September 2010 New Zealand answd newsletter

Australasian Network of Students With Disabilities (ANSWD)
NEWSLETTER
Contents
Page 2 - Links to Canterbury District Earthquake and Introduction
Page 4 – letter to editor, ANSWD news, Disclaimer and Join the quest for a new name for Disabled People... - NZ Disability Media Collective
Page 5 - United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Office for Disability Issues, Auckland University Accessible Travel survey, Living Well Project, New Zealand tv audio description trial, Making it Work
Page 7 - PEARL - Portable Reading Solution
Page 8 – middle - HumanWare launches the VoiceNote Apex, I-pad accessibility
Page 10 – Calendar events, 2010 Celebrate Diversity Week, to be held in Dunedin, BIOGRAPHY OF MY SKIN, Arts Access Aotearoa Supports events, Cutting Edge, Accessible elections/referenda initiative consultation, Mental Health Media Grants, Local Government elections, Access Tourism New Zealand Conference, Mental Health Awareness week, changing signs consultations, National Disability Conference
Page 11 - Pacific Regional Conference on Disability 2011
Page 12 – End Notes



Links about Canterbury Region Earthquake
http://www.answd.org/canterbury-earthquake.html

If you are not busy with bunkering down in a safe place, assignments and exams, this is the September 2010 ANSWD Aotearoa New Zealand newsletter. To jump between pages in this newsletter use control +Page Up and Control +Page Down. To open links in this word document, right click (JAWS KEY+ {(key next to letter P) then JAWS KEY + 9) on the hyperlink which opens a menu, scroll down for "Open Hyperlinks" and press enter. For those who don't know:
The Australasian Network of Students with Disabilities (ANSWD), formed at the Pathways 5 Conference in Canberra in early December 2000, is a student organisation, which advocates, promotes and campaigns on disability issues in the tertiary education field throughout Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
ANSWD aims to promote an equitable learning environment for all students. It is comprised of tertiary students with disabilities/chronic medical conditions who are dedicated to ensuring equitable access to education by working together with staff at educational institutions throughout Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
ANSWD has an e-mail discussion list for students with disabilities/chronic medical conditions, primarily designed to share information and discuss issues relevant to students with disabilities/chronic medical conditions, education and employment. If you are a student with a disability/chronic medical condition whom is either studying at a public or private university, polytechnic, TAFE or Private College in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand, or you are a potential tertiary student with a disability/chronic medical condition, who plans to commence tertiary studies in the following year we strongly encourage you to join the ANSWD discussion list. For more information about the discussion list go to
http://answd.org/discussion.html/
To subscribe to the mailing list send an e-mail to majordomo@postoffice.utas.edu.au with 'subscribe answd-list' somewhere in the message (without quotes).
If you are a member of the ANSWD discussion list and wish to send a message to the discussion list address the e-mail to answd-list@postoffice.utas.edu.au
The discussion list will only receive e-mails from members.
Goals of the discussion list include:
1. To encourage sharing of experiences and discussion prompted information amongst students with disabilities and chronic medical conditions;
2. To facilitate friendships amongst students with disabilities and chronic medical conditions from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand;
3. To encourage discussion amongst students with disabilities and chronic medical conditions on how they would like to be educated, find employment, get around accessibility issues at tertiary educational institutions, etc;
4. Designing, developing and implementing campaigns, submissions and letters to remedy negative experiences as a tertiary student with a disability/disabilities/chronic medical condition;
5. To encourage students to be proud of their disability and achieve anything and everything they dream of;
6. To nominate representatives of ANSWD to other organisations/groups (e.g., ATEND, ADCET, International Disability Alliance, etc);
7. To discuss the answd charter and policy;

To find out more about ANSWD please visit our web site at
http://answd.org/
Student organisation student with disabilities representatives can find out information about the student officers email list at http://answd.org/about/student-officers.html
We have a blog at http://www.answd.org/blog
We are also on Twitter at www.twitter.com/answd
and have a FaceBook group at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=184215559061
You can contact ANSWD by e-mail convenor@answd.org

Letter to Editor
Why is the New Zealand ANSWD newsletter shorter than the Australian ANSWD newsletter?
(scratching head)

ANSWD news
Charter at
http://answd.org/publications/charter.html
policy statement at
http://answd.org/publications/policy-statement.html


Marita Morgan and Craig Curtis are now the co-conveners.

We are enquiring into setting up ANSWD societies on your campus.

We ask that Students with disabilities representatives on student councils to set up email lists in order to connect with their constituents.

We would like to know the policies relating to tertiary students with disabilities of political parties and independents in the Beehive parliament that can be publicly circulated.

A Message from Marita Morgan (co-convener)
I would like to thank Matthew Chan and Julie Sutherland for their time and commitment to this organisation.
over the next month, I would like the following. I would like to get the website moved and better. I would like to get more swd representation on campus’s . I would like to establish a good working committee. I would like to have a good fun event for ANSWD at Pathways or pre pathways and also raise more awareness of ANSWD.
This is just my plans a the moment. So please bare with Craig Curtis and I while we get settled into our roles.
I look forward to working with all members of the answd community as well as the committee and alongside Craig Curtis.
If you have any suggestions or comments for this organisation please email Craig and I at : convenor@answd.org
Thanks
Marita

Further comment from Marita is at
http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?l=1&t=139&id=55806

Disclaimer
Information and Links to external websites and organisations placed on this ANSWD newsletter does not in any way suggest endorsement nor formal affiliation with the linked organisation or service provider. The purpose is to provide information to our members and the broader community.

Join the quest for a new name for Disabled People... - NZ Disability Media Collective
http://disabilitymedia.ning.com/profiles/blogs/join-the-quest-for-a-new-name?xg_source=shorten_twitter

United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Office for Disability Issues
http://www.odi.govt.nz/what-we-do/un-convention/

Auckland University Accessible Travel survey
http://www.nztri.org.nz/accessconference/

Living Well Project
http://livingwellstudy.aut.ac.nz:80/


New Zealand tv audio description trial
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?MediaAccessAustralia/93b0758134/1e0fe69932/89d5cdee24/option=com_content&view=article&id 58:nz-announces-tv-audio-description-trial

Making it Work
As part of our Journey to Work project we are launching an online forum to give people with disabilities a space to share their experiences of school, training and employment.
We created the Making It Work wiki (http://makingitwork.wikispaces.com) to encourage discussion around the barriers that the disability community faces in education and employment.
Wikis are a great way to connect people, talk online and share personal experiences. The Making It Work wiki is free to use but if you want to contribute to the discussion you’ll need sign-in online. See below for more information about wikis and signing in if you’re unsure about what to do.
If you’re more a reader than a talker, see the case studies about other people’s journeys to work as well as the full text of the recently released Journey to Work report.
We have used a wiki so that staff are able to participate in the discussion and it is more accessible than other online forums such as Facebook.
Please pass this on to anyone you think would be interested in the discussion – clients, contacts in other organisations, friends and family.
For enquires or wiki help contact Jo Boyle, Communications Advisor at CCS Disability Action on comms@ccsdisabilityaction.org.nz


More about wikis
Wikis are quite simple to use. They usually consist of a homepage and a discussion page – where anybody can add or ‘post’ a discussion question and others can post a comment or read what has been said.
On our wiki we have also added some people’s stories which you can click to from the homepage or from the left hand menu. You don’t have to be signed-in to read but you do need to sign-in if you want to leave a comment.
Joining Wikispaces
If you want to make a comment on the wiki, you will need to join first:
1) Go to the Making It Work site, http://makingitwork.wikispaces.com
2) In the top right of the screen, click on the white button that says ‘Wikispaces’
3) Go to the ‘Get started’ box on the right of the screen
4) Enter your details:
• the username you would like to appear on the screen,
• the password you would like
• your email address
5) At the bottom you will be asked if you want to ‘Make a wiki’, select ‘No’
6) This will take you to a ‘Join now’ page to confirm your details
7) The next screen welcomes you to Wikispaces and lets you know that you will need to confirm your email address. Again, where you are asked if you want to ‘Make a wiki’, select ‘No’
8) At this point you need to check your emails and reply to the confirmation email you have been sent by Wikispaces

Making comments on the ‘Making It Work’ wiki
To make a comment on the wiki you need to go back to http://makingitwork.wikispaces.com:
1) Click on ‘Sign In’ at the top right of the screen and enter your details
2) Go to the discussion page and select one of the ‘topics’
3) At the bottom of the page, type your comments into the ‘reply’ box, then click on ‘post’
Kind regards,

Alix Raine
Marketing Coordinator
CCS Disability Action
National Office
TEL 04 384 5677
DDI 04 805 0080
EML media@ccsdisabilityaction.org.nz
www.ccsdisabilityaction.org.nz
PEARL - Portable Reading Solution
Lightning fast portable OCR with all the features of OpenBook.
PEARL at a Glance.
Convert printed text to human-like speech in seconds
Scan 20 pages per minute while reading
Scan bound books and maintain pagination
Enlarge and reformat text for easier reading
Wrap text to fill the screen
Use like a video magnifier
Edit documents
Add comments and highlighting
Export to other applications like Microsoft® Word or Notepad
Fold it up and take it with you in its protective carrying case
The PEARL brings blind and low vision users instant portable access to printed material with an array of human- sounding voices. The folding camera deploys in seconds to connect to your PC and snap a picture of your reading material.
Lightning Fast OCR.
The PEARL expands the features of OpenBook 9.0 to provide instant OCR.
Press a keystroke to snap a picture, and hear your book read back to you
with Eloquence or one of the human-sounding voices from
RealSpeak Solo Direct®. You control the reading rate and voice.
Automatic Page Capture In automatic mode, the PEARL senses motion, so it knows to snap an image whenever you turn a page. Place your paperback novel sideways, and the PEARL will snap two pages at a time and maintain the pagination. For larger books, you can capture even pages first, and then flip the book over to capture the odd pages. You can keep turning pages and capturing images while OpenBook reads to you.
Portable Reading Solution (PEARL)
Read All Kinds of Documents.
Use the PEARL to read books, magazines, and bills. OpenBook identifies columns and places them in logical reading order. Change the language setting to read foreign language documents with native speaker voices.
Reformat Text for Easier Reading.
Once your page has been captured, you have multiple options for viewing the information. You can display the text so that it wraps on the screen, enlarge the font, change the font style, and change the foreground and background colours. Have the individual words spotlighted as they are spoken.
Use as a Video Magnifier.
Without snapping a picture, you can use the PEARL to show a live video image on your PC. Magnify your document and navigate with the virtual XY table from the keyboard.
The PEARL works in most room lighting. If the room is dark, simply turn on the built-in LED lighting.
About Freedom Scientific Freedom Scientific is the world’s leading manufacturer of assistive technology products for those who are blind or vision impaired. For more information, e-mail Info@FreedomScientific.com
Take It with You Anywhere.
The PEARL is the ultimate in portable scanning and reading. It sets up in seconds to provide a stable platform for the camera with alignment features to ensure you capture a good image every time. It runs off a single USB port — no battery or external power supply required. When you are ready to move on, the PEARL folds up into a compact 14”x 3”x 2 1/8” package and zips into its protective neoprene case. Carry it by its shoulder strap or slip it into your briefcase or backpack.
PEARL and OpenBook now available from Quantum Technology
www.FreedomScientific.com

HumanWare launches the VoiceNote Apex
On 1 July 2010 — HumanWare proudly announced a noteworthy extension to the Apex family of products. The VoiceNote Apex is a practical, portable and affordable productivity tool designed for users who are blind and are accustomed to using speech output. With the VoiceNote Apex, you can take advantage of a superior notetaker and enjoy accomplishing productivity tasks without the complexity of ever changing operating systems, screen readers and updated applications.
Just 2 cm thick and weighing only 612 grams, the VoiceNote Apex is simply perfect for keeping track of appointments, creating grocery or to-do lists, printing or embossing letters, notes or recipes, surfing the Web, listening to audio books, and exchanging information and documents with other computer users.
The VoiceNote runs with the user-friendly KeySoft suite of applications, which includes content sensitive help, easy access to the user's manual via index or table of contents, along with many other tools that make digital communication easy. Speech users will especially enjoy the high-quality stereo speakers. In addition, a trial version of the Sendero 2010 GPS extension is included and can be purchased as an option.
"At HumanWare, we understand that some of our customers are interested in devices designed with speech output but would still like to participate in the digital world and take advantage of the productivity of KeySoft that is offered on the BrailleNote Apex. The VoiceNote Apex offers all of the advantages of the BrailleNote Apex without the expense of a Braille display or the complexity of a computer with screen reader," says Gilles Pepin, CEO of HumanWare.
Featuring a long battery life and superior connectivity, the VoiceNote Apex can access email and the Internet with built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet. It’s easy to use and can store electronic books using one of the multiple storage options, including 8 GB of internal memory and support for high capacity SDHC cards or USB thumb drives.
VoiceNote Apex users can take advantage of the ergonomic standards established by the BrailleNote Apex line and select the most comfortable QWERTY keyboard or full sized Perkins style keys for input.
Join the thousands of BrailleNote users without the expense of a braille display while still having the opportunity to upgrade the VoiceNote Apex by adding a Braille display in the future.
For more information contact
11 Mary Muller Drive
P O Box 3044
Christchurch, New Zealand
Phone +64 3 384 4555
Fax +64 3 384 4555 Fax +64 3 384 4933
Email: nz.info@humanware.com

iPad comes with a screen reader, support for playback of closed-captioned content and other innovative universal access features — right out of the box. There’s no additional software to buy or install. These features make iPad easier to use for people who have a vision impairment, are deaf or hard of hearing or have a physical or learning disability.
VoiceOver
Like iPhone and iPod touch, iPad includes VoiceOver, the world’s first gesture-based screen reader for the blind. Instead of memorising keyboard commands or pressing tiny arrow keys, you simply touch the screen to hear a description of the item under your finger, then double-tap, drag or flick to control iPad. VoiceOver speaks 21 languages and works with all of the applications built into iPad. Apple also enables software developers to create applications for iPad that work with VoiceOver.
Mono Audio
If your hearing is limited in one ear, tap a checkbox to route both right- and left-channel audio into both headphones, so you can hear both channels in either ear.
Zoom
Zoom on iPad lets you magnify the entire screen of any application. Zoom up to five times the normal size and move left, right, up and down to view any portion of the screen close up. Zoom works everywhere, including the Home, Unlock and Spotlight screens and with every application, including those you purchase from the App Store.
Closed Captioning
Every iPad can display subtitles and closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing when playing movies and podcasts that support it. Movies and podcasts with closed captioning are available on the iTunes Store and can be downloaded directly to iPad or synced to iPad using iTunes.
White on Black
If you want higher contrast, iPad lets you change the display to white on black. Use the White on Black feature in any application, as well as the Home, Unlock and Spotlight screens and with Zoom and VoiceOver.
Triple-click Home
If you only use the VoiceOver, White on Black or Zoom features occasionally or simply want a fast way to turn them on and off, enable the Triple-click Home feature. Then triple-click the Home button to turn VoiceOver, Zoom or White on Black on or off instantly. Can’t decide which one to use? Set Triple-click Home to “ask” and it will display a list of your options so you can choose the right one when you need it.

Calendar Dates
Events of Adaptive Technology Solutions is at
http://www.adaptivetech.co.nz/Whats-On.html

Standards Plus events
http://www.imaginebetter.co.nz/events_calandar.php

2010 Celebrate Diversity Week, to be held in Dunedin
September 13 to 19
http://www.artsaccess.org.nz/index.php/whats-on/latest-news/dunedin-to-celebrate-diversity

BIOGRAPHY OF MY SKIN national tour — 17 Sept-23 Oct 2010
021 523 492
www.biographyofmyskin.co.nz

Arts Access Aotearoa Supports events
21 to 26 September
http://www.artsaccess.org.nz/index.php/whats-on/latest-news/arts-access-aotearoa-supports-events-on-arts-and-inclusion

Cutting Edge 23 – 24 September 2010
http://www.cuttingedge2010.org.nz/

Closing date for submission to accessible election/referendum initiatives is 24 September 2010
http://www.elections.org.nz:80/administration/ceo-corp-info/disability-action-plan-2011-consultation.html

applications for the 2010 New Zealand Mental Health Media Grants close 24 September 2010
http://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/page/46-Media-Grants
local government elections late September to midday 9 October 2010
http://www.elections2010.co.nz/




Access Tourism New Zealand Conference
The first New Zealand conference on Access Tourism will be held at Auckland University of Technology city campus on the 4th of October, 2010
Access Tourism is tourism, travel, and hospitality for people with disabilities, seniors, and Baby Boomers who will experience increased disability as they age.
Information about the conference, the venue, and the registration
procedure is now available at
http://nztri.aut.ac.nz/accesstourismconference/index.html

Topics to be covered include the rationale for developing Access Tourism, developments in Auckland, world Access Tourism, accessible websites and information, access and transport, the Access Tourist, and the NZ legal arena.
There will also be time for workshops to discuss strategies for advancing the development of Access Tourism and developing collaboration as a tool to advance that development.

Mental Health Awareness week 'Flourishing for everyBODY’ Monday 4 October to Sunday 10 October 2010
http://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/test/656-2010-flourishing-for-everybody


Changing signs in building code consultation closing date 26 November 2010
http://www.dbh.govt.nz/consultingon-signs

National Disability Conference
The Health and Disability Commissioner is hosting a National Disability Conference.
Monday, 6 December 2010
Waipuna Conference Centre, Auckland
For people with disabilities and general public
For more information
http://www.hdc.org.nz/about-us/disability/events

Pacific Regional Conference on Disability 2011
FIRST NOTICE
1. Dates – Monday, 14th March - Thursday, 17th March 2011.
2. Host Country – Auckland, New Zealand. Venue to be confirmed in September 2010.
3. Theme – “Promoting actions on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the Pacific Region.”
4. Programme Outline:
• Pacific Regional Forum on Women with Disabilities –14th March 2011.
• Pacific Disability Conference – 15th -16th March 2011. A series of sessions and workshops on relevant thematic areas to build the capacity of national DPOs and their representatives, as well as seizing the opportunity of being together in one place to share information, exchange ideas, build alliances, networking and strengthen solidarity.
• PDF General and Council Meeting – 17th March 2011. Business meeting for member organisations of PDF.
 General Meeting – 9:00am-1:00pm – Attended by PDF Full and Associate Members.
 Council Meeting – 2:00pm-5:00pm – Attended by PDF Full Members Only.
5. Registration Fees
Registration fees are:
Government/Institutions /Companies NZ$150 per person/ day
Disability NGOs NZ$100 per person/ day
PDF Associate members, People with disabilities and students NZ$85 per person/ day
* Registration fees above apply for the Regional WWD Forum (14th March 2011) and the Pacific Disability Conference (15th – 16th March 2011) only
6. Inclusions
Registration fees include morning and afternoon teas, lunch, and conference materials.
7. Conference Dinner
NZ$75 per person (optional)
8. Accommodation
Special accommodation rates are currently being negotiated. There are excellent hotels with fully disability-accessible rooms.
9. Collaboration
The conference is organized by the PDF in close collaboration with Vision Pacific Charitable Trust, and other PDF member Organisations in New Zealand. The Financial Assistance of NZAid and AusAID towards this Regional event is duly acknowledged.
10. Expression of Interest
Please email your interest in attending and any special needs you may have to the undersign. We will notify you as soon as registration is available.
"A Partnership of Pacific Organisations of and for Persons With Disabilities"
Mr. Soloveni Vitoso
Information Officer
Pacific Disability Forum
24 Desvouex Road, Suva
Fiji Islands.
Phone: (679) 331 2008
Mobile: (679) 708 2939
Fax: (679) 331 0469
Email: infor@pacificdisability.org
Website: www.pacificdisability.org

End Notes
If you have an event that tertiary students with disabilities could attend email
website@answd.org
to spread through the answd membership.
Next newsletter in December .
Matthew Gee Kwun Chan
Editor