Microsoft has created, Project Torino, a new way of teaching computational thinking skills and basic programming concepts to children age 7 to 11. The program is inclusive of children who are blind or visually impaired, but sighted children also benefit from the program. It was Microsoft’s intent to make sure that blind children could participate with sighted children without being isolated from them.
Project Torino uses physical beads that link together to form music, stories, and computer programming code. The physical language can then be transferred to a digital platform so that blind and visually impaired children can feel comfortable writing stories, music, and computer software.
There are many jobs that require computer programming skills, and there are not enough people to fill those jobs. There are also an enormous number of blind people who are unemployed. It only makes sense to make sure that these children develop the skills to compete in the job market of today.
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Riding the Highlights of CSUN 2017
This year’s 2017 Assistive Technology for Persons with Disabilities Conference, referred to in verbal shorthand as CSUN, held a lot for everyone. As soon as one walked into the exhibit hall, there were people everywhere! So many conversations about the latest and greatest to hit the technological land, most products to be released later this year.
Since covering everything I saw would take until the products are released, let’s do a bird’s-eye view and hit those highlights!
VIP: CSUN 2017 Special Event!
In this very special VIP, Joel Ramos, Hugo Gallegos, and Rachel Feinberg tell us all about their exciting experiences at this year’s Assistive Technology Conference, hosted by California State University Northridge.
CBT Live From #CSUNATC17: Braille Sense Polaris, A Braille Display, and an Android Tablet
Hugo Gallegos speaks with Damian Pickering, Vice President of Sales at HIMS Incorporated, about the new Braille Sense Polaris.
The Braille Sense Polaris is the first Virtual Braille Tablet for the blind. Polaris is the latest in the popular BrailleSense Notetaker family and features state-of-the-art hardware and software including Android’s Lollipop operating system and the name-sake Polaris Office Suite found on millions of Smart Phones worldwide. Polaris integrates a touch-sensitive Braille display with Miracast connectivity to the mainstream computer or tablet of your choice. At less than 2 pounds, Polaris is a sleek, professional mobile tool seamlessly blending the feel of a traditional Notetaker with innovative access to mainstream applications and Google Services such as Docs, Drive, Slides, Sheets, and Classroom.
CBT Live From #CSUNATC17: San Francisco Lighthouse Connects Those Who Have Vision or Hearing Loss
Joel Ramos speaks with Shen Kuan of the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind about a program that provides equipment and training for those who have experienced vision or hearing loss. The program is designed to help those individuals stay connected with people and the world around them.
CBT Live From #CSUNATC17: KNFB Reader, Now Available for Windows 10 Devices
Hugo Gallegos visits with Joel Zimba from the National Federation of the Blind to discuss KNFB Reader for Windows 10 devices. Until now, KNFB Reader has only been available for iOS and Android devices, but you can now download it on any phone, tablet, or PC running Windows 10.
Learn more about this exciting new release here.
Spotlight with Suman Kanuganti: Cofounder and CEO of Aira.
In this CBT Spotlight interview, James Oates sits down with Suman Kanuganti, the cofounder and CEO of Aira Visual Interpreter for the Blind, to discuss a life changing new service for those who are blind or visually impaired.
Aira takes advantage of the technology found in advanced smart glasses, like Google Glass, to connect blind people with sighted agents who can use the information transmitted by those glasses to help them with anything that might require visual feedback. That could be anything the user would like an extra pair of eyes for.
Smart glasses not only have a camera that transmits visual information to the agent, but also other sensors that send detailed information to the agent’s dashboard, such as GPS information that is incorporated into Google Maps.
For now, the glasses will need to be paired with a smart phone, but you should listen to this podcast to hear all the spectacular improvements that Suman is planning.
You can visit their website, email Aira, or email Suman directly for more information. You can also call Aira at: (858) 876-2472.
a $20 OCR solution becomes a reality with KNFB Reader for Windows
KNFB Reader has been a household name in text recognition for quite some time now, at least within the community. The original dreams of the Kurzweil solutions was to make KNFB affordable, even though back then it was still exclusively on Nokia phones.
The Orbit Interactive Tactile Graphics Display Will be at CSUN 2017.
One of the biggest problems for blind students is the ability the view and draw charts, graphs, maps, floor plans, geometric shapes, and functions.
The Orbit Graphiti, provided by the American Printing House for the Blind, is a tactile display, about the size of a laptop with a multilayered display of 40 by 60 pins of varying heights.
The device can be used to display images from a connected computer or from an SD card. The user can also draw their own images on the surface of the device. This image can either be displayed on a computer monitor for sighted people to see, or saved to the SD card as a visual image. The blind person will see their drawing as a tactile representation on the Graphiti, but sighted people will see it as a visual image.
If you wish to view the Orbit Graphiti in person, it will be on display at CSUN 2017 in Sandiego on Thursday March 2nd at 1:20PM PST in Balboa AB, on the 2nd floor of the Seaport Tower.
VIP: Money’s No Object!
Don’t worry about how much it costs! Just go out and buy it! Tune in to this jam packed VIP where James Oates steps out of his comfort zone to take on the job as host with fellow hosts Joel Ramos and Nelson Régo.
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