Assistive technology

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Top 12 of 2012 #2 – access to social media

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As social media continues to dominate what people do online, a new digital divide is opening up between those who use social media and those excluded from them by their inaccessibility. To help remedy this, we published sociABILITY: Social media for people with a disability in March.

Funded by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network grants scheme, the resource explains the current state of social media accessibility and guides users through getting started on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Skype and blogging.

Media Access Australia researcher Dr Scott Hollier conducted an eight-month qualitative study among people with a sensory and mobility impairment. Through this research, social media users with disabilities were able to share their tips and tricks so that others can gain access.


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Australians with disabilities pay too much for IT

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The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has published a report outlining how Australians pay too much for technology and that people with disability are being hit hardest.

ACCAN’s submission to the Inquiry into IT Pricing, which is being conducted by the House Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, investigated how much Australians pay for software and hardware compared to the rest of the world. In particular, assistive technology costs more here than elsewhere in the world, yet Australians with disability are more likely to be under financial pressure.

Digital media and technology: 

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Dell and Microsoft create program for accessible classrooms

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A new collaborative effort by Microsoft and Dell has introduced an education program in the U.S. that will provide training and support to teachers of students with disabilities.

The program will help them incorporate and promote the use of assistive technologies and software features in classrooms for students who are blind or vision impaired or have a cognitive disability.

Digital media and technology: 

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Braille keyboard for iPhone developed

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Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed BrailleTouch, a prototype iPhone app that allows people who are blind or vision impaired to send text messages using an onscreen Braille keyboard.

Braille is a tactile writing system for people who are blind or vision impaired. A Braille keyboard allows users to enter Braille characters by pressing several keys together, like playing a chord on a piano. There are six keys on a Braille keyboard, each of which equate to one of the six dots that make up a Braille character.

Digital media and technology: 

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