Preview

Assistive Technology for the Blind

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3318 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Assistive Technology for the Blind
The Status of Assistive Technology for the Blind in the
University of the Philippines - Diliman

Group 3, Science and Technology for Society, WFU
University of the Philippines – Diliman, Quezon City 1101

Abstract
This study aims to identify the appropriate technologies for the blind and visually impaired students and to know the availability of these technologies in the University of the Philippines – Diliman. Numerous surveys and interviews were conducted to understand the different perspectives of students, instructors, and professors regarding the matter of blind people studying in the university and also to know the perspectives and experiences of blind people. Currently, there are 225 number of blind students enrolled. According to Yukari Ishida, a blind, non-regular student in the university, Japan has better service for the blind compared to the Philippines. She raised the need for assistive technologies like braille printers, booklets, and railings in the university.We suggest the following projects: ‘Blind Zone’, ‘Blind Spot’, and ‘See-RS’ as assistive technologies for the blind students.

1. Introduction
About one hundred individuals in the Philippines lose their sight every week: among that number are students. With the use of today’s different assistive technologies (available in the country), these blind students are enabled to acquire the same quality of education as normal-sighted students. In addition to that, there are schools in the Philippines which specialize to accommodate the blind. However, there are only a few known assistive technologies made available in the schools that students usually want to enter. Among those schools is the University of the Philippines.
The University of the Philippines, being the prime state university, is known for promoting honor and excellence. Amidst its advocacy in shaping minds that shape the nation, it must also strive to break barriers to support any student to achieve all his/her academic



Bibliography: Online Sources Blindness in the Philippines.Resources for the blind.Retrieved August 4,2012. Light for the World. Retrieved September 8, 2012. Blind Adults in America: Their Lives and Challenges. The National Research Center for Women & Families.Retrieved August 4,2012 Satoshi Fukushima. Education for Deaf Blind Individuals and their Quality of Life. Retrieved September 19, 2012 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Screen Reader Instead of Braille.Visually Impaired People in the Philippines | All About Blindness, Opportunities, Accessibility, Advantages of Modern Technology and Some Success Stories. Retrieved September 7, 2012 GMANews.TV. GMA News Online. Philippine call center to employ blind people only. Retrieved September 10, 2012 The Blind Experienced the Power of the Mac. Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired Philippine Daily Inquirer. Edson C. Tandoc Jr. First time: Blind Filipino makes it to US study program Retrieved September 20, 2012

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    They say necessity is the mother of all invention. But, in one local man’s life, invention is a necessity. Magnolia resident Brandon Foshee lost his sight in his early twenties due to a rare condition, but instead of relying only on traditional visual and sense aids, he became an innovator in new technology to help others like him. Always an “idea man”, Brandon became infatuated with new and alternative ways to guide people who live each day without sight. He thought there had to be a better way to aid the blind to his or her immediate surroundings. Foshee and his company, FauxSee Innovations LLC, have been pushing the envelope in terms of technological research and aid for the blind since 2011.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If you have a high speed Internet connection try visiting the University of Wisconsin-Madison Video on the Web page. Investigate the Introduction to the Screen Reader course. Download and view the 12mb video. You will certainly gain insight and empathy for the extraordinary determination of those with visual disabilities. The importance of assistive technology is brilliantly depicted in Assistive Technology: Enabling Dreams a fine online video from the George Lucas Foundation.…

    • 1849 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit 305 Case Study 1

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    BRAILLE- a person who has visual problems may well be able to use Braille to communicate and understand your questions…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The purpose of this book is to inform about the different ways assistive technology could help disabled students. There is assistive technology for writing and reading and math. They also have communication skills and computer access. The author talks about the implementation of assistive technology in classrooms.…

    • 185 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Visual impairment | Communication between professional and the person using the service | Forms of communication that may be used are symbols, technology ( such as braille. braille is a tactile writing system used by the blind and the visually impaired | The individual may have preferences on how they like to communicate, i.e. they may prefer Braille , is a tactile writing system used by the blind and the visually impaired | Touch is another way of communicating, touching the person with visual impairment send message of care affection. Sometimes touch can be interpreted. |…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Blind Amare

    • 202 Words
    • 1 Page

    An 8-year old boy who is blind prepares for a reading competition in Los Angeles. Amare the 8-year old boy has decided to read the ‘magic school bus books’. First, he says “i’m going to ride a flying bus” just like the kids in the story. He loves listening to stories. His reading has earned him a big honor. Second, In Los Angeles, he'll compete in the Braille Institute's Annual Braille Challenge. Amare who is blind, is one of the 50 finalist from the U.S and Canada. He made the finals by scoring in the top 10 out of 310 students in his age group on the institute's test. Third, Amare is excited but not so much about the braille challenge itself. Which will require him to take 30 minute tests.…

    • 202 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    BRAILLE (a system of raised marks that can be felt with the fingers) provides a means of written communication, based on the sense of touch, for people who have limited vision. Modern computer software can translate written material into Braille, which can be printed out using special printers. Further details of Braille can be found at www.brailleplus.net…

    • 1677 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The characters in Braille are represented by patterns of raised dots, felt by the fingertips, it is based on touch. A man named Richard Braille invented Braille in 1829. People who are blind or have low vision use Braille. Braille allows these people the opportunity to independent reading. Blind people read Braille, for example if a blind individual wants to buy some medicine from the supermarket, they need to make sure that they have picked up the correct medicine. This shows the importance of Braille because medicine is a very serious substance and if they have taken the wrong one, they could be at risk, therefore, it is very important that they have Braille so they can read the instructions and so they will know when they can read the instructions to the medicine and take the correct amounts. This communication is used by people who are blind and low in vision, it allows them the opportunity to independent reading writing and reading with dots that can be felt by their finger, it is all based on touch. An example of Braille being used in the health and social sector would be a blind person maybe reading a letter in Braille sent from hospital concerning their health; they 'd have to feel the dots to understand what has been written. Another example could be if a blind person was reading a letter sent by the hospital regarding their health, they would have to feel the raised dots to understand what…

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I have always wanted to understand and empathize with people who have experienced like with have no or limited hearing or vision. I want to understand how this will impact their education as well as life. On the up side of things there are so many new assistive technology devices that help people with vision and hearing disabilities and that is what I am going to touch on in this paper…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Health Care Accessibility

    • 2185 Words
    • 9 Pages

    In this paper we will discuss the problems with healthcare accessibility. By outlining the problems with healthcare accessibility, the cause of the problem with healthcare accessibility and possible solutions, we will discuss the reasons we believe healthcare accessibility has taken a turn for the worst.…

    • 2185 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chapter 1 discusses disabilities people struggle with ranging from toddlers to students 21 years of age and the challenges they face in our education system. It also discusses the use of technology being integrated in classrooms to help students with disabilities.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A visual impairment is when a person’s sense of sight is completely gone and the change is irreversible. However this can also mean someone is partially sighted, where their sight may be blurred or only able to see out of one eye. A visual impairment can be caused by age illness or incident; it prevents the patient being able to recognise people by face, body and other visual elements. To overcome tis barrier glasses may be worn in some partial sighted cases, and a form of written communication called braille may be used. Braille is created by making indentations in materials patterned to represent letters without actually outlining the shape of the letter.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Globally, visual impairment represents a significant public health problem. This is both from the point of view of the suffering it imposes on the individual, family as well as the government in terms of economic cost. Smith and Smith have estimated that the annual worldwide productivity cost of blindness was $168 billion1. Recently, it has been estimated that over $102 billion would be…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hestnes, Bjorn; Brooks, Peter; Heiestad, Svein( 2006), “3G videotelephony for blind people-a study of relevance, effectiveness and user-perceived suitability”, Telenor R&I R Volume 29 year 2006…

    • 6297 Words
    • 26 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    情報基礎

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Before the Internet, for example, how did blind people read newspapers? It must have been very difficult to read a piece of paper when you can see nothing, Audiotapes and Braille printouts were considered very expensive at the time. As I learned in researching how disabled people use the Internet from our last report, I found out about “Screen Readers”. These software programs read electronic text out loud so that blind people can use computers and access any text content through the computer. Blind people simply plug in the screen reader into the computer, and it reads everything out loud for them. Other technologies used for web browsing for the blind include speech recognition that can accept spoken commands to the computer for those who have difficulty using the mouse or a keyboard. And screen magnification, that enlarges the display for those who can still see, but not too clearly.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics