The Canadian Council of the Blind Podcast

One of the most powerful ways an iPhone has changed my life is through making books accessible and portable. This month's lecture is all about how to acquire and read eBooks and audiobooks using your iPhone. Accessible digital libraries, small publishers, and large outlets such as Apple and Amazon make books available in digital form. Apps on your iPhone like Kindle, Audible, Voice Dream Reader, and others let you take full advantage of these books. While it's impossible to cover everything, I'll attempt to give you an idea how things work and give you an idea of the lay of the land. Just in time for a Summer of portable and accessible reading.

Your iPhone is a great device for listening to podcasts and internet radio. There are thousands of radio stations which broadcast over the internet. Many of them are run by people who are blind. Besides great shows to listen to, you can interact and be a part of a community by using social media and email. Podcasts are another area where blind people have gotten involved. There are podcasts about pretty much everything and most are free to listen to. In this cession, we'll discuss these forms of entertainment and community. You'll learn about different apps used to hear internet radio stations and podcasts. We'll also discuss how you can participate all from your iPhone.

In our modern lives, mental and physical health is an increasing concern. Using apps and sensors on our iPhone and in accessories we can connect it to, there are many ways in which your iPhone can assist you. iPhones can count the steps we take as we carry them with us. Workout apps can offer training and encouragement to keep ourselves fit. They can give us an outlet to journal our thoughts. Recent additions include mood tracking and mental health assessment questionnaires which assess our danger of anxiety or depression. Meditation apps like headspace can provide numerous mindfulness tools. There are also books and podcasts which our iPhones can help us find and access. We'll take a whirlwind tour of all of these and hopefully provide enough information to get people started.

The first lecture on accessible games focussed on good games for beginners and exploring different types of games. In this second lecture, we look more closely at the economics behind what games are available. We talk about why some great games have disappeared from the app store and what keeps some old favourites viable. I'll talk about some of the deeper more complex games available and why they're some of my favourites. Also, we'll look beyond apps to how your iPhone can help you participate and play other kinds of games like physical board and card games. We'll also touch on how your iPhone can help you play tabletop roleplaying games with friends both online and in person.

The GTT program is excited to have a representative from Innosearch.ai Visiting us to introduce an innovative accessible shopping page! This platform brings together products from multiple companies, all designed with accessibility in mind. It offers an inclusive shopping experience tailored for individuals using assistive technology, ensuring a seamless and empowering journey for everyone. Join us to learn how this cutting-edge tool makes online shopping more inclusive, efficient, and enjoyable for all. 

We learn best when we're busy having too much fun to realize that it's happening. With their power to engage us, games can teach us lessons about ourselves, each other, and the technology we use to play them. Text adventures built of words, statistics and story can motivate us to learn typing and how to review the screen. Other games might improve our reflexes or show us the consequences of taking risks. Games of chance played with others might help break the ice so those others become friends. This week, we'll begin a two part tour of the kinds of games which blind people can obtain and play using their iPhones. From story adventures to board games, strategy simulations and arcade audio action, there's a lot of fun to be had. The lectures will focus on giving people a sense of what's available. For live demonstrations of some games suitable for beginners, people can join us on the third Wednesday in February and March for cessions focussed on helping participants understand how to actually start playing games particularly good for beginners.

The camera on your iPhone is a tremendously useful addition for Blind users. Combined with the internet, human sighted volunteers and artificial intelligence, the right apps can do a whole lot of good. We'll discuss the apps which harness these capabilities to help you read printed documents, identify items, find lost things and tell you what is around. We'll also discuss some of the implications of these tools and the economics making it all possible.

The app store is absolutely essential for anybody who wants to make the most of their iPhone. In this cession, we'll explore the app store in full. You'll learn how to get to various areas. From searching for apps, managing subscriptions, checking for app updates, and purchasing or redeeming gift cards, there's a lot of digital ground to cover. We'll also touch on why it's helpful to look elsewhere for accessible app recommendations and discuss the changing economics behind the apps we use.

The Internet in your pocket is a core reason why you want an iPhone with you. Many apps tap into information available via the web. However, the Safari browser or a third party alternative of your choice will serve as your direct gateway to sites on the web which you want to visit. This month, we'll take a deep dive and explore the Safari browser. It comes on your iPhone as an important part of iOS. You'll learn how to navigate the web and how to take advantage of resources there through Safari. We'll also talk about the settings associated with this browser. Third party alternatives won't be covered in detail but we'll briefly discuss why you might want to try them out.

There's a lot which has been updated in iOS 18. This month, we'll begin our detour from the second edition of the book in order to fill people in on these changes. We'll talk about the new tutorial for VoiceOver users which is now available right in the VoiceOver settings. We'll also look at how audio ducking has been updated and is now far more useful. There's plenty which has changed outside of VoiceOver. The settings for iOS have been rearranged so we'll go over how that crucial area has changed.

Increasingly, Apple is turning to making revenue through services which it offers. The News app offers a lot of interesting articles which are freely available even without a subscription. People can also search for and follow their own topics of interest. Through the Apple News Plus service available for a monthly subscription, this app will provide access to far more content including full articles, newspapers  and over two hundred magazines. Recently, crossword and other puzzles have been added for subscribers. All of this is fully accessible to blind users through VoiceOver. In this first Fall session, we'll take a tour of what the app and service have to offer while waiting for the arrival of iOS 18.

In the second part of our look at communications apps which come installed on your iPhone, we focus on the two most complicated but empowering ones. These are FaceTime and Mail. The FaceTime app allows for live video and audio conversations with individuals or groups of people. Meanwhile, the Mail app lets you tap into that very popular form of written communication. Both of these apps have their intricacies. In both cases, there are alternative choices for accomplishing the same thing using other apps. We'll discuss the pros and cons of sticking with what's there versus looking for alternatives.

Communication is what your iPhone is all about. Several apps come installed on your iPhone to help you connect and exchange information with people in your life. In part one of our tour of these apps, we'll focus on the Contacts, Phone and Messages apps. We'll also touch on some additional related topics like emoji characters, stickers, Voice mail, and more.

In this 12 minute podcast, Russell Solowoniuk demonstrates using his LG washer model WM3500CW and his LG Dryer model DLE3500W using the accompanying accessible iOS or Android LG ThinQ app. He describes how a blind person can use the washer and dryer standalone and how accessibility is enhanced using the app on his iPhone. Note that models described have been discontinued and replaced with washer model WM3600HWA and dryer model DLE3600W as of March 2024.

In this session, we will explore the lifestyle apps discussed in the previous session in more detail. We'll talk about managing recurring events in the calendar. The Notes app is full of features to keep your information organized. Suggestions are at the heart of apple's new Journal app and we'll go through how to access these. Apps in this category are simple on the surface, but often have surprisingly thorough capabilities.

Being so portable, your iPhone is an ideal device for helping with many aspects of everyday life. This session will discuss a number of apps designed to come in handy in everyday situations. These include Weather, Reminders, Calendar, Notes, Calculator and Journal. This group of apps is very suitable for use by beginners. Siri works well with all of them. Rather than an exhaustive exploration, this lecture will hopefully give you enough of an idea of the capabilities of these apps as well as how to control them in order to get started using them.

Wayne Antle reviews the features and how to use finder on the mac. finder is like file explorer for windows.  It has many powerful features and uses.

Apple has long been associated with music and creativity. Your iPhone can give you access to millions of songs, curated playlists, radio stations, and even some live events. This month, we'll dive into the enjoyment of music and go over the Music app and the Apple Music Plus service in detail. This is one of the easiest ways for beginners to start truly enjoying their iPhones.

Your iPhone is constantly checking for new information. Apps running in the background can interrupt you with notifications. So can calls and messages from people. Thankfully, Apple has provided tools to help deal with this effectively. We will discuss notifications settings in detail. These let you decide whether and how apps can inform you of things in normal circumstances. Meanwhile, focus settings let you determine what and who can interrupt you at a given time. Between these groups of settings, you can be in control of interruptions to your daily life from your iPhone.

The Voice Control feature allows people to control their iPhones entirely with spoken commands. Designed with sighted people in mind who have motion difficulties making use of the touchscreen difficult, the system can be used in conjunction with VoiceOver. This final lecture for 2023 will give a basic tour of how Voice Control works. This completes the many different ways there are of controlling your iPhone. In the new year, we'll begin talking about the many different apps and services which can be used and accessed by blind people through the use of their iPhones.

Nolan Jenikov gives us a brief demonstration of the iPhone application perplexity.

shubh gives us a demonstration of the glasses. Following is a lengthy Q&A session. You can reach him at shubh@seleste.co the website is: https://www.seleste.co/product-page/seleste-smart-glasses  

For many blind people, Braille is vital. They prefer to type in Braille and read in Braille rather than using a touchscreen and synthetic speech. This is quite possible using VoiceOver on your iPhone. Apple offers extensive support for using their products with Braille displays. This week, we'll focus on what's possible when you connect a Braille display via Bluetooth to your iPhone. We'll also discuss Braille screen input which lets you type on the touchscreen as if it were a Braille keyboard. We'll also go over some pitfalls of using Braille with your iPhone.  

We store a lot of information on our iPhones. Apple does a lot to help keep that information secure. In this part of the Unseen Touchscreen course, we examine these security measures and the things we can do to safeguard our information while still making the most of our iPhones. The relevant section of the book is called Digitally Defending Yourself.

The topics for this session will include a brief tour of Siri. This digital assistant can be very helpful especially to beginners. We'll discuss what Siri is designed to do and what it can't do. Also, we'll discuss how iOS handles sound. This is an area where iOS can present some challenges for blind people who aren't aware of sound related decisions that Apple has made.

ScripTalk talking prescription labels help a variety of people who cannot get their prescription information in traditional ways. Talking prescriptions help people with vision impairment, they help people who are print impaired or have other neurological limitations. The challenge, as we focus our efforts on bringing ScripTalk into more Canadian pharmacies, is to get you  to speak with your pharmacy manager and let them know that  these labels will allow you to be able to stay safe and independent while taking your medications. for more information on ScripTalk visit the website: https://www.envisionamerica.com/

The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) has recently introduced a new option to its talking book player line up. This is the Envoy connect player available for purchase through the CNIB smart life store. In this  presentation about CELA's new service supporting the Envoy Connect audio book player, we will cover the basics of the Envoy Connect player, basics of the associated CELA Connect software, and what the service launch involves.

In part two of our tour of settings, we review the mental mapping of the settings discussed in part one. We then continue our journey through the settings exploring the security, Apple, and third party apps areas. Combined with what has been covered in prior cessions, this should leave everyone in good shape to enjoy and continue to master their iPhones over the Summer break. In the Fall, we'll proceed to discussions of security, using Braille displays with your iPhone, and much more. If people wish, they can email questions to me over the Summer months. I'll be happy to help if I can.

The settings app is what you use to configure your iPhone so it best suits your needs. You can do everything from choosing how bright your display is to adjusting security options and enabling accessibility features. There are hundreds of settings inside various branches of options. This cession will be the first of a two part exploration of what settings are available. The focus will be on overall orientation to the Settings app plus deeper dives into some of the branches of options.

In this lecture, we'll continue our tour of various aspects of the iOS operating system. Topics will include the powerful spotlight search feature, the app library and home screens, how to organize and move apps on your iPhone, how files are stored, when to use the iPhone storage settings area, the files app, the philosophy behind iOS, and current developments.

Now that you understand what the VoiceOver screen reader does and know some basic gestures, it's time to learn about the iOS operating system. We'll take a tour of its main points of interaction with users. These include the home screens, notification centre, control centre, dock, status bar, today view, widgets, and spotlight search. We'll also discuss what iOS does for its users behind the scenes. For a deeper dive, read the section of the guide called The iOS Operating System.

In part 2 of our exploration of Voiceover, Michael Feir will continue discussing various gestures and techniques for getting the most out of Voiceover. We will learn how to reach the home screens and other key parts of iOS. There are also a good many settings which can help you customize Voiceover to suit your particular needs. Features such as navigation styles, quick settings, rotor settings, and more will be covered.

Wayne Antle describes how to move contacts to different apps using drag and drop with voiceover. 

The key to a blind person being able to effectively use an iPhone is the Voiceover screen reader. This provides a means of controlling an iPhone without sight as well as feedback via speech or Braille. This lecture will discuss various aspects and concepts of Voiceover. The rotor, navigation by units, screen exploration and important gestures will all be discussed. This 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: April 2022 People who have trouble downloading the book in the format of their choice should email Michael directly at: Michael.feir@gmail.com

When you start using an iPhone, you're entering a carefully crafted ecosystem of hardware, software, and services. Apple tries to make its customers feel valued at the same time as they seek to profit from them. There are many implications of this. It's far easier, for example, to purchase and read books using the Books app included on your iPhone than it is to obtain books from other vendors like Kindle. The same holds true for music, TV shows, etc. We'll examine the advantages and disadvantages of Apple's tight control of the app store and by extension, of what you can do on your iPhone. We'll also talk about the economics of owning an iPhone and getting the greatest possible use out of it.

In this podcast, Wayne Antle walks us through using the powerful voiceover help features available on the mac. 

NaviLens is a new and exciting cutting-edge technology which has been developed to provide blind and visually impaired people with more accessibility and autonomy in their everyday lives. Oran McAllister, Client Engagement Officer at NaviLens, gives a presentation about the NaviLens Codes and the amazing features of this technology. He gives a short introduction to the NaviLens code, how it came about and how it works, additionally he speaks about the many use cases of the technology around the world, from transportation infrastructure wayfinding to product packaging, as well as validation from many users and associations from across the globe. Furthermore, Oran speaks about how NaviLens can be used in the home, in associations, and in schools using the free NaviLens kits, in addition to telling us a little more about the future of NaviLens. For more information, http://www.navilens.com/  https://www.rnib.org  

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. On this special evening meeting we are pleased to welcome Heather Walkus, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), who is a user of the Dexcom 6 continuous glucose monitor system. Heather will present to us her experiences about its accessibility and usability for our community. More info, https://www.dexcom.com

Using a smartphone with a visual impairment can sometimes be frustrating and difficult. At Hable, we like to make this easier for you. The Hable One is the easiest Braille keyboard to control your smartphone. Do you use Voiceover or Talkback on your smartphone and struggle with swiping gestures? Or do you find on-screen typing cumbersome and takes up a lot of energy? Then the Hable One is probably of interest to you.

This week, Michael Feir focusses on hardware. He will explain what differentiates one iPhone from another and why it matters to you. From microchips, cameras, memory, and storage, we will talk about what is under the glass. Michael will also discuss accessories you may wish to acquire for your iPhone. From cases to keyboards to chargers, we will talk about how to shop for them and what to be careful of when you do.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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