accessbility

It's a special show today, celebrating World Braille Day which not only focuses on the tactile writing system but also its creator Louis Braille, whose birthday is marked today too. On this special two-hour episode, which was broadcast live on AMI-audio, Steven Scott and Shaun Preece are joined by a stellar panel of guests to discuss the value of Braille today, and how technology can play a major part in its future. Our panel includes AMI-tv's Kelly MacDonald, based in London, Ontario, and Grant Hardy from Vancouver. Both are keen braillists and want to share their love of the writing system with us. Plus, Kim Kilpatrick joins us from Ottawa. She is the vice president of Braille Literacy Canada, a professional storyteller, disability arts consultant and community reporter on Kelly & Ramya. And Elizabeth Mohler joins us from Southern Ontario. She is a researcher, educator and advocate for Braille and sits on the Education Standards Committee for the Ontario Government, where she advises and deliberates on Educational Policies about students with disabilities. We also hear from Professor Cay Holbrook, from the University of British Columbia, who shares her research on the history of Louis Braille and the legacy he leaves behind. Plus we learn about a virtual sing-a-long taking place across Canada which has been arranged by CNIB to mark World Braille Day with a special song - Karen Brophey from the organisation joins us to tell us more. And we met Freek van Welsenis, one of the founders of the popular Hable One Braille input keyboard which has won a major award at the upcoming Zero Project Conference in Vienna. We discuss the role technology like this plays in getting Braille into the hands of more people around the world. Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) X (formerly Twitter): @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed Mastodon: @DoubleTap

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun continue the theme of this week and read through more of your emails and messages, but not before chatting about the challenges of losing weight all thanks to an office chair Steven sat on. Listeners James and Gary weigh in on the subject of Braille and literacy and challenge what some consider to be the meaning of literacy. And Grace Scoffield joins us with the week’s news in accessible technology, including details of a new smartphone from Kapsys, approval of a new accessible app for Reddit users who are blind, and a campaign by San Fransisco's Lighthouse for the Blind to get more driverless cars on the road. Get in touch with the Double Tappers and join the conversation: Email: feedback@doubletaponair.com Call: 1-877-803-4567 (Canada and USA) / 0204 571 3354 (UK) Twitter: @BlindGuyTech / @ShaunShed / @DoubleTapOnAir Mastodon: @DoubleTap YouTube: DoubleTapOnAir

Christina talks with web accessibility and design expert Derek Featherstone about considering accessibility as a foundational part of the design process. By doing so, he argues, the software we build will have better structure and be inherently more useful for everyone who uses it.