[Pibe-division] Reminder: Blindness, a Symposium

Tue Feb 24 03:45:09 UTC 2009

This note is meant to announce that a high-profile blindness symposium is to

occur in McKenna Hall on the campus of The University of Notre Dame on

Fri., 6 March, 2009, from 9:00-5:45.  Please forward to

anyone you believe might have an interest in this, perhaps posting an

advisory in any newsletter or podcast to which you contribute.

Because the greater South Bend, Indiana, area is reasonably close to

Chicagoland, southern Michigan, Indianapolis, and Ohio, a significant number

of persons will potentially find it feasible to attend.  The highest profile

facets of this event are the

keynote address by Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National

Federation of the Blind; and the presence of Olympic gold medal-winning

swimmer and entrepreneur Adolph Kiefer.  Dr. Maurer will be on center

stage roughly from 10:45 A.M. to 12:30 P.M and will speak directly to

the enormous gap that remains in respect to employment of the blind in

21st century America.  Kiefer will participate while a paper on a new

swimming

navigational aid for the blind is presented at 3:30 in the afternoon.

Another noteworthy fact is that this upcoming symposium has been

created at Notre Dame and is being administered by an ND

special professional, Dr. Essaka Joshua, who conducts and supervises

academic

research in the area of disability studies.  So this will be first and

foremost an academic conference put on by one of North America's most

prestigious institutions of higher learning.  To that end, papers about the

literary and

historical significance of blindness through the ages will be formally

presented by scholars from universities both in the USA and in Europe.

Athletically-minded attendees and parents of blind swimmers will be able to

see first-hand a brand-new, highly affordable navigational aid called

AdapTap that blind swimmers may use to keep their bearings in the often

confusing and fast-moving

environment of a swimming pool.  Attached to this message are both a flier

and a poster describing the formal part of this symposium.  These are

official promotional pieces created at Notre Dame, and both the flier and

poster are suitable for immediate handout or mounted display.  They are

accessible to blind computer users as well, if opened in any version of

Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat identified as 7.x or later, in conjunction

with either JAWS for Windows or Window-Eyes screen reading software.

In addition, there is a second aspect to the March 6 symposium, intended to

line up with the practical needs of teachers or members of the blind

community:  Following Dr. Maurer's time in the spotlight and a brief lunch

break, the afternoon will feature a technology fair that

runs concurrently with the last three paper presentations.  As a

part of that tech fair, we will present four focused seminars of

practical and educational significance to special education teachers,

vocational rehabilitation professionals, blind persons, and family members

or friends of blind persons.  The lineup for these presentations, as it

stands now, is as follows:

2:00 PM:  Select members from the leadership team of GW Micro, developers of the Window-Eyes screen reading program and distributors of the Braille Sense notetaker, the SenseNav GPS system, and the SenseView closed circuit TV, show off the benefits and new features related to their increasingly robust and popular products. 

3:00 PM:  The Sendero Group, featuring accessible GPS solutions and

other leading-edge portable technology for the blind.  Enter a drawing for a chance to win a signed copy of “Crashing Through,” the inspirational true story of Sendero’s president and adventurer-in-chief Michael May.  This book, authored by Robert Kurson, was published by Random House in 2007 and is available in Braille, CD, cassette tape, and Internet download. 

4:00 PM:  Wade Wingler of the Easter Seals Crossroads Assistive

Technology Center in Indianapolis.  Wade discusses the new INDATA

Project making technology affordable for members of the disabled

community who earn a low income and/or who do not qualify for direct

state funding assistance.

5:00 PM:  Hadley School for the Blind, based in Winnetka, Illinois.

Hadley has provided distance learning opportunities in Braille, in

large print, and now online, for nearly 90 years to blind citizens of

more than 100 countries.

In addition to the presenters listed above, we are expecting

demonstration/informational booths  to be staffed by adec Inc., Bosma

Enterprises, Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, Cross Roads-Easter Seals, Envision America, Eye Can See, GH LLC, GW Micro, Hadley School

for the Blind, the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library, the National

Federation of the Blind of Indiana, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic,

Sendero Group, the Social Security Administration, United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), among others.

Last but not least, we hope to get a sneak peek at some experimental

navigational technology not yet released to the general public that is being

developed and tested in

the nations that make up the European Union.  At least one of these

experimental devices never has been seen before in North America.  Attached

to this message is a detailed description of these and all other exhibitors

who have agreed thus far to participate.  The description is formatted so

that it should open in any version of Microsoft Word released since the year

1998.

Both the academic conference and the technology fair will be open at

no charge to the general public.  But because space in the auditorium and

demonstration rooms is limited, registration is strongly encouraged.

If you wish to attend, or if you have a question relating specifically to

the academic portion of the March 6 program, please send a message to

ejoshua at nd.edu

For more information about the technology fair portion of the afternoon's

proceedings, you are encouraged to write personally to one or both of the

co-coordinators: Kane Brolin

kbrolin65 @ gmail.com

 or Lori Miller

Lori @ asmodean.net

.

Sincerely,

Kane Brolin

Office:    (5..., Ext. 1

Mobile:   (574)386-8868
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