Date of Meeting: December 11, 2021
WHEN: : 1:00 p.m. TO 3:00 P.M.
Where, Virtually
The meeting was called to order by President Frank Ventura. Following introductions these announcements were made.
Jerry Berrier welcomed all to the meeting but had no new report.
Tim Cumings stated that all technology is working well and the website is up to date. We are using zoom and recording the meeting remotely and Tim is using the zoom Podtrak P4 and he is recording the meeting locally and he will also be playing some of the demonstrations of the day.
Bob Resnick announced that our treasury is healthy. If you pay dues now it will be applied to your 2022 membership. You can pay dues by going to the paypal button at vibug.org and you can pay either with a paypal account or by credit card. If you need assistance, to pay your $20.00, you can send an email to vibugtreasurer@outlook.com and he will either assist you with payment on line or through some other process if you need to. Bob will send a note to remind people to pay membership dues for next year.
Frank announced that we are having our holiday party at the Corrib Pub in Boston; all need to reply by December 28th as we have to notify the restaurant of a final count a week before the event. We are requesting that all who attend are fully vaccinated. We are asking all to be as careful as possible as it is our first event since covid. Nina Kagan reinforced that holiday party announcement, giving her email address and reminding people as well that they may also contact the Vibug Clerk, Jeanette Kutash to respond as to whether they are attending or not.
Jerry Berrier stated we have two email lists, one is an announce list which anyone can join. The other is a support list open to members only. You have to subscribe to the list. There are subscribing instructions as to how to subscribe on the website. If you need help subscribing you can send him an email to jerry.berrier@gmail.com and he will assist you by sending you a note which tells you how to subscribe to the list. It is a great list to be on because you can ask and answer technical questions.
David Kingsbury demonstrated some of the new changes to the MBTA's The Rideť website, as well as a focus on some of the screen reader skills that make this possible.
Kelsey Nicolay demonstrated the "back-tap" IOS feature which allows you to double-tap the back of your phone to perform certain actions, such as to go to the home screen, or to tripple-tap the back of your phone to go to the app switcher, to name a few.
Mika Pyyhkala talked to us about some of the COVID-19 test kits that can be done at home and what technology and accessibility challenges they pose.
Martha Merson is an educator who draws on visual arts and storytelling to enhance science, math, environmental health, and literacy learning for adults and youth in and out-of-school settings. Martha is currently principle investigator of iSWOOP. For this project, National Park Service interpreters and scientists at five national parks collaborate on developing a digital library of researchers’ visualizations for use with the public. She will send VIBUG more information about her project and is hoping to find consultants who can assist her.
Following these presentations, the meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Jeanette Kutash, Vibug Clerk