Many underestimate the importance of training when obtaining a new
computer.  The article below describes how computer competencies are
making the difference for a group of blind people.

Kelly


Far Eastern Economic Review

TRAINING

New Vision

A new computer course using cutting-edge technology is creating more
jobs for the blind

By David Lague/HONG KONG

Issue cover-dated December 06, 2001

WHEN BLIND 30-year-old Wong Kin-kan was hired last year by Standard
Chartered Bank in Hong Kong as a project assistant, it was his first
paid job after seven years of demoralizing unemployment.

"The problem was that my computer knowledge was so poor," he says. "I
had been interviewed for five or six jobs but always failed."

What made the difference for Wong was an innovative
information-technology training programme for the blind that put him on
a competitive footing in the job market.

"From the programme, I learned how to use a computer and, the most
important thing, I had access to the Internet and e-mail," he says. "If
I can't use e-mail, there is no work, no opportunity."

With hardware and software that can instantly convert text on a screen
to Braille or even read it out loud, blind people can receive and send
e-mails, scan the morning newspapers at the same time as everyone else,
keep abreast of the latest research in their field or even download and
read a novel.

For a small team of Hong Kong educators and social workers, the
challenge was to combine this nearly decade-old technological
breakthrough with new vocational training that could get the long-term
unemployed blind into the workforce.

The team, including Baptist University Social Work Assistant Professor
Rita Kwok and two of her former students, social workers Mok Kim-wing
and Frances Cheuk Ming-lam, devised a special three-month training
programme for Wong and three other visually impaired students.

"Usually, a lot of blind people fear losing their jobs when people begin
talking about IT," says Mok who is also blind. "I disagree. IT can help
the blind regain their vision in the true sense of the word."

The idea behind the project is that a blind person with the right skills
in today's networked workplace should be just as efficient and
productive as any other employee. With a grant of about $2,600 from the
Happy Valley Rotary Club and the assistance of a former legislator,
Christine Loh, the project has paid immediate dividends--three of the
four students found work.

Take Wong. His duties with Standard Chartered include arranging travel,
accommodation and daily schedules for other staff. With his new skills
he can communicate with his colleagues by e-mail and he can
independently send and receive messages from travel agents or airlines
without assistance.

The technology that allows the blind to use computers is now well
established and readily available. The Braille display is making the
biggest impact. This $4,600 device, resembling a small keyboard,
converts a nominated section of the screen to Braille by raising and
lowering different combinations of tiny pins on the surface of the
display. The display is refreshable, that is, it changes continuously as
the user shifts around on the screen.

For the Hong Kong team, the test was to combine this technology and the
latest office computing programs with training in a way that suited the
students.

WORKING WONDERS Special instructional techniques and understanding is
required. For a start, visually impaired students are unable to use a
mouse. To move around the screen using Windows for example, students
need to learn to use the keyboard and special function keys. Jenny Ho,
the IT trainer hired for the project, had developed an understanding of
working with blind students from previous volunteer work with the
visually impaired in Hong Kong.

"It takes a special kind of trainer to teach us," says Wong. "I have
failed many courses. They always tell me, 'Click here, click here. Look
at the screen.'"

Kwok believes one of the advantages of IT for the visually impaired is
it opens a vast number of jobs that once would have been out of the
question, particularly in Asia. "It means they don't have to be phone
operators or masseurs," she says.

There is also the massive boost in confidence and self-esteem that comes
from the opportunity to work, earn an income and be independent.
Unfortunately, Kwok adds, it has been difficult to generate much
interest in the project in Hong Kong where similar programs could assist
many other visually impaired people.

"It is very straightforward and simple and doesn't cost a lot of money,"
she says. "Maybe it's too simple."

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