. or a high-school diploma.

Britni is a beautiful baby. But she doesn't reach for her rattles until they make a noise. She doesn't look at her hands or smile until someone speaks. Britni is blind.

Bob is a successful salesman. He just wrecked his third car yesterday. Bob knows why, but he can't tell his family. Bob is losing his vision.

Mary's grandkids look forward to receiving personalized handmade quilts from Grandma. But lately Mary's been making excuses; she's just been too busy to get all that work done by the holidays. But the real reason is that Mary can't see to thread the needle or make straight stitches any more.

Is there a future for Britni? Is life on a fast track to nowhere for Bob? Will Mary have to give up her lifelong hobbies, with no hope of any substitute?

Yes, there is a future for Britni. And of course Bob and Mary don't have to give up the things they love. But this is true ONLY if they and their families find help and learn to accept, and cope with, their vision loss.

A world with little or no vision is a different world, but it is not a hopeless and bleak world. It is a world that can be filled with opportunities, activities, and good times.

Online Conversion of Documents to Speech

SpokenText.net allows you to record PDF, Word, plain text, PowerPoint files, ,RSS news feeds, emails and web pages, and converts them to speech automatically. You can download your recording as an iPod book or mp3 file. And every member gets a personal podcast URL , which you can use to download recordings to iTunes or your iPod. You can also easily share your recordings on your web site or blog using SpokenText Badges or individual recording players. And best of all it's COMPLETELY FREE!

Click this link to visit http://spokentext.net.

APH News: October 2007

APH News

Your monthly link to the latest information on the products, services, and training opportunities from the American Printing House for the Blind.

October 2007

Exciting New APH Products Announced!

Read on to learn about these new products - now available!

• SQUID Tactile Activities Magazine, Issue 4
• APH Braille Book Corner

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The 139th Annual Meeting - October 11-13
"APH and Ex Officio Trustees: Expanding the Core"

Have you made your plans to join us for this exceptional Annual Meeting extravaganza? It's not too late.

Why should you come to Louisville this October?

• To hear Diane Wormsley, Cay Holbrook, Jane Erin, and Sharon Sacks present the FIRST report on the historic ABC Braille Study!
• To enjoy Phil Hatlen's memorable Keynote Address.
• To applaud Millie Smith as she receives the Zickel Award for product development.
• To learn about many exciting new APH products.
• To hear Dr. Tinsley's report on the State of the Company.
• To celebrate the InSight Art Winners and Hall of Fame Inductees.
• To learn from Jean Martin (MN) and Joe Catevera (NY) as they present the APH Advisory Committee Reports.
• To enjoy the following Ex Officio Trustees as they facilitate the general sessions: Michael Bina (MA), Bill Daugherty (TX), Barbara McCarthy (VA), Rosie Pridgen (MS), John Roberts (KY), and Tom Winton (NC).
• To meet the six APH Scholars who are direct service providers nominated by Ex Officio Trustees.
• To relax on a leisurely boat ride down the Ohio River while enjoying a delicious dinner and dancing opportunity.
• The chance to network with professional friends and attend a dozen related meetings.
• And much, much more!

Visit the Annual Meeting website for details or call Kathy Smiddy at 800/223-1839, ext. 241.

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AFB Publishes Significant New CVI Resource

Recently Natalie Hilzen of AFB Press announced the publication of Cortical Visual Impairment: An Approach to Assessment and Intervention by Christine Roman-Lantzy. Editor-in-Chief Hilzen states, "We think it is a significant new resource, and are very proud to be the publisher of this important contribution to the field". APH congratulates Dr. Roman-Lantzy, who serves as our CVI Project Leader, and AFB on this milestone. For additional information please go to the following links www.aph.org/cvi/new.html or http://www.afb.org/store

APH also wishes to bring to your attention Dr. Roman-Lantzy's CVI Perspectives. This video, available in VHS or DVD from APH, provides valuable information to parents, teachers, and the medical field on CVI. Go to www.aph.org/catalogs/cat_html/products07-08.html#p135-cvi

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NIMAC Milestone

The National Instructional Materials Access Center has reached a new milestone with more than 2,000 NIMAS file sets now available for download by authorized users to convert into specialized formats, including braille! To date, 13 states have downloaded files or assigned them to Accessible Media Producers to download and convert on their behalf. In addition, 475 NIMAS files have been downloaded since NIMAC opened less than one year ago.

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Wanted: First Grade Building on Patterns Field Testers!

The prototype of the Patterns revision, the first grade level of Building on Patterns, will be ready soon. We expect that the first volume of the Teacher's Edition, which includes the first four student reader books, will be in the hands of those randomly selected for field testing by the second week of January 2008. A second volume with the remaining three books and lessons will follow at a later date.

Eligible students will be braille readers, five to eight years old, who know

• all the letter words
• contractions for and, for, of, the, and with
• short vowel sounds
• common sounds for the consonants

It is not necessary that the students be in first grade. They may be currently in Kindergarten (progressing quickly in braille reading), first grade, or second grade (progressing more slowly in braille reading).

If you are interested in evaluating this product, and have one or more appropriate students, could you please provide us with the following information for each student: child's first name, age, grade school/agency name. Please also indicate your teaching material preference (print or braille).

We value your input and thank you in advance for your help in the preparation of the best products for the community of visually impaired students. Send all information to Rosanne Hoffmann at rhoffmann@aph.org

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Tactile Graphics: Touching on the Basics

On the afternoon of September 11, more than 200 people across the country joined our live, interactive webcast on Tactile Graphics: Touching on the Basics. Tactile graphics packets containing samples of released test items and a graphic produced in four different formats were mailed to webcast registrants. Participants included test developers and publishers, special educators, teachers of students with visual impairments, accessible media producers, program coordinators, assessment staff, and school psychologists. Fred Otto and Karen Poppe, APH Tactile Graphic Project Leaders in the Research Department, provided some general practices, information on tactile vs. visual learning, approaches to adapting images, terminology, production methods, and more. To view the archived webcast, visit the APH Webcast Archive, and select the Tactile Graphics webcast by Karen and Fred. Questions asked during the presentation and responses will be posted on our website early in October. If you plan to view the archived web cast and need a tactile graphics packet, please contact Debbie Willis at dwillis@aph.org. For additional information on "Tips and Techniques for Creating Quality Tactile Graphics," select the Tactile Graphics webcast by Betsy Burnham and Yan Zhang.

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Exciting Oceanography Project with the Perkins School for the Blind

Perkins School for the Blind is engaged in an exciting science project with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. On Wednesday, September 19, a crew of oceanographers began a 10-day research voyage to the Labrador Sea to deploy a mooring that will launch floating measurement devices into passing eddies. The research will add to our knowledge of global ocean circulation and ultimately contribute to our understanding of climate change.

The expedition, called OceanInsight, is led by Dr. Amy Bower, a physical oceanographer at Woods Hole. Amy is legally blind and is committed to demonstrating to young people with visual impairments that they can pursue a career in science or any field that inspires them. And she wants a teacher to help her.

A Perkins science teacher, Kate Fraser, is also on the OceanInsight expedition. She and Amy are creating an educational experience for students who are blind and visually impaired. During the research trip, they are writing daily journals, posting "audio postcards", making phone calls to Perkins classrooms, and responding to e-mail messages from students. These interactions from the research ship are being posted on an expedition website. The website is designed to be accessible to students who are blind or visually impaired.

Take a moment to go to http://www.perkins.org/whatsnew/science.html. From there you can go to the OceanInsight web portal and keep track of the expedition and participate in this unique educational opportunity.

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APH Welcomes New Ex Officio Trustees

Gail Gibbard, Oregon Department of Education, replacing Larry Brown.

Melaney Stein, Division of Services for the Blind in North Carolina, replacing Jan Fesperman.

Madeleine L. Burkindine, the Kansas State School for the Blind, replacing William Daugherty.

Michael A. Hooley, the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, replacing Dotta Hassman.

Patsy K. Shank, the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, replacing Jane K. McBride.

Lindsey D. Pacheco, the Rehabilitation Center in Colorado, replacing Debbie Ellis.

Mark Laird, the Missouri Family Support Division, replacing Michael Fester.

William Daugherty, the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, replacing Philip Hatlen.

Christine Hinton, the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, replacing David DeNotaris.

Robert Duncan, the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, replacing Olda Boubin.

Linda M. Lyle, the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped, replacing Dianna Jennings.

Susan R. Mitchell, the Rhode Island Department of Education, replacing Katrena A. Traut-Savino.

Collette C. Bauman, the Michigan School for the Blind and the Michigan State Department of Education, replacing Kathleen Brown.

Linda Rosendall, the Maryland School for the Blind, replacing Elaine Sveen.

Irina Chernyak, the Maryland State Department of Education, replacing Lisa Wright.

Janet L. LaBreck, the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, replacing David Govostes.

Julie Kagy, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, replacing Tom Winton.

Michael Hooley, the Iowa Department of Education, replacing Karen Blankenship.

Barbria T. Bacon, the Governor Morehead School, replacing Dennis Thurman.

Rebbecca A. Gwaltney, the Hope School, replacing Sherry Broughton.

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APH Travel Calendar

October

October 8, 2007
Tennessee School for the Blind Visit to APH

October 11-13, 2007
APH Annual Meeting 2007;
Louisville, KY

October 18, 2007
West Virginia Fall Conference
West Virginia School for the Blind

October 19-20, 2007
Kentucky Council Teachers of Match Fall Conference;
Lexington, KY

October 24-26, 2007
NIP Event: Learning to Use the Sensory Learning Kit;
Nebraska City, NE

October 25-27, 2007
NBA Fall Conference

October 31-November 1, 2007
IDEAS 508, 2007;
Washington, DC

November

November 2-3, 2007
KSB Kentucky Family Conference;
Louisville, KY

November 7-9, 2007
NIP Event: Cortical Visual Impairment-A Further Look at Assessment and Intervention;
Wichita, KS

November 8-9, 2007
AERO: A Shared Vision (Ohio Chapter of AER);
Mount Sterling, OH

November 8, 2007
Pre-conference Workshop for MACRT-ASERT;
Las Vegas, NV

November 9-11, 2007
MACRT-ASERT 2007;
Las Vegas, NV

November 14-15, 2007
NIP Event: Learning to Use the Sensory Learning Kit;
Los Angeles, CA

November 29-December 2, 2007
Getting in Touch with Literacy Conference;
St. Petersburg, FL

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For a "Sneak Peek" at New and Soon-to-be-Released APH Products, Visit the Products Showcase at Annual Meeting 2007!

The Product Showcase is your chance to get a first look at some of the new products offered by APH. Most items are available now, with a few "soon-to-be released," so check them out at the APH Annual Meeting in Louisville, October 11-13, 2007.

Tony Grantz, Business Development Manager, and others will be available to talk with you one-on-one and will be happy to show you new products, such as the ones listed below.

Come see a demo of our revolutionary Braille+™ Mobile Manager. Get your hands on the StackUps spatial concepts cubes. Check out the revised Patterns braille teaching series, now called Building On Patterns.

Whether you stay and play or just take a "sneak peek," don't forget to stop by the Annual Meeting Products Showcase!

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APH Flea Market of Surplus and Discontinued Inventory

A new listing of overstocked and discontinued APH products is now available at www.aph.org/products/fleamarket.html

This discounted inventory is available on a first come, first served basis. Please order early to take advantage of the extra dollars off.

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NEW! SQUID Tactile Activities Magazine, Issue 4

Issue 4: 1-08862-04 -- $54.00

Other Issues of SQUID Available:
Issue 1: 1-08862-01 -- $48.00
Issue 2: 1-08862-02 -- $45.00
Issue 3: 1-08862-03 -- $56.00

SQUID Tactile Activities Magazine is intended to be deceptively fun -- while your child or student enjoys solving a variety of activities in each SQUID issue, he or she will actually (secretively -- Shhh!) build and acquire skills that will enable him to become a more proficient tactile reader.

The fourth issue includes activities such as:

• Put on A Happy Face (includes stickers to complete activity)
• Beyond Castle Walls (with additional coloring page)
• Don't Mis-State Me
• Incredible Shrinking Bedroom
• Money Tree
• Paige Turner's Bookshelf

Look for more future announcements of SQUID issues in the APH News or at www.aph.org

Recommended Ages: 5+

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APH offers a number of recreational books in braille (Quota funds can be used). Each of these titles was originally transcribed and produced by APH for the National Library Service which has graciously granted permission for this offering. As usual, these titles have been added to the APH Louis Database where you can find thousands of titles produced in accessible formats.

Note: all books are produced upon receipt of orders, therefore, please allow approximately 8 weeks for delivery.

A Kick in the Head
by Paul B. Janeczko, Braille: T-N1627-50 -- $12.50
This guide to twenty-nine poetic forms includes examples and a narrative description of each. Grades 5-8. (AR#86581, RL 6.0, Pts. 1)

Norman Tuttle on the Last Frontier
by Tom Bodett, Braille: T-N1627-30 -- $37.00
Fifteen short stories about Alaskan teen Norman Tuttle chronicle his adventures from fishing to falling in love. Junior high and up. (AR#83557, RL 5.3, Pts. 7)

Hard Truth
by Mariah Stewart, Braille: T-N1634-70 -- $72.00
Lorna asks ex-FBI agent TJ Dawson to investigate an old crime involving the disappearance of a childhood friend. Strong language and violence. Adult.

Links
by Nuruddin Farah, Braille: T-N1627-60 -- $97.00
NY professor Jeeblah returns to his native Somalia after two decades to settle his mother's estate. Adult.

What it Takes to Pull me Through: Why Teenagers Get in Trouble and how Four of them Got Out
by David L Marcus, Braille: T-N1633-90 -- $110.50
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist profiles four successful teens from Massachusetts's Academy at Swift River, an exclusive therapeutic boarding school utilizing rigorous courses, wilderness training, and group therapy. Some strong language. Adult.

*Accelerated Reader number, reading level, and point value. For more information on the Accelerated Reader program, see the January 2006 APH News or www.renlearn.com/ar/

APH News Credits

President:
Dr. Tuck Tinsley
ttinsley@aph.org

Designer:
Malcolm Turner, APH Web Site Coordinator
webmaster@aph.org

Thanks to the following APH staff:

• Cindy Amback, Support Specialist, Field Services
• Ralph Bartley, Director, Research
• Scott Blome, Director, Communications
• Stephanie Chaney, Graphic Designer, Communications
• Rosanne Hoffman, Research Assistant, Research
• Julia Myers, Director, Resource Services and NIMAC
• Artina Paris-Jones, Assistant, Field services
• Debbie Willis, Director, Accessible Tests

Editor:
Bob Brasher, Vice President, Advisory Services and Research
bbrasher@aph.org

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For additional recent APH News, click the following:
September Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2007adv09.html
August Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2007adv08.html
July Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2007adv07.html

Archive of all previous issues - www.aph.org/advisory/advarch.html

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The APH News is a monthly publication from the American Printing House for the Blind:
1839 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
800/223-1839

Please share this web link or any items that appear in this publication with anyone who might benefit.

Thank you.

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Subscribe to the APH News!
Get convenient email reminders every month when a new issue of the APH News is released.

It's Easy!

1. Create an email to aphinfo-request@iglou.com
2. Leave the subject blank
3. Type the word 'subscribe' (without any quote marks) in the body of the message
4. Send it.

What About AudioForBooks

Launched by an avid reader who understands that day-to-day demands make it a challenge to find time to read, AudioForBooks.com specializes in meeting audio book demands for children and adults alike, providing titles for all ages. The site is updated regularly and also provides an array of supporting tools and services, including news, book reviews, an article library, a member's blog and more.

Saving time, money and frustration by helping users quickly and easily tap into affordable used books on eBay, and linking directly to Apple.com where the Apple iPod can be purchased with just a quick click of a mouse and used to listen to audio books on-the-go, AudioForBooks.com provides users with options that simply don't exist elsewhere on a single site.

Additionally, the expanded AudioForBooks.com blog has created a dialogue among users who can now share information about audio books and discuss titles, etc. from anywhere in the world. Also, the site's Article section continues to be updated regularly and now supplies engaging book reviews, information on Mp3 players, how to tips on downloading audio books and more, with new topics discussed frequently.

Site visitors will also be happy to find that they also have access to robust speech recognition software, which turns spoken words into written words, and the leading text-to-speech software, which reads emails, lengthy documents and reports, etc. to users in voices they choose.

Both software options can be counted on to address a variety of concerns, especially for those who may be unable to type or those who are blind or visually impaired who struggle with reading, or even those with little free time on their hands to respond to emails or type out needed reports.

Click this link to visit http://www.AudioForBooks.com.

Be the DJ at BlueBeat.com

BlueBeat.com is an accessible, free digital radio offering over 500,000 tracks of CD-quality music in over 100 genres and 350 channels, covering more than a century of music, and streams secure MP3s at 320kb/s.

BlueBeat.com's website boasts customizable website styles and streamlined player skins. Users can mix and match their Bluebeat page and player to suit their taste with selections like the refined "Blues In Orbit" or the quirky "Tiki Lounge." Also added is a personalized history of the songs, albums, and channels users hear, as well as postings of the latest music updates. In order to stay connected and attentive to their listeners, Bluebeat.com has also developed public forums for music discussions and channel requests.

BlueBeat.com maintains its easy navigation: listeners simply choose between the Time Machine, musical history organized by genre and decade, and the Killer Playlists, such as the popular "1 Hit Wonders" and the eclectic "BlueBeat Cafe." Guests looking for information about specific artists or albums will find it a click away via BlueBeat's powerful search feature or the extended biographical and historical vignettes. Others will appreciate BlueBeat's Roll the Dice feature, which delivers a channel based on artist, album or genre choice.

Don't like what you hear? You can change that by creating your own BlueBeat.com station with three hours of music that you choose, you can even add your station to your personal website.

BlueBeat.com invites everyone with a taste for music to visit www.BlueBeat.com and sign up for a free account.

The Blind Have TypeAbility

TypeAbility is a program that teaches typing in 68 user-friendly lessons. By the end of the lessons, the student will have mastered all the letters, numbers, punctuation, as well as basic navigation of text documents. In addition, the student will learn special characters that are used in computer applications, such as the @ symbol that is required in e-mail addresses.

TypeAbility is compatible with the latest versions of JAWS for Windows from Freedom Scientific. It is also compatible with the screen magnification program MAGic. So the partially sighted can not only listen to, but also see their typing lessons.

Learning how to startup, run, choose lessons and tasks, and how to close TypeAbility is very simple. After a few lessons with an assistant, a blind non-typing child will be able to use the program independently. TypeAbility is fun and appropriate for students of all ages.

There are User Preferences that allow TypeAbility to conform to each students needs. However, there are not such a bewildering number of esoteric options that learning how to use TypeAbility would be a mystery and chore. It's a cinch!

Click this link to learn more or download a demo of TypeAbility from the YesAccessible website: http://www.yesaccessible.com.