Hello everyone, I’m just going to jump right in here and introduce myself. My name is Morgan Johnstone and I joined this site a while back (over a year or so ago..) but I have yet to actually join the organization. I was first introduced to the AAVSO by Doc Kinne (KQR) and that opened up the world of astronomy to me once more.
I first became interested in astronomy when I was a teenager and was told that I couldn’t do it because I am visually impaired. At that point I let it go and went on with life. Shortly after I graduated from the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired in 2007 I attended an event called the “NFB Youth Slam (NFB = National Federation of the Blind) which was a STEM event held on the campus of Johns Hopkins In Baltimore. While at this multi-day event, I was in the science tract and more specifically in the astronomy group. It was then that I met author and advocate/activist Noreen Grice who proved to me that in fact I can do astronomy. It was so exciting to be able not only to look through a telescope, but to “Touch the Sky” on tactile paper. It was an eye opening moment for me. (No pun intended.)
Now, in the present day, I have founded an organization called the Blind Astronomy Guild to help make astronomy accessible to everyone no matter their disability.
That brings me to my next topic/question. With me being new to the forums, where would be the best place to discuss accessibility ideas/issues for/involving the various software that the AAVSO offers? I’ve been looking around VStar lately, and I’d really like to write some documentation to help those who may not have reliable vision to guide themselves around the software.
WIth that, thanks for letting me in, and I am looking forward to a lot of great discussions.
Morgan Johnstone
JMLA