Re: Getting Involved

On Wed, Jun 4, 2025, at 8:49 AM, Bridger Reed-Lewis wrote:
> Well I don=E2=80=99t think it would be useful particularly for UAA, it=
=E2=80=99s just I
> feel a collaboration could be set up depending on the person. And with
> everything going on federally, a lot of folks at my work are pretty ma=
d,
> it=E2=80=99s the reason why I got my article. What I=E2=80=99m going t=
o do is reach out to
> the engineers/tech departments, to see if anyone is interested in work=
ing
> on this project. Along with connecting with student clubs, I am also g=
oing
> to install and test what I can with the applications you sent.

Thanks.

>
> Oh, about the mentoring program you mentioned. I don't think it's a go=
od
> fit for me since I have dyscalculia. I've tried with no luck to learn
> coding. It's just not my thing, what it would be testing along with se=
tting
> up times to chat around ideas, along with networking which i am scary =
good
> at.

We do use mailing lists, apps also have chat channels, typically on Matr=
ix or IRC.
For Season of KDE, making students and people new to open source aware o=
f it
would be helpful.  It provides a structured way for people to contribute=
 improvements
to software that they use, these need not be limited to coding contribut=
ions.

In the US, many applications require accessibility testing reports befor=
e they can be
used in an institution.  This can be a barrier to adopting open source s=
oftware since
the administrative burden of procuring software which has accessibility =
testing done
is low compared to getting open source software and improving it to meet=
 accessibility
standards for which the financial cost would likely be ultimately lower,=
 thereby allowing
institutions to make more effective use of their limited funds.

>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 21:37 Benson Muite <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 4, 2025, at 7:58 AM, Bridger Reed-Lewis wrote:
>> > I have heard of him, and it=E2=80=99s one of the reasons why I want=
 to get
>> > involved, at the moment I don=E2=80=99t think the university allows=
 Linux to be
>> > used, but I could be wrong. At the moment, I am running KDE on my S=
team
>> > Deck. But I=E2=80=99m planning on purchasing a think-pad x1 carbon =
Gen 10 soon.
>> One
>> > area I=E2=80=99d like to see get added is dictation. There's an aba=
ndoned project
>> > here --> https://github.com/abb128/LiveCaptions that could be forked
>> into a
>> > simple dictation tool, it's surprisingly, very accurate.
>>
>> This seems to build on another library which maybe worth incorporatin=
g into
>> KDE applications:
>> https://github.com/abb128/april-asr
>>
>> There are ongoing discussions withing KDE about using tools trained on
>> data of unknown origin.
>>
>> >
>> > Outside of that, I would need to look because right now there's not=
 a
>> lot,
>> > and disability itself is a spectrum. without seeing what you are al=
ready
>> > working on, giving feedback might be hard. But I am more than willi=
ng to
>> > test anything you can give me, as long as you make the install proc=
ess
>> easy
>> > or give me command props.
>>
>> KDE applications are listed at:
>> http://apps.kde.org
>> Some will work on Windows and Mac. Applications that might be useful =
in a
>> university
>> setting include:
>> - https://apps.kde.org/labplot/
>> - https://apps.kde.org/ktechlab/
>> - https://apps.kde.org/accessibilityinspector/
>> - https://apps.kde.org/krita/
>> - https://apps.kde.org/okular/
>> - https://apps.kde.org/kdenlive/
>> - https://apps.kde.org/digikam/
>> - https://apps.kde.org/glaxnimate/
>>
>> It seems there are faculty members familiar with open source software:
>> https://pradeeban.github.io/
>>
>> Maybe you could contact them to see if there are ways to also involve
>> students in
>> improving software accessibility?  Season of KDE (
>> https://mentorship.kde.org/sok/)
>> would be one structured way to do this for KDE software that is usefu=
l at
>> UAA.
>>
>> Krita, Kdenlive and Glaxnimate may also be useful to people in your a=
rt
>> department:
>>
>> https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/dep=
artments/art
>> and to the student clubs in the art department:
>>
>> https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/dep=
artments/art/clubs/
>>
>> Finally, in terms of testing, is there a KDE application you use and =
would
>> be willing to help
>> test? One-off contributions are welcome, but sustained involvement is=
 most
>> helpful.
>>
>> >
>> > On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 20:28 Benson Muite <[email protected]=
rg>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Tue, Jun 3, 2025, at 11:15 AM, Bridger Reed-Lewis wrote:
>> >> > Good evening, I am interested in becoming a tester, and help
>> collaborate
>> >> > together on ideas to ensure accessibility in future kde iteratio=
ns.
>> Nate,
>> >> > one of the board members, let me know about your sub-group, and I
>> >> emailed a
>> >> > few folks listed as contacts. Just didn't hear back, figuring re=
aching
>> >> out
>> >> > directly to this email would be more effective.
>> >> >
>> >> > Before getting involved though, I should introduce myself. I am =
the
>> >> > disability advisor for The University of Anchorage Alaska, and w=
hile
>> I am
>> >> > doing this on my own time. I do hope to get the university invol=
ved
>> since
>> >> > we have a very active disability, and accessibility work groups =
at
>> UAA.
>> >> >
>> >> > Recently, the university wrote a article about me which goes in =
detail
>> >> > about myself you can read about it here...
>> >> >
>> >>
>> https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/news/archive/2025/05/chd-disability-adviso=
r-bridger-r-reed-lewis.cshtml
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > I'm very passionate about what I do, and I believe Steam OS as a=
 whole
>> >> > could be a massive benefit to ensure a better market share, this=
 comes
>> >> with
>> >> > some challenges though because while steam os is great for gamin=
g,
>> once
>> >> > it's released to the masses later this year.
>> >> >
>> >> > The OS as a whole will have some disadvantages mainly the lack of
>> >> > accessibility tools, which as someone with a disability has been=
 the
>> >> > largest reason they haven't moved fully to linux. Ended up on Ma=
cs
>> >> because
>> >> > of how much i hate windows, but once thing apple has about them =
is
>> there
>> >> > gold star for supporting disabilities in there OS.
>> >>
>> >> Thanks for your interest. Are there any KDE applications that you =
use
>> where
>> >> support could be better?  Do you have any computer labs where linu=
x is
>> used
>> >> or KDE applications are used?
>> >>
>> >> KDE e.V. recently appointed Ritchie Frodomar as accessibility engi=
neer:
>> >> https://mail.kde.org/pipermail/kde-community/2025q2/008193.html
>> >>
>> >> >
>> >> > I also want this in Linux, and I'm here to help along
>> >> > with assisting with networking with professionals to ensure
>> >> communications
>> >> > and collaboration with developers/companies alike. Let me know i=
f you
>> >> have
>> >> > any questions, and I hope to chat with you soon.
>> >> >
>> >> > Sincerely,
>> >> >
>> >> > Bridger R. Reed-Lewis
>> >> > Disability Advisor | Advocate | Speaker
>> >> > He/Them
>> >>
>>