News from the cutting edge of assistive technology
The Freedom Scientific Student of the Month program features K-12 students living in the U.S. who are blind or visually impaired and use Freedom Scientific technology to achieve educational goals. The Student of the Month for April 2021 is Mitchell, a senior from Pennsylvania. Mitchell began using JAWS in the 4th grade, and says it …
Read More April 2021, Student of the MonthOn FSCast 198, what it takes to make astronomy accessible to people who are blind or low vision. We’ll meet Kate Meredith, President of GLAS Education, and two students involved with the project, to hear how it all came together. Then a visit with legendary GPS pioneer Mike May to hear about his life and …
Read More FSCast 198, how GLAS Education developed an accessible astronomy curriculum, and a visit with GPS pioneer Mike MayDo you have difficulty reading Adobe Acrobat files (PDFs) with JAWS? Are you looking for keyboard commands that will improve the reading experience? Join us Thursday, April 15 at noon Eastern time for a live webinar, “Cracking the Code, Tips for Reading PDFs with JAWS.” What are PDFs? PDF stands for portable document format. PDF …
Read More Join Us for Cracking the Code, Tips for Reading PDFs with JAWSSoftware updates are typically released because bugs in the software have been repaired, security issue has been identified and patched, and new features have been added. In all cases, these updates are typically bundled together and provided as automatic, recommended, or required updates. In the world of assistive technology, updating your assistive technology software is …
Read More Why keep your Assistive Technology up to date?According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), occupational therapy helps people participate in everyday activities. “Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes.” Occupational Therapy and …
Read More What is Occupational Therapy?The April updates of JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion are here! No matter which product you use, you will benefit from our new features and enhancements. This post offers several examples. Change the Wake Word for Voice Assistant By default, Voice Assistant listens for the wake word “Sharky” for JAWS and “Zoomy” for ZoomText and Fusion …
Read More What’s New in the April 2021 Software Updates?Did you know you can use speech and sound schemes so JAWS will alert you to changes on the screen, such as using a deeper voice for bold text? If you have a creative scheme and want to share it with fellow JAWS users, consider taking part in the Freedom Scientific Speech and Sound Schemes …
Read More Freedom Scientific JAWS Speech and Sound Schemes ContestThe eighth module of our JAWS Training for Teachers and AT Instructors is available on our Teaching Resources page. Each module in the series builds upon the last and contains lessons, videos, and a quiz. What’s In Module 8? Module 8, JAWS and Braille provides an overview of setting up a refreshable braille display and …
Read More Module 8 of JAWS Training for Teachers and AT InstructorsThe Freedom Scientific Student of the Month Program features K-12 students living in the U.S. who are blind or visually impaired and use Freedom Scientific technology to achieve educational goals. The Student of the Month for March 2021 is Kai, a second grader from California. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kai was not familiar with …
Read More March 2021, Freedom Scientific Student of the MonthOn FSCast 197, a spotlight on a great Twitter app for Windows called TWBlue. We’ll meet its author, Manuel Cortez, and hear the program in action. Then a visit with Michael Hudson, longtime JAWS beta tester and the Director of the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at Michigan State University. Activate link to listen, …
Read More FSCast 197, Manuel Cortez, creator of TWBlue, and Michael Hudson, Director of accessibility Services at Michigan State University