ACB Focus: Technology

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

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

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.

Attendees joined the organizers of The Sento Showdown, a tournament held exclusively for blind and visually impaired players, in their quest to immerse you into the world of accessibility in gaming. They showcased advanced mastery levels of narrated gameplay across a variety of popular video game titles for your entertainment. Attendees had the opportunity to bring their questions and their best gaming spirit!

 Disclaimer: Some of the games featured in this presentation may be rated M for mature audiences by the ESRB. Viewer discretion is advised

Panelists:

♠ Gable Meade, Gamer, Cedar Rapids, IA

♠ Carlos Martinez, Gamer, Los Angeles, CA

♠ Carlos Vasquez, Gamer, Houston, TX

♠ Dexter Roberts, Gamer, Los Angeles, CA

♠ Alex Vasquez, Gamer, Los Angeles, CA

Sponsored by: ACB Students

•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

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.

The New APH ConnectCenter. Attendees joined us while the ConnectCenter team took you on a tour of what makes us your go to place for all you need to know about blindness/visual impairment. This presentation introduced you to our Information and Referral line, and our suite of websites:

•FamilyConnect

•VisionAware

•CareerConnect

 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

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

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 

People are talking: what drives your voice? Facebook and Twitter were once the reigning social giants. The networking landscape has changed significantly. Newer applications like TikTok and clubhouse are clamoring with new forms of social expression and conversation. WhatsApp has also shaped the way we communicate with one another over the past few years. With all the social networking noise, how do you find the right volume for you? This roundtable discussion, we'll hear from three members of our community shared their favorite platforms that amplify their voices. Attendees joined BPI for a discussion that expanded their social networking horizons.

Presenters:

☻ Leah Gardner, Oakland, CA

☻ Byron Lee, Minneapolis, MN