(Our Tech Blog) Readers, do scientific work such as thesis, dissertation, or resume is not easy for blind people. Besides the lack of Braille reading materials as well as supporting infrastructure and facilities in Indonesia, workmanship Ilmiyah own work demanded perseverance, concentration, time, and no small cost. Well, in this article the author wants to share tips on working on the work of colleagues Ilmiyah for visually impaired by utilizing their technology. These tips are made based on personal experience of the writer who recently completed a thesis and a bachelor's degree.
With non-functioning of the senses of vision in blind people, then the process of reading and writing - which is the main core of the work Ilmiyah workmanship - would be severely hampered. Therefore, it takes a little finesse to minimize these barriers.
Therefore, it is necessary for the visually impaired to prepare the necessary materials. But earlier, it should be noted that the blind are concerned should already understand the material presented in the works ilmiyahnya want, and at least have mastered the computer, typing at least 10 fingers. This will greatly help in utilizing the materials which the author served.
In addition, the authors give tips on just outline only, based on personal experience that the author experienced in working thesis.
Well, here's the materials needed in construction work that has been the author Ilmiyah regrouped into two, namely the hardware (hardware) and software (the software). To the user alias brainware please prepare yourself. :)
Hardware
This is the main device a must-have visual impairment, because all the activities related to construction works Ilmiyah highly dependent on the presence of a computer. This device will also run the hardware and software that I will mention.
Whatever its form, a PC or laptop, at least the computer is sufficiently stable to be used to operate the Office applications and screen readers. With the above 2GHz processor speed and RAM above 2GB, the computer is capable enough to meet the above needs.
2. Flash Disk
Try to choose a flash disk with good quality, because if there is damage caused by data storage media that are less good, then the blind will experience a loss of manpower and time.
Quoted from detikINET, Flash disks are big enough can also be used to store the portable screen reader like NVDA, or a portable browser such as Mozilla Firefox. This is to anticipate things that are not desirable, so that blind people can still do work on other computers.
3. 3G Modem
Try using a 3G modem to ensure the connection speed, and use service providers that provide unlimited internet to connect to the internet is not disconnected due to run out of bandwidth quota.
4. Scanners
To save money, choose a scanner the most economical, yet capable of performing the OCR process as well. If you have money to spare, please buy a portable scanner that is easy to carry everywhere, or buy a special scanner for the visually impaired, one of which is to be gained in PEARL www.freedomscientific.com.
5. Voice Recorder
Now, voice recorders are already available in digital form, so that recordings can be stored in a computer, and the format was quite diverse (WAV, MP3, or WMA).
With voice recorder, can record visually impaired supervisor explanation given, or material which was read by his friends. Furthermore, the recording can be heard again in the process of work Ilmiyah.
Software
1. Screen reader
Screen readers (screen reader) function to change the text that appears on the screen into sound, so that blind people can access Office documents, Internet browsing, and presentation of the work ilmiyahnya.
Generally, blind people using screen readers Indonesia JAWS for Windows from www.freedomscientific.com. However, if the price is too expensive, can also take advantage of free screen readers like NVDA (Non Visual Desktop Access) that can be downloaded at www.nvda-project.org.
2. Job application
On the visually impaired computer users, try to install the application work that can later be used in the process of work Ilmiyah.
Some applications that is required is Microsoft Office (to process data and make presentations), and Adobe Reader (for reading journals or access the scan results).
Oh yes, based on the author's experience, avoid using MS-Office 2007, because the files ending in *. docx and such is rather difficult to be distributed and processed in another computer that does not have MS-Office 2007. We recommend using only MS-Office 2003 are already equipped with the file converter (capable of recognizing the extension *.*** x), or MS-Office 2010.
If there is, take advantage of services also Notepad to save the materials or small notes, so as not to interfere with the main document.
3. OCR Program
OCR application is used to scan the printed material on paper. The process makes use of scanning as scanner hardware, in which the printed material placed on the scanner and the scan mode is activated by OCR. Well, the next application that will process the OCR scanning, and results can be saved in TXT, DOC, or PDF, which can then be accessed on a computer using a screen reader.
Actually nearly all scanners have OCR software included on the installation CD. One of the most common OCR software is OmniPage encountered.
An application called OpenBook designed specifically to perform OCR for users with visual impairments can also be purchased at www.freedomscientific.com. The difference with other applications, OpenBook can make the process of OCR accuracy is much better, thus minimizing errors in the scan results.
Experience Writer
The following is the author's experience while working on thesis. By utilizing the above equipment, the authors successfully complete the thesis within two months and reached 93 pages thick thesis. Achievement refers to the assumption that the thesis work is done by continuously without wasting time, but still within the bounds of reasonableness and not push yourself.
a. Processing data from the Internet
After consultation with the supervisor and the approval of the material that authors want to take, the first step that the authors do is dedicate one full day to locate the journal or material from cyberspace.
Because the authors take the title "The Influence of Motivation and Use of Information Technology in Improving Quality of Life Disabled Blind," the author is trying to find a journal or material based on three main variables that capture the author, using the keyword "motivation," "information technology" and " visually impaired. "
In this stage, the author does not care about the contents of a journal or take material that authors. The author put the quantity in journals and download material, and a new process in the following days.
In addition to finding local sources, the authors also seek international sources. Given the author had enrolled in English literature, the writer did not have difficulty in looking for it. However, for colleagues who have difficulty with visual impairments in the search for sources of English language can take advantage of features of "Google Translation."
By utilizing the 'Google Translation, "fellow blind people will be very helpful because the international sources can be translated with a fairly good accuracy. Try to translate a sentence, then reread the translation (for grounding theory or definition can usually translate well).
Make sure Adobe Reader already installed, because most material resources PDF format. Adobe Reader will be widely used for reading materials that have been downloaded, and copy the contents as needed.
b. Process data from the print media
For writers, this is the stage of the most troublesome and most time consuming. Arguably, this is the most difficult phase when the writer working on a thesis.
To obtain materials from the print media, the author comes to some libraries. Here, the authors inevitably need to enlist the help of a companion (lover-ed writers) to find books that writers need.
The problem that the authors faced was getting the book and the proper theoretical basis. Since co-author are not enrolled in the same department, the writer needs to explain in advance the materials writer looking for, so the companion can find material which is roughly close to what the authors need.
Sometimes the material that has been acquired can not be borrowed or taken home. To get around this, the authors use a flash disk that has been the author of the content with a portable screen reader NVDA, so that authors can access the data thesis in the library computer, and do a scan with the use of scanners available.
After getting the materials writers need, the authors then perform a scan in the print media materials. Usually the authors scanned the entire book, because the blind could not flip through the pages and immediately take the appropriate material.
With a simple scanner that writers have, the scan is typically spend 4 to 6 pages per a minute. Meanwhile, when the writers need to read and sort through the material results of the scan takes approximately one and a half months.
c. Processing audio data
Not all print media materials can be scanned, especially the copies that print is not very clear. To that end, the writer needs to ask for help from others to read it, then the writer with a voice recorder to record it.
The author also uses a voice recorder to record the direction of the supervisor, based on the progress of thesis writers, so the author can repeat referrals is by listening to the tapes at home.
d. Sort data
In the process the data that has taken the author, the author utilize the services of the Notepad to store materials that have been the author of sorting. The author deliberately separating documents and materials to facilitate the thesis documents the author organize the work of the author.
There are three Notepad file that the author made, each containing a theoretical basis and appropriate information variables. Here the variable is the author of "motivation," "information technology" and "blind," so I named each of the Notepad file with a "v1-motivasi.txt," "v2-TI.txt," and "v3-blind. txt. " Naming a unique and regularly can help writers find the file if needed.
Why, why not use MS-Word? Is not MS-Word provides a feature to open multiple files in one window? The answer, sometimes the sources are copied from the PDF to include a picture or link. Quite often the picture or the link is carried over into the documents and MS-Word will automatically do the formatting of documents. It can interfere with the work because sometimes it makes work a screen reader so slow. In addition, if the material copied into Notepad, then the visual elements that are not needed will be automatically discarded, so the results are only the text.
e. Presentation
After the editing process on the document is completed and the thesis ready for combat, it's time the authors present the thesis before the hearing. For presentation, the author makes pointers by using MS-PowerPoint, contains the main points in the thesis writer.
To answer the question posed examiner, the author opens MS-Word documents side by side with the thesis of MS-PowerPoint pointers, and take advantage of features "Jump to page" to move directly to the page containing the answers to the writers need.
This presentation, indirectly, become one of the answers of the material formulation of thesis writers. With the motivation and use of information technology, the quality of life of the author has increased. A simple example is the work of this thesis, which may take much longer and accuracy far below average if it does not take advantage of variables that the authors mentioned before.
As a result, authors can achieve a college degree, and ready to proceed to S2 levels of education in the same campus and in the same year.
Cover
Basically this article the authors compiled as a motivator for many more blind people in Indonesia who can feel the benefits of information technology, especially in education.
The author also hope this article can be a useful knowledge for the public, especially teachers, lecturers, or teachers, so it can find alternatives to accommodate students who are blind, or help them (blind-ed) that have not been touched by information technology.
This guide is also made by considering the cost factor, where the author seeks to provide alternative handling of thesis by pressing the lowest possible cost, which probably will be much more expensive when utilizing technology that was created specifically to assist blind people in the cultivation of the thesis, which is already available abroad .
If there is a need thesis author, please contact via e-mail to ramavgm@gmail.com or via Twitter at @ramadityaknight.
About the Author: Eko Ramaditya blind dictatorial is a blogger who enjoyed the digital world and information technology. Her blog can be read in http://ramaditya.com/.