Screen Readers and Visual Accessibility

Installing and Configuring FireVox

The web site for FireVox can be found at the Firevox website. The installation process is straightforward, but there are considerations to take into account:

1. Do your computers automatically undo changes made during a session when you log out?
2. Do you have other Firefox extensions installed?

If your computers automatically undo changes made during a session whenever someone logs out, then you may wish to walk the students through the process of installing FireVox themselves. it’s a useful exercise for them. However, if the computers do not undo this change, then subsequent classes in the same room may be troubled by web browsers which inexplicably speak to them. In that case it’s best to install FireVox beforehand.

If you have other Firefox extensions installed, it’s possible that some of their shortcut keys may conflict with one another. For example, both FireVox and the Web Developer Toolbar use the keyboard shortcutCONTROL+SHIFT+F. In FireVox, that shortcut instructs the browser to move on to the next element in the document and read it aloud. But in the Web Developer Toolbar, the same shortcut enables the Element Information dialog. If you have both extensions installed and pressCONTROL+SHIFT+F, then both actions will be triggered.

You probably don’t want Firefox to speak all the time. And key conflicts are annoying. The best way to resolve both of these is to install Firevox in a fresh profile, which allows one copy of Firefox to be used by many individual users with separate sets of configuration info (including extensions). You can either do this manually (using the -p option on the command line) or you can use the Profile Switcher extension (I prefer the latter approach). Here are precise step-by-step instructions for installing FireVox in its own profile:

1. Download the Profile Switcher extension:
   1. Click the link above;
   2. Right-click the link that says “Download (for Firefox)” and save the XPI file to your desktop;
   3. Once the download is complete, click “File → Open” in Firefox and open the file;
   4. There will be a brief countdown; when it is done click “Install Now”;
   5. Quit Firefox and restart it.
2. Create a new profile for FireVox to live in:
   1. Click File → Open Profile Manager;
   2. It doesn’t matter whether you close the current profile or not, pick “Yes” or “No” as you please;
   3. Click Create Profile;
   4. Click Next;
   5. Enter a name for the profile — this can be anything you like, I generally use “FireVox”;
   6. Click Finish;
   7. Click your new profile in the list of profiles;
   8. Click Start Firefox;
3. Download and install the FireVox extension:
   1. Go to the FireVox download page;
   2. Right-click the “CLC-4-TTS Suite with Fire Vox - Bundle Pack” link and save the XPI file to your desktop;
   3. Once the download is complete, click “File → Open” in Firefox and open the file;
   4. There will be a brief countdown; when it is done click “Install Now”
   5. Quit Firefox and restart it;
   6. If you are on Mac, click Tools → FireVox TTS Selection → Mac TTS
4. At this point, you should hear FireVox talking to you every time a page loads. If you don’t hear it, then:
   1. Make sure your speakers/headphones are turned on;
   2. Make sure the system volume isn’t muted;
   3. If you’re on Mac, make sure you selected the “Mac TTS” option correctly (see previous step);
   4. If it’s still not working ... uh, keep poking at it till it does. You do have sound drivers installed, right? Can other programs make noise?
5. PressCONTROL+SHIFT+H. This should bring up a list of headings in the document. If instead you see a new window called “Library,” then you’re using Firefox 3.x. There’s a conflict between FireVox and Firefox — the command is triggering two effects at once. You can correct this in one of two ways:
   1. Method A — Remap the Key:
      1. Click Tools → FireVox Options;
      2. Scroll down till you find “List of Headings” in the list of assigned keys;
      3. Assign it a new key — the letter T will work;
      4. Click OK;
      5. The list of headings may now be brought up usingCONTROL+SHIFT+T. You may need to restart Firefox for this to take effect.
   2. Method B — Unbind the H key from the History window:
      1. Install the Keyconfig extension;
      2. Restart Firefox;
      3. Click Tools → Keyconfig;
      4. In the list of defined shortcuts, find the “Show All History” entry, mapped toCONTROL+SHIFT+Hand click it to select it;
      5. Click the Disable button;
      6. Close Firefox completely and restart it;
      7. The list of headings may now be brought up usingCONTROL+SHIFT+H.

FireVox is now installed and configured correctly on this machine. I usually install a copy of the Profile Switcher extension in the FireVox profile too. It doesn’t conflict with FireVox at all, and it makes it easier to switch back and forth between FireVox and your regular Firefox profile.

Take some time and familiarize yourself with the Firefox controls. You can see all of the available keyboard shortcuts by clicking Tools → FireVox Options. FireVox does not use the mouse, because blind people cannot see the mouse pointer to use it.

I’m going to assume from here on out that you’re using Profile Switcher and a separate FireVox profile.

Screen Blocker Card

For best effect, the students should not be able to see the monitor of their computer while performing this exercise. If the computers in your classroom have a power button for the monitor, then you can just turn off the monitors. However, some computers (such as recent iMacs) do not offer a switch for turning off the monitor power. In this case you will need to create blocker cards before class.

These are very simple — just get some cardstock large enough to cover the screen and thick enough to block it out, and have the students prop them up in front of their monitors. If you wish, you can tape a keyboard shortcut cheat sheet to one side so that students can see a list of commands in front of them.

Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet

Here is the cheat sheet which I attach to my blocker cards:

Firefox Shortcut Keys