“Virtual Helping Hands Presents Max, the Virtual Guidedog” as a "proof of concept" means to provide reasonable accommodations for those who are blind, visually impaired, and/or print or physically impaired to use SL. The project focuses on several disabilities and their specific perceptions to meet the needs of a majority of computer users with disabilities. The software approaches always strive to have the users participate as comfortably and completely as possible in the same community as a non-disabled user. They also allow the user the personal choice of whether or not to don an appearance that indicates that the user has a disability in physical reality—preserving the positive aspect of interacting in a virtual world for distancing from “real life” problems and benefiting from the virtual world’s opportunities for education, entertainment, and employment.
Three desirable design features of the project are that it
1. imports with reasonable ease to various operating systems,
2. installs on the user’s system as simply as possible, and
3. uses as little as possible of the user’s memory resources.
Virtual Helping Hands (VHH) is a coalition of four groups, united in our mission to bring people who have disabilities into SL so everyone can enjoy what SL offers—entertainment, education, and employment. The Virtual Guidedog group is currently focusing on those who are visually or print- impaired, but those with real life physical disabilities also benefit from the guidedog.
The first blind avatar in Second Life was Jolie1 Magic, the avatar of Jolie Mason, the first completely blind person in SL. Her journey shows how Max, the VHH Virtual Guidedog, allows people with visual and other impairments to use SL—opening SL to everyone and meeting the ADA Section 508 disability access requirements. In real life, Jolie Mason directs the Los Angeles Radio Reading Service (LARRS.org) that provides in-depth information for people who are blind or print-impaired. She also co-hosts the award-winning “Access Unlimited,” an RL radio show about disability issues, broadcast throughout California to about 150,000 listeners on KPFK 90.5 FM each Tuesday 3:00-4:00 p.m. PST, over the Internet at KPFK.org, and in Second Life at Club Accessible, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Taupo/168/91/24
Jolie heard about SL from Science Friday on NPR. She has a personal and professional interest in providing in-depth information to those with disabilities—and the Immersive Internet is the next great way to share in-depth information. She asked her twin sister, Louise Nicholson, to help her get into SL. LARRS has blind radio interns from Junior Blind of America—maybe they could learn engineering and have fun DJ’ing in SL. Louise had joined SL to develop and teach federally-mandated training classes for business people. See here for more information about the classes.
But Louise is visually impaired and found using SL difficult. She couldn’t make her living teaching national classes from SL, until she could find some way to move and to find people and places confidently. With her freebie sled dog and a guidedog harness, Louise started wearing a prop guidedog to signal people “I need extra time with text and navigating.” Next, Louise helped Jolie enter SL as Jolie1 Magic on the opening day of the Virtual Ability Inc. Orientation Trail (8/18/08). But Jolie1 couldn’t interact with objects or hear the chat window with her basic Windows screen reader, so Jolie logged off with Jolie1 standing immobile at the VAI login point.
Later, Charles Mountain IM’ed Louise to join SecondAbility Mentors, a group Charles founded with Saxet Uralia (https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/SecondAbility_Mentors). A gifted developer, Charles had scripted the SecondAbility Mentor call system, so mentors can assist people with disabilities at anytime. When he saw her guidedog, Charles asked Louise what its scripting did. She explained, “It’s a prop to let people know I need help finding people, places, and things.”
Charles laughed. “My radar script can tell you that. I’ll put it in the dog.”
Max the Virtual Guidedog was born.
Overcoming access problems one-by-one, Charles has his beta open-source scripts update automatically inside each guidedog, mobility cane, and mobility ring (users can choose to mirror RL or keep the need for assistive technology private).
Meanwhile, AMW Mars recommended EVA to Louise. Jarek Dejavu developed EVA (Essential Voicechat Advancement) to voice SL chat. Jarek offered to give EVA free to users with visual and print-impairments—and to their helpers. Since EVA reads chat, and Max moves and identifies people and objects with /2 chat commands, Jolie1 and other blind avatars can use SL for entertainment, education, and employment. For example, at Club Accessible, Accessible Builds, and Accessible Builds Annex, where owners Polgara Paine and Chade Villota, have given a home to Louise, Jolie1 (and Max), Louise can be employed teaching classes for KEY Ethical Advisors. Jolie1 enjoys the entertainment at Club Accessible, a social club for everyone, including those with disabilities (blind DJs coming soon!) If it’s Tuesday— come be entertained and educated at Club Accessible listening to “Access Unlimited” as Jolie updates listeners weekly about SL.
Accessibility Box:
(http://slurl.com/secondlife/Taupo/168/91/24)
www.virtualguidedog.org
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Virtual_Guidedog
http://www.thevesuviusgroup.com/reg/vai/index.php?page=2
http://tentacolor.com/2008/08/30/the-scripted-leading-the-blind/
For References, please contact:
1. “Gentle Heron” (SL) at gentle@virtualability.org
2. Lou Mourelatos “Evis Blackflag” (SL) at lou@modernecommunications.com
3. “AWM Mars” (SL) at contact@wba-advertising.com
Charles Mountain is the avatar of Charles Morris. He is a professional freelance software developer with over 20 years of experience. With the goal of giving back to the community and helping his fellows, Charles joined the SecondLife Mentors, co-founded the SecondAbility Mentors and took on the role of lead developer and IT manager for the Virtual Guidedog project. (When he saw Louise with her “faux” guidedog, he suggested adding his own radar program. That was the jumpstart for the project.) While many believe that virtual worlds can never be made accessible to those who are blind, Charles is an avid believer in “Where there is a will, there is a way.” Max the Virtual Guidedog, who is affectionately named after his own dearly departed pet, is the first step on a long road toward making virtual worlds--starting with Second Life™-- truly accessible.
Louise Later is the avatar of Louise Nicholson. Louise came to SL to develop and teach a federally-mandated class for KEY Ethical Advisors with Moderne Communications. However, she discovered she could not see well enough so she put that project on hold while she and the Virtual Helping Hands team develop Max, the Virtual Guidedog as assistive technology so that people who are visually or print-impaired can use SL effectively. Louise is an award-winning writer, CA credentialed preK-adult teacher and specialist, volunteer at LARRS (Los Angeles Radio Reading Service), and co-producer "Access Unlimited" KPFK 90.7 FM, Tues, 3-4 pm PST radio show about issues involving disabilities. (Listen live at KPFK.org or at Club Accessible in SL). Louise Later shares her apartment at Club Accessible with Max who has his own incredible one-prim doghouse by an SL genius, Vickie Greenwood.
Jolie1 Magic is the avatar of Jolie Mason. Jolie served two terms on the WGBH National Consumers Advisory Board to develop the standards for video description. She founded and serves as the Project Director for the Los Angeles Radio Reading Service, and brought audio description to Los Angeles in 1995 with a live description of the Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. She can be heard weekly on “Access Unlimited,” a radio show she co-hosts on KPFK FM that covers news, issues and events relating to disabilities. The show recently won the Workmen's Circle Award. Jolie Mason is a member of the Board of Directors for Vista Nova Renaissance Community and has served two terms as the president of its board.
She feels strongly that everyone has a need for access to in-depth information—and although around 70% of people who are blind are unemployed, they do use technology. Her background makes her deeply aware that making SL accessible illustrates the importance of ADA Section 508 and the potential for standards for the future of VR environments. She believes that a few simple adjustments to the SL client can make a huge difference to many people in disabled community—and she is grateful to Linden Research Inc. for helping VHH address these crucial issues.
Chade Villota is the avatar of Dr. Nathan Lowell. For the last 9 years he's worked to help make the internet and associated technologies accessible to people who are blind, deaf, and have significant support needs. As Technologies Coordinator for the National Center on Severe and Sensory Disabilities, he became concerned with how institutions of higher education were adopting platforms like Second Life without regard for issues such as ADA compliance or concern for threats to funding sources under regulations 504 and 508. Toward that end he began working on finding ways to make the Second Life Viewer and the worlds visible through it accessible to those who lack sight but have a vision for the virtual world.
Dr. Lowell has been working in multiuser social environments for over 15 years—and in 3d spaces for 10. He holds a BS in Business Administration from SUNY/Buffalo, an MA from the University of Northern Colorado in Educational Technology, and a PhD from the University of Northern Colorado in Educational Technology with specialization in Distance Education, Interactive Media, and Instructional Design.
Polgara Paine is the avatar of Dr. Linda Higbee Mandlebaum. She came into SL to learn to teach her university students, who are future teachers, how to accommodate students with special needs in their classrooms. However, she soon realized that she could not require students to come into a virtual world that was not accessible to all. When the Virtual Guidedog project began, she realized that this innovation could allow her to require students to come into SL since everyone would be able to access it. She has served as a consultant, a beta tester, and—along with her SL husband Chade Villota—has given the project a home in Taupo.
She has been involved in the field of special education since 1971. She has a BS in Special Education from University of Central Oklahoma, an M.Ed. in Special Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Oklahoma. She taught students with special needs in the public school system for seven years before moving to the university level. Since 1981, she has been on the faculty at Bowling Green State University where she is an Associate Professor in the School of Intervention Services in the College of Education and Human Development.
Tom32 Anatine is the avatar of Felix Plöger. In 2007, he came to Second Life to discover the new ways that people can interact virtually in 3d communities.
Felix is a student of media informatics and computer games development in Hannover, Germany and plans to graduate on Solent University Southhampton with the degree of a BSc.
Before starting his current studies, Felix worked for an international help organization. He has also worked as a foreign language correspondent.
In Second Life, Felix has been a Mentor for a little longer than a year now; before becoming a Second Life Mentor, he provided help to residents through different help groups. Before joining this project and the SecondAbility Mentor group, Felix had already been working on the development of in-world solutions to increase the accessibility of SL for special-needs residents. After joining the SecondAbility Mentor group in October 2008, Felix started working with the team on this project. His main focus is the development of concepts and solutions. He is working on an interface that will allow visually impaired residents to use a refreshable raised-pin Braille display for receiving text message from the world of Second Life.
Saxet Uralia is the avatar of Janyth Ussery. Janyth is the Director of Web Education at Texas State Technical College and has 14-years experience in higher education. With a specific focus in distance-education opportunities, exploring new frontiers in education is what has led her into Second Life over two years ago as a way to engage learners in online learning. Once there, she not only found a creative and engaging learning environment, she also saw opportunities that Second Life offers disabled individuals.
Janyth holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Hardin-Simmons University and a Masters of Education in Instructional Technology from Texas Tech University. Janyth also has given many presentations on how virtual worlds can be used in education and is invited to be the keynote speaker at the Texas A&M University Technology Conference in February.
As one of the cofounders of SecondAbility Mentors, Janyth has worked with others on making this a resident assistance group specializing in assisting real-life disabled people learn how to navigate the Second Life interface and to find groups of their common interests. Among other activities the group designed a unique call system allowing residents to call and request help from a SecondAbility Mentor. Janyth has often said, “While we make create, learn, work and play, the social opportunities offered for those that are disabled in real life may be Second Life’s finest hour.” Janyth is also the founder of Virtual Helping Hands (VHH), our fledgling non-profit that is committed to finding and supporting projects benefiting the disabled via virtual worlds.
For testimonials about the Virtual Guidedog project, please contact
1. “BlueRock Dimsum” (SL) at blue.rock.girl@gmail.com
2. “Ronin Shippe” (SL) at rex_6@q.com
3. Simon Steven at simon@simonsteven.com