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September 25, 2018November 29, 2020

September 2018: ISLAND 2018 Conference Recap

Contributed by Robert Jaquiss
Editor of Independence Science Newsletter
[email protected]

The 2018 ISLAND conference was a great success. This year, the conference was hosted by Princeton University. The conference was held in Bowen hall Starting Friday September 14 and ending Saturday September 15. Our keynote speaker was Michael Hingson who gave the keynote address Friday evening. Michael told of his life and career and how he managed to adapt to many changes. A newspaper story about Michael’s visit is at:

http://www.centraljersey.com/news/the_princeton_packet/stories/survivor-of-sept-terrorist-attack-describes-ordeal-for-princeton-audience/article_f48e62b0-099e-5f9c-99c3-aac36afad982.htm

All the rest of the presentations were on Saturday and are briefly summarized below:

· We were welcomed by Dr. Daniel Steinberg of Princeton University and Dr. Cary Supalo of Educational Testing Service.

· WCAG 2.1 Meets STEM: Application, Interpretation, and Challenges for Further Standard Development. Dr. Jason White. Educational Testing Service. Dr. White talked about the newly updated WCAG standards. There were also comments about the presentation of math and the use of scalable vector graphics (SVG).

· Teaching Basic Cryptography Concepts Using Braille and Large Print Manipulatives. Jason Martin. Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. Various manipulatives which were labeled in braille were shown and passed around. The intent is to expose students to some basic cryptographic concepts.

· Using Remote Assistance to Provide Access to STEM Laboratory Classes. Michael Hingson. Michael demonstrated the Aira and talked about how it could be used in a laboratory.

· The SALS App: Making Chemistry Accessible With iOS Devices. Dr. Roseanne Hoffmann. American Printing House for the Blind. The Submersible Audible Light Sensor (SALS) connects to iDevices using BlueTooth. The probe part is 10 inches long and is used to detect color changes in liquid. The iDevice provides the audio feedback.

· Changing STEM with the Graphiti: A Tactile Graphic Display. Ken Perry. American Printing House for the Blind. The Graphiti was demonstrated. The Graphiti is an array of 60X40 pins and accepts HDMI input. When a colored image is used, the heighth of the pins will vary depending on the color. APH is seeking funds to help complete the development of the Graphiti.

· Making 3D printed and 3D laser-cut audio-enriched tactile STEM templates. Dr. Michael Kolitsky. University of Texas at El Paso. The creation of tactile overlays for the iPad was discussed. Electric Paint can be used to create buttons on the oberlays so the iPad screen can be activated.

· A Post-Secondary Degree Program that Maximizes Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Student Success. Dr. Todd Pagano. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)/ National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). NTID has comprehensive services for students who are deaf allowing them to complete the courses of study at RIT.

· Teaching Introductory Chemistry Laboratory Courses to Blind Students at Truman State University. Dr. H. David Wohlers, Caitlyn M. McGuire, and Jessica L. Michael. Truman State University. The presentation described the adaptations used to teach two students who are blind chemistry.

· Fun Science Activities for Children. Dr. Lillian A. Rankel & Marilyn Winograd. Teachers of the Blind. The presentation described how blind preschoolers were taught basic science concepts.

· AstroAccess: Creative Approaches to Disability Inclusion in STEM. Anna Volker. Ohio State University. The presentation focused on an effort to collect information on projects that teach astronomy to students with disabilities.

· A Review of Tactile Graphics Repositories. Robert Jaquiss. American Thermoform Corporation. The presentation consisted of two parts. The first part showed some examples of state-of-the-art RP technologies. The second part described various depositories of files that can be downloaded and printed on 3d printers. The list of depositories will be made available on our web site.

· Edible Astronomy Demonstration and Laboratory Activities. Dr. Donald Lubowich. Hofstra University. The presentation described how different foods can be used to teach astronomy.

August 25, 2018November 29, 2020

August 2018: The 2018 SASS Camp

Contributed by Robert Jaquiss
Editor of Independence Science Newsletter
[email protected]

Independence Science was proud to send two of our employees this past week to help Blind students from around Michigan learn about sound in the Michigan NFB Sensational Adventures in Summer Science (SASS) Camp. This year’s theme for SASS was The SUBTLE, SUBLIME, SONOROUS, SYMPHONIC SCIENCE OF SOUND.

From July 29-August 5, 2018, students were engaged by questions such as: would life, as we know it, be the same if there was no sound? Can plants hear? Could bees pollinate without sound? How does sound effect our health? Can humans use echo location like bats do? What is the difference between sound and noise?

SASSy scientists and staff had fun using the Talking LabQuest to explore decibels of everyday objects, compare unmodified, amplified, and mechanically enhanced sound differences, and feel sound waves when pairing the LabQuest, sound meter and microphone sensors with a prototype of the APH graphitti. Parents were stunned seeing how much students learned over the week and the amazement of “touching” their child’s voice using the LabQuest and Graphitti pairing. Independence Science looks forward to the day when the Graphitti tablet is commercially available helping to make science more accessible to the blind.

The camp began with the outdoor splendor of Camp Tuhsmeheta for 3 days and then 3 days at the more urban environment of the University of Michigan Dearborn campus. At Camp T, students investigated how nature uses and makes sound, and how it affects humans and their environment. In Dearborn, students explored how humans have invented ways of changing, amplifying and entertaining us with and preserving sound. They visited the birthplace of the phonograph, learned how vinyl and electronic music is made and saved, and expressed themselves with sound.

For more information about SASS contact: [email protected] or Fred Wurtzel [email protected] or Donna Posont at [email protected]

December 25, 2017November 29, 2020

December 2017:

Contributed by Robert Jaquiss
Editor of Independence Science Newsletter
[email protected]

SeeingAI is a free artificial intelligence app by the Microsoft corporation that just updated to offer some amazing new features. The app contains a “Short Text” channel that doesn’t require a picture. This is great for printed signs and menus. There is a “Document” app that functions much like KNFB Reader to take pictures of a longer document with some processing time. A “product” channel that will beep more frequently when getting closer to a bar code, then automatically takes a picture. This will automatically announce the product, then if the “more information” tab is selected nutritional and cooking instructions are read. A “person” channel that attempts to identify a person’s approximate age and gender as well as gives the option to input information to identify a specific person like Orcam (at its current state Independence Science does not suggest that these two features should be relied upon). A new “currency” reader, a “scene” channel that when a picture is taken will give an approximate guess on surroundings such as “man on a bed using a laptop” which is still in beta form and should only be used to learn more about a scene or picture not solid identification. It has a “color” channel that based on the lighting will help you identify colors of objects such as clothing. Remember in certain lighting conditions may change a readout such as white may read as yellow in bright light or gray in dark so we suggest using a known control such as your cane to identify for sure for your conditions. The most revolutionary thing on there is a “handwriting” channel that is currently in beta and appears to recognize about 50% of print (not cursive) handwriting in its current form but as far as we know this is the first app that does this. Lastly there is a musical “light” sensor with higher pitches for brighter lights. This app is entirely self voiced so having VoiceOver on is not required. This revolutionary app is currently only available on Apple products.