John Rudkin is eCommunity Manager for Blackpool Council.
In 2003, Blackpool Council embarked on an information and learning project partnering the local Society for the Blind, funded by the UK Adult Education Advisory body NIACE, and supported by Apple UK, the BBC and Ultralab. It was the start of a long and (for the community) fruitful relationship.
Everyone has heard of Podcasting over the last 12 months or so I'd guess? Everyone knows about streamed media and content sharing, but what we started predated Podcasting (so prevalent in its mention at the 2006 ALT conference), which was what we needed to ultimately make it tick. Still, NIACE saw the potential and supported this rather visionary project idea; Audio broadcasting to mp3 players. During those early experiments we were inspired to look around at other mediums, and we hit on streaming, and a year later (when we found a funder in the Lancashire Digital Development Agency) blueIRIS was born. Launched on the 18th of October 2005, blueIRIS marked the start of a whole new chapter in the development of the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Society for the Blind and its Talking Services, and the beginning of a brand new approach to delivering information and learning content.
blueIRIS?
"There are 37 million blind people in the world. Every 5 seconds one person goes blind and every minute a child goes blind, yet 75% of this blindness can be prevented or cured."
There are 2 million people in the UK with sight problems, according to official sources.
Recent figures from National Statistics, for England alone, show that at 31 March 2003 157,000 people were registered as blind. Added to this there were 155,000 people registered as partially sighted.
Blackpool, the UK's best known seaside resort is home to 600 residents who are registered as blind, with another 1085 who are partially sighted. Blackpool however is only a part of the area that the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Society for the Blind serves, and the numbers of blind and partially sighted increases significantly, in the main because the area is popular for retirement.
Visual impairment brings with it the additional problem of learning new ways to adapt to the sensory challenges, and huge hurdles in terms of employment and employability. The Society itself operates a supported employment workshop employing blind and disabled workers in the manufacture of divan beds and mattresses, but this has little impact on the employment of visually impaired people in the area. The 73% unemployment statistic for people with visual impairment is higher than for any other physical disability. Those who suffer from visual impairment need to be helped to cope, and those who potentially could be employers need to understand that visual impairment is only the loss of one sense. Unfortunately many people also suffer additional problems (mobility, multiple sensory disability) and so the services places such as the Blackpool Society offer are invaluable and vital in an area. Blackpool Council recognises that and looks to invest in assisting and growing the reach of the expertise offered.
Accessible design has not been integrated into the current workplace as well as it might be. Recent disability legislation will bring about increasing awareness, as compliance is required, for example in physical access and in accessible web design. This is no less important for pupils, students and learners. Indeed, because of the high proportion of visually impaired people who do not work, then particular attention is required to enabling people to integrate as fully as possible, as learners and as employees in today’s society. Fortunately todays technological developments offer new and exciting ways of dealing with sensory loss, but the learning burden increases, as does the need for really understanding the needs of the 'clients'.
As we live longer, the likelihood of each of us having a visual impairment through macular degeneration in our old age is very high. While visual impairments are generally more prevalent in later life, young people also have to cope with the problems it causes and the challenges it creates. The reality is, inclusive, accessible design benefits a majority of the population. One example, the guidelines for web pages allow the adjustment of the size of text on all pages in order to pass the accessibility tests internationally applied. We try to devise our solutions by using simple rules:
- Ask the clients what works (awareness raising is a central theme in Blackpool's eCommunity Strategy).
- Develop the simplest of solutions (If it doesn't do it, simply, it is the wrong technology).
- Make our standards open (It works 'just about' everywhere....no technology lock-in).
There have been a lot of advances in usability design but it requires us, as professionals and as the public, to increase our awareness - and not only to actively support the use and implementation of accessible design, but also to expect it as a part of normal practice.
Although increasingly blind activists in the UK, such as Kevin Carey of 'humanITy' are taking key advisory roles, and younger blind people are rightly expecting to lead active and independent lives, but it is clear that there is also a whole generation who grew up before accessibility was required or expected. These folk may have missed out on much that we take for granted, but they are capable of living fruitful lives. They yearn to have information and involvement. It is that information that the "Talking News" service has built upon with its popular tape service; however commercial technology changes are now making it plain that the days of the cassette tape are limited. There is no line between information and learning, and much of the content of "Talking News" is educational in the way it is delivered and received. While the circumstances of the onset of a visual disability vary greatly, many visually impaired people have had limited access to education, a fact that should not be a limitation today. Unfortunately it is still the case, abut our experiences of an earlier project undertaken in Blackpool (iBrowse) pointed the way to audio content being a perfect vehicle for auditory learning.
The ideas behind blueIRIS raise many questions about technology being applied in the delivery of learning to the visual impaired, but most importantly it begs the question:
"Why not?"
Dependency on others is unlikely to ever completely disappear, but with intelligent technological solutions, the independence of visually impaired people can be increased greatly. Some have had little opportunity to develop and contribute their skills and talents to their communities, often having low confidence of their own abilities or values to partake. Here is a chance to change things using new technologies. A few must experience low expectations of success. Ted Barrow, a quadriplegic manager for the Palyalkula programme for people with disabilities in Perth Australia, spoke about this generation as “the forgotten people”.
In Blackpool, they are far from forgotten.
Earlier this year the Northwest Regional Intelligence Unit completed a major survey of citizens in the region concluding that 66% of the population feel that they need training in ICT skills. The percentage in Lancashire was highest at 68.9%
The percentage of citizens who have used a personal computer across Lancashire is 57.9%, with an expected reduction on percentage with increasing age (18 – 24 84.3% to 65+ 20.3%)
It is no wonder then that there was some initial reservation from certain onlookers about the way visually impaired people might be willing to adopt the ideas of blueIRIS. So many people have had bad ICT experiences which taint their perceptions of what is possible. What we discovered in starting blueIRIS was that the project, which had enlisted its 15 trial users initially, created a queue of other interested and willing takers. Even at the early test phase it was a matter of trying to control the trials at 50 users. Today the service serves many hundreds.
The blueIRIS project today provides people with a new experience. A 'just-in-time' link to the world through up-to-date articles and information about local communities and the world at large - wherever they have access to a computer.
The project is also explored the accessibility of its content through even more interesting mediums, namely ‘set-top box’ stream players that do not require a computer at all. Podcasting and the 'blueIRIS client' were the result of client feedback. We were asked to revisit content 'on-the-go' and given a stark indication that browsers are not easy for blind users to use (regardless of additional support software). Our response was the blueIRIS client, a seemingly simple little utility that allows users to access the service without resorting to a browser, and using only four keys on a standard keyboard. Its not exactly the most 'flashy' looking utility in the world, but for a visually impaired user it is the business!
Whatever the medium used, the easier and better suited to accessibility the better. A service such as blueIRIS can provide users with a compelling context and a friendly interface to independence. Anyone with friends or family who are uninspired or afraid to use computers and the Internet knows how independence is the key first step to encouraging them to learn new skills and take control of their own destinies. Indeed, this is no different for any learning.
blueIRIS has something that is rare in this day and age. A passionate volunteer base exists at the "Talking News". Research is constantly being undertaken to determine what users of the service actually want. The project has worked alongside blind and visually impaired members and established their interests, and through encouragement has resulted in contributory ideas and even become the subject of interviews; it goes a long way towards ensuring that their focus meets their needs and interests.
As the skill and confidence of participants grows, blueIRIS will be able to incorporate increasingly sophisticated interactive technologies, among these teaching blind individuals to use pod-casts will certainly feature. The idea might be, by establishing high standards of presentation, that the pioneers of the blind community can inspire others with their example and their authentic stories. Yet audio also lends itself well to dialogue, and community inspires participation, so an easy to use audio blog with key topics such as "useful tips", "help please!" or a "what I’d like folks to know" may help to build members’ confidence to begin to tell their stories. This is for the future.
We've long known that the best learning comes about through active participation, problem solving, working collaboratively, and people developing a sense of ownership.
blueIRIS provides the context and technology that helps to bring people together, and strengthens the community by the very action of sharing information. As a solution for learning, there is quite a way to go, but we feel that it might be just right to support people enough to help to increase their knowledge, their experience and their skills and offer them a way of appropriating the new technologies for themselves to reduce dependency on others.
It’s a dream, turned into reality that we invite you to share in…………
Behind blueIRIS
blueIRIS is a standards based project that is accessible on any modern computer system that can access the Internet over a broadband connection. Clients require (at this stage) Windows XP or MacOSX 10.4 to access the full range of features. Further details can be viewed at http://www.blueiris.info
blueIRIS runs on Mac OSX servers and provides an automated workflow that makes it easy to create a smooth running service. Running within modern browsers, it utilises the users favourite (preferred) media player, but we encourage the use of Quicktime and iTunes due to their winning integration.
Work progressed in the development of a bespoke client application, which overcomes some of the limitations of using browsers mentioned earlier. This really is our 'crown jewel'.
Technology overview
During the trials Apple computers have been used among the test group. Why?
- The Macintosh OS is acknowledged as being stable and easy to use. It is. No buts.
- The project runs without dedicated technical field support. We couldn't dare do this using any other operating system!
- The Macintosh OS is acknowledged as secure and (at the time of writing - indeed for as long as I can remember) free from virus issues. This ensures the project can concentrate on what matters without the cost burdens of supporting and remedying complications.
- Apple made ‘VoiceOver’ available at the last OS release. VoiceOver, an accessibility facility for visually impaired is designed to maximize independence and make Macs operable without the need to see the screen. This allows a complete Mac solution to be used.
- VoiceOver is free with every Macintosh, and this fact alone results
in a saving estimated at over £500 over any equivalent Windows
solutions. This is a tremendous added value and has saved the project a
substantial amount of money. Interesting (as an update) the preview of
the next generation of Voiceover looks (and sounds) even more stunning:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/accessibility.html - MacOSX 10.4 provided the inspiration, through its ‘Dashboard’ to the development of a stand alone client for blueIRIS
- Apple Computers and iPods were used on the iBrowse project very successfully. The ROI on Apple kit is rather undervalued.
- blueIRIS ran for two full years without a single technical issue due to hardware. Pretty impressive (although at the outset we were simply working to a promise and a hope, the project ends with a truly remarkable record of minimal technical intervention requirements).
You can also read more about BlueIRIS at the Apple Digital Campus Exchange:
- http://edcommunity.apple.com/adc/gallery_adc/story.php?sec=4&itemID=92
- http://www.blackpool4me.com/Blackpool4Me/Community/Disability/BFWSB/
- http://www.alt.ac.uk/docs/blueirisv3.pdf [150kB PDF]
and many other places!
Log on, register and try it for free. If you are interesting in using blueIRIS for VIPs or for any other purposes contact enquiries@blueiris.info
STOP PRESS: On the evening of September 25th the Mayor of Blackpool officially offered to support and champion blueIRIS. This is terrific news, and will help develop the podcasting and streaming applications for a variety of audiences.
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Blackpool Council will be running a
"Podcasting the easy way" event at the Blackpool City Learning centre
on Tuesday November the 14th (10 am - 12-30pm introduction with
optional workshop 1-00pm to 4.30pm). blueIRIS will feature.
Contact us via info4me@blackpool.gov.uk 01253 478103
External delegates: £20.00 am only, £30.00 pm only (includes lunch and refreshments)
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