Hi: This is a very well written article.
Begin forwarded message: > From: Scott Davert <scottslistm...@gmail.com> > Subject: The 99 Dollar question: a Review of the Humanware Communicator app > Date: September 12, 2012 9:44:32 AM CDT > To: dbtechies <dbtech...@googlegroups.com>, viphone > <viph...@googlegroups.com>, macvissionar...@googlegroups.com, mac4theblind > <mac4thebl...@freelists.org> > Reply-To: viph...@googlegroups.com > > Tuesday, September 11, 2012 > By Scott Davert > > For quite some time, deaf-blind users of iDevices have been able to > use face to face communication with the public through the notes app. > This consists typically of an iDevice (iPod, iPad, or iPhone) paired > with a Braille display and Bluetooth keyboard. The deaf-blind person > can then type using the Braille input keys on their display, while the > sighted and hearing person types on the Bluetooth keyboard. All text > shows up on both the Braille display and the screen of the iDevice. > Now, there is another option on the market geared toward this specific > purpose. > > The Humanware Communicator > (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/humanware-communicator/id550473985) is > an app available in the App Store for $99. The app facilitates the > described communication process with some added functionality. One can > read the description on the link above for an understanding of the > basics, so these will not be covered in this article. Instead, the > purpose of this article is to go through the features of this app and > to help the deaf-blind consumer and the professional working with > deaf-blind consumers to determine whether they feel the app is worth > $99. It assumes that the reader is already familiar with the pairing > process of a Braille display with the iDevice and its various quirks. > You can read more on this at > http://www.applevis.com/guides/Braille-commands-iphone. > Also note that the pairing process for the Brailliant BI line > specifically is much more simple, as no authentication code is > required to pair the devices. Please see the manual for further > explanation. Finally, this is only a review of the app itself, not the > entire unit sold by Humanware which includes an iDevice and Humanware > Braille display. > > Equipment Used > This app was tested using an iPhone 4 (CDMA) running iOS 5.1.1 with a > RefreshaBraille 18 Braille display. The latest model of the Apple > Wireless Bluetooth keyboard was also used. An iPhone is going to most > likely be the best device for this app, since it’s the only iDevice > that vibrates. > > A note about a decision > The most competent professionals in the field of access technology > will tell you that one of the most important things in teaching is > assessment. Only with a proper assessment can a professional or > individual determine the best solution for specific situations. As > such, it's important to keep in mind when reading the below info that > what works for one deaf-blind consumer may not work at all for > another. Only through proper assessment can the best solution be found > to match that individual's communications needs. Whether you're > deaf-blind yourself or working with someone who is, trying out the > various options available is the first step to making a successful > plan. > > App layout and explanation > Going from left to right, once you launch the app, you will have the > following options: New Conversation, Greeting, Phrases, Archives, User > guide, and About. The New Conversation icon will allow you to start a > new conversation. The Greeting option allows you to change the > greeting if you do not like the default one. Phrases allow you to use > a form of shorthand to enter a few letters and then have a designated > string of text be written. Archives allow you to save conversations > that you have had. The User Guide allows you to learn about how to use > the app. About contains links to both the Humanware and INLB websites > along with the option to rate the app. Each of these features will be > discussed in turn. One other important note to add is that once you > launch this app, your device will be placed in “landscape” mode, which > means the orientation of the touch screen should be moved so that the > Home button is on the right side of the device facing the person using > the touch screen. > > New Conversation > When you launch the New Conversation feature, your device will make a > sort of ringing soun, and, if you have an iPhone, it will vibrate. By > default, the following text appears on the screen. “HI, I am deaf and > blind. Use this unit to communicate with me. Click OK if you > understand.” When the sighted individual taps “OK” the Braille > display will come up with a blinking cursor. It’s now you’re turn to > type a message. You can enter this message in either contracted or > uncontracted Braille. This can be toggled with the command space with > G on the Braille keyboard. Pressing space with dot 8 on the keyboard > of the Braille display sends your message, and it appears with an > onscreen keyboard located underneath it. The sighted person then types > out their message in response and taps send to send the message to > you. The message will then pop up on the Braille display. This cannot > be used by another VoiceOver user though, since the keyboard is set up > to work with sighted individuals. So as to avoid confusion, each time > the deaf-blind individual types a message a “Q:” will proceed the > message, and each time the individual with the phone replies, this > message will be prefaced with an “A”. Each time the deaf-blind person > sends a message, the phone will vibrate. For the individual using the > Braille display, as the person is typing, you’ll see the word “Typing” > pop up on the display. When the word typing no longer appears, this > means you have most likely received a message, though then you can > know for sure by moving right with space and dot 4 and you will find a > blinking cursor. > > Now for some findings based on feedback of my using this around my > place of employment and in the community. Note that these are not > formal results of any sort, just my findings from using the app for > the past 2 months while I was using the beta version of this software. > A common reaction, particularly amongst those who are less familiar > with technology, was that many were intimidated with the touch screen > keyboard. When a QWERTY keyboard was used, it did seem that people > were less hesitant to communicate using this method, probably because > they were more used to seeing a regular keyboard. Use of a Bluetooth > keyboard seems to make the communication process much more fluid and > quick. > > When the conversation is complete, the Braille user can hit space with > L to go to the top of the screen. You’ll find a back button there. > Moving to the right one icon will place you on the save button, which > will of course allow you to save the conversation. Now, let’s move on > to the other options in the app. > > Greeting > Returning to the main screen of the app, and next to New Conversation > is Greeting. This allows you to customize the greeting that will be > displayed when you are attempting to get someone to communicate with > you using the app. Within this setting, you can either clear or simply > modify what is already written. You can do this in either contracted > or uncontracted Braille, or you can also type it using the touch > screen if you wish. One could argue that you can do this with the > Notes application by simply typing up a predefined message to this > effect, but the difference is that you will not be able to have the > person on the other end confirm that they understand you. > > Phrases > One of the features that can come in handy with this app is the > phrases feature. What happens is that you have a set of predefined > phrases such as “can you help me with directions?” “I’m looking for > bus #.” These phrases are activated by typing in the letters me > followed by a dash (-) and then the correct number. So if, for > example, I want to ask a sighted person for directions, once they tap > “OK”, I can press me-00 followed by enter. This text is then sent to > the iDevice. You can customize any of the messages, and there does not > appear to be a limit on the number of predefined messages you can > have. However, if you had 50 of them, one would think that could be > difficult to remember which phrase corresponds to which message. > > One could successfully argue that you already have this feature > available in the iOS platform using shortcuts. This is very true, and > it is also just as effective. However, doing this may be beyond the > scope of training or beyond the level of knowledge of some users. It’s > a convenience, as the shortcuts function in iOS has to be set up > separate from the app. However, if you kno what you or your student > wants as predefined messages, you can always set them up ahead of > time. Just be sure that whatever shortcut you use is something not > commonly used in your everyday language. Using Humanware’s example of > me-00 is an effective way to do this. The difference is that you must > hit the spacebar before the shortcut text will appear. To access this > feature from the home screen of your iDevice, go into Settings, > General, Keyboard, and then find it under the shortcuts heading. > > Archives > You can access any saved conversations from here. You can even search > through the archives for specific info if you wish. The archive file > names are stored based on the date and time you saved them. You can > rename the conversations to something else if you wish and also delete > them. You can do these same things with the Notes app. In fact, the > Notes app takes this further. You can go into a note, and share it via > email the note or print it if you have a compatible wireless printer. > > User Guide > The User Guide, as with all Humanware products, appears to be well put > together. Each section can be navigated to from within the Table of > Contents and is set up in such a way that you should be able to read > and understand the instructions. The User Guide does assume that you > already know how to pair an iDevice with a Braille display. It would > be nice if Humanware had included these instructions for those who are > not yet familiar. One of the nice things the User Guide does do is > provide the user with some commonly used Braille keyboard commands. > > Looking Ahead > A couple of additions would be nice to help make the case for this > app. It would be nice to be able to communicate from iDevice to > iDevice, like it was possible to communicate with other Braille Notes > running the Deaf-Blind Communicator software. Also, looking at iOS 6, > there will be an accessibility option called “Guided access”. The > purpose of this feature is to limit access to certain parts of the > screen depending on what a user should be doing. While it is intended > for education settings, it would be nice to be able to restrict the > app so that if someone less familiar with the app hits the wrong part > of the screen, it will not affect the performance of the app. > > The answer and conclusion > It is certainly beyond my area of expertise to say whether this app > may or may not be beneficial to every one individual who is > deaf-blind. Certainly, the ability to create phrases within the app is > a nice feature, as is having the greeting displayed and making the > individual who is sighted acknowledge that they understand what is > being asked of them. However, is it worth $99? For an advanced user of > iDevices such as I am, certainly not. For a less advanced user who may > not have the problem solving abilities required to make the > communication happen, it could make a huge difference. Put in terms of > how expensive the Deaf-Blind Communicator was, this app certainly is > cheaper. However, for many, there are not enough features here to make > this an app worth purchasing for $99. Certainly, if I were someone > recommending equipment for the national Deaf-Blind Equipment > Distribution Program, this would be a consideration, but only in > limited situations with specific consumers. Also, while one may not > wish to have something as expensive as an iDevice just laying around > for anyone to pick up, you can purchase cases with lanyards that you > can wrap around your wrist so that there is plenty of slack for > someone else to look at the device’s screen. These are made for both > the iPhone and iPod. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google > Group. > To search the VIPhone public archive, visit > http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. > To post to this group, send email to viph...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
