This election is raking in bushels of ballots. With turnout in Oregon expected to exceed 86 percent, there's seemingly no need to shake the trees.

Yet, a few votes must still be dislodged, gingerly, from the branches. Like my mother's, for instance.

For years, she manned the polling place in her hometown, put up signs, held coffees for candidates and walked precincts. When she moved to Oregon a few months ago, at age 79, we hustled to get her registered to vote. And in the past few weeks, her ballot may have arrived at Regency Park Assisted Living and Memory Care.

Only she's not sure -- and we never found it in her apartment. So last week, after six decades of electoral diligence, we feared she might miss out on a historic election. Thanks to Washington County's voter-assistance team, though, she didn't have to.

Last Friday, the group set up a mobile polling station at Regency Park, one of roughly 30 places it has visited. Armed with special keyboards, large-print election materials and a printer to generate ballots on the spot, two teams -- each featuring a D and an R -- helped elderly residents fill out their ballots.

Helping people with memory problems could invite coercion or undue influence. But that's exactly why the two-person teams are deployed -- to avoid such problems. (And if someone is too confused to fill out the ballot, even with help, it becomes obvious very quickly).

Under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, states must offer this kind of assistance. Washington County has taken the lead, though, reaching out to 350 elderly, isolated or disabled voters.

Some sufferers of Parkinson's, literally, can't hold a pencil. Others are disoriented because they just moved. Just last week, Lynn Miller, coordinator of Washington County's voter-assistance program, delivered a ballot to a 93-year-old, who was overjoyed. "I didn't think I would be able to vote," she told Miller.

At Regency, the team boasted red, white and blue balloons and spangles, but it had some serious competition. Across the way, a Halloween party was in full swing with a parade of preschoolers trick-or-treating. When I saw the little ladybugs, dinosaurs and clowns, I figured my mom, a former kindergarten teacher, wouldn't be able to tear herself away.

Wrong. The polling station had its own pull on her memory. History was tugging at her, too.
"It's not that I don't like Mr. McCain," she whispered to me. But the chance to vote for the first major party African American nominee for president was very exciting.

After a quick call to ascertain that she hadn't already turned a mail ballot in, the team generated a new ballot, and she filled it out, marveling that Oregon makes house calls.

"We're all in the same boat -- that doesn't go anywhere," she explained. "So it's really nice that you came here," she told Miller. "It's wonderful."

You may not remember precisely what day it is, or what you had for breakfast. But you can still remember whether you're a D or an R -- and a citizen.

Historic election? Correction: They're all historic, my mother said. "I taught her that," my mother said, pointing at me. "She didn't teach me."

Got that right, Mom.

Article courtesy of Mary Pitman Kitch of The Oregonian.

Steamboat Springs — A child with limited sight would have been excluded from many learning activities just 15 years ago. Relegated to large-print books and unable to read classroom handouts, unless specially printed, children with low vision often were left in the dark.

But for students such as local third-grader Miles Buchan, technology now exists — and is present in the Steamboat Springs School District — to help children with disabilities read and write every line of their curriculum.

Gov. Bill Ritter has de­­clared this week “Assistive Technology Awareness Week” for the state, bringing attention to devices that are used to “increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.”

When Marcia Martin began her job as assistive technology coordinator for the Northwest Colorado Board of Cooperative Services, or BOCES, six years ago, there were more than 30,000 devices classified as assistive technology, she said.

Ranging from over-sized pencil grips to the newest touch-screen computer capabilities, any type of adaptation used to help students falls into the category.

Working for BOCES, Martin provides resources to seven school districts, including all three in Routt County. Martin said the technologies most often used are adaptations of everyday software, including features built into operating systems to increase contrast and zoom, read back written text and provide voice-recognition software.

“Almost anything you can think of that someone would need to learn is probably assistive technology,” she said.

Martin works with about 25 to 30 students on personalized technology in the BOCES district, but she said many teachers use devices on their own.

“I would say that for almost every student who is receiving some sort of special education services, their teacher is using some sort of assistive technology, whether their teacher consulted with me or not,” she said.

Miles, a third-grader at Straw­berry Park Elementary School, is affected with albinism, leaving him with very little pigmentation in his skin and eyes and poor eyesight. To help him see his schoolwork he uses a $2,300 magnifying camera system to help him read, write and perform everyday tasks.

Like a magnifying glass on steroids, the camera can zoom in and out on the National Geographic for Kids magazine Miles was reading last week to give him a clear view of creepy, crawly creatures. The camera also can switch to high-contrast or reverse modes, showing the words as white on a black background to help them stand out to Miles’ eyes.

Assisting him one day a week is Robin Bremner, a teacher of the visually impaired for 26 years.

“He really is a good writer and quite an artist,” Bremner said of Miles. “Because of the assistive technology, we are able to keep him in the classroom with the rest of the kiddos.”

Miles showed off his camera display, which Martin says makes him a popular group-mate in the class.


“My hand looks ugly under here,” he said as he zoomed in on his pores.

BOCES has no set budget for the assistive technology, but Martin said she has had no requests denied so far. The money comes from grants and dues paid by the districts. The districts also pay for some of the technology, especially software programs, on their own.

Martin said the assistive technology has increased the quality of education for a wide range of students.

“What I did before I had (computers) was largely akin to tutoring. The advent of technology in the schools had just opened countless doors,” she said. “Students who had a very hard time with their handwriting can sit at a keyboard and type … and they’re just thrilled.”



Article courtesy of Zach Fridell of Steamboat Pilot & Today.

Universities and Community Colleges throughout the US are adopting the SuperNova Magnifier/ScreenReader Software Maintenance Agreement promotion! Institutions simply purchase a 3 year Software Maintenance Agreement and EnableMart will give buyers the SuperNova licenses for free! For more information about this exclusive offer, visit the SuperNova SMA page here or here to download a 30 day trial.

What is SuperNova Software Maintenance? Not only does an SMA give SuperNova users peace of mind, they also receive every update produced for the program, including internet updates and advancements in customer usability and complete version upgrades for new Windows Operating Systems.

What's more is the Dolphin SMA promise that users will receive Gold Standard Service. From advice on installation and integrating software into a network to offering support from the actual developers of the program!

"Even more surprising was the cost of the Dolphin SMA. When calculating the costs of having two seperate competitor software applications installed on every computer, then adding their SMA's and other costs incurred, the savings of the Dolphin SMA to our campus was considerable." - Pleased SuperNova User.

After much anticipation, and following the enormous success of Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 1, GW Micro is proud to announce the release of Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 2. Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 2 offers the latest advancements in screen reading technology, including full Unicode support, new scripting functionality, web browsing enhancements, a new synthesizer, and much more.Before installing Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 2, please note the following:

You must already have an existing copy of either Window-Eyes 6.1 or Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 1 installed (Retail, Demo, Evaluation, and Payment Plan versions are all supported) before installing Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 2. The beta install will not work if you are not running a version of Window-Eyes 6.1 or Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 1. If you are running an earlier version of Window-Eyes, prior to Window-Eyes 6.1, you will either need to upgrade to Window-Eyes 6.1, or uninstall your current version, and install a demonstration copy of Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 2. Once again, you must be running either Window-Eyes 6.1 or Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 1 before you can install Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 2.  If you have 7.0 Beta 1 installed there is no reason to uninstall it.

Read more about all of the features Window-Eyes 7.0 Beta 2 has to offer, and download your copy, at www.gwmicro.com/beta. 

Stay tuned for more updates on GW Micro products at EnableMartNewsBlog.com.  For questions please call 1-888-640-1999.

ZoomWare is a simple and affordable screen magnifier designed for individuals with early vision loss – you know, those of us who squint at the computer screen and lean in to read the fine print. ZoomWare solves this problem by providing a gentle boost of magnification (up to 2 times) so that everything on the screen is a little larger and easier to read. You can also change the size and color of the mouse pointer and text cursor so they’re easier to find and follow, and adjust screen colors for reduced glare and greatly improved clarity of text and graphics.

Key ZoomWare Features

· 4 levels of magnification: 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, 2.0x
· Exclusive smooth text magnification – “xFont”
· Pointer enhancements (adjust the size and color)
· Cursor enhancements (high contrast locators)
· Color enhancements (invert brightness and color tinting)
· Modern user interface with an intuitive feel
· Affordably priced

Although ZoomWare is designed with the individual in mind, it is a perfect solution for organizations who wish to make computing more comfortable and productive for employees, students, and patrons who suffer from eyestrain and fatigue when using a computer – known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). And with Ai Squared’s volume licensing, ZoomWare will provide an affordable solution for every workstation.

Although ZoomWare is technically a BigShot replacement, it is so much more than BigShot ever was. Like BigShot, ZoomWare magnifies everything on the computer screen up to 2 times. In addition, ZoomWare has the xFont which gives users the “clearest text possible”, just like ZoomText Magnifier and Magnifier/Reader. ZoomWare has pointer, cursor and color enhancements similar to ZoomText Magnifier. And ZoomWare runs on the latest Microsoft platforms – Vista and XP.

For more information on ZoomWare, visit our vision section online!