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I picked this article to share this week because I am very interested in voice recognition software. It can help people that have restricted use of their hands to write, or enable people who can't touch type to produce documents more quickly. My students come in all shapes, sizes, and weaknesses. I have to deal with illegible writing on a daily basis. Many students, not only people with disabilities, can benefit from voice recognition software.

I thought that addressing Accessibility with Cloud Computing would be a good topic to address, since most technology is making its way tot the cloud. This video is 2 of 4 that are titled Will Accessibility Raid on Your Cloud Computing. All of the videos are great. This particular video discusses cloud computing and how it is addressing accessibility in a positive way. It discusses the growing impact of accessibility. One Project they talked about is called Lucy that is being piloted in Northern Italy. It provides a way for all people to access cloud features and applications for free. It is open source software. It will be able to help people through screen readers, text zoom, etc. Since this is open source, people express their needs to help enhance the system. Since this is cloud based they can login to their Lucy account and provides them with the tools they need from any location. It also talks about GPII andt technologies delivered to cloud services. That is working on a global system that addresses all users personal preferences when using technology. An example is text to speech that you use on your phone. This type of service was developed to meet accessibility needs, but is now a personal preference for all users. Thanks, Krystal

As I watched this video that Krystal posted, I realized how much I have personally benefitted from technology that was most likely originally designed for people with disabilities. I really hadn't thought of how the need for hands-free components in cars could be likened to having a visual disability. Clearly, people who fail to use such new technologies are not using their eyes, ears, and brain to focus on driving and are thus impaired. I sure am glad to have benefitted so much personally! The video also referred to translation apps and resources for times when we are "disabled" by not having language skills in a foreign region. While I haven't traveled to foreign countries where the masses don't speak English, I am reminded how little Spanish I know every time I have parent-teacher conferences with Spanish-speaking parents. Translation resources are more and more valuable the more that we are exposed to people who speak different languages. We surely have come a long way in this society from excluding people with disabilities from the routines of everyday life.