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Number of posts in this thread: 6 (In chronological order)

From: John E. Brandt
Date: Thu, Mar 20 2008 2:00PM
Subject: Accessible web/Voice/Audio Conferencing
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A colleague of mine - who is a screen reader user - has been hosting a
weekly web conference using iVocalize. Just about all of the members are
screen users and my colleague had found this product to be very accessible.
Apparently the company has upgraded to a new version that leaves much to be
desired and is no longer accessible and also requires an upgrade to the
latest version of Java and the java Bridge.

So he is looking for a new product as soon as possible.

Any suggestions?

~j

John E. Brandt
Augusta, Maine USA
www.jebswebs.com

From: Jennifer Sutton
Date: Thu, Mar 20 2008 2:10PM
Subject: Re: Accessible web/Voice/Audio Conferencing
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Hi:

What about something like Talking Communities? A number of
organizations that promote accessibility, such as EASI, use it. See
reference links below my name.

Best,
Jennifer

1. http://www.talkingcommunities.com

2. http://www.accessibleworld.org/

2.1. It can create an archive like this one:
http://www.accessibleworld.org/category/site-categories/tek-talk-archives

3. OPAL Podcast: http://opalpodcast.blogspot.com/
[which I think uses Talking Communities]

4. http://www.talkingcommunities.com/tcscreen/

From: Michael Stenitzer
Date: Fri, Mar 21 2008 8:00AM
Subject: Re: Accessible web/Voice/Audio Conferencing
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as far is i know: skype is pretty good usable with a screen reader.
free and easy to install.

hope that helps, michael

On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 8:50 PM, John E. Brandt < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> A colleague of mine - who is a screen reader user - has been hosting a
> weekly web conference using iVocalize. Just about all of the members are
> screen users and my colleague had found this product to be very accessible.
> Apparently the company has upgraded to a new version that leaves much to be
> desired and is no longer accessible and also requires an upgrade to the
> latest version of Java and the java Bridge.
>
> So he is looking for a new product as soon as possible.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> ~j
>
> John E. Brandt
> Augusta, Maine USA
> www.jebswebs.com
>
>
>
>
>

From: Aaron Cannon
Date: Fri, Mar 21 2008 8:50AM
Subject: Re: Accessible web/Voice/Audio Conferencing
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Skype works well with Jaws, but standard conferences have a limit to the number of participants. Last I checked that limit was 4-5, so it is generally unsuitable for any but the smallest of groups. However, Skype also has a free beta service called SkypeCasts. https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/homeThis allows you to have a conference with up to 100 participants. I'm not sure how accessible the interface is for the moderator though.

Aaron


>>> "Michael Stenitzer" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > 3/21/2008 8:51 AM >>>

as far is i know: skype is pretty good usable with a screen reader.
free and easy to install.

hope that helps, michael

On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 8:50 PM, John E. Brandt < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> A colleague of mine - who is a screen reader user - has been hosting a
> weekly web conference using iVocalize. Just about all of the members are
> screen users and my colleague had found this product to be very accessible.
> Apparently the company has upgraded to a new version that leaves much to be
> desired and is no longer accessible and also requires an upgrade to the
> latest version of Java and the java Bridge.
>
> So he is looking for a new product as soon as possible.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> ~j
>
> John E. Brandt
> Augusta, Maine USA
> www.jebswebs.com
>
>
>
>
>

From: Emma Duke-Williams
Date: Fri, Mar 21 2008 9:20AM
Subject: Re: Accessible web/Voice/Audio Conferencing
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On 21/03/2008, Aaron Cannon < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Skype works well with Jaws, but standard conferences have a limit to the number of participants. Last I checked that limit was 4-5, so it is generally unsuitable for any but the smallest of groups. However, Skype also has a free beta service called SkypeCasts. https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/homeThis allows you to have a conference with up to 100 participants. I'm not sure how accessible the interface is for the moderator though.
>
> Aaron
>

I've not used Skypecast - is it a "one way" kind of conference - i.e.
1 main speaker & lots of listeners? The reason that I ask is that I've
found that having multiple access discussions with too many people is
just way too confusing; which brings in other aspects of
accessibility, notably the ease with which people with cognitive
disabilities can participate.
I've used Flashmeeting, but not with screen readers. However, as it
was developed by the Open University in the UK, and they've got quite
a lot of visually impaired students, they may well have built in
screen reader compatibilty.

http://www.flashmeeting.com has some information, though you have to
register with Labspace ( http://labspace.open.ac.uk/ ) to use it.

Emma

--
Emma Duke-Williams:
School of Computing/ Faculty eLearning Co-ordinator.
Blog: http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~duke-wie/blog/

From: Aaron Cannon
Date: Fri, Mar 21 2008 9:50AM
Subject: Re: Accessible web/Voice/Audio Conferencing
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I believe it can be opporated in either mode. If I am not mistaken, the moderator can mute and unmute participants at will.

Aaron

>>> "Emma Duke-Williams" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > 3/21/2008 10:09 AM >>>

On 21/03/2008, Aaron Cannon < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Skype works well with Jaws, but standard conferences have a limit to the number of participants. Last I checked that limit was 4-5, so it is generally unsuitable for any but the smallest of groups. However, Skype also has a free beta service called SkypeCasts. https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/homeThis allows you to have a conference with up to 100 participants. I'm not sure how accessible the interface is for the moderator though.
>
> Aaron
>

I've not used Skypecast - is it a "one way" kind of conference - i.e.
1 main speaker & lots of listeners? The reason that I ask is that I've
found that having multiple access discussions with too many people is
just way too confusing; which brings in other aspects of
accessibility, notably the ease with which people with cognitive
disabilities can participate.
I've used Flashmeeting, but not with screen readers. However, as it
was developed by the Open University in the UK, and they've got quite
a lot of visually impaired students, they may well have built in
screen reader compatibilty.

http://www.flashmeeting.com has some information, though you have to
register with Labspace ( http://labspace.open.ac.uk/ ) to use it.

Emma

--
Emma Duke-Williams:
School of Computing/ Faculty eLearning Co-ordinator.
Blog: http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~duke-wie/blog/