moderated Federal Employment and Accommodations
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Claudia
Hello All,
I just began a new job this week, with the federal government. I have requested the following accommodations, JFW, a braille display, such as the Focus 40 Blue and an iPhone thus far.
I have already found the following issues. They use Adobe a great deal, so I need something that I can use to fill out forms? Is this doable, even with using something like Adobe Acrobat DC? I have sent myself some of the required forms to my private e-mail and have been able to open them with my iPhone, but I'm not sure I can fill them out this way.
If I've requested JFW, is there any potential reason why I'd also need Kurzweil, seeing as JFW has the built-in OCR?
The department I work for also uses a Soft Phone system, which I'm told will not be accessible, so I've requested an iPhone as an alternative.
They have offered me a reader, but I don't see myself needing that enough to justify that expense for the department as well. I successfully did this job, at a state level, with minor issues, for 10 years.
If you'd rather not clutter up the list, please feel free to e-mail me directly. Thanks.
Claudia
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Kestrel Verlager <kestrell@...>
Claudia,
If you are using a work computer or laptop and you need to log into a mainframe, VPN, etc., you are going to need to request Jaws Pro, which is the business version. You will also need to request that someone in IT with administrator privileges needs to set it up. If you have a Federal job, they should already have licenses for Jaws Pro, so this shouldn’t be a really big deal.
I would also recommend that you become familiar with Microsoft Narrator for troubleshooting issues with Jaws: it’s built into MS Office, and it’s been really helpful to me for those times when Jaws stops talking and I’m trying to figure out why.
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Claudia
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 1:20 AM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Federal Employment and Accommodations
Hello All,
I just began a new job this week, with the federal government. I have requested the following accommodations, JFW, a braille display, such as the Focus 40 Blue and an iPhone thus far.
I have already found the following issues. They use Adobe a great deal, so I need something that I can use to fill out forms? Is this doable, even with using something like Adobe Acrobat DC? I have sent myself some of the required forms to my private e-mail and have been able to open them with my iPhone, but I'm not sure I can fill them out this way.
If I've requested JFW, is there any potential reason why I'd also need Kurzweil, seeing as JFW has the built-in OCR?
The department I work for also uses a Soft Phone system, which I'm told will not be accessible, so I've requested an iPhone as an alternative.
They have offered me a reader, but I don't see myself needing that enough to justify that expense for the department as well. I successfully did this job, at a state level, with minor issues, for 10 years.
If you'd rather not clutter up the list, please feel free to e-mail me directly. Thanks.
Claudia
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Justin Williams
Use insert windows f4 for when jaws just stops talking and many times that will fix the problem.
A second trick is to have another version of jaws on the p pc. If the first does not work, use insert f4 to turn ti off, then start your second version, usually a left over version from previously after you upgraded by using windows r then typing your previous version.
Then either use that, or just unload that with insert f4, and restart your main version with windows r, then type your version. Remember to use control a then delete to get a typed version out of the run window if you type in jaws and it won't start.
Justin
From: main@jfw.groups.io [mailto:main@jfw.groups.io] On Behalf Of Kestrel Verlager
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 6:40 AM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Re: Federal Employment and Accommodations
Claudia,
If you are using a work computer or laptop and you need to log into a mainframe, VPN, etc., you are going to need to request Jaws Pro, which is the business version. You will also need to request that someone in IT with administrator privileges needs to set it up. If you have a Federal job, they should already have licenses for Jaws Pro, so this shouldn’t be a really big deal.
I would also recommend that you become familiar with Microsoft Narrator for troubleshooting issues with Jaws: it’s built into MS Office, and it’s been really helpful to me for those times when Jaws stops talking and I’m trying to figure out why.
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Claudia
Hello All,
I just began a new job this week, with the federal government. I have requested the following accommodations, JFW, a braille display, such as the Focus 40 Blue and an iPhone thus far.
I have already found the following issues. They use Adobe a great deal, so I need something that I can use to fill out forms? Is this doable, even with using something like Adobe Acrobat DC? I have sent myself some of the required forms to my private e-mail and have been able to open them with my iPhone, but I'm not sure I can fill them out this way.
If I've requested JFW, is there any potential reason why I'd also need Kurzweil, seeing as JFW has the built-in OCR?
The department I work for also uses a Soft Phone system, which I'm told will not be accessible, so I've requested an iPhone as an alternative.
They have offered me a reader, but I don't see myself needing that enough to justify that expense for the department as well. I successfully did this job, at a state level, with minor issues, for 10 years.
If you'd rather not clutter up the list, please feel free to e-mail me directly. Thanks.
Claudia
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Dacia Cole
Claudia, I would also suggest posting all of your questions to the blind gov muster List. I have a feeling there might be some good suggestions there. Dacia
On Jun 10, 2022, at 7:56 AM, Justin Williams <justin.williams2@...> wrote:
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Andy
Several years ago, Federal agencies suspended the practice of
allowing employees other than IT people to have admin privileges. This means
that even doing simple things like monthly JAWS updates will require that you
put in a work order with IT and wait for a tech to perform the service. A
bummer for sure!
Andy
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On Fri, Jun 10, 2022 at 06:39 AM, Kestrel Verlager wrote:
become familiar with Microsoft Narrator for troubleshooting issues with Jaws: it’s built into MS Office- Slight correction: It's built into Windows 10 and 11 (and, I believe, 8.1, but I don't have a machine to test right now). It can also be worthwhile to have a portable copy of NVDA on a USB drive if you are able to access USB drives on the computer you will be using. I know that there are certain agencies where any "plug n' play" USB storage is completely disabled, but those agencies are relatively few in number. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.
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Dacia Cole
Unfortunately, the VA, which is where I believe this individual works is pretty strict on what can be put on their computers or used on their computers. Any technology or software has to go through oh IT, I don’t think plug-and-play are allowed on these computers unfortunately.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On Jun 10, 2022, at 1:23 PM, Brian Vogel <britechguy@...> wrote:
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Kestrel Verlager <kestrell@...>
You might be able to make an argument to have NVDA installed in addition to Jaws as a secondary screen reader, as it sometimes can provide information that Jaws doesn’t, in addition to being a backup screen reader when Jaws is having issues.
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Dacia Cole
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 2:59 PM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Re: Federal Employment and Accommodations
Unfortunately, the VA, which is where I believe this individual works is pretty strict on what can be put on their computers or used on their computers. Any technology or software has to go through oh IT, I don’t think plug-and-play are allowed on these computers unfortunately.
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On Fri, Jun 10, 2022 at 03:05 PM, Kestrel Verlager wrote:
You might be able to make an argument to have NVDA installed in addition to Jaws as a secondary screen reader, as it sometimes can provide information that Jaws doesn’t, in addition to being a backup screen reader when Jaws is having issues.- Certainly worth a try. As a tutor for screen reader users, even if I'm only tasked with teaching one, I emphasize that they need to have a second, and possibly a third, as alternatives because no matter which one is one's own favorite and primary, there will be times when it will not "play well" with something you're trying to use it to access and another will do so very easily. Since NVDA is no-cost, and they even have a specific Q&A page for system admins for large organizations and examples of companies that are currently using NVDA, it's much more difficult for an IT department presented with such to use the usual "we can't do that because {fill in nonsense excuse here}" arguments. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.
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K0LNY
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
You can also unzip a portable version onto the HD,
and run it that way.
So try zipping up a portable copy and see if you
can eMail it to yourself, if you can send attachments of that size, or
otherwise, email a link to a zipped portable copy and unzip it and run NVDA.exe
in the NVDA folder, it is the first N in the folder.
Glenn
----- Original Message -----
From: Kestrel Verlager
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 2:05 PM
Subject: Re: Federal Employment and Accommodations You might be able to make an argument to have NVDA installed in addition to Jaws as a secondary screen reader, as it sometimes can provide information that Jaws doesn’t, in addition to being a backup screen reader when Jaws is having issues.
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of
Dacia Cole
Unfortunately, the VA, which is where I believe this individual works is pretty strict on what can be put on their computers or used on their computers. Any technology or software has to go through oh IT, I don’t think plug-and-play are allowed on these computers unfortunately.
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Kestrel Verlager <kestrell@...>
And, as I’m learning this week, if you know even the basics of NVDA, you can manage to get at least some work done while your Jaws license is in limbo.
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Brian Vogel
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 3:09 PM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Re: Federal Employment and Accommodations
On Fri, Jun 10, 2022 at 03:05 PM, Kestrel Verlager wrote:
- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.
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Andy
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
i worked for the VA and what you say is correct.
Andy
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Kestrel Verlager <kestrell@...>
This is true of most businesses also, at this point. There is serious cybersecurity built into most work laptops.
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Andy
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 3:24 PM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Re: Federal Employment and Accommodations
i worked for the VA and what you say is correct.
Andy
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Justin Williams
Can a dongle be used on these pcs?
Justin
From: main@jfw.groups.io [mailto:main@jfw.groups.io] On Behalf Of Kestrel Verlager
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 3:28 PM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Re: Federal Employment and Accommodations
This is true of most businesses also, at this point. There is serious cybersecurity built into most work laptops.
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Andy
i worked for the VA and what you say is correct.
Andy
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Lori Lynn
Brian,
Although that is a valid point, let me state a few facts as someone who use to provide reasonable accommodation to employees when I worked for the Social Security Administration.
You can’t make the assumption that all Federal Agencies work the same, or that they are just like any private company. SSA used several applications that were created internally. Before any adaptive software was installed and/or upgraded a lot of testing and internal scripts had to be written to allow everything to work smoothly. Sometimes these were easy, and software could be updated relatively quickly. Other times an agency could be behind the general public by two or three versions. Having helped with a lot of testing, trust me when I say you wouldn’t want the newest version if it didn’t work right and therefore allow you to work right.
Although in some situations it may be possible to have multiple assistive software types on a machine, we all need to understand that for many agencies who have their own proprietary software this isn’t practical or possible. At the same time most agencies will focus their testing and scripting on specific software. Due to budget restraints it isn’t possible to toss in another one.
There are a lot of great suggestions being tossed out here that are just not possible in a job like hers.
Lori Lynn
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of
Brian Vogel
On Fri, Jun 10, 2022 at 03:05 PM, Kestrel Verlager wrote:
- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.
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JM Casey
Hi.
If your workplace provides Adobe Acrobat Pro, it has oCR built in – if you need oCR functionality, I would use this and not JAWS. If the forms are created properly, you’ll also be able to use this programme to fill them out. It works rather likea webpage. When you finish, there’s usually a save button, which will save the form and, if required, send it to its destination on the network/over the internet. Not all forms are created equal though, so you’ll have to take it on a case by case basis.
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Claudia
Sent: June 10, 2022 01:20 AM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Federal Employment and Accommodations
Hello All,
I just began a new job this week, with the federal government. I have requested the following accommodations, JFW, a braille display, such as the Focus 40 Blue and an iPhone thus far.
I have already found the following issues. They use Adobe a great deal, so I need something that I can use to fill out forms? Is this doable, even with using something like Adobe Acrobat DC? I have sent myself some of the required forms to my private e-mail and have been able to open them with my iPhone, but I'm not sure I can fill them out this way.
If I've requested JFW, is there any potential reason why I'd also need Kurzweil, seeing as JFW has the built-in OCR?
The department I work for also uses a Soft Phone system, which I'm told will not be accessible, so I've requested an iPhone as an alternative.
They have offered me a reader, but I don't see myself needing that enough to justify that expense for the department as well. I successfully did this job, at a state level, with minor issues, for 10 years.
If you'd rather not clutter up the list, please feel free to e-mail me directly. Thanks.
Claudia
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Kestrel Verlager <kestrell@...>
I heard very recently from an accessibility trainer who is extremely knowledgeable about PDF accessibility that Adobe Acrobat Pro is not accessible with Jaws.
Has someone been able to access Adobe Acrobat Pro with Jaws?
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of JM Casey
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2022 4:09 PM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Re: Federal Employment and Accommodations
Hi.
If your workplace provides Adobe Acrobat Pro, it has oCR built in – if you need oCR functionality, I would use this and not JAWS. If the forms are created properly, you’ll also be able to use this programme to fill them out. It works rather likea webpage. When you finish, there’s usually a save button, which will save the form and, if required, send it to its destination on the network/over the internet. Not all forms are created equal though, so you’ll have to take it on a case by case basis.
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Claudia
Hello All,
I just began a new job this week, with the federal government. I have requested the following accommodations, JFW, a braille display, such as the Focus 40 Blue and an iPhone thus far.
I have already found the following issues. They use Adobe a great deal, so I need something that I can use to fill out forms? Is this doable, even with using something like Adobe Acrobat DC? I have sent myself some of the required forms to my private e-mail and have been able to open them with my iPhone, but I'm not sure I can fill them out this way.
If I've requested JFW, is there any potential reason why I'd also need Kurzweil, seeing as JFW has the built-in OCR?
The department I work for also uses a Soft Phone system, which I'm told will not be accessible, so I've requested an iPhone as an alternative.
They have offered me a reader, but I don't see myself needing that enough to justify that expense for the department as well. I successfully did this job, at a state level, with minor issues, for 10 years.
If you'd rather not clutter up the list, please feel free to e-mail me directly. Thanks.
Claudia
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On Fri, Jun 10, 2022 at 03:51 PM, Lori Lynn wrote:
There are a lot of great suggestions being tossed out here that are just not possible in a job like hers.- All I'll say is that you will never get what you don't ask for. And one of the main reasons reasonable accommodations don't occur is that the person that needs them doesn't ask, firmly, for them. I've not worked for the federal government, but have for the Commonwealth of Virginia both before and after the Virginia Information Technology Agency (run by Grumman) came into existence. I had to fight like crazy to get certain exceptions made so that I could actually do my job. I wasn't successful in getting all of them, but I was successful in most because I could justify why I needed them and the fact that I needed them to do my job and serve the clients I had to serve in the agency. Always ask, and be prepared to marshal resources to back you up. IT departments virtually never say "Yes" to anything initially. If you want or, in this case, need, anything that isn't "the standard configuration" you will have an extended effort on your hands to get it. -- Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044 Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.
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JM Casey
it’s entirely possible that they broke something in newer versions, I suppose. That would be an unfortunate step backwards for all of us. but it certainly used to work with JAWS. I had Adobe Acrobat Pro 11 or 12 (can’t honestly remember) and used it to both oCR stuff and to successfully fill out a whole slew of immigration forms.
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Kestrel Verlager
Sent: June 10, 2022 04:15 PM To: main@jfw.groups.io Subject: Re: Federal Employment and Accommodations
I heard very recently from an accessibility trainer who is extremely knowledgeable about PDF accessibility that Adobe Acrobat Pro is not accessible with Jaws.
Has someone been able to access Adobe Acrobat Pro with Jaws?
Kestrell
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of JM Casey
Hi.
If your workplace provides Adobe Acrobat Pro, it has oCR built in – if you need oCR functionality, I would use this and not JAWS. If the forms are created properly, you’ll also be able to use this programme to fill them out. It works rather likea webpage. When you finish, there’s usually a save button, which will save the form and, if required, send it to its destination on the network/over the internet. Not all forms are created equal though, so you’ll have to take it on a case by case basis.
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Claudia
Hello All,
I just began a new job this week, with the federal government. I have requested the following accommodations, JFW, a braille display, such as the Focus 40 Blue and an iPhone thus far.
I have already found the following issues. They use Adobe a great deal, so I need something that I can use to fill out forms? Is this doable, even with using something like Adobe Acrobat DC? I have sent myself some of the required forms to my private e-mail and have been able to open them with my iPhone, but I'm not sure I can fill them out this way.
If I've requested JFW, is there any potential reason why I'd also need Kurzweil, seeing as JFW has the built-in OCR?
The department I work for also uses a Soft Phone system, which I'm told will not be accessible, so I've requested an iPhone as an alternative.
They have offered me a reader, but I don't see myself needing that enough to justify that expense for the department as well. I successfully did this job, at a state level, with minor issues, for 10 years.
If you'd rather not clutter up the list, please feel free to e-mail me directly. Thanks.
Claudia
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Andy
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
Probably not because they use a scheme where any attached USB
devices need to have some kind of security key.
Andy
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