WEBVTT - Talking Tech 14th January 2025

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<v S1>Hello everyone! Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from

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<v S1>January the 14th, 2025. I'm Stephen Jolly. Great to have

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<v S1>you with us listening maybe through Vision Australia Radio, associated

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<v S1>stations of the Radio Reading Network or the Community Radio Network.

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<v S1>There is also the podcast. To catch that, all you

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<v S1>need to do is search for the two words talking tech.

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<v S1>And then it can come usually on a Tuesday afternoon

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<v S1>just after it's been produced. Another option is to ask

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<v S1>your Siri device or smart speaker to play. Vision Australia

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<v S1>radio talking tech podcast. Vision Australia radio talking tech podcast.

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<v S1>While Damo McMorrow is on leave, I'm talking to some

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<v S1>other interesting people. And by the way, if you haven't

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<v S1>caught up with the conversation I had last week with

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<v S1>Kimberly Kneen from Vision Australia up in Queensland, a participant

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<v S1>in the graduate program of Vision Australia. You can catch

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<v S1>that by going to the to the usual place where

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<v S1>there are past editions of the program via radio talking

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<v S1>tech VA. Radio talking tech. Today I have a member

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<v S1>of Deimos Access Technology team, one of the many people

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<v S1>that are spread around the country. It's Kent Walsdorf from

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<v S1>Geelong in Victoria. Ken, welcome.

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<v S2>Thank you. Thanks for having me.

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<v S1>You're an access technology person, talking to lots of people

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<v S1>around the country, not just in Geelong. Tell us what

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<v S1>your role takes you to.

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<v S2>My role has a few hats. I still have the

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<v S2>privilege of working with clients once every term, school term.

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<v S2>I get to go over to Tasmania and I visit

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<v S2>all the public schools there and work with students that

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<v S2>have low vision or who may be blind and really

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<v S2>work alongside them to make sure they've got the right equipment,

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<v S2>and that the teachers are supported and helping that student

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<v S2>to access the curriculum. So I still have a lot

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<v S2>of contact time with clients. I guess the second part

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<v S2>would be. I help to support our Access Technology specialists.

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<v S2>So those are people that will go out daily and

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<v S2>visit our client base. And I will train them on

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<v S2>equipment or support them in assessments or just as a

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<v S2>sounding board sometimes is all they need. You know, have

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<v S2>a chat to me about something that they might want

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<v S2>to talk through, a solution or a potential problem that

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<v S2>they're coming up against. And I work with the New

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<v S2>South Wales and Canberra team with that. And then I

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<v S2>guess the the last hat that I have, which is

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<v S2>relatively new for our team, is we do consulting. So

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<v S2>we go into employment services, into businesses where they may

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<v S2>have a team member that has a vision impairment, or

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<v S2>they may have wished to employ people with vision impairment.

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<v S2>And I'll go in there and test their systems with

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<v S2>things like Jaws and Fusion and Zoomtext and sort of

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<v S2>write a report and give them some advice on how

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<v S2>to improve their system. So I'm very privileged that I

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<v S2>have a role that has a lot of diversity and

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<v S2>keeps me pretty interested in it.

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<v S1>I'd like to ask you about the path that took

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<v S1>you from your original involvement with technology to doing something,

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<v S1>which I bet you didn't imagine on day one of

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<v S1>your first job. And that's being involved in access technology.

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<v S2>Yeah, I've had a pretty interesting career, I guess, in

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<v S2>the nonprofit sector. That's how I kind of look at it.

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<v S2>I started out actually as a musician, so from New Zealand,

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<v S2>originally in Hamilton, and I went to, I guess, what

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<v S2>you would call the equivalent of TAFE, and I studied

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<v S2>music and I really got into computers there because that

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<v S2>was when Apple computers were sort of really coming into

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<v S2>the mainstream. They were certainly leading the charge with media.

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<v S2>And our music department at the time had a whole

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<v S2>bunch of Apple computers. So from there I gained a

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<v S2>real interest, I guess. Um, and being a studio engineer,

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<v S2>I learned about signal flow. So how to connect leads

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<v S2>and all kinds of bits and wonderful pieces of equipment

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<v S2>and technology. So I was really fascinated about that area.

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<v S2>And I guess fast forward after my degree, I came

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<v S2>across to Melbourne and I landed a job with The

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<v S2>Wiggles characters, so I was a production manager there. And

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<v S2>part of that role was to sort of set up,

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<v S2>you know, the stages for The Wiggles characters to come

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<v S2>on and do their shows and shopping malls and things

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<v S2>like that. So I wasn't quite involved yet in nonprofit,

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<v S2>but my manager at the time, he brought me across

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<v S2>because he left that job and I went across into

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<v S2>Starlight Children's Foundation, where that was really my first taste

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<v S2>of working with children with disability, working with children with

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<v S2>severe sickness illness. And also, I was part of setting

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<v S2>up some pretty complex technology systems there at the time.

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<v S2>So it's been a wonderful change to come to Vision Australia.

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<v S2>That was eight years ago now, um, where we moved

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<v S2>from Melbourne to Geelong and that whole build up over

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<v S2>my degree, over working with Starlight Children's Foundation really set

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<v S2>me up well to be able to work as a

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<v S2>technology specialist, combining two things that I love, which is

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<v S2>technology and, you know, training and talking to people. So, um, yeah,

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<v S2>very lucky to be in this role.

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<v S1>On talking tech this week I'm speaking with Kent Walsdorf,

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<v S1>who's an Access technology lead with Vision Australia based in Geelong.

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<v S1>Let's talk more about your roles, particularly, I think the

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<v S1>education one, as it's around the time of the year

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<v S1>where people are getting organised for another year of learning.

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<v S2>Absolutely. So if we sort of talk about people going

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<v S2>into study and this can be a range of different people,

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<v S2>you know, from, you know, children in primary school, high school, college,

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<v S2>if you're in Tasmania, right into university, what we sort

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<v S2>of talk about when we go to work with students

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<v S2>is that there's a whole bunch of people involved in

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<v S2>that conversation. So it's the student. Sometimes it's the parents

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<v S2>are involved in that conversation. If they're young, we will

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<v S2>talk with the teachers, sometimes even with the universities. And

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<v S2>really what we try and do is understand some of

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<v S2>the challenges that those people may be facing, and that

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<v S2>could be access to the curriculum, it could be access

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<v S2>around the school. And we, you know, provide solutions. So

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<v S2>I think one of the big takeaways that I've come

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<v S2>away with over the years is that there's not one

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<v S2>tool that that sort of works for everything. It's really

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<v S2>about building a toolkit. And we talk about that a

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<v S2>lot in our assessments, is that you might have one

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<v S2>particular piece of equipment that might do one thing really well,

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<v S2>but you need something else along the way as well.

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<v S2>And uh, nowadays, I think in a lot of the

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<v S2>schools that I visit, you know, iPads are a really

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<v S2>popular product because of the, I guess, their ease of use,

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<v S2>they very rarely break down. But also the built in

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<v S2>accessibility is pretty important for for some of the students

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<v S2>that I work with. So yeah, gearing up for school,

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<v S2>I think it's really about understanding the curriculum, understanding who's teaching,

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<v S2>and really working with both educators, parents and students to

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<v S2>make sure that they do have the right tools because

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<v S2>I have seen it when it doesn't work. I have

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<v S2>seen it when a student doesn't have the right piece

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<v S2>of equipment that they need, and it really sets them

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<v S2>up to a challenging time to get through their course

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<v S2>or get through the the year. So I find it

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<v S2>really important to make sure that, you know, conversations are

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<v S2>had with the right people, that the technology is trialled

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<v S2>and that they do get the right piece of equipment

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<v S2>or multiple pieces of equipment to make sure they are

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<v S2>successful in their courses.

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<v S1>Tell us about your work consulting with the corporate world.

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<v S2>The work that I've done previously is that we might

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<v S2>have someone who may have a vision impairment that's been

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<v S2>deteriorating over a short period of time. And really, what's

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<v S2>happening there is that the employer is keen on making

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<v S2>sure that the right adjustments are made for that employee.

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<v S2>So I'll go in there and I'll fire up jaws.

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<v S2>And if they're a screen reader user, I would start

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<v S2>testing that system. Really, my work involved with companies and

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<v S2>businesses is that I will actually go and fire up

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<v S2>jaws on their computer and actually test their system from

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<v S2>start to finish, and it can be quite thorough. We

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<v S2>we really look at the entire workflow of what a

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<v S2>person might have to go through on a daily basis,

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<v S2>and from that we'll present a pretty in depth report

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<v S2>about that again. There might be things that they haven't

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<v S2>thought of. And again, it could be things as simple as,

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<v S2>you know, equipment that they need to be able to

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<v S2>access their work. It's not necessarily always a change in

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<v S2>their system or change in their software. It can be

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<v S2>other things as well. So that one is something that's

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<v S2>really interesting because every workplace is different. Every person that's

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<v S2>trying to access their platform or their work has a

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<v S2>different set of challenges. So I quite enjoy that part

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<v S2>of the job because, um, yeah, there's a lot of

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<v S2>things to think about, and I love it when we

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<v S2>do actually make change and help people to, you know,

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<v S2>get on with their work, because often that's just what

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<v S2>they want to be able to do.

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<v S1>Um, tell me about what for you must have been

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<v S1>a real effort to go from being a person who

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<v S1>uses technology in what we might describe as the usual

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<v S1>or the majority way, and putting yourself into the headspace

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<v S1>of somebody who's not looking at the screen or not

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<v S1>looking at it very much. They might be a low

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<v S1>vision person. That must have been quite a quite a

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<v S1>transition for you.

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<v S2>It was. Um, so I don't have a vision impairment myself.

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<v S2>I think when I started the role, there were certain

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<v S2>things that I could do that were not. Not easy,

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<v S2>but easier than being able to fire up a screen reader.

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<v S2>So if it was something to do with, you know,

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<v S2>working a magnifier or if it was something to do

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<v S2>with working, you know, some of the other tools that

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<v S2>we have, the wearable technology, I could understand that and

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<v S2>I could teach that quite easily. When you throw yourself

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<v S2>into the world of screen reading, that can be quite

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<v S2>challenging for someone that's visual because you rely on your

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<v S2>vision so much. And I actually found that quite difficult

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<v S2>to start with, and it got to a point where

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<v S2>I would go out and I would be working with

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<v S2>some Jaws power user, you know, someone that's been using

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<v S2>it for years. And I found myself feeling that I

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<v S2>wasn't able to really hone my skills and to help

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<v S2>that person. Basically, what I was still doing is relying

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<v S2>on my vision at the time. So what I had

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<v S2>to learn was to first of all use and learn

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<v S2>all the keyboard shortcuts. So Jaws, for example. And I

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<v S2>did that by using them daily. So I would go

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<v S2>into work and I would be firing up outlook, firing

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<v S2>up my computer, and just trying to remember the amount

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<v S2>of keyboard shortcuts that I needed to deliver that. And

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<v S2>the second part of that was I would use jaws daily.

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<v S2>It's something that I've been working pretty hard at over

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<v S2>the last 3 or 4 years, and I actually use

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<v S2>it now for things like proofreading. I'll listen to my

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<v S2>own documentation and my own reports with audio, because I

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<v S2>find I actually pick up a lot more things with

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<v S2>audio than what I do visually, in particular grammar and

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<v S2>spelling mistakes. So for me, I found that actually using

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<v S2>these tools daily gave me a lot more comfort in

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<v S2>teaching the technology. But also every now and then I'll

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<v S2>turn off the screen, and that really puts you into

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<v S2>a position of you've only got your audio to rely on,

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<v S2>you can only listen to jaws, and all of a

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<v S2>sudden you're in the same position as the clients that

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<v S2>you're trying to service. And service. And I find that

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<v S2>that is really, really important is to understand exactly what

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<v S2>they're going through and then tailor how you present the

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<v S2>information or how you train accordingly.

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<v S1>As a person who's been blind all their life. And

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<v S1>so I haven't had to go through the transition that

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<v S1>most users have to go through from the visual world

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<v S1>to the speech or braille world, even as a low

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<v S1>vision or blind person. What do you talk to people about?

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<v S1>Who you're working with, who are going through that transition?

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<v S1>And I reckon we'd be wanting to hold on to

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<v S1>try and look at the screen as much as possible

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<v S1>and would be really struggling sometimes to read text, etc..

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<v S2>There can be quite challenging and rightly so for a

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<v S2>lot of people. And I think what I tend to do,

0:11:39.099 --> 0:11:43.020
<v S2>especially in schools where I see students, that they actually

0:11:43.020 --> 0:11:46.900
<v S2>become at a disadvantage, relying on their vision as opposed

0:11:46.900 --> 0:11:50.459
<v S2>to transitioning across into speech. And I think it's something

0:11:50.459 --> 0:11:53.249
<v S2>that you have to tackle with sensitivity, and I think

0:11:53.290 --> 0:11:55.089
<v S2>you have to sort of coach them through and you

0:11:55.089 --> 0:11:59.210
<v S2>have to allow them to understand potentially the benefit of

0:11:59.209 --> 0:12:02.010
<v S2>using speech more as opposed to their vision. So it's

0:12:02.010 --> 0:12:04.050
<v S2>a very gentle approach. At least that's the way that

0:12:04.050 --> 0:12:06.689
<v S2>I do it. Just recently, actually, I was working with

0:12:06.689 --> 0:12:09.849
<v S2>a student and they were reading a piece of text

0:12:09.849 --> 0:12:11.650
<v S2>and I said, okay, we're going to just get you

0:12:11.650 --> 0:12:13.449
<v S2>to read that text, see how you go. And there

0:12:13.449 --> 0:12:17.410
<v S2>was just a paragraph. And then after that I got

0:12:17.410 --> 0:12:19.210
<v S2>them to listen to it. And I said, well, how

0:12:19.209 --> 0:12:21.290
<v S2>did you find your comprehension with that text? Did you

0:12:21.290 --> 0:12:23.770
<v S2>find it easier reading, or did you find it easier

0:12:23.770 --> 0:12:25.929
<v S2>listening to it? And they said, well, you know, actually

0:12:26.050 --> 0:12:27.890
<v S2>just listening to it, I can probably give you more

0:12:27.890 --> 0:12:30.850
<v S2>information about what I read. And I said, not only that,

0:12:31.370 --> 0:12:33.530
<v S2>what did you think of the speed? Like how quickly

0:12:33.530 --> 0:12:35.170
<v S2>were you able to read that information. And they said, well,

0:12:35.209 --> 0:12:38.969
<v S2>much quicker with audio. So something like that can help

0:12:38.969 --> 0:12:42.449
<v S2>people to understand that you may still use your vision

0:12:42.569 --> 0:12:44.929
<v S2>in a certain way, and that's absolutely fine. Each person

0:12:44.929 --> 0:12:48.290
<v S2>is completely different. But if you look into the audio

0:12:48.290 --> 0:12:50.490
<v S2>side of things where you need it, especially people with

0:12:50.670 --> 0:12:54.349
<v S2>severe vision loss. You might find that it becomes easier

0:12:54.349 --> 0:12:57.710
<v S2>to get through information quickly. Not only that, I've seen

0:12:57.949 --> 0:13:01.309
<v S2>and heard of experiences where people that sometimes move from

0:13:01.309 --> 0:13:04.670
<v S2>their vision to audio, other things happen, like they reduce

0:13:04.670 --> 0:13:06.229
<v S2>the amount of headaches they might have. At the end

0:13:06.229 --> 0:13:08.510
<v S2>of the day, they rely on their vision so much

0:13:08.589 --> 0:13:11.749
<v S2>that end of day headaches sort of come through. And,

0:13:11.790 --> 0:13:13.949
<v S2>you know, all the glare in the classroom and things

0:13:13.949 --> 0:13:14.550
<v S2>like that.

0:13:14.630 --> 0:13:17.230
<v S1>And once, once they're used to the audio less fatigue.

0:13:17.589 --> 0:13:20.150
<v S2>Yeah, absolutely. So that's that's actually quite a common thing

0:13:20.150 --> 0:13:22.829
<v S2>that I've seen a lot in schools is that, um,

0:13:22.829 --> 0:13:26.069
<v S2>when they suffer from fatigue and they start to use audio,

0:13:26.109 --> 0:13:28.510
<v S2>they can continue with the learning and being able to

0:13:28.510 --> 0:13:32.309
<v S2>get through content. So that transition very different for a

0:13:32.309 --> 0:13:34.189
<v S2>lot of people, but it's an important one to help

0:13:34.189 --> 0:13:37.750
<v S2>people understand the benefits of using speech, if that's if

0:13:37.750 --> 0:13:39.189
<v S2>that's required for them.

0:13:39.229 --> 0:13:42.709
<v S1>Yeah. Very interesting. It's been great chatting with you today, Kent,

0:13:42.709 --> 0:13:44.950
<v S1>and I'm sure people have found it interesting to learn

0:13:44.949 --> 0:13:48.230
<v S1>what goes into your thinking behind the scenes of just the. Yes,

0:13:48.229 --> 0:13:51.939
<v S1>I talk to these people and I installed this equipment, etc.

0:13:52.059 --> 0:13:54.540
<v S1>it's a lot more to it than that. In the

0:13:54.540 --> 0:13:57.820
<v S1>access technology world. So good on you and hope to

0:13:57.819 --> 0:13:59.819
<v S1>have you back on talking tech again sometime.

0:13:59.979 --> 0:14:01.339
<v S2>Thanks, Steven. Appreciate the chat.

0:14:01.459 --> 0:14:05.500
<v S1>I've been speaking with Kent Walsdorf, who's an Access Technology

0:14:05.500 --> 0:14:09.059
<v S1>lead with Vision Australia based in Geelong. He's been telling

0:14:09.059 --> 0:14:13.579
<v S1>us about his role with Vision Australia. Just before we go,

0:14:13.620 --> 0:14:17.500
<v S1>a reminder you can find details of this program and

0:14:17.500 --> 0:14:23.300
<v S1>previous editions by going to VA radio, Talking Tech, VA radio,

0:14:24.780 --> 0:14:29.820
<v S1>Talking Tech. And you can write to the program at

0:14:29.820 --> 0:14:34.620
<v S1>Vision Australia. Is the naughty boys still looking at his emails?

0:14:35.060 --> 0:14:40.740
<v S1>Damo McMorrow at Vision Australia. Org. This has been talking tech.

0:14:40.780 --> 0:14:43.700
<v S1>I'm Stephen Jolley. Stay safe. We'll talk more tech next week.

0:14:43.740 --> 0:14:44.180
<v S1>See you.