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Mac for the Blind is proud to announce the continuation of the Mac for the Blind Online Courses!
Please read the following information carefully. This includes details and a schedule for the planned courses that will run through the spring of 2024. Please understand up front that these courses are going to be provided as a five-part “series” that continues the information presented during the fall 2023 courses targeting the most important features of the Mac computer and how to get the best out of them by way of the VoiceOver built-in screen reading solution provided by Apple on all Macs. Users did not have to participate in the fall classes to still get the most out of the new material. Also, like the fall series, users can attend selected classes as stand-alone material, but they will be taught with the assumption that one has attended the previous sessions.
Please note the following:
• Only one of these courses is free to join,
• All five courses are part of a complete series that will be specifically on VoiceOver and MacOS.
• The first course is free for anyone to attend
• The subsequent four courses have a $20.00 registration fee involved in joining them.
• Participants can pay $70.00 to register for all four paid courses
• Registrants of the paid courses will have a few additional benefits to be announced later.
• The courses will take place throughout the months of April, May and June.
• It is possible that courses might change or move back a week based on possible travel.
• There are gaps between a few of the courses that deviate from the usual two week intervals because of scheduled travel.
• Audio recordings of courses will be made available after the course date to all participants.
Please make your selections carefully as you read through the registration information below.
Also, please note that the later dates might be subject to change, though, of course, registrants will be notified well in advance if this should occur.
All of the courses you choose to attend by clicking on the interested buttons below will appear in the following Cart, both free and paid. Once you check out you will receive confirmation of attendance.
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1. Getting The most out of your Mac.
When a person decides to either make the switch to a Mac or simply wants to diversify their screen reader knowledge and skills by learning the Mac and VoiceOver, there are considerable differences between other operating systems and MacOS as well as some similar reference points. Unfortunately, the information available online through various sources and among the blindness community members vary in opinion and accuracy. I am going to attempt to clear the proverbial mud out of the water by addressing some basic facts and advice from a blind computer user who has been in the blindness and low vision industry for over thirty years and who teaches a variety of operating systems and devices. I will review some aspects covered in the first course of the Fall 2023 series, but will be expanding the material to touch on the following topics:
• What does VoiceOver set out to accomplish for a blind user and how is it different than Windows screen readers.
• Does previous screen reader experience or knowledge matter when learning VoiceOver and the Mac?
• What are the myths and misconceptions a user should be aware of when learning the Mac.
• How to get the most out of VoiceOver and the Mac and how it is the same advice I’d offer a Windows user.
• Resources and where to get started with your Mac.
Q&A
This course is a free course for anyone to join.
This course is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 9, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM US Eastern time.
Online Lesson 1: Getting The most out of your Mac • price = $0.00
2.
What is the VoiceOver Utility and how to get the most out of it.
Over the years of teaching people, I have found that the VoiceOver Utility can often be the most under-used or misunderstood aspect of being a Mac user. Some people are daunted by making changes to settings while others don’t even know they can significantly change the defaults settings Apple provides for the VoiceOver user. I will address all eleven VoiceOver utility categories and try to touch on the following areas:
• How to navigate the VoiceOver Utility
• How to change speech settings and add new voices to VoiceOver’s selection.
• What is verbosity and how does it impact VoiceOver
• Braille users and VoiceOver
• What are the Commanders and should one utilize the available features
• The other VoiceOver settings one can customize
• Resetting and exporting your VoiceOver settings
• What are portable preferences
• Q&A
This course is $20.00 to register.
This course is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 23, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM US Eastern time.
Online Lesson 2: What is the VoiceOver Utility and how to get the most out of it • price = $20.00
3. System Settings and VoiceOver
What was once called, “System Preferences” has changed to become “System Settings” for MacOS. Along with that change, the entire layout and what some of us had gotten used to really was turned upside down by Apple. I will explain System Settings to both the new user and the user who might not have adjusted to this new beast:
• How to open System Settings
• An explanation of the new layout
• Personal settings verses those that impact all users of the system
• The Sidebar verses the scroll areas
• Where in the world did that setting go?
• Searching for settings
• Q&A
This course is $20.00 to register.
This course is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 14, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM US Eastern time.
Online Lesson 3: System Settings and VoiceOver • price = $20.00
4. The Dock, Control Center and Notification Center with VoiceOver
Understanding the Dock, being able to customize Control Center and handling notifications are other important aspects to being a Mac user. These are definitely “separate” topics, but I will try to explain all three features and how to get the most out of them as a VoiceOver users. I will discuss the following topics:
• What is the Dock and how to get to it
• How to customize the Dock to your personal preferences
• What is Control Center
• How to customize it and effect the status menu
• How in the world do VoiceOver users deal with those annoying notifications?
• Managing notifications as a VoiceOver user.
• Q&A
This course is $20.00 to register.
This course is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 4, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM US Eastern time.
Online Lesson 4: The Dock, Control Center and Notification Center with VoiceOver • price = $20.00
5. Using the Calendar and VoiceOver on the Mac
I have sometimes heard some Mac users recommend or advise other users to find a different calendaring app on the Mac. I find this to be unnecessary
And extreme. The calendar app provided by Apple is completely accessible and is a powerful and easy tool to use once one understands its layout. I will go over the following areas to hopefully assist users in getting the most out of the calendar:
• The overall calendar interface
• How to view ones calendar
• How to create a new event and the options available
• How to change or remove a scheduled event
• Adding calendars to your default calendars provided by Apple
• Calendar settings
• Using SIRI with the Calendar app
• Q&A
This course is $20.00 to register.
This course is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 18, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM US Eastern time.
Online Lesson 5: Using the Calendar and VoiceOver on the Mac • price = $20.00