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Number of posts in this thread: 9 (In chronological order)

From: shawn klein
Date: Fri, Jun 22 2007 7:10AM
Subject: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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Hi. A bit off topic perhaps, but I just got a job
working online for a company in Brazil. They
want to get me involved in some video conference
calls. The great
thing, for me, is that they don't have any software in
mind, because
this is a new thing for them. I, the blind guy, get to
go look for
something that works for me. The IT staff at the Multi
Nationals
we're working with won't allow Skype to be installed.
I figure if
there's a workable alternative that's a bit more
business oriented
and professional and secure, and also accessible to
Window Eyes,
someone here would know of it. Thanks for any
response.
Shawn Klein
Lancaster, Kansas
Skype:
kb7clx1

From: Lisa Pappas
Date: Fri, Jun 22 2007 12:20PM
Subject: Re: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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Shawn,

Please share what you learn here; I'm in a similar boat,
searching for a tool to work with a blind colleague in
Brazil. And our IT dept. has the same prohibition on Skype.

Thanks,

Lisa
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa Pappas
accessibility analyst - = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Software Quality Process & Research
Release Mgt Division
Cary, NC US
www.sas.com

SAS(r)...THE POWER TO KNOW(r)


>

From: Michael R. Burks
Date: Fri, Jun 22 2007 12:30PM
Subject: Re: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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You might want to investigate VIA3, I have heard it is quite good.

http://www.viack.com/
Sincerely,

Mike Burks

From: Owens, Parker
Date: Fri, Jun 22 2007 1:30PM
Subject: Re: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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I've been researching this over the last month. It seems the most
accessible is elluminate, if you are also looking for whiteboard
capabilities. I would love to know if anyone else has suggestions.

Parker Owens
Web Accessibility Office
Eastern Kentucky University
254 Case Annex
Richmond, KY 40475

Phone: (859) 622-2743
http://www.accessibility.eku.edu

From: Andrew Kirkpatrick
Date: Fri, Jun 22 2007 3:20PM
Subject: Re: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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Hang on - did you just suggest that Elluminate has a whiteboard that
works with Window-Eyes?

What is most important is to define what tasks you hope to be able to
accomplish. The tools in this area are not strong on accessibility as a
group, either because of shortcomings in the interface's accessibility,
or because of the complexity of the interface which makes it effectively
inaccessible. If the tool is just being used for voice over IP
communication, then tools like Connect, webEx, and Elluminate are
probably overkill. If the tool is being used for web based meetings,
you'll want to determine what you expect to be able to accomplish -
documents can be shared visually with these tools, but you won't have
access to the document unlesss they also email it to you, and if you're
looking to share a whiteboard...good luck...

If you have questions about Adobe Connect for online meetings, I'm happy
to discuss this with you.

Thanks,
AWK

>

From: shawn klein
Date: Sat, Jun 23 2007 5:00PM
Subject: Re: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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Thanks so much to everyone who wrote back. You guys
are great! I posted the same querie moments before I
posted here, to the yahoogroup Blindtech, the main
"Windows Help" and access tech discussion list for the
blind community, with over 1000 members, and not a
peep, lol. This is an awesome list, and I tell every
web designer I come in contact with who has any
interest at all in accessibility, about the list. I
recommend webaim.org to everyone interested in how I
navigate the net.
"Andrew Kirkpatrick" Wrote:
"documents can be shared visually with these tools,
but you won't have
access to the document unlesss they also email it to
you,"
Really? When I was looking at the site for Via3 I saw
that you can have a copy of a document in a central
location and anyone in the conference can edit it at
leisure. Not sure if that works through funcionality
of word or not. Are you saying that such a document
wouldn't be accessible? I'll check out the Adobe
solution too, and will certainly throw questions your
way.
Lisa, I'll let you know what we find, and if I can
help you and your client with anything let me know.

From: Owens, Parker
Date: Mon, Jun 25 2007 7:10AM
Subject: Re: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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>>Hang on - did you just suggest that Elluminate has a whiteboard that
works with Window-Eyes?

Elluminate Live! and Accessibility Compliance
In support of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Elluminate
Live! provides a variety of features that promote accessibility,
including keyboard access to menus and dialogs, closed captioning,
enlarged video, user-defined color, screen reader compatibility, and
more.

In addition, Elluminate Live! is also compliant with the Rehabilitation
Act, Section 508 and conforms to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web
Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

>>If you have questions about Adobe Connect for online meetings, I'm
happy
to discuss this with you.

We have done testing on Adobe Connect also - there are several problems
with it, the biggest problem is the inability to enlarge type for low
vision. It doesn't magnify well, it is fuzzy flash type. If you enlarge
the chat window type, it is enlarged for everyone, so that is not a
solution.


>

From: Jared Smith
Date: Mon, Jun 25 2007 4:20PM
Subject: Re: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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On 6/25/07, Owens, Parker < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> In addition, Elluminate Live! is also compliant with the Rehabilitation
> Act, Section 508 and conforms to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web
> Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

OK, so that's what Elluminate says about their product, but does this
mean their whiteboard is fully accessible to screen reader and
keyboard users? My experience is that there is often a very wide gap
between accessibility statements and actual accessibility. I ask,
because if they have figured a way to make whiteboards (or chats or
web tours or streamed presentations) accessible, I'd love to see how
they've done it.

Jared Smith

From: Emma Duke-Williams
Date: Wed, Jun 27 2007 2:00AM
Subject: Re: Accessible professional video conferencing software, does it exist?
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On 25/06/07, Jared Smith < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> mean their whiteboard is fully accessible to screen reader and
> keyboard users? My experience is that there is often a very wide gap I ask,
> because if they have figured a way to make whiteboards (or chats or
> web tours or streamed presentations) accessible, I'd love to see how
> they've done it.



I can't see how you could make a white board accessible to a
screenreader ... I'm just thinking about it now, a description would
have to accompany the drawing - so it might start saying
"There's a red rectangle.
There is a blue trapezium on top of it.
Now there is a green rectangle standing on the short end in the centre
of the bottom of the red rectangle".

Is the system going to suddenly say "Oh, I think he's drawing a house".

Did the person drawing the house set any meaning by the colours they
selected, or was it just random?

Would the person drawing get the shapes accurately enough to enable
the system to have described them in the first place?

Was it not a house after all, just a random selection of shapes?

Or, would you have an "extra" chat window/ channel to have a 3rd
person describing the image as it appears, much as a friend etc.,
would do in a face to face setting with whiteboards?

Emma

--
Blog: http://www.tech.port.ac.uk/staffweb/duke-wie/blog/