Technology Use

Welcome  to another episode from the Disability Den a pod cast production of the  Disability Channel. In this episode my co-host Nadine and I will be  discussing the types of technology that we use in our day to day life.  The episode begins with us introducing ourselves and then moving into  our main topic of discussion – technology. I talk about the screen  reader that I use to navigate my computer with, which is called Jaws and  further expanding on how it is a layered software that is installed on  your PC and which is purchased and from the start of the initial windows  start up screen Jaws begins to work. The main idea behind Jaws is that  it is a audible screen reader that is controlled by short keyboard key  strokes, some that are generic for all types of users and other key  strokes that are specific to Jaws and specific within a particular  application. Being able to use my computer to navigate through Microsoft  Word, emails and internet exploring with Jaws has enabled me to keep in  touch with family, friends and most importantly information. Jaws has  allowed me to remain connected which is one of the main things that I  had lost due to sight loss.

Switching  gears over to Nadine, I ask her to share the technology that she uses,  which is the IOS system that is the main operating system for all Apple  products. The IOS system primarily works with a feature called “Voice  Over” which is already imbedded within the IOS software and there are no  additional costs to use this. Voice Over on an IPhone and IPad can be  initialized through asking Siri to turn voice over on. This feature can  also be set up by going through the settings App and selecting  Accessibility from the menu and then turning voice over on. Voice over  is also audible and primarily uses hand gestures to navigate through  screens and Apps thus allowing the users with low vision or sight loss  to use the device as a sighted user. Nadine discusses how she has been  able to continue to work as a Social Media Marketer while using her IPad  that operates with the IOS system. She further expands on her ease of  access to stay connected with family, friends, business colleagues and  internet exploring with the use of this system. We discuss how the two  systems vary and the types of keystrokes or hand gestures that are used  with each to navigate applications. Through our discussion we discover  that Nadine is very comfortable using the IOS system where as I am more  at ease using a screen reader. We are both comfortable with our choice  of technology at the same time we still have a lot to learn about each  other’s preference.

As  a final close off to our pod cast I also mention some other types of  Apps that are available to be used by individuals with low vision or  sight loss such as “Seeing AI”, “Be My Eyes”, “Coloured Eye” and  “Navilens”. We expanded further on about our personal experiences and  hesitations that we had with learning new technology, we both encouraged  listeners to be open minded to the vast array of technology that has  now become readily available in the blind community.