Blind Abilities
1,071 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★★ - 44 ratingsThe most comprehensive resource for Assistive Technology, success Stories, College and Career Pathways and all with a Blindness Perspective.
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Episodes
Musician Spotlight Series: The Complete Story of Johnny Hiland: Legendary Guitarist, , Legally Blind and a Chicken Pickin’ Good Person, Too!
June 23, 2021 17:53 - 1 hour - 109 MBBlind Abilities presents another epic podcast featuring an in depth interview with an amazing guest. Johnny Hiland is a highly successful and well-respected musician, a fantastic country guitarist who is widely recognized as one of the fastest “chicken pickers” in the world. But his musical expertise is not limited to the country arena. No, Johnny has mastered rock, blues, swing, medal and almost any other genre into which he chooses to go, whether in the studio with the likes of Hargus (Pig...
Musicians Spotlight Series: John Kay: from Rock Star to Elephants, We Were All Born To Be Wild #Steppenwolf to #MaueKayFoundation
June 22, 2021 14:55 - 1 hour - 94.7 MBIn the first part of our Musicians Spotlight Series, we bring you John Kay from Steppenwolf Fame which brought us such great hits as Born to be Wild, Magic Carpet Ride, The Pusher and 50 years of John Kay music and his work with NGOs helping Elephants survive as they, too, were Born to be Wild. John Kay: from Rock Star to Elephants, We Were All Born To Be Wild #Steppenwolf to #MaueKayFoundation Show Summary (Full Transcript John Kay reveals his journey from escaping the Iron Curtain,...
The Universe Just Became More Accessible - Meet Timothy Spuck and the IDATA Project and their New AfterGlow Access Software for the BVI
June 18, 2021 19:26 - 51 minutes - 70.9 MBTimothy Spuck from Associated Universities Inc.(AUI),, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio, and talks about his involvement with the IDATA Project. The chief component of the project is theirå new and improved software, AfterGlow Access, that aids individuals without sight by converting astronomical images into soundscapes which can be heard by blind and visually impaired (BVI)folks. Read more Full Transcript we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@B...
Taking Charge of your Goals, Destination and Education: Meet Hannah Harriman and Her Journey of Transitioning from High School to College to the Workplace
June 17, 2021 12:50 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MBIn the Blind Abilities Studio, Hannah Harriman sits down with Jeff Thompson to talk about her academic and employment journey. From her early days and her Individual Education Plan (IEP) In Grade School to her Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) as she attended the Summer Transition Program, MN State Academy for the Blind and went off to college to her two current jobs, Hannah is excited about her future. Read more Full Transcript we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at i...
Voice over Karaoke on the Apple Music App? Kind of, Sort of, in a Way. Demonstration of the Lyrics Feature with VoiceOver.
June 11, 2021 14:55 - 3 minutes - 5.17 MBOpen up your native Music App on your iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac, MacBook or even on Apple TV, and play a song. Open the mini-player to show the now playing screen and tap on the Lyrics button down near the bottom. With VoiceOver on, you will hear the lyrics just before the singing starts. You can employ Air Play and play the song on your speakers or Apple TV system while VoiceOver remains in your device for clarity, as I see it, or should I say, as I hear it? Read more we would love t...
iPhone101: Lists, Lists and More Lists - Flicking and Swiping Be Gone,; A Couple of More Efficient Ways to Manage Your Way Out of a Long List
June 09, 2021 11:22 - 12 minutes - 16.7 MBBlind Abilities adds to the iPhone101 Catalogue with this short, but informative demonstration of how to navigate your way out of a long list. Have you ever found yourself way, way down in your mail Inbox, processing your email, but when finished, you can’t get back to the top without having to flick through those endless emails, one at a time? How about the same scenario in your Messages app, or even worse, Facebook Dropbox or YouTube? read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an...
Learning Ally’s College Success Program: Giving You the Tools and Support You Need to Thrive During College and Beyond. Meet coordinator Abigail Shaw, Mentor Rachel Grider and Mentee Gabi Mendonca
June 01, 2021 13:25 - 33 minutes - 45.7 MBLearning Ally’s College Success Program coordinator, Abigail Shaw, gives us a history of Learning Ally and dives deep into the College Success Program. Mentor, Rachel Grider, and Mentee, Gabi Mendonca, explain how the College Success Program works from their experience as a Mentor and a college student perspective. You can get all the details on the web at College Success Program Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call ...
There Is Still so Much More to Do. Thomas Reid: The Conversation. Host of the Reid My Mind Radio Podcast.
May 27, 2021 23:54 - 51 minutes - 70.2 MBFull Transcript Show Summary: Thomas Reid lost his sight back in 2004 and found podcasts as a way back into learning and getting his message out to the world. Coming from the IT sector, Thomas found technology and screen readers as a way back to the workplace and never looked back. He now host the Reid My Mind Podcast, is a Voice Artist and an advocate and voice for the Blind and African Americans. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected]...
Meet Actor Robert Tarango, the First DeafBlind Actor in a Lead Role, and Doug Roland, Writer and Director of the Academy Award Nominated Short Film, Feeling Through”
May 25, 2021 01:21 - 47 minutes - 65.2 MBFull Transcript Show Summary: It was a typical day for Robert Tarango, working in the kitchen of the Helen Keller National Center. That is until his boss summoned him to another building on the center’s campus. Not given any further information, Robert imagined a host of mostly ominous reasons for the sudden meeting. The last thing he considered was that he would be auditioning for the lead in the short film, Feeling Through.Nor did he ever think he would receive the part and becom...
Tech Abilities: Deep Into the Weeds with Post Pandemic and VR, Sonification and spatial Recognition, LG Gram Laptop, Air Tag symphony and the BA Studio Goes Mask Free!
May 19, 2021 01:29 - 1 hour - 139 MBSerina, Raqi and Jeff are all doble jabbed and on their way for full vaccination. And the crew went deep into some topics, deep into the weeds as they say. Marlon joins Jeff to bring Audio Drama to life on the Blind Abilities show. Here is a chronological list of the topics we dug into and we hope you enjoy! We 3 got our 2 shots each, but separately. Read more Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear fr...
Accessible Astronomy: A More Inclusive Experience Thanks to Visualization Scientist Kimberly Arcand and the Talk Description to Me Team, Christine Malec and JJ Hunt
May 11, 2021 03:45 - 18 minutes - 35.5 MBKimberly Arcand, Visualization Scientist Emerging Technology Lead for NASA’s Chandra Observatory at the Center for Astrophysics Harvard and Smithsonian, has been working with Christine Malec and JJ Hunt, from the Talk Description to Me Podcasts, describing imagery created from data gathered by a variety of telescopes. Kimberly’s work in visualization has connected her up with Christine and JJ to describe the imagery in a way that brings the scientific and abstract languages together to hel...
Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute is Listening to the Future of Navigation – Meet Engineer, Brandon Biggs
May 09, 2021 23:05 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBToday Jeff and Raqi are joined in the studio by Brandon Biggs, inclusive designer and Engineer with The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute (SKI), the foremost organization for vision research in the U. s. Brandon is involved in three major projects at SKI, including the development of the Cam IO app, which allows blind and visually impaired individuals to digitally annotate and navigate objects, such as appliances, iNavigate, an indoor way-finding app, and Audiom, an audio variation of ...
It’s not just the voice that matters; it’s how you tell the story - Meet Voice Artist, Tanja Milojevic
May 07, 2021 19:18 - 1 hour - 108 MBTanja Milojevic had a passion for audio since her childhood and has followed her dream of becoming a voice artist and now creates, participates and collaborates with many other creatives in the field of voice artistry. From voice overs, audio description, and her favorite pastime, Audio Dramas. Tanja joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about how Tanja arrived at being a Voice Artist and what was the driving forces that kept her goal in mind. Read more Full Transc...
iPhone101: Period Shortcut and Auto Cap Shortcut
May 07, 2021 18:25 - 5 minutes - 9.35 MBBlind Abilities adds to their iPhone 101 demonstrations series with a review of two simple but time saving tips found in your keyboard settings. Just go to your iOS settings app, flick down to general, go to keyboard and there you will find these two convenient shortcuts: The Period Shortcut, and the Auto Capitalization features. These two features are often overlooked and will save you valuable time by avoiding unnecessary taps in your on screen keyboard. These can be used in any text Fie...
AirTags Whare Are You? Ahh, FindMy to the Rescue. A Look at the AirTag Set-Up and Demo
May 03, 2021 15:00 - 11 minutes - 20.2 MBJeff Thompson goes through the set up process on a couple of AirTags using his iPhone. The process is nearly automatic and in no time you won’t be losing a thing. Kind of. If you have an iPhone 11 or 12 running iOS 14.5, you are good to go. Although, the iPhone SE, released in 2020, does not sport the A1 Nero Chip Near Field Communication (NFC) is not part of the SE features. You can find AirTags on the Apple Store and a handful of accessories to hold your tag as the AirTags themself do ...
iPhone101: Emoji in Text Replacement Made Easy. Yes, Double Demo Day!
April 29, 2021 21:25 - 17 minutes - 8.31 MBBlind Abilities brings you another episode in the iPhone 101 demonstrations and reviews series which will add to your arsenal of Keyboard shortcuts in the Text Replacement section of your Keyboard Settings. This one will show you just how easy it is to add emojis to your library of readily available shortcuts. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093
Tech Abilities - What if… That’s What It’s All About? Accessible Air Fryer, Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch You Masked User. Good Friends Don’t Let Friends Podcast on Pfizer! And, some Spring Loaded thing
April 27, 2021 00:20 - 1 hour - 51.7 MBRaqiG, Serina and Jeff join together to talk tech, smack and some week old Spring Loaded news. Marlon storms back and joins Jeff in the creatives corner to add some news relief. Air Tags are selling fast and iOS 14.5 is out and you can keep that mask on, if you sport an Apple Watch that is. Serina orders a new LG Gram laptop, graduates from AFB Leadership 2021 program, gives us a tease about the COSORI 12-in-1 Air Fryer and forgets to order Air Tags, hmm. Raqi and Jeff got the tags arriv...
Vispero – Empowering Independence: Vispero Vice President Matt Ater Talks User Experience and How the Vispero Team is Listening to You
April 23, 2021 17:43 - 1 hour - 53.6 MBMatt Ater, Vice President at Vispero, joined Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about Vispero and what he and his team is doing to enhance the user experience and opportunities to learn about the products we have all come to know, such as the ever so popular screen reader, Jaws. Matt talks about the importance of the user experience and how the Vispero team is reaching out to listen to the users and find out what can be done to improve upon the products. Read more we w...
Modesty, Integrity, a Dedicated Work Ethic and Above All, a Strong Love of Family - Meet Sandhya Rao: Attorney in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and VP of iBugToday
April 17, 2021 22:10 - 27 minutes - 14.6 MBJeff Thompson and Pete Lane are joined in the Blind Abilities studio by Sandhya Rao. They recently met Sandhya a few weeks ago along with Michael McCulloch as they discussed the amazing organization called, I Blind User's Group, (iBug). You can listen to the iBugToday episode on Blind Abilities In this episode, they shift the focus to Sandhya, the person. Sandhya is currently employed as an Attorney in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, w...
The Mojo Lens is Focused on Bringing Super Powers to Low Vision – A Conversation with Dr. Ashley Tuan, VP of Medical Devices at Mojo Vision
April 10, 2021 00:38 - 19 minutes - 16 MBDr. Ashley Tuan, Vice President of Medical Devices at Mojo Vision, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio about the development of a new and innovative product for low vision individuals called Mojo Lens. Dr. Tuan discusses the fascinating and impressive capabilities of these high-tech contact lenses, which are placed on the white part of the user’s eye, called the Sclera. With the help of a wearable device which serves as a relay, the lenses will project a variety of images t...
iBUG – the iBlind Users Group for Beginners and Proficient Assistive Tech Users. Join iBUGToday – it’s Abuzz!
April 08, 2021 13:16 - 20 minutes - 16.1 MBIn this episode of Blind Abilities we feature the iBlind Users Group, aka iBUGToday, a nonprofit organization located in Houston, Texas, but which operates a variety of virtual training and social activities for individuals around the country using the Zoom platform. The mission of iBUG, is to promote the individual independence, social integration and educational development of the blind and visually impaired community through accessible technology training. Read more we would l...
Unified English Braille (UEB) Practice Sentences - Comprehensive, Ready to Use and Fun. A New Book from Roberta Becker
April 05, 2021 02:09 - 29 minutes - 23.4 MBintroducing a new braille book for Teachers of the Blind/Visually Impaired, TBVI), parents and others who wish to instruct Blind students in learning Unified English Braille, (UEB). The book was written by one of our guests, Roberta Becker. She joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio along with her colleague, Lori Scharff. Roberta and Lori chat about a variety of topics, ranging from the implementation and description of "the new Unified English Braille (UEB), to many of the sp...
Easterseal Disability Film Challenge Creatives Talk about the Experience, Challenge and Disability in Films
April 02, 2021 21:06 - 31 minutes - 22.8 MBBree Klauser, Spencer Frankeberger, Juan Alcazar and Jeff Thompson got together in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about the Easterseal Disability Film Challenge that they participated in and want you to check out their films and “like” them as the Awareness campaign is ending soon. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093
Intel AI-Powered Backpack Helps Visually Impaired Navigate World: Meet Jagadish Mahendran, AI Developer, and Hema Chamraj, Director, Technology Advocacy at Intel
March 31, 2021 16:16 - 24 minutes - 17.5 MBIn the Blind Abilities Studio, we welcome Jagadish K. Mahendran, Artificial Intelligence Developer and Engineer,and Hema Chamraj, director, Technology Advocacy and AI4Good at Intel Raqi joins Jeff in the studio to learn and find out more about this great initiative that may one day enhance the navigating experience while Blind. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093
Tech Abilities #1 Million and 6, Clubhouse Dreams, HBO Max and Audio Description? Specialized Help? Raqi? And Where Did Flicktype Get Them Apples!
March 30, 2021 02:08 - 56 minutes - 47.2 MBThe crew is feisty on Fridays but hey it’s Monday, Raqi. From the release of Audio Description on HBO Max to Flicktype bolstering some Apples, we seem to get into a lot about what we want in the Clubhouse arena. What is it with Ringtones anyways? The real thing here is this, have you heard the Home Pod Minis in Stereo? Wowie Wow Wow is all I got on that. Read more Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hea...
Programs and Opportunities are Growing for Students: A Chat with Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig - Make that a Chill and Chat!
March 26, 2021 19:32 - 16 minutes - 13.8 MBour guest on Blind Abilities today is Sheila Koenig, Transition Services Coordinator for State Services for the Blind of Minnesota (SSB). Sheila talks about a variety of opportunities available to Transition Age students. Learn about the programs such as the Summer Transition Program (STP), Chill and Chat, Peer Educators, Blind and Socially Savvy and the Learning Ally College Success Program. There is something for everyone! Sheila also discusses the Spectacle Newsletter, where you can......
Transitioning from High School to College: A Panel of College Students Take on the Questions from High School Students from a Blindness and Low Vision Perspective
March 22, 2021 11:50 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBTransitioning from High School to College is a major step towards self-determination and independence. Career choices are made and Colleges and Universities are explored to best fit one’s needs. A group of high school students ask a panel of college students questions to help them understand the challenges and gain from the experience the college students share. When leaving the high school and the security of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and move into the Independent Plan for Emplo...
Going Hard Core on Tenacity, Advocacy, Perseverance and Empathy - Meet Alaska Center for the Blind Transition Coordinator for Youth, Multi-Talented Musician, Tony Gebhard
March 19, 2021 00:41 - 40 minutes - 28.4 MBBlind Abilities welcomes Tony Gebhard back into the studio. he first appeared on Blind Abilities in the summer of 2019, when Geoff and Pete chatted with him at the NFB National Convention in Orlando, Florida. You can find that interview here, A Morning with Tony Gebhard… The focus then was on his musical journey, This time back in the studio, the focus of this interview, is Toni‘s life, his recent completion of assistive technology training and TVI classes at World Services for the blind. ...
Racial Disparities in School Discipline of Students with Disabilities.
March 12, 2021 18:34 - 15 minutes - 12.6 MBJapricia shares her experience from Elementary school with discipline, race, and her Individual Education Plan (IEP) that inspired the goals she has for college. In this interview, Beau RaRa a staff attorney for the Youth Law Project and Minnesota Disability Law Center, sits down with Japricia, a recent high school graduate, to talk about the experiences of racial disparities in school discipline of students Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@BlindAbili...
NaviLens - The new smart digital signage for everyone! Or, as we say, QR Codes on Steroids! Free App on iOS and Android
March 12, 2021 14:12 - 1 hour - 37.6 MBJeff and Pete are in the studio again, this time to chat with Javier Pita, founder and CEO of NaviLens Corp., and their remarkable product, NaviLens. NaviLens is a new and enhanced kind of QR code, but unlike existing QR codes that can only be read from a short distance, the NaviLens tag can be detected by your smart phone camera up to 60 feet away with a 160 degree wide-angle range. This means that you will now be able to detect NaviLens tags that are almost at your 9 o’clock or 3 o’cloc...
How a Journey Through Vision Loss Prepared Laura Allen to Become Head of Strategy for Accessibility and Disability Inclusion at Google
March 02, 2021 23:51 - 32 minutes - 26.6 MBLaura Allen joins Raqi and Jeff in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about new developments in Google’s accessibility and disability inclusion. Laura Allen is Head of strategy for Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, bringing together the Google network of teams to bring awareness to accessibility and disability inclusion within the entire google corporation. Laura uses a mix of accessibility tools to be independent which gives her a clear perspective on the need for accessibility an...
Transitioning Through Change and Mental Health with Beth Gustin, a Licensed Professional Counselor, and Nationally Certified Mental Health Counselor
March 01, 2021 11:55 - 18 minutes - 14.7 MBBlind Abilities welcomes back to the podcast, Beth Gustin, licensed professional counselor, a nationally certified mental health counselor, to speak about the impact that the prolonged pandemic is having on our mental health. Beth was a guest on the Job Insights podcast show back in October 2018 where she spoke about mental health and job searching with Jeff and Serina. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and leave us...
Author Feather Chell Has So Many Interesting Chapters in Her Life, I just wanted to keep turning the Pages. And Her New Book, Stranded, is a Page Turner as Well!
February 26, 2021 02:05 - 31 minutes - 26.2 MBFeather Chelle has just published her first book, Stranded, in December and soon her second book, a picture book, will be available as well. Feather Chelle, aka Heather, is a young mother of five and home schools her kids and leads a Girl Scout Troop as well. Heather lost her sight by age 3 due to cancer and adopted her late friends daughter while having 4 kids of her own. She is from a large family and kids have been a part of her life since she was a child herself. Heather started writin...
Our Space Our Place: A Creative Program Helping Students Connect Socially Through Arts, Sports and Community Service and Mentoring
February 24, 2021 19:34 - 25 minutes - 16.5 MBBlind Abilities Teen Correspondent, Simon Bonenfant, chats with Cheryl Cummings and Ruth Kahn, representing an after school and career exploration program in Boston for middle and high school students who are blind or low vision. the Our Space Our Place program takes advantage of a variety of activities to promote social interaction and networking among the students, including the arts, theatre, dance, poetry and many more. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at i...
Inclusion in Academia for Blind and visually Impaired Students, Inclusion in STEM and the Importance of Braille at Any Age, Meet Dr. Natalina Martiniello
February 19, 2021 19:41 - 35 minutes - 29.7 MBDr. Natalina Martiniello completed her Doctorate in the study of Aging on Braille Literacy from the University of Montreal in December of 2021 and has a vast and robust knowledge of all things diversity, accessibility and related issues facing the Blind and Visually Impaired. Inclusion in the classrooms, inclusion in the curriculum building in Universities and the importance of learning Braille at any age are some of the focuses Natalina brings to the conversation. Dr. Martiniello is the...
Join the Club House! Club House on iOS - Drop-in Audio Chat
February 16, 2021 18:37Post By Jeff Thompson From rooms filled with topics from History, Voice Over Artists, Film Makers, Guide Dog Users, Music Makers, Poets, Yoga and much much more, there is a Club House for everyone! Sign up with a phone number and get an invite and share your invites with others. Over a week ago the accessibility features in the Club House app made a huge step forward. Let’s say, the Club House is definitely usable. Read more
Get Out of Your Brain and Do It! 4th Fittest Standing Adaptive Athlete in the World Kym DeKeyrel on CrossFit Training and How Her Life Changing Diet Made Her Who She is Today
February 14, 2021 21:13 - 36 minutes - 29.4 MBFull Transcript Kym DeKeyrel has faced life threatening challenges and has made the necessary changes in her life to take on more and more as she is now all-in on the CrossFit training. Kym is the 4th Fittest Standing Adaptive Athlete in the World. Working out twice a day and balancing her family life and work as a Massage Therapist, Kym strives on being the best she can be. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and ...
What’s the Big Idea, Dr. Cal? A Conversation with Dr. Calvin Roberts, President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild
February 11, 2021 14:44 - 41 minutes - 33.4 MBFull Transcript Our guest on this episode of the Blind Abilities podcast is Dr. Calvin W. Roberts, MD, President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing and preventing vision loss. Dr. Roberts has a unique blend of academic, clinical, business and hands-on product development experience. He is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College, and formerly Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Eye Care, at Bausch Healt...
Tech Abilities: Face ID Gets a Buddy in the Apple Watch. Will Your Air Pods Pair with Your Mac? Is Proximity Always a Good Thing? New Disney Bundle and Spam Call Blues
February 08, 2021 16:21 - 1 hour - 63.7 MBJeff and Serina are joined in the Blind Abilities Studio with State Services for the Blind of Minnesota Assistive Technology Specialist Jesse Anderson. Jesse is the creator and host of the Illegally Sighted channel on YouTube. If you are interested in Video Gaming from a Low Vision perspective, be sure to check out his YouTube channel! In this episode: Read more Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to h...
Telling Stories Visually: Meet Legally Blind Filmmaker and YouTube Creator Juan Alcazar
February 04, 2021 19:06 - 49 minutes - 41.2 MBJuan Alcazar is a Film Maker and YouTube Creator and you can find his work on YouTube at JC5Productions. Juan joined Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about his journey with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and his passion for making films and videos. Storytelling is something Juan took to at a young age and he continues his passion as he embraces his sight loss and the blindness community he found once he stopped denying his loss of vision. I really enjoyed meeting Juan as I ha...
Rebranding Your Services to Fit the Changing Times: Meet Apple Certified Coach Donna Jodhan
February 01, 2021 16:02 - 26 minutes - 16.3 MBToday’s guest on Blind Abilities is Donna Jodhan. Donna is a multi-talented individual, an author, entrepreneur and an advocate for the blind and visually impaired. Now Donna is rebranding herself as a sight loss coach, aiming at helping people who are experiencing sight loss to “...become more comfortable in their new type of world…”, to become independent and fully functional. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a cal...
Tech Abilities: Dude, Where’s My Clubhouse? Homan Prize is Live, PC vs Mac Round 1, Mac Mini, Mantis, iPad Air4 are Keepers but Did the Air Pod Pros Go Back? Then she’s like, Dude!
January 26, 2021 07:46 - 1 hour - 73.8 MBThe crew is intact and with a latte in-hand and most of the microphones locked down and ready, Serina, Raqi, Angie and Jeff take on a lot of topics starting with a very sad, sad story. Serina tossed her nose up at the Air Pod Max headphones and landed a new iPad Air 4. Meanwhile, Raqi scores a Mac Mini just to spoil her Mantis. Meanwhile, Angie’s travel experience is shared and she is now Home Sweet Home at Las, Las Vegas that is. Jeff rows in counting his strokes and loving the Concept2 Row...
Braille Doodle: Creating touchable drawings. and the Perfect Solution for Teaching and Learning Braille While Remote Learning
January 22, 2021 19:48 - 27 minutes - 22.2 MBFull Transcript BlindAbilities presents the team from touch pad pro assistive technology, who is in the process of developing three new and totally innovative products for the blind and visually impaired. Jeff Thompson chats with Kristin Smedley, Chief Communications Officer, Brian Edwards, chief operating Officer, and founder and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Lubiner With long term plans to develop the highly technical touch pad pro, the team is first focusing on the loess technical...
Strap - Change the way you explore the world! A New Device Being Developed by Strap Technologies, and Claiming Strap Could Possibly Replace the White Cane.
January 21, 2021 19:20 - 25 minutes - 19.3 MBRoel and Ben Eynon from Strap Technologies sat down with Simon in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about a device that could possibly replace the white cane. This is a huge claim being that for nearly 100 years the cane has remained for the most part, the same low tech device used for navigation by the Blind and Visually Impaired. Diego and Ben talk about how they came about working together for this initiative and what inspired them to commit their efforts in developing Strap for the B...
Sing for Serenity Choir is an International On-Line Choir for the Blind. Come Listen and Join Us virtually!
January 16, 2021 02:32 - 19 minutes - 16.2 MBIn the era of Covid-19 we have seen a sharp rise in the production of virtual music, ranging from individual performers, to bands, to choral groups. Prior to the pandemic, however, this form of music was not only unusual, but rare. Our guests today on blind abilities represent one of those rare music groups that originated before the Corona virus burst onto the world scene. the Serenity Virtual choir is that group, and Kaleigh Brendle is the group’s founder. Read more Full Transcript ...
Tech Abilities: The Show Must Go On, Headset Mania, Activity Goals on the Apple Watch and Everything You Wanted to Know About Aira but Were Afraid to Ask! Welcome Jenine Stanley
January 13, 2021 17:01 - 1 hour - 72.8 MBSerina, Angie and Jeff were joined by Jesse Anderson to host this episode of Tech Abilities. Jesse is an Assistive Technology Specialist and will be coming on to Tech Abilities more and more in the near future. Jesse is also the creator of the Legally Sighted YouTube Channel were he demonstrates gaming for the VI Community. From Headsets, to Guide Dogs during the Pandemic, to Apple Watch and Fitness Plus and a quick little Apple Watch demo from Kristy Viers on Changing your Activity goals ...
Meet 14 Year Old Ryan Lukowicz – - Future Meteorologist and Creator of the Behind the Weather Forecast Podcast
January 09, 2021 00:00 - 28 minutes - 27.4 MBFull Transcript Jeff’s guest today is Ryan Lukowicz. Ryan has a fascinating interest in a unique topic: Meteorology. as a matter of fact, he has studied Meteorology for over four years now and has developed an expertise in the topic that is respected across the industry. so, you may ask: where did he attend college? how did he attain such an advanced knowledge of this subject that is rooted in complex math and science? well, the answers to these questions may surprise you, because thi...
Build Confidence, Explore Career Possibilities, and Expand Horizons of Opportunity – Meet Pre-Employment Transition Services Counselor Travis Mashuga
January 05, 2021 19:10 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBFull Transcript Travis Mashuga is a Pre-Employment Transition Services Counselor at State Services for the Blind (SSB) in Minnesota. Travis switched gears in college and decided to work in the Rehabilitation field and is now part of the Transition team at SSB. Travis explains what Transition Services offers and tells us how to get connected with the Transition Services. Read more we would love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call and leave us...
Assistive Technology Specialist Jesse Anderson and State Services for the Blind Go Virtual in Providing Transition Services to Students
January 02, 2021 22:46 - 15 minutes - 13.6 MBFull Transcript Minnesota State Services for the Blind (SSB) like every other state rehab agency, is certainly not exempt from the impact of COVID-19. Like much of the Nation’s business and governmental sector, the staff began working from home back in mid-March. Jesse Anderson, Assistive Technology Specialist, Joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about how his department has adjusted to the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 and how they are keeping the virtual do...
Tech Abilities: SeeingAI Swiss Army Knife Adds LiDAR, Facebook About Faces Apple, Apple Car Waiting Continues, Multiple Users on Your iPhone? Is Fitness Plus Actually Fitness Less?
December 29, 2020 19:26 - 51 minutes - 42.9 MBSaddled in between Christmas and the New Year, the crew arrives with a healthy dose of information regarding Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and maybe a bit about Google. We hope all of you are safe and warm. And while Angie is basking in the Florida sunshine, the rest of the crew are weathering the blistery wrath of Winter. But the show must go on! Why are headsets, headphones and ear buds becoming so important? What about that Bluetooth relationship with Windows? And how do you feel about F...