I reviewed the two case studies “Colegio San Benito” and “Blind Ambition”. The two stories were of individuals with sight problems and how they used technology to help change their disability into an ability. First, Ignacio is the young girl born blind and featured in the story, Colegio San Benito. She is able to pursue an education with the help of Microsoft word, JAWS, and a pen drive. JAWS is an acronym for job access with speech and is software used to read computer screens for blind and low vision people. Ted Henter, who became blind from a car accident, created this software in 1995. This invention reduced the unemployment rate for the blind, and gave new hope to those that did not let their disability define who they are. The second story, Blind Ambition, describes how Jeremy Poincenot and David Hayden, both men dealing with a form of vision impairment. Jeremy developed LHON while he was attending a University for a business degree. LHON, is an acronym for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. It causes blurred vision because the neurons around the optic nerve are dying off. David Hayden was born with a visual impairment known as bilateral optical nerve hypoplasia. He had a strong will and desire to earn his math degree, and along with a team created Imagine Cup in 2009. Imagine cup is a camera connected to a pc tablet to help low vision people to see the black or white board, and take notes simultaneously. There are approximately 20 million low vision adults in America and these tools are given them the opportunity to compete and succeed. I do not personally know of any individuals with a disability. Technology has made my life easier and I am more productive. I can communicate with people via social media, pay bills online, and search for goods and services concurrently. I feel fortunate to be born in a day and age where the quality of life is better.
Case studies and videos. (2011). Microsoft: Microsoft Accessibility, Technology for Everyone. Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/enable/casestudy/
Blind Ambition, uploaded July 20, 2011. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvhYZKnEk5Y
Genetic Home Reference, Your guide to understanding genetic conditions. Retrieved from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/leber-hereditary-optic-neuropathy
Freedom Scientific Inc., 2015. Retrieved from http://www.freedomscientific.com/Products/Blindness/JAWS
Freedom Scientific Inc., March 15, 2015. Jaws for Windows 20th Anniversary Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DYjkF59jeo