[nfbcs] [iDevices] Fw: [Missouri Chat] Article about Blind Apple Engineer

[Amanda Lacy]

I'd like to get in touch with her. I just finished a degree in CS but
have no solid plans for the future. Maybe she'd be willing to share
what it's like working for Apple.

On 7/14/16, Cricket Bidleman via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I totally agree. Which is why, if y'all would like me to, I would be
> more than happy to contact her and see if I can get her to join us. I
> knew her from the Braille Challenge, and we had some good
> conversations last week. Maybe she could provide us with some good
> insights into CS. So what do you all think?
>
> On 7/14/16, Buddy Brannan via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> She sure did! Moreover, this article is exactly how this sort of article
>> should be written. She's a young engineer, doing important things, perhaps
>> even world changing things, and oh yeah, she's blind. Blindness was part
>> of
>> the picture, not the entire focus, which was really kind of refreshing.
>>
>> --
>> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
>> Phone: 814-860-3194
>> Mobile: 814-431-0962
>> Email: buddy at brannan.name
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Jul 14, 2016, at 9:02 AM, Susan Stanzel via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> She had a wonderful presentation last week. Susan Stanzel
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>>> From: John and Donna Weidlich via iDevices
>>>> <idevices at gatewayfortheblind.com>
>>>> Date: July 13, 2016 at 1:22:13 PM CDT
>>>> To: <idevices at gatewayfortheblind.com>
>>>> Cc: John and Donna Weidlich <jdweidlich at charter.net>
>>>> Subject: [iDevices] Fw: [Missouri Chat] Article about Blind Apple
>>>> Engineer
>>>> Reply-To: "Support for iDevices." <idevices at gatewayfortheblind.com>
>>>> I thought some of you might find this article interesting. John
>>>> This blind Apple engineer is transforming the tech world at only 22
>>>>
>>>> 3 days ago
>>>>
>>>> Apple engineer Jordyn Castor has never been one for limitations. She was
>>>> born 15
>>>> weeks early, weighing just under two pounds. Her grandfather could hold
>>>> her in
>>>> the palm of his hand, and could even slide his wedding ring along her
>>>> arm
>>>> and
>>>> over her shoulder. Doctors said she had a slim chance of survival.
>>>>
>>>> It was Castor's first brush with limited expectations — and also the
>>>> first time
>>>> she shattered them.
>>>>
>>>> Castor, now 22, has been blind since birth, a result of her early
>>>> delivery. But
>>>> throughout childhood, her parents encouraged her to defy expectations of
>>>> people
>>>> with disabilities, motivating her to be adventurous, hands-on and
>>>> insatiably
>>>> curious.
>>>>
>>>> It was that spirit that led to her interact with technology, whether it
>>>> was the
>>>> desktop computer her family bought when she was in second grade, or the
>>>> classroom computer teachers encouraged her to use in school.
>>>>
>>>> "I could help make technology more accessible for blind users."
>>>>
>>>> She says the adults in her life would often hand her a gadget, telling
>>>> her to
>>>> figure it out and show them how to use it. And she would. "I realized
>>>> then I
>>>> could code on the computer to have it fulfill the tasks I wanted it to,"
>>>> says
>>>> Castor, whose current work focuses on enhancing features like VoiceOver
>>>> for
>>>> blind Apple users. "I came to realize that with my knowledge of
>>>> computers
>>>> and
>>>> technology, I could help change the world for people with disabilities.
>>>> "I could
>>>> help make technology more accessible for blind users."
>>>>
>>>> Bringing a personal perspective to Apple innovation
>>>>
>>>> There's an often overlooked component of "diversity" in workplace
>>>> initiatives —
>>>> the need to include the perspectives of people with disabilities.
>>>> Keeping
>>>> tabs
>>>> on the needs of the blind and low-vision community is a key component of
>>>> Apple's
>>>> innovation in accessibility. Castor is proof of how much that can
>>>> strengthen a
>>>> company.
>>>>
>>>> She was a college student at Michigan State University when she was
>>>> first
>>>> introduced to Apple at a Minneapolis job fair in 2015. Castor went to
>>>> the
>>>> gathering of employers, already knowing the tech giant would be there —
>>>> and she
>>>> was nervous.
>>>>
>>>> "You aren't going to know unless you try," she thought. "You aren't
>>>> going
>>>> to
>>>> know unless you talk to them ... so go."
>>>>
>>>> Apple engineer Jordyn Castor poses for a headshot. Castor is a driving
>>>> force
>>>> behind accessibility of Apple products, especially for blind users.
>>>> Image:
>>>> Provided by Apple and Jordyn Castor Castor told Apple reps how amazed
>>>> she
>>>> was by
>>>> the iPad she received as a gift for her 17th birthday just a few years
>>>> earlier.
>>>> It raised her passion for tech to another level — mainly due to the
>>>> iPad's
>>>> immediate accessibility.
>>>>
>>>> "Everything just worked and was accessible just right out of the box,"
>>>> Castor
>>>> tells Mashable. "That was something I had never experienced before."
>>>>
>>>> "I'm directly impacting the lives of the blind community."
>>>>
>>>> Sarah Herrlinger, senior manager for global accessibility policy and
>>>> initiatives
>>>> at Apple, says a notable part of the company's steps toward
>>>> accessibility
>>>> is its
>>>> dedication to making inclusivity features standard, not specialized.
>>>> This
>>>> allows
>>>> those features to be dually accessible — both for getting the tech to
>>>> more
>>>> users, as well as keeping down costs.
>>>>
>>>> "[These features] show up on your device, regardless of if you are
>>>> someone who
>>>> needs them," Herrlinger tells Mashable. "By being built-in, they are
>>>> also
>>>> free.
>>>> Historically, for the blind and visually impaired community, there are
>>>> additional things you have to buy or things that you have to do to be
>>>> able to
>>>> use technology."
>>>>
>>>> At that job fair in 2015, Castor's passion for accessibility and Apple
>>>> was
>>>> evident. She was soon hired as an intern focusing on VoiceOver
>>>> accessibility. As
>>>> her internship came to a close, Castor's skills as an engineer and
>>>> advocate for
>>>> tech accessibility were too commanding to let go. She was hired
>>>> full-time
>>>> as an
>>>> engineer on the accessibility design and quality team — a group of
>>>> people
>>>> Castor
>>>> describes as "passionate" and "dedicated."
>>>>
>>>> "I'm directly impacting the lives of the blind community," she says of
>>>> her work.
>>>> "It's incredible."
>>>>
>>>> Innovation with blind users in mind
>>>>
>>>> Increased accessibility for all users is one of Apple's driving values,
>>>> under
>>>> the mantra "inclusion inspires innovation." Herrlinger says the company
>>>> loves
>>>> what it makes, and wants what it makes to be available to everyone. She
>>>> describes the need to continuously innovate with accessibility in mind
>>>> as
>>>> part
>>>> of Apple's DNA.
>>>>
>>>> "Accessibility is something that is never-ending," Herrlinger says. "It
>>>> isn't
>>>> something where you just do it once, check that box and then move on to
>>>> do other
>>>> things."
>>>>
>>>> And it's a dedication that isn't going unnoticed by the blind community.
>>>> On July
>>>> 4, Apple was the recipient of the American Council of the Blind's Robert
>>>> S. Bray
>>>> Award for the company's strides in accessibility and continued
>>>> dedication
>>>> to
>>>> inclusion-based innovation for blind users.
>>>>
>>>> Sarah Herrlinger, senior manager for global accessibility policy and
>>>> initiatives
>>>> at Apple, and Eric Bridges, executive director of the American Council
>>>> of
>>>> the
>>>> Blind (ACB), pose with the Robert S. Bray award at ACB's national
>>>> conference on
>>>> July 4, 2016.
>>>>
>>>> The company, for example, made the first touchscreen device accessible
>>>> to
>>>> the
>>>> blind via VoiceOver. Recent announcements of Siri coming to Mac this
>>>> fall, and
>>>> of newer innovations, like a magnifying glass feature for low-vision
>>>> users, have
>>>> continued the promise of improving the Apple experience for those who
>>>> are
>>>> blind
>>>> and low vision.
>>>>
>>>> "The fact that we take the time to innovate in these ways is something
>>>> new and
>>>> different," Herrlinger says. "It was not the expected thing in the tech
>>>> community."
>>>>
>>>> Often, the success of such innovations depends on the input of the
>>>> community —
>>>> and employees like Castor provide irreplaceable first-hand insight into
>>>> the tech
>>>> experience for blind individuals. The most recent example of
>>>> community-driven
>>>> innovation can be found on the Apple Watch. During a meeting, Herrlinger
>>>> explains, a person who sees could easily peer down at their watch to
>>>> keep
>>>> an eye
>>>> on the clock. A person who is blind, however, hasn't had a way to tell
>>>> time
>>>> without VoiceOver. After confronting the conundrum, Apple solved the
>>>> issue by
>>>> making a feature that tells time through vibrations. The addition,
>>>> Herrlinger
>>>> says, is coming to watchOS 3 this fall.
>>>>
>>>> High-tech meets low-tech
>>>>
>>>> Castor says her own success — and her career — hinges on two things:
>>>> technology
>>>> and Braille. That may sound strange to many people, even to some who are
>>>> blind
>>>> and visually impaired. Braille and new tech are often depicted as at
>>>> odds
>>>> with one another, with Braille literacy rates decreasing as the presence
>>>> of tech
>>>> increases. But many activists argue that Braille literacy is the key to
>>>> employment and stable livelihood for blind individuals. With more than
>>>> 70% of
>>>> blind people lacking employment, the majority of those who are employed
>>>> —
>>>> an
>>>> estimated 80% — have something in common: They read Braille.
>>>>
>>>> "Braille allows me to know what the code feels like."
>>>>
>>>> For Castor, Braille is crucial to her innovative work at Apple — and she
>>>> insists
>>>> tech is complementary to Braille, not a replacement. I use a Braille
>>>> display
>>>> every time I write a piece of code," she says. "Braille allows me to
>>>> know
>>>> what
>>>> the code feels like."
>>>>
>>>> In coding, she uses a combination of Nemeth Braille — or "math Braille"
>>>> —
>>>> and
>>>> Alphabetic Braille. Castor even says that with the heavy presence of
>>>> tech
>>>> in her
>>>> life, she still prefers to read meeting agendas in Braille. "I can see
>>>> grammar.
>>>> I can see punctuation. I can see how things are spelled and how things
>>>> are
>>>> written out," she says.
>>>>
>>>> The technologies that Apple creates support her love of Braille, too —
>>>> there are
>>>> various modifications, like Braille displays that can to plug into
>>>> devices, to
>>>> help her code and communicate. But Castor also often forgoes Braille
>>>> displays,
>>>> solely using VoiceOver to navigate her devices and read screens.
>>>>
>>>> A Braille display like this one, which is compatible with Apple
>>>> products,
>>>> allows
>>>> blind users to navigate technology using Braille commands. Image:
>>>> PRovided by
>>>> Apple
>>>>
>>>> That autonomy of choice in accessibility, Apple says, is intentional. T
>>>> he
>>>> company believes that the ability to choose — to have several tools at a
>>>> user's
>>>> disposal, whenever they want them — is key to its accessibility values.
>>>>
>>>> Giving back to the community
>>>>
>>>> Last week, Castor attended a conference hosted by the National
>>>> Federation
>>>> of the
>>>> Blind, where she gave a speech telling her story. She says the impact
>>>> that Apple
>>>> has had on the blind community was extremely clear as soon as she
>>>> stepped
>>>> into
>>>> the conference hall — just by listening to what was going on around her.
>>>>
>>>> "When I walk through the convention, I hear VoiceOver everywhere," she
>>>> says.
>>>> "Being able to give back through something that so many people use is
>>>> amazing."
>>>> Castor was recently able to use her presence and perspective at Apple to
>>>> give
>>>> back to a part of the community she's especially passionate about — the
>>>> next
>>>> generation of engineers. She was a driving force behind accessibility on
>>>> Apple's
>>>> soon-to-be released Swift Playgrounds, an intro-to-coding program geared
>>>> toward
>>>> children. She's been working to make the program accessible to blind
>>>> children,
>>>> who have been waiting a long time for the tool, she says.
>>>>
>>>> "I would constantly get Facebook messages from so many parents of blind
>>>> children, saying, 'My child wants to code so badly. Do you know of a way
>>>> that
>>>> they can do that?'" Castor says. "Now, when it's released, I can say,
>>>> 'Absolutely, absolutely they can start coding.'"
>>>>
>>>> how the program will work when released in fall. Users will code
>>>> commands
>>>> to
>>>> make a character move throughout puzzle-like challenges. The program
>>>> will
>>>> use
>>>> VoiceOver to be accessible to blind children. Image: Provided by Apple
>>>>
>>>> Castor says working on Swift Playgrounds has been an empowering
>>>> experience, and
>>>> her team has deeply valued her perspective on the VoiceOver experience
>>>> for blind
>>>> users.
>>>>
>>>> She says the task-based, interactive app would have made a massive
>>>> impact
>>>> on her
>>>> as a child. The program is, after all, a guided way of taking tech and
>>>> figuring
>>>> out what makes it tick — a virtual version of the hands-on curiosity
>>>> adults
>>>> instilled in her as a child.
>>>>
>>>> "It will allow children to dive into code," she says of the program.
>>>> "They can
>>>> use Swift Playgrounds right away out of the box; no modifications. Just
>>>> turn on
>>>> VoiceOver and be able to start coding." As someone who was always
>>>> encouraged to
>>>> challenge expectations, Castor says she has one simple message for the
>>>> next
>>>> generation of blind coders, like the children who will sit down with
>>>> Swift
>>>> Playgrounds in the fall. "Blindness does not define you," she says.
>>>> "It's
>>>> part
>>>> of who you are as a person, as a characteristic — but it does not define
>>>> you or
>>>> what you can do in life."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>
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