You Are You The Best

The world is beautiful and so are you.

You are gifted in so many ways

The talent you have, has been God given

Use it to reach further than the stars, because you have what it takes

Smile the world, family and The Lord loves you

As gracious as you are no-one can take that away from you

Hold your head up high and succeed as it is in The Lord's plan

Remember we are always here for you in the good and bad times

Laugh because you are blessed my dear sis

The road to everything you want to achieve has been set

You are on the correct path, just keep going this is not the end

The world is busy paving and setting up for your greatness

Your time to shine is just around the corner, just ask your shadow, it knows

Believe in it it is on point

eLSI's working to improve accessibility to Wits-e/Sakai

Students with a range of disabilities should be able to completely use ICT when studying at Wits.

 

At present, when accessing courses on Wits-e / Sakai, those with disabilities are often not be able to fully participate in the electronic learning experience because the necessary assistive technologies/ adjustments to hardware and software have not been effected. 

eLSI has been tasked with leading an online accessibility initiative and Ofentse Tabane is currently exploring techniques that lecturers can adopt and tools that students can use to enhance the accessibility of Wits’ collaborative learning environment.  At present, the main accessibility issues that we are dealing with are accessibility for those with visual impairments. Webpages are often designed in a manner that can further disable a blind or low vision student. Instructors are often not  aware of guidelines for creating accessible sites and their failure to consider accessibility issues can create another digital divide. Without considering the visually impaired student, photographs, images and animations on sites can be indecipherable. HTML, the language of the web, is sometimes used to manage the appearance of a page. Incorrect use of this mark-up language can have a profound impact on the navigability and readability of a page.

Text and any images on any course site should be legible, both to humans and machines. When marking up text, it is important that the designer keep to accessibility criteria and use appropriate colours, fonts and font sizes. A text reader is a software application that assists persons with visual impairments to make use of a computer. The text reader achieves works with the personal computers operating system (OS) and provides audio information about applications, files, folders, icons, tabs and menus and they assist users navigate through the text on the screen. There are multiple text readers available, including Jaws, Microsoft Narrator, NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA),  Text to Speech, ZoomText etc.

When using Wits-e / Sakai, an instructor can lay out their course in a manner to enable the text reader to recognize and relay the correct information to the user. Designing an accessible course is possible if the following guidelines for accessible course design are followed.

Accessibility Design Tips:

An accessible course page

• Has sans serif fonts like Arial and Verdana, it makes use of a monochromatic colour scheme and provides hyperlinks that allow for easy navigation from the top of the page to lower page elements.
• Follows proper mark-up procedures for adjusting the size and weight of text on the page. For example, use heading tags (h1, h2, h3), instead of bolding regular text.
• Use hyperlinks, that are clearly identified and describe where they are going. For example, instead of writing Click here to access your course readings change the link to access your course readings
• Keeps the text at the top of the page brief and concise by using headings, subheading and abstracts. Long descriptions in the initial paragraphs make it harder for the visually impaired user to determine the importance of a page
• Use images with descriptions associated for the visually impaired. Provide an alternative text ("alt") and long description ("longdesc").
• Offers alternatives. Allow lecture notes, presentation slides and other course materials to appear both in their original and in an audio form. You can also provide enlarged copies of course materials.
• Provides a list of required course materials in advance. This list will allow students to make arrangements to find alternatives of what is required.
• Has instructions that show students how to make use a text reader.
• Use tables when necessary for tabular data (not for design). If  tables are used, make them accessible through header and footer information.
• Captions videos used in a course.If they cannot be captioned, then a linked transcript would be helpful.

Starting to build a course on Sakai with accessibility foremost in mind is much easier than attempting to fix problem afterwards. However, creating an accessible and user friendly learning environment does require that lecturers and learning designers be aware of accessibility issues. As a unit, eLSI is mindful of the need to create a learning environment that provides all users with similar levels of access.  eLSI’s Software Development Team is also working with the disability unit in ensuring that the correct tools are incorporated into Wits-e / Sakai  the university learning management system. The first phase of our accessibility project has been to develop a zoom text tool for Wits-e / Sakai. This text magnifier will help those with visual impairment and is being quality assured and will then be placed on live site. Documentation for accessibility, course design and tools will accompany this tool. Accessibility also is the responsibility of the course designer and by incorporating these recommendations into your online learning environment, you'll be on your way to building an accessible course.

https://elearn.wits.ac.za/home/default/news/Accessibility

Dumani's awesome day

Caller ID.. How People Save You In Their Contacts

My Blessing In Disguise

My blessing in disguise where are you going

Mountains I cannot conquer are placed before me

Your scent lingers on leaving traces of you as breadcrumbs

Those, which become invisible as they hit the ground

My blessing in disguise where are you hiding

Your presence and warm blanket of adoration

Has now become a figment of my imagination

The tenderness you use to shine is now gone

My blessing in disguise when will you return

Sparks of hindrance have befallen me

Unwanted sharp edges of hate are pulling me back

Internal happiness has disappeared into thin air

My blessing in disguise where have you been

The search has been a bumpy one

But I think the time has come for you to come forth and spread your wings

Each time a smile dawns my face

A new beginning of ultimate thoughts of happiness becomes a reality

Never disappear and I will not let you go

You being there is just a shadow of hope that never expires

Let me care for you with the very heart that belongs to you

RIPOT

We all come to a point of no return

We face what we think is easy but end up doing (another)

Difficulty breathing is a beginning and the next just follows as you move on

Basic understanding of the now seems unreachable

Playing the field brings forth unknown kn-owns

Which we tend to push to the side

Many enforce unhappy happiness to themselves and others

Do we live to live or live to wither in the wind?

Distrust for your own begins to slither onwards

Towards unwanted wants according to plans made to destroy ones inner being

The walk of the so called life we mould

Follows one like a lost shadow seeking its owner

We plan to be happy

Therefore why is it that the plan sort out for many is such an unhappy one

I AM NOT PERFECT

I am not perfect

But my road towards perfection is something we all aspire too

You have been a joy and much more to be around

You have seen the dark and the light side of my experiences

Sometimes I tend to feel down because I feel that I am not deserving of you

I sometimes base my existence on helping others

At the same time I forget I’m part of this world

I have tried on numerous occasions to put myself first

But I don’t have it in me to just think of myself

I have been pondering about everything that has happened

And in some instances I am glad that I have something to complain about

Not saying I am agreeing with all that has been happening

As I don’t necessarily agree with it

I would rearrange continents

Spell your name with the blazing stars for all to see

You are truly a marvel one would be blessed to be with

The light you exude is calming and sometimes fearful

But you are just surrounding me with hope that all will be okay

Therefore in essence, all I want to say is Thank You…

TWO CAR THIEVES TELL HOW THEY DO THE JOB!!

By Candice Bailey (The Star)

Some take one minute. Others take two. At tops its five minutes. And if they can’t steal it, they hijack it.

The going rate is anything from R3000 to R30 000 a car depending on what they steal.

And when it comes to hotspots, shopping malls are still their preference, offering a wide variety of cars to choose from.

Two Soweto car thieves spoke to The Star on condition of anonymity and revealed the ins and outs of the car theft industry.

Keith*, aged 33, is a serial car thief. Serving time for hijacking, he has stolen more than 100 vehicles in areas from Randburg to Melville.

“The Nissan 1400 bakkie and a Toyota bakkie,” said Keith, “take one minute to steal. A Golf takes two minutes and a Polo five minutes.”

But it depends on how you steal a car, he added.

One way is to bring your own computer box for the car. When cars don’t have computer boxes, a customised size eight Allen key will do.

The shorter end of the “L” shape is welded to a metal rod for the hand to rest on. The tip of the longer end is ground to a sharp point, flattened and then used to either unlock the car or start it.

“Golfs and Yarises are still in but the Toyota Fortuner is most popular. In fact 4x4s are in demand because they go over the border. You get good money for a 4x4 – between R15 000 and R20 000 on the spot.”

A Conquest is worth R3000 on the black market. The newer Toyota VVTI bakkie fetches R10 000.

For a Yaris and a Run X, Keith pocketed R7000 and R8000. A Golf 5 got him R25 000. A CitiGolf is worth R4000, unless it’s a Velocity or CitiRox model, which fetch between R6000 and R7000.

Keith’s haul would head for a scrapyard to be stripped for parts. The dealer, Keith said, wound make three times what he got by selling those parts separately.

For Thabo*, 25, who is not in jail, it’s different.

He specialises in Toyotas. And he works only on orders. A buyer calls and specifies what he wants. It’s his job to get it within two days.

His team will go to malls or to the suburbs. “We sit for an hour to see the situation,” he said.

Thabo’s role is to open and start the car.

“Two of us will approach the car we want. The third guy will sit in the car we came with.”

First Thabo forces the Allen key into the door lock to open the car. Then he uses the allen key to start the car. Sometimes he just strips off the ignition cover and “hot wires” the car by connecting the red and black wires together.

Both Keith and Thabo are unperturbed about alarms, tracking devices, car guards and police.

With tracking devices, each has his own method.

Keith would check the car himself for the device as they drive off, whereas Thabo drops the car off with an “expert” to locate the device.

“Security guards, car guards and petrol attendants are not a problem. Everyone needs money. If you give him R100 you can get away with that car,” Thabo says.

And their target areas are?

“I often go to the Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg. We get most of the cars there, but Sunninghill and Randburg are easy to steal in. And Auckland Park, near the SABC, there are lots of cars that park in the street,” Thabo said.

* Not their real names

WHAT TO DO WHEN DRIVING:

·         Make sure you are not being followed. This is particularly important after leaving a bank or shopping centre, as hijackers will often ‘shop’ there for their victims.

·         If you have an electric gate, try not to pull up in front of it while you are waiting for it to open. If you do, hijackers can box you in by parking behind you.

·         If you think you are being followed, perform four right turns before you go home. If the same vehicle is still behind you, go to the nearest police station.

·         Clear all unnecessary foliage around your front gate and keep your front yard well lit. Dogs, circular security mirrors showing both sides of the wall and palisade fencing help to improve security.

·         Lock your car doors when travelling.

·         Tell someone your schedule so they can react if you don’t arrive within a reasonable time.

·         Be wary of strangers standing at the gate. Hijackers sometimes pose as visitors trying to get hold of someone, and attack you as you pull up.

·         When you arrive home, lock away your vehicle as soon as possible.

·         If you have visitors, say your goodbyes inside your home and allow your guests to leave your property promptly.

·         Maintain a gap between yourself and the car in front of you at an intersection, giving you an escape route in an emergency.

·         Don’t allow yourself to be distracted at either the driver’s window or a passenger window.

*Tips courtesy of Tracker.