The Canadian Council of the Blind Podcast

CCB Program staff
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All the exciting news from the programs and personalities of the Canadian Council of the Blind

  1. 2d ago

    155. CCB-GTT APPS and TAPS LECTURE

    The Apps and Taps lecture series is designed for people who want to continue learning about how to make the most of their iPhones while totally blind. While it doesn’t require people to have participated in the Unseen Touchscreen course, it assumes that participants have a basic working knowledge of how to use VoiceOver and the iOS operating system. Lectures of the Unseen Touchscreen course remain available in the CCB podcast if needed. In the Apps and Taps lecture series, we will dive deeply into various settings and concepts in the iOS operating system. One priority will be discussing new capabilities and changes which emerge in iOS, such as the arrival of Apple Intelligence. We will also go on deep dives into how to use a wide range of apps which are accessible using VoiceOver. These apps may be made by Apple and come on your iPhone. They may also be developed by third-party developers and be available from the App Store. Similar to the format used for the Unseen Touchscreen course, there will be two sessions per month. The first session will typically occur on the first Wednesday of the month. It will consist of a lecture which will be recorded for inclusion in the CCB podcast. Those who attend the lecture will be able to ask questions after the lecture is recorded, if time permits. The second session will typically be held on the third Wednesday of the month and will not be recorded. It will be an opportunity to ask any questions related to that month’s lecture or any other topic related to using iPhones from a blindness perspective. This will hopefully make certain that people get help and ideas from fellow iPhone users with whatever their current issues or areas of curiosity might be. It will also be a chance to learn about any newly discovered accessible apps.

  2. Jun 9

    154. CCB-GTT Unseen Touch Screen Course Session 40

    During this course, we have discussed what your iPhone can do for you as a totally blind user. We have also discussed how to use your iPhone effectively, the many available accessible apps, and the many features built into your iPhone. Owning an iPhone is as consequential to one’s life as owning a car or house. In this final lecture, Michael Feir will discuss how to live well as owners of these powerful devices. He will point out some of the pitfalls which have proved damaging to individual users and society as a whole. He will share his best advice on how to minimize your chances of falling into these traps. On the other hand, knowing how to do things with your iPhone at the right time can be very empowering and stand us in good stead. We can use it to help ourselves and those with whom we share meaningful connections. Michael will give some pointers on how to be as ready as possible to use our iPhones well when it really matters. He also discusses how to keep your iPhone ready to serve and avoid doing things which make it less capable without good reason.

  3. May 9

    153. CCB-GTT Unseen Touch Screen Course Session 39

    In this lecture, the focus will be on the personal economics of owning an iPhone. Having a device which can do so much means that you’re likely to save money which you might have needed to spend on other devices. You can also tap into markets of digital goods such as apps, books, and streaming services, among many others. There are unavoidable costs such as the price of the iPhone, accessories and a cellular data plan. We will examine these costs as well as other optional expenses. I’ll be sharing some advice on how to maximize your enjoyment while spreading out or minimizing costs.

  4. Apr 2

    152. CCB-GTT Unseen Touch Screen Course Session 38

    The online world offers blind people many extraordinary benefits. However, owning an iPhone also exposes us to all of the spam calls, scams, fake emails, identity theft attempts, and other malicious activity. In this lecture, I will share what wisdom I’ve gained in avoiding becoming a victim of such activities while still participating in online life. We will also cover how your iPhone can protect you from this activity.

  5. Mar 6

    151. CCB-GTT Unseen Touch Screen Course Session 37

    We have come a long way in the Unseen Touchscreen course. The focus of this month’s lecture is on using your iPhone to help you navigate and go places in the real world. There is a wide variety of apps which can help you do this. They typically use the GPS receiver in your iPhone combined with constantly updated map information. Some apps are built for absolutely everyone and made accessible to VoiceOver. Others are built specifically with blind users in mind. In this lecture, we’ll cover examples of both kinds of these apps, plus other apps which help with navigation and transportation.

  6. Jan 14

    149. CCB-GTT Unseen Touch Screen Course Session 35

    Your iPhone makes a very accessible gateway to all sorts of entertainment, including various streaming services. In this session, we’ll talk about some popular ones like Netflix, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. We’ll also discuss what makes YouTube and Twitch somewhat different from other platforms. How to explore content and how to activate described audio on the various services will be covered.

  7. 11/07/2025

    148. CCB-GTT Unseen Touch Screen Course Session 33

    In this session, we’ll cover some of the new features and changes that Apple has introduced in iOS 26. Besides less impactful changes for blind users like liquid glass, there are a bunch of new accessibility features. These include Braille Access mode, updates to VoiceOver, changes to numerous apps, and more. While this won’t be an exhaustive exploration of each feature, the hope is to make people aware of the newly added features and provide enough knowledge to start exploring any that interest you for yourselves.

  8. 10/03/2025

    147. CCB-GTT Unseen Touch Screen Course Session 32

    In part two of our discussion about productivity apps on iPhones, we take a whirlwind tour of possibilities. A wide range of apps to help with everything from task management, cooking recipes, scheduling events, recording music, and many more activities will be briefly covered. While I’ll offer some explanations of how to use various apps, the main goal is to make people more aware of the possibilities for getting things done and managing your work using your iPhone. Beyond apps, we’ll also briefly discuss features included in your iPhone which may prove helpful.

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All the exciting news from the programs and personalities of the Canadian Council of the Blind

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