Embedded Files
My journal for tracking random updates and experiments from BVIS Tech!
Dec 3, 2025 - AI Tactile Graphics with Gemini
Dec 3, 2025 - AI Tactile Graphics with Gemini
AI Tactile Graphics Video Demo
Audio Described Video from ViddyScribe
Tactile graphics are one of the most time consuming things on a TVIs to-do list. AI isn't 100% ready to take this off of your plate, but it can dramatically speed up the process.
I've been testing different models and different prompts, and this is the approach that has provided the best and most consistent results.
Gemini is greater than ChatGPT (at least for the time being). Gemini has a better image editing tool (Nano Banana).
Give Gemini this lengthy prompt. It's a little annoying. I really tried to make a "Gem" where you could do this with the push of a button, but I couldn't get it to work consistently.
Give Gemini an image, and let it do its magic! Try experimenting with Gemini's "Thinking" mode to access Nano Banana Pro.
Clean up options. The images you get may not be perfect. Here are some options for cleaning things up.
Prompt Gemini to adjust the image. This can be hit and miss, but when it works, it can be a really quick solution. I would probably only do this a few times with each image. After that, you'll most likely be going in circles.
Microsoft Paint for small tweaks. Erase extra details or fill in empty shapes as needed.
Adobe Illustrator for really complex graphics. The Trace function in Adobe Illustrator can help you manipulate the image with more control. Ask me for more details!
Nov 20, 2025 - Help! Focus 40 won’t write!
Nov 20, 2025 - Help! Focus 40 won’t write!
During my first week on the job as BVIS Tech, I met with the original BVIS Tech, Wayne Oshiro, and he gave me a great tech tip. He said I would likely got a lot of calls about Focus 40s that suddenly won’t write, and he told me how to fix it.
And Wayne was right! Every month or two, I get an email from a frustrated TVI wondering why their Focus 40 has just stopped typing out of the blue. You can still read just fine with the display, but when you go to write something, nothing happens.
The problem is that the keys on the Focus 40 have been locked. Unfortunately, this is really easy to do on accident, but fortunately, it’s also really easy to fix.
Follow these 3 easy steps:
Press the Power button to display the status information. The display will show a clock, battery charge, etc.
The image on the right shows the left side of the Focus 40. The rectangular power button is highlighted with a red circle.
2. Simultaneously press any Cursor Router button and the right Mode button.
The image below shows the top of the Focus 40. The Cursor Router buttons are located just above the braille cells, highlighted here with an orange box. The right Mode button is circular and is located on the far right side of the display, highlighted here with a red circle.
3. Press any other control to return to normal operation.
That’s it! To lock the keys, you would do the same exact steps, except you would press the left Mode button instead of the right. You can find the full set of instructions in the Focus 40 User’s Guide (PDF page 29).
This feature was added so you can place your braille display in front of your QWERTY keyboard. Locking the keys on your braille display let’s you reach over your display to use your keyboard without entering any unwanted commands from your braille display. Now that you know, you could maybe even use this feature to your advantage!
Oct 20, 2025 - Using Your APH Fusion License
Oct 20, 2025 - Using Your APH Fusion License
We are now ordering the Fusion Suite from APH for all of our JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion licenses. When you receive a Fusion Suite license, you’ll have the option to install and activate all 3 apps (or just the ones you want).
That sounds straightforward, but we’ve all had some confusion about exactly how to activate these licenses and install the software on student computers. I reached out to Freedom Scientific, and I got some helpful videos to guide you through the process.
If you prefer to have written steps, follow the guide below.
Place your order through OTMC (APH #: D-11111-ED).
Once the order is processed, you’ll receive a license from Freedom Scientific. The email contains 2 links: “This product is for my own use” and “This product is for someone else”
Most often, we will be choosing “This product is for someone else” so that we can forward the license to district IT staff to complete the installation.
Choose the “This product is for someone else” link, and enter the email address you want to forward to.
That person will receive a similar email, and they will choose “This product is for my own use”.
If you select “This product is for my own use”, the license will be associated with your Freedom Scientific account (described below). District IT staff will need access to this account during activation, so you will most likely need to be present during that step.
After clicking on “This product is for my own use”, you’ll be directed to the Freedom Scientific Portal. You can login to an existing account, or you can create a new account and then login. Your license will now be associated with this Portal account.
THIS PART IS IMPORTANT! For the remaining steps, you must be on the student’s computer. To activate the license on your student’s computer, you must login to the Portal account using the student’s computer.
In the Portal, you’ll see your license information displayed (if you have more than one license, you can select between licenses). Click on the “Activate this computer” button to assign the license to the student’s computer.
The computer will automatically download a “License Activator” file. After installing JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion, run the “License Activator” file to complete the activation.
Sept 22, 2025 - Nano Banana, AI Image Editor
Sept 22, 2025 - Nano Banana, AI Image Editor
Nano Banana is the latest version of (Google) Gemini's 2.5 Flash, an AI image generator and editor. Nano Banana has been getting a lot of praise lately, and one important reason is that it's getting quite good at editing existing images without changing important details.
I tested an earlier version of this tool in the spring, and I decided to check it out again after the most recent update. I'm primarily interested in using this tool to help with tactile graphic production.
I started by giving a basic description of tactile graphics for the model. "When creating tactile images, we first remove all of the background information. We then trace the main figure in the image. The final product looks a bit like a coloring book page, with just a black drawing of the original image. We use thicker lines for the outline."
Simple images work great with this. Complex images will need more attention, but the black and white versions created by the model will be easier to work than the original color images.
*Note: Nano Banana may be blocked on your school account. Talk with your IT department or try using a personal account.
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