The Bulletin

Statewide Vision Resource Centre

Prepared by Deb Lewis, Co-ordinator, Statewide Vision Resource Centre

Number 4  Friday 16th March 2001

Inside This Issue

Professional Development 2001

Camps 2001

See Bulletin 2, 2001 or the Camps, Leisure and Recreation section of our website – www.svrc.vic.edu.au or www.svrc.vic.edu.au/sapce.html for further details.

Challenge Camp – 22-25 May 2001

The paperwork for Challenge Camp which has also been sent to Heatherwood School Council for approval is now available for students and their families - please call if you would like a copy. There are 10 places available but if necessary, we will go to 15 – get your forms and payment in as soon as possible.

Space Camp – end of term 3 2001

Our first information evening is Friday 23 March at 6pm for 6.30pm where we will discuss general issues such: We will also attempt to answer your myriad questions! We will be ordering in pizza. Space Camp meetings are an important part of the whole Space Camp process and we encourage your attendance. Feel free to come along even if you plan to come to Space Camp in the next few years. RSVP and bring your students, their parents etc etc.

Low Vision Day Program – 30th March

The Low Vision Day will be held on Friday 30th March – call if you need copies of the flier or if you would like the flier faxed to a school.

Computer Monitor Size

Please see the article below for some thoughts on Computer Monitor Size.

New Vision Camp

Christian Services for the Blind are again running their very popular ‘New Vision Camp’ at Camp Howqua near Mansfield from 9 to 12 April this year. Bus transport is provided from the SDA Conference Office in Nunawading.
 


Further details and an application form is attached in print for Visiting Teachers or you can contact Deb Lewis (9841 0242) or Cveta Bakof (9259 2100) for your copy.

Goalball Come n’ Try Day

The following information is from Nancye Kimmenade, Honorary Secretary of the Blind Sports Association:
We will be holding a Goalball Come n’ Try Day on Saturday March 17th at Scotch College Junior School Gym at 1.30pm.
If anyone is interested in attending please call Barry Bailey on 9460 5757 (home) mobile 0419386712 or Brett Scarr on mobile 0407399757 and we will have someone waiting for you at the entrance of the College on the corner of Glenferrie Road and Callantina Street Hawthorn (just up the hill from Vision Australia Foundation).
We are looking at holding a junior competition as well as men and women if we have enough interest.
The 2001 Calendar is as follows:
March 17: Come n’ Try Day
Autumn Competition: March 24, March 31, April, 7, April 28, May 12, May 19, May 26 Finals
Winter Competition: July 14, July 21, July 28, Aug. 4, Aug. 11, Aug.18, Aug. 25, Sep. 1 Finals

Orientation and Mobility Course

RVIB is seeking applications for their Orientation and Mobility course – ‘Certificate IV – Vision Impairment Support’. The course consists of 15 modules encompassing 400 hours of theory and skill development, plus 480 hours of work placement. This course is accredited by the Australian National Training Authority. The course begins on 9 July 2001. Expressions of interest should be received by Christine Harding, General Manager of Client Services on (03) 9522 5203.

Explore Guide Dog Mobility, Acquired Brain Injury and Vision Loss

Guide Dog Association of Victoria is offering an interesting calendar of professional development this year at the Training Centre in Kew. Some of the courses are as follows:

Living with Acquired Brain Injury and Vision Impairment

Thursday 3 May or Thursday 5 July
This one day program will enable individuals with an acquired brain injury (ABI) and their families to gain a better understanding, in lay terms, of how vision may change following a stroke, car accident, brain tumour, post operative damage or other ABI.

Orientation and Mobility for Parents

Saturday 17 to Thursday 29 to Friday 30 March
Parents of a child or teenager with a vision impairment are invited to spend two days in the GDAV’s residential Training Centre experiencing a vision loss similar to that of their child.
For course information phone (03) 854 4444 or fax (03) 9854 4466.

Guide Dogs: ‘Puppy Cam’

Seriously folks, the Guide Dogs website has PUPPY CAM!!! It is outrageously cute but rather slow to download. Let is download while you go and get a cupper then click the Play arrow – the video clip comes with sound and movement. Go to www.guidedogs.asn.au/puppycam.asp/.

Toccata – Braille Music Translation Program – Finally Available

You can now can quickly and easily produce accurate Braille music, whether it be simple nursery rhymes or complex symphonic pieces using Toccata. The current version is designed for sighted transcribers, but a fully compatible companion product is being developed that will have an interface that can also be used by blind people.

Toccata is a fully-featured, but simple to use, Windows program that greatly reduces transcription time. Using the mouse or keyboard, notes can be placed into Toccata's Notation Editor to create music of any complexity. As notes are placed, they are heard through the computer speakers at the same pitch and duration as the note selected. The music can be played back in real time. A separate window shows the translated and formatted Braille, which can be directly embossed to a suitable embosser.

Alternatively, an entire music score can be loaded as a MIDI file or scanned into your computer via a flatbed scanner, displayed on the screen and then edited using the mouse. The SharpEye Music Reader program, which is included with Toccata, is used to scan music, but other programs can also be used, eg SmartScore from Musitek.
Toccata is available from Optek for $1,500. Phone (02) 9891 6600.

Staff News

And Finally…

Still no word from Paul Jennings on the results of the writing competition – we’ll let you know as soon as we hear!
Deb Lewis – deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au
 

Computer Monitor Size

The following was prepared by Deb Lewis, Co-ordinator, Statewide Vision Resource Centre.

Excerpts from The PC Guide website at www.pcguide.com/ref/crt/ appear below as general information:
The monitor is the component that displays the visual output from your computer as generated by the video card. Your monitor plays a significant role in the following important aspects of your computer system:

Nominal Size and Viewable Size

The most popular sizes for monitors are 14", 15", 17", 20" and 21". This number represents the (alleged) diagonal width of the monitor, the distance from one corner of the screen to the opposite corner of the screen, and is the monitor's nominal size.

In reality, monitor screens are never the size that their manufacturers claim them to be. If you take a tape measure to your 17" monitor, you are likely to find that the screen itself is only, say, 15.8". And this doesn't take into account the fact that the screen image usually has black borders around its edge. The 15.8" number is the viewable size of the monitor.

Size and Resolution Matching

The maximum resolution of a monitor is roughly related to its size, in that small monitors can't generally display in very high resolution. However, this is a function of the features and quality – and age – of the monitor. Since higher resolutions mean that the pixels become smaller, using a high-resolution mode on a small monitor can be an exercise in squinting. On the other end, when large monitors are run in lower resolution modes, the pixels tend to become quite large and ‘blocky’, detracting from the quality of the image eg diagonal lines and circles show their pixels quite obviously.

AERNET Discussion

The following is composed of comments from Jim Allan, Webmaster & Statewide Technical Support Specialist,Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired; Ike Presley, National Program Associate, Literacy, American Foundation for the Blind; and Greg Goodrich, Research Psychologist from February 2001
Choosing the most suitable computer monitor environment for students with vision impairments is an accommodative process of the following:
1. monitor size
2. screen resolution
3. settings in the operating system
4. foreground and background colour choices
5. screen refresh rate
6. use of non-glare filter or other colour filters
7. lighting, glare etc in the room
8. positioning of user in relation to monitor (and the monitor in relation to the user)
9. attributes of the user’s vision (acuity, functioning, fatigue, etc.)
10. cost

Screen resolution

One simple (and free) change you can make to a student’s computer is to adjust the screen resolution. If you go into the Control Panel and choose Display you will see a tab for Settings. Under Settings you will see a slide control for Screen Area. There are several settings for this option. The smaller numbers such as 640x480 or 800x600 will give you a larger display (ie make the tool bars, print etc on your screen appear larger) than the higher numbers such as 1024x768. This change will usually not be enough to make a difference for most students with vision impairments but for some, it may be adequate.

Changing the resolution from 1024 X 768 to 800 x 600 results in a 61% increase in size of on screen image. A 12 point font in the large resolution would appear as a 19 point font. (it would still be called 12 point but appear larger because the resolution is lower.)

The drawback to using this approach is that some programs (eg Kurzweil 1000) do not work well with the lower settings, the problem being that everything that the program is displaying may not show up on your screen. This can cause some initial confusion, but it can usually be handled by most students with proper instruction.

Monitor size

Basically increasing the monitor size increases the image (font) size by the same amount 15” to 17” is a 32.7% increase 12 point font would appear as 15.6 point (it would still be called 12 point but appear larger because the screen is larger.) A 17” to 20” is a 39.9% increase.

A larger monitor means that the image displayed will appear a little larger. But larger monitors will increase the viewing distance from the student's eyes to the edges of the screen. For younger students this may negate the benefit of the enlarged image. In most cases the difference between a 17" monitor and a 19" monitor is very small.

Some people are able to view regular sized fonts (10-12 point) on a 15" monitor at approximately 6-8 inches. This individual might be able to increase that viewing distance to 8-10 inches with a larger monitor. This increase in viewing distance might allow the user to sit in a more comfortable (ergonomically correct) position. In other words, they are able to sit up straight and type without having their body bump into their hands. Measure the student's viewing distance of 12 point print on a 15 or 17 inch monitor. If it's less than 6", then screen magnification software will probably be necessary. If the viewing distance is greater, then investigate further. Try measuring the viewing distance with the larger 17”, 19” and even 21” monitors. Be sure to check the student's ability to view text at the edges of the monitor. You may find that the larger monitor increases the user's viewing distance thus allowing the user to sit up straight. This will hopefully decrease both physical and visual fatigue.

Positioning of the monitor

Changing monitor size may alter the person's working distance. A decrease in working distance increases the image size on the retinal (approach magnification), thus one can obtain increased magnification by reducing working distance. This has the advantage of allowing a lower on-screen magnification with a concomitant increase in number of characters displayed across the monitor. This may also make screen navigation easier.

Consider a clamp-on, adjustable monitor arm. Make sure that the model you select clamps on to the desk/table and offers full vertical (height) adjustment, not just 2 or 3 positions. Once the arm is adjusted to the proper height for the user, it should then be able to be moved to the appropriate viewing distance from the user's eyes. In other words, the monitor arm should allow the monitor to be positioned at a comfortable viewing distance with the user sitting in an ergonomically correct position. Adjustable monitor arms can be purchased at many office supply outlets.

Making the decision

If at all possible, it’s best to try out the different combinations of monitors, screen resolution, working distance, etc. before purchase. Additional consideration should be given to optical correction which can reduce eye strain and fatigue (eg students with a refractive error may benefit from prescribed spectacles).

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Web page editor Lyn Robinson. Last updated March 2001.
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