VoiceOver Tutorial

S1E18 - VoiceOver Tutorial (VOT) Episode 18: Customizing Gestures and Sounds to Tailor Your Needs

Learn to master your iPhone using VoiceOver! From awkward default settings to voice tweaks worthy of a fashion show, this episode is your backstage pass to customizing VoiceOver like never before. Join Amelia, Jerry, and the ever-dramatic Deiter as they explore how to personalize gestures, sounds, and speech settings—minus the industrial concrete auger. Whether you’re new to iPhone accessibility or a VoiceOver veteran ready to streamline your setup, this lesson will show you how to make your device feel like it was designed just for you.   What You’ll Learn: • How to remap gestures (including Back Tap) to suit your habits and increase efficiency. • How to explore and modify VoiceOver’s sound feedback and haptics for faster, clearer navigation. • How to customize speech settings, including voice selection, pitch, and language. • How to fine-tune verbosity, punctuation levels, and typing feedback. • How to set up the Accessibility Shortcut for quick toggles.   Pro Tips Shared: • Assign rotor actions (like navigating by headings) to easier gestures to speed up browsing. • Back Tap lets you trigger VoiceOver commands—or even launch apps—by tapping the back of your phone. • Learn and leverage VoiceOver sound cues for fast, non-verbal navigation. • Use the “Reset VoiceOver Commands” button as a safety net when testing new gestures. • Set up the Accessibility Shortcut (triple-click) to instantly toggle VoiceOver or other tools.   Apps used in this lesson include: • Settings (Accessibility > VoiceOver > Commands, Audio, and Speech sections) • Touch settings (for enabling Back Tap)   Learn More & Connect I’m Brian Clark, Lead Trainer at First Aid for the Blind, where we help people confidently learn non-visual tech skills and regain independence. My life without sight began in 2014, and it is now with great joy that I help others adapt to successful lives without useable vision. https://faftb.com [https://faftb.com] BRIAN@FAFTB.COM This podcast is powered by Pinecast [https://pinecast.com].

S1E17 - VoiceOver Tutorial: VOT 17 – Voices Beyond the Page: The BARD Mobile Experience

VoiceOver Tutorial: VOT 17 – Voices Beyond the Page: The BARD Mobile Experience Learn to master your iPhone using VoiceOver! Hope, Amelia, Junie, and a surprise guest from Chatbot Chronicles (hello, VGER) explore the BARD Mobile app and the powerful story behind it. From a historic letter by Helen Keller to the app that now puts thousands of audiobooks at your fingertips, this episode is a celebration of access, literacy, and legacy. Whether you’re new to BARD or just want to get more out of it, we’ll guide you through everything from searching and downloading to playback and settings—all with the wit, warmth, and weirdness you’ve come to expect from the VOT crew. June 2025, iOS 18   What You’ll Learn: • How the National Library Service and BARD Mobile came to be, thanks to Helen Keller’s advocacy • How to log in, browse, and download books with BARD Mobile • How to use the app’s four main tabs: Bookshelf, Get Books, Settings, and Now Reading • Tips for managing your Wishlist, checking recent downloads, and syncing across devices • How to control playback, create bookmarks, and adjust reading speed and tone   Pro Tips Shared: • Use the Search field to find books by narrator as well as author or title • Try the Wishlist feature to queue up books for future reading or other NLS-supported devices • Adjust tone and speed together for a more natural listening experience • Use the sleep timer for cozy bedtime reading—and avoid waking up to chapter 47   Learn More & Connect I’m Brian Clark, Lead Trainer at First Aid for the Blind, where we help people confidently learn non-visual tech skills and regain independence. My life without sight began in 2014, and it is now with great joy that I help others adapt to successful lives without usable vision. https://faftb.com [https://faftb.com] brian@faftb.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast [https://pinecast.com].

S1E16 - VoiceOver Tutorial 16: 1-Finger Triple Tap – The Forgotten Soldier

VoiceOver Tutorial 16: 1-Finger Triple Tap – The Forgotten Soldier Learn to master your iPhone using VoiceOver! Junie, Deiter, and Hope return to uncover one of the most underappreciated yet powerful gestures in the VoiceOver arsenal: the 1-finger triple tap. Whether you’ve never used it or just assumed it was a glitch in your tapping rhythm, this “forgotten soldier” is here to serve. From Home Screen shortcuts to fast message replies, this episode breaks down how the triple tap opens up the VoiceOver Actions Menu—saving time, simplifying your workflow, and making navigation smoother than ever. June 2025, iOS 18   What You’ll Learn: • What the 1-finger triple tap does and how it triggers the VoiceOver Actions Menu • How it works on the Home Screen to reveal app-specific shortcuts • How to use it in Mail, Messages, Safari, and more to quickly reply, delete, share, or react • Why it’s often faster than using the rotor • When and why the gesture doesn’t work—and why that’s still useful   Pro Tips Shared: • Use the triple tap on app icons to access Compose buttons, searches, and shortcuts without opening the app • In Mail and Messages, triple tap on individual items to access context-sensitive actions instantly • Triple tap is a great fallback when rotor switching feels slow or inconsistent • Even when nothing happens, the gesture is a quick way to check for hidden options   Learn More & Connect I’m Brian Clark, Lead Trainer at First Aid for the Blind, where we help people confidently learn non-visual tech skills and regain independence. My life without sight began in 2014, and it is now with great joy that I help others adapt to successful lives without usable vision. https://faftb.com [https://faftb.com] BRIAN@FAFTB.COM This podcast is powered by Pinecast [https://pinecast.com].

S1E15 - VoiceOver Tutorial (VOT) Episode 15: Inbox Ambitions

Learn to master your iPhone using VoiceOver! Amelia, Deiter, and Hope guide you through the ins, outs, and in-betweens of the Mail app using VoiceOver. From inbox chaos to organized communication, this episode covers everything you need to read, reply, compose, and manage your email—without ever viewing the screen. May 2025, iOS 18   What You’ll Learn: • How to navigate the three levels of the Mail app: Mailbox view, Inbox list, and full Email view. • How to use Explore by Touch, rotor actions, and filters to keep your inbox organized and efficient. • How to read, reply to, delete, move, and manage messages using VoiceOver gestures and the rotor. • How to compose a new email with dictation, Handwriting Mode, and the on-screen keyboard. • Where to find attachments and how to interact with them using VoiceOver. • Tips for navigating between email threads and conversation messages.   Pro Tips Shared: • Use the Messages rotor setting to easily switch between messages in an email thread. • Keep your contact cards updated to save time when composing new emails. • Dictation works best in the Subject and Body fields—avoid it in the “To” field unless you enjoy mysterious typos. • Say “new line” while dictating to create paragraph breaks. • Use the Actions Rotor to delete, flag, or move emails without opening them.   Learn More & Connect I’m Brian Clark, Lead Trainer at First Aid for the Blind, where we help people confidently learn non-visual tech skills and regain independence. My life without sight began in 2014, and it is now with great joy that I help others adapt to successful lives without useable vision. https://faftb.com [https://faftb.com] brian@faftb.com This podcast is powered by Pinecast [https://pinecast.com].

S1E14 - VoiceOver Tutorial (VOT) Episode 14: Prolog for The Chatbot Chronicles

There is no instructional material in this lesson as Amelia and the chatbots are assigned to tidy up the Office of Outdated Equipment. This marks the start of The Chatbot Chronicles and the crew head off for their own adventures. Those episodes can be found on YouTube and most podcast apps, or use this RSS feed: https://pinecast.com/feed/voiceover-tutorial [https://pinecast.com/feed/voiceover-tutorial]   February 2025, iOS 18             What You’ll Learn: • That outdated tech is lurking everywhere—including fax machines, cassette drives, and the most feared of all… landlines. • That even data-optimized bots need a moment to dream about becoming espresso machines, karaoke kings, or minimalist holograms. • That being replaced by tiny, chip-based AI who don’t even need cloud support is the digital equivalent of being called "Boomer."   Pro Tips Shared: • When scanning for clutter, beware of dial-up sounds. Retro audio is highly contagious. • Existential dread hits harder when you realize your server rack might now be… vintage. • If a fax machine stares at you, do not engage. Just back away and call IT support.   Learn More & Connect I’m Brian Clark, Lead Trainer at First Aid for the Blind, where we help people confidently learn non-visual tech skills and regain independence. My life without sight began in 2014, and it is now with great joy that I help others adapt to successful lives without useable vision.    https://faftb.com [https://faftb.com] brian@faftb.com