The rise of artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm over the past two years, and it has the potential to have an enormous impact for people who are blind or have low vision. In this episode of AccessWorld, after a quick detour on the Blind barbie project, our hosts Tony and Aaron offer a rundown on what’s in the latest online issue of AccessWorld Magazine, which takes its own deep dive into several related A.I. areas, and they then dive even deeper into the AFB Leadership Conference, held Sept. 23rd - 25th in Minneapolis. This year’s #AFBLC focuses on Leading in the Digital Age, and one of the tracks will unpack the rise of A.I. and measure its impact across our community. There’s still time to register and be part of the big event.

AccessWorld is a production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB, and Aaron Preece is the editor-in-chief of AccessWorld Magazine, an online publication that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year promoting digital inclusion and accessibility. Aaron Preece is editor-in-chief of AccessWorld, and Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB.

ABOUT AFB

Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to publishing AccessWorld and the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available on the AFB website at www.afb.org.

Consider making a contribution today and help sustain our mission to create endless possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision. And be sure to like and subscribe to our podcast. You can access past episodes and transcripts on the podcast page of our website.

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld., a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. In this episode, Aaron and Tony talk with AccessWorld contributor Janet Ingber on the latest updates with Apple. From the recent announcement around Apple AI, to what is in the pipeline for Apple IOS 18, Janet helps break it all down. We also give a nod to AppleVis, the longtime Apple accessibility online resource blog that will be winding down.

Then, Aaron offers an overview of Apple VoiceOver. The segment begins at 22:45, and it provides a useful tutorial for those who may be new to screen readers and want to get up and running on it.

About AccessWorld

AccessWorld is a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. A production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the podcast supports AccessWorld magazine, a quarterly online publication that has chronicled happenings in the access technology space for over 24 years. To check out the most recent version, and to access all of the magazine’s back-issues, visit: www.afb.org/AW.

About AFB

Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to publishing the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available on the AFB website at www.afb.org.

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld, a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. Marking our 10th episode, we thought it would be great to bring on our own President & CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the one and only Eric Bridges.

Eric has long been engaged in fostering partnerships and adovcacy at the intersection of accessibility and technology. In this episode, he reflects on some of his past experiences, sharing how our rapidly changing and technologically dependent world has brought us both great opportunity and challenges. And along with co-hosts Tony and Aaron, they look into the future at what opportunities may exist just beyond the horizon.

About the Hosts:

Aaron Preece is editor-in-chief of AccessWorld Magazine. AccessWorld is a quarterly online publication produced by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Readers can access the latest issue along with over 20 years of back-issues for free at ⁠www.afb.org/AW⁠.

Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB. When he's not geeking out on all things encompassing access tech, he's trying out new ways to use technology to master blind sailing on Chesapeake Bay.

To check out Aaron's article breaking down NVDA even further in the most recent issue, ⁠click here⁠.

About AFB:

Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to producing AccessWorld, AFB publishes the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available on the AFB website at ⁠www.afb.org⁠.

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld, a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. Apologies as we ran into technical issues with this month's episode but better late than never.

This month's episode is an excellent resource for developers and those interested in learning more about the free text-to-speech engine NVDA. This application is a powerful tool to learn how text-to-speech works and to test out your own site. It's also a great solution for those looking to gain access on-the-go with a nimble application that can offer assistance through this access-tech application that has a wealth of add-ons to customize the users experience.

Our co-host Aaron takes us on a deep dive of NVDA, providing a demo of how it responds to web content and breaks down some helpful extensions that make this free application a robust tool for blind and low-vision users.

About the Hosts:

Aaron Preece is editor-in-chief of AccessWorld Magazine. AccessWorld is a quarterly online publication produced by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Readers can access the latest issue along with over 20 years of back-issues for free at www.afb.org/AW.

Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB. When he's not geeking out on all things encompassing access tech, he's trying out new ways to use technology to master blind sailing on Chesapeake Bay.

To check out Aaron's article breaking down NVDA even further in the most recent issue, click here.

About AFB:

Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to producing AccessWorld, AFB publishes the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available on the AFB website at www.afb.org.

On this special edition of the AccessWorld podcast, we welcome AFB’s Chief Public Policy & Research Officer Stephanie Enyart and Senior Advisor for Public Policy & Research Sarah Malaier. Together, our hosts Tony and Aaron discuss with our guests the U.S. Department of Justice's recently published final rule on website and mobile app accessibility for state and local governments. This rule is the culmination of decades of advocacy and rulemaking and marks a significant step in ensuring that the digital world is fully accessible to people who are blind, have low vision, or are deafblind. Learn more about the final rule on the AFB Blog: https://afb.org/blog/entry/final-rule-website-accessibility.

AccessWorld is a podcast and online magazine on digital inclusion and accessibility produced by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). The podcast drops at the start of each month, and the online magazine is published quarterly. To learn more about AccessWorld, visit www.afb.org/AW.

Aaron Preece is the editor-in-chief of AccessWorld, and Tony Stephens is the Assistant Vice President for Communications at AFB. Be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast, and you can also support our work by making a tax deductible donation at www.afb.orgdonate.

For past episodes and transcripts, visit the AFB AccessWorld Podcast page.

Welcome to another episode of AccessWorld, a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility from the American Foundation for the Blind. In this episode, Aaron and Tony celebrate the power that audio description can have toward making media more inclusive for audiences who are blind or have low vision. They welcome Roy Samuelson, a leading audio description performer, producer, and advocate who continues to be a champion for inclusive media and entertainment. Roy shares his own professional journey, how a close friend sent him on a mission to bring quality in audio description to the masses, and how the team he assembled for AFB’s documentary film “Possibilities” took the craft to a whole new level.

Want to learn more about those who work behind-the-scenes to make media more inclusive through audio description? Check out the Audio Description Network Alliance, where you can also find out more about your own favorite voices describing content for television and film.

To learn more about AFB’s documentary film Possibilities, visit www.afb.org/possibiliteis.

About the Hosts:

Tony Stephens is the Director of Communications for the American Foundation for the blind (AFB), and Aaron Preece is editor-in-chief of AccessWorld, a quarterly online publication produced by AFB encompassing all things digital inclusion and accessibility. To learn more about AccessWorld, and to gain access to over 20 years of back-issues free of charge, visit www.afb.org/aw.

Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates opportunity and expands possibilities through thought leadership, advocacy, and strategic partnerships. Learn more about AFB at www.afb.org and consider making a tax-deductible gift to support our work creating a future of endless possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision.

Welcome back to another episode of the AccessWorld Podcast, a production of the American Foundation for the Blind. In this episode, our hosts Tony and Aaron welcome Enzo Caruso from Haptic. Their new venture from HapticLabs is rethinking the way haptic navigation can be used for travelers with disabilities. Enzo shares what lead to the release of their HapticNav app for Apple and Android devices and ways the app is being integrated into existing navigation platforms. They’ll be spotlighting the technology at SXSW this month as they prepare for integration in mainstream wearable devices. Users can download the HapticNav app for free on IOS devices.

Tony and Aaron also share exciting news for AFB’s TalentLab, which announced on March 1st that applications are now being accepted for the Digital Accessibility Bootcamp, a paid summer internship experience that is perfect for students majoring in computer science or a related field and interested in strengthening their accessibility skillset for a competitive marketplace. Check out the AFB Talent Lab page for more info on the internship program.

About Our Hosts

Aaron Preece is the Editor-in-Chief for AccessWorld, a quarterly online publication from the American Foundation for the Blind encompassing digital inclusion and accessibility. Tony Stephens is the Director of Communications for the American Foundation for the Blind. Together, Aaron and Tony enjoy diving into all things digital accessibility. You can access the current issue of AccessWorld, along with over 20 years of our back-issues, for free at https://afb.org/AW. For questions or comments about this episode or the podcast, email us.

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld, a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility.

February is Low-Vision awareness Month, and we're excited to welcome Lee Huffman from the American Printing House for the Blind. Lee is a familiar voice for AccessWorld enthusiasts

, having held down the helm for AccessWorld before joining APH. Lee, who also has low vision, shares his experiences and offers great insight into where we've been, and where we are going in regards to technology for low-vision consumers. Hosts Aaron and Tony along with Lee also share the challenges that often rise up when companies try to have a one-size-fits-all approach toward accessibility, not recognizing the vast spectrum that exists for users with varying conditions like low-vision.

Read more about low-vision and assistive tech in the February issue of AFB's AccessWorld E-Zine, which can be delivered right to your inbox this Feb. 20th. Visit www.afb.org/aw and sign-up today. You can also access back issues for free!

Listen to past episodes and access transcripts on AFB's podcast page. Transcripts are usually available within 48 hours after an episode drops. You can also check out other podcasts produced by AFB. And, while you're there, consider making a tax-deductible gift to the American Foundation for the Blind. Your gift helps us create a future of endless possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision.