The Canadian Council of the Blind Podcast

103. Unseen Touchscreen course session 2

Before we pull back and look at the larger picture, this month’s lecture is my attempt to give you the equivalent of a quick start guide. Sighted people will typically have access to enough instructions so that they are able to start exploring and enjoying their iPhones with a minimum of fuss. They are given very basic navigation instructions and directed to the app store among other resources. Blind people lack such resources which take their very different experience into account. This lecture will attempt to provide enough knowledge about key aspects of iPhone use to allow you to start doing things. Topics such as Voiceover, typing on your iPhone, setting up an iPhone totally blind, obtaining the iPhone user guide from the Books app or on the web, and much more. People may wish to read the Quick Start section of the Personal Power eBook before attending the lecture.

102. Unseen Touchscreen course introduction

the Unseen Touchscreen online course will give the information needed by blind iPhone users to make the most out of these powerful and versatile devices.
The course is based on the second edition of Michael Feir’s free e-book, Personal Power: Getting the Most From iOS as a Totally Blind User. This book can be downloaded in several formats from: Michael Feir’s Blog: at
http://michaelfeir.blogspot.com/2022/04/
People who have trouble downloading the book in the format of their choice should email Michael directly at: Michael.feir@gmail.com

101. Exploration of the mac voiceover utility with Wayne Antle

Wayne gives us a walk-through of the voiceover settings on the Mac explaining what each setting does

100. second edition of Personal Power with the author, Michael Feir

Description: Two years and literally thousands of changes later, the second edition of Personal Power is now available. It is an eBook which I wrote and am giving away freely. Basically, the book takes people from setting up their iPhones to thriving in the iOS environment. It teaches how to use Voiceover, the various parts of iOS, and a whole lot of apps.

. The link to the guide is:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-1GAc2-HM1drA0GEj4fEBgQxIh4bHSKC

99. Using the focus mode on IOS with Michael Feir

We all get distracted by our iPhones. The answer used to be to turn on “do not disturb”. This would prevent notifications from being announced and prevent pretty much everyone from contacting you. Apple has improved upon this with a new feature called “Focus”. That is where “do not disturb” went to hide on everyone. It is now one of several different focus modes. You can take far more control over what apps can disturb you. and who can contact you when you are busy. There is more of a learning curve which comes with this increased flexibility. Together, we will explore how to customize and even create your own focus modes. We will also learn how to take control of this new addition to iOS.

98. Apple VS Android: Pros and cons with Caroline Toews

Caroline has used both Apple and android phones. She joins us to present on the pros and cons and features and her decision to use an android phone at present.

97. Using the Siri shortcuts app on your I Device with Kim Kilpatrick

As a follow-up to our presentation on using Siri a couple of weeks ago, we explore the Siri shortcuts app and show how to create your own shortcuts for Siri to use.

96. Using Microsoft Word from the Keyboard with Gerry Chevalier

In this 44 minute presentation, Gerry demonstrates using Microsoft Word from the keyboard  with no mouse. Gerry explains basic keyboard navigation and screen reader commands  by demonstrating various Word tasks including:

• Navigate Word Views.
• Navigate the Ribbons.
• Navigate and Search document text.
• Apply headings.
• Set character attributes.
• Set Text alignment, and font size.
• Make bulleted or numbered lists.
• Copy/paste formatting.
• Insert hyperlinks.
• Add Tables.

Create a table of contents.

 

95. Using Siri and dictation on your Idevices with Kim Kilpatrick

Kim gives a walkthrough of the Siri settings explaining each one.

94. Jeff Godfrey from Accessibuild

Join us for a presentation about Accessibuild, a Canadian building navigation system that empowers users to navigate indoor environments independently using their Android or iOS device. Jeff Godfrey, the lead developer, will be discussing how the app works and provides  a demonstration.