ACB Focus: Technology

~~HumanWare: Meet HumanWare’s low vision line up including a new family member! Attendees explored HumanWare’s low vision portfolio starting with the Reveal 16 product line and its easy-to-use interface. Experiment the very versatile and portable Explore handheld magnifiers and be excited with a sneak preview of its soon to be released new family member. Presenters: ♣ Eric Beauchamp, Director of Product Management, Montreal, Quebec, Canada ♣ Roger Steinberg, Low Vision Products Manager at HumanWare, Lake Wylie, SC

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 20~~

~~Membership Committee; How to Create a Successful Virtual Conference and Convention Panel 1: Tools for planning a virtual or hybrid virtual and in person conference Panelists: ♦ Ardis Bazyn, ACB Membership Committee Chair, Burbank, CA ♦ Tyson Ernst, ACB Radio, Springfield, IL ♦ Sarah Harris, First Vice President, California Council of the Blind, Fresno, CA ♦ Gabriel Lopez Kafati, President, Blind LGBT Pride International, Miami, FL ♦ Kati Lear, Florida Council of the Blind convention chair, Daytona Beach, FL ♦ Sheila Young, Florida Council of the Blind President, Orlando, FL

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 21

Panel 2: How to hold virtual elections Panelists: ♥ Maria Hansen, 1st Vice President, Guide Dog Users Inc. and President Guide Dog Users of New York, New York City, NY ♥ Sarah Harris, First Vice President, California Council of the Blind, Fresno, CA The panels highlighted best practices for positively planning a great conference/convention. Specific tools were suggested for arranging the conference and holding elections. Hand-outs were available as email attachments to those who registered.

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 21~~

~~An Evening With ACB: Panel on Increasing Financial Literacy: Financial issues touch every aspect of our lives. The more we can learn about successfully navigating this whole area of interest, the more successful we can become in handling various financial matters that contribute to our independence. Although we could never hope to fully handle this subject in one panel session, we presented a sampling of topics we believe will be of interest and assistance to convention attendees. Panelists: ♦ Brian Charlson, Watertown, MA, an expert in the area of credit through his work on the Structured Negotiation on Credit Report Accessibility, shared this expertise with us and presented a discussion of the importance of knowing your credit status, and how to obtain and utilize your free and accessible credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. All financial literacy starts with credit, and Brian will tell us just what we need to know about it to make it work for us. ♦ Judy Dixon, Arlington VA, our resident expert in iOS-related photography, stretched our comfort zones by demonstrating the techniques she uses to allow a totally blind person to deposit a check into her bank account using only her iPhone. ♦ Kelly Ford, a brilliant trainer, answer man, and problem solver from Microsoft's Enterprise Disability Answer Desk, Madison, WI, is adept at all things Excel. Kelly shared information on pivot tables and data types, two awesome and exciting features that are accessible and will allow us to track our expenses and get stock-related information using some cool Excel techniques.

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 21~~

~~Smart Home Devices - Work Smarter, Not Harder: ACB Next Gen and CCLVI want to help open your eyes to the exciting world of smart home devices beyond the basics. Did you know you can have your floors vacuumed and mopped while you're on a community call, stay in your comfy bed to turn on your ceiling fan in the middle of the night, or even be able to see who's ringing your doorbell if you can not see through the peephole? They discussed smart home devices to help you in the kitchen, keep your home clean, allow you to multitask even better than you are now, and even some to give you peace of mind and security. Presenters: ♦ Aaron Linson - Search Consultant at Talentric LLC and Advocate for all Blind/VI People - Louisville, KY ♦ Tim Schwartz, Host of Life After Blindness podcast and Co-host of the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) Tech Talk - Cincinnati, OH  Co-sponsored by: ACB Next Gen and CCLVI 

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 19~~

~~Content Creators Café:  Attendees joined a diverse group ofcontent creator panelists to learn the ins and outs of content creation! The world of social media content is ever changing, and new trends come up virtually every day, so this was a do not miss event! The panelists delved into every aspect of the creation process from a blind and visually impaired perspective. Everything from the process of curating the content itself as well as the assistive and mainstream technology solutions utilized to get this content out into the world was covered! Presenters:  ♠Steven Salas, Content Creator, Podcaster and Chair of the ACB Next Generation Public Relations Committee, Austin, TX ♠ Chris Peterson, Podcaster, Richfield, MN ♠ Amy Wilson, TikTok and Content Creator Co-sponsored by: ACB Next Gen, BITS, FIA and IVIE

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 20~~

~~BRL Program Graphics and e-readers: •Part One: BEYOND Braille: Using the graphics capabilities of braille printers:  Attendees learned from a presenter from View Plus on how to print using a Braille printer. •Part Two: An update on the NLS e-reader Project. Speaker: Tamara Rorie, National Library Service, Washington, DC

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 22~~

~~Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students (SCI-VIS): Three, two, one...blast-off! Attendees joined Dan Oates, SCI-VIS Coordinator, as he discussed the program, the adaptations and the experience of students going to space camp. SCI-VIS is a week-long camp that takes place in September at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. Coordinated by teachers of the visually impaired, students can participate fully in the space camp experience. The Space Camp, Aviation Challenge and Robotics programs are adapted for the blind and visually impaired through which computers used by students have been adapted for speech and large print output. Materials and equipment (including simulators) used during missions are available in Braille and large print. Presenters: ♠ Dan Oates, SCIVIS Coordinator, Romney, WV ♠ Jim Allan, SCIVIS Texas Coordinator and Accessibility Contact, and Accessibility Coordinator at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Austin, TX ♠ Trina Britcher, SCIVIS Material Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty at Marshall University, Bridgeport, WV Co-sponsored by: ACB Next Gen and AABT

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 20~~

~~BPI: 3D Audio Excursion: Grab your headphones and come with us on a 3D audio experience! Let your headphones be your virtual reality goggles as we take you to places so real, you feel like you are actually there. Listen as your environment takes shape above, below and all around you. BPI members: ♦ Chris Snyder, Los Angeles, CA ♦ Byron Lee, Minneapolis, MN, hosted a Q&A session.

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 17~~

~~411 from the IAC – Part 2: Rehabilitation, providing remote services: Attendees heard from two rehabilitation professionals about what providing rehabilitation services virtually has been like. ♠ Megan Conway from the Helen Keller National Center  ♠David Kingsbury from the Carroll Center for the Blind Discussed providing rehabilitation services virtually, what accessibility challenges they faced and how they worked through them to continue serving their clients. They then began a conversation about remote support-based services. Many continue to work from home and they gave some opinions on the leading products in this space and some tips and tricks when working with each of these products. They discussed Apple, Microsoft, AIRA and more during this part of the 411 presentations. In addition, Judy Dixon made a brief presentation about a new technology found on the latest iPhones. Is this truly the thing to have for your iPhone? Attendees learned how this technology can be put to use in your environment to help follow people in a line, learn about a new space, and locate large objects. Presenters: ♠ Megan A. Conway, PhD, Research and Accessibility Specialist, Helen Keller National Center, Healdsburg, CA ♠ David Kingsbury, Assistive Technology Instructor at the Carroll Center, Stoughton, MA ♠ Judy Dixon, Co-chair of the IAC, Arlington, VA ♠ Ray Campbell, Second Vice President of ACB, Glen Ellyn, IL  Co-sponsored by: Information Access committee and Rehabilitation Issues Task Force

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 17~~

~~BITS Virtual Technology Showcase Part Two: Presenter: Brian Hartgen, Director of Hartgen Consultancy, Caerphilly, Mid Glamorgan, South Wales •  Brian Hartgen has 24 years experience training visually impaired people how to use adaptive technology, from Braille-based hardware, to screen-reading software delivered within education, companies, rehabilitation organizations, to individuals in their own homes. For the past 18 years, Brian has focused his attention on improving the access people receive from applications using the JAWS for Windows Screen-Reader. Brian holds certificates from the development company in JAWS product knowledge and the Advanced JAWS Scripting course. Brian believes in providing visually impaired people with the best possible service and support. Whether you are a user of the JAWS for Windows screen-reader who needs some training at home, an employer of a blind person who would like to ensure an application is accessible, or you would like a screen-reading product to make your life easier, Hartgen Consultancy can help! Attendees joined us for an informative presentation from Brian Hartgen. Facilitator: Earlene Hughes, President, Blind Information Technology Specialists, West Lafayette IN Panelist: ☺ Christopher Maae, Student, BITS Vice President, Santa Ana, C  ☺Rebecca Knaub, Bureau of Blind and Vision services of Pennsylvania, Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist/ Assistive Technology Specialist, Harrisburg, PA ☺ Rosanna Beaudrie, Secretary, Blind Information Technology Specialists, Levittown, NY 

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 18~~