Hi,

VICS is the acronym used for the Irish "visually impaired computer
society".  I think the message forwarded below will be of interest to
some on this list.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gus Dorrington" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 8:21 PM
Subject: [vics] Microsoft Office User Specialist Program


Microsoft Office User Specialist Program



      About MOUS
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      IC3
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       About MOUS
             Press Room
             Irish Blind Students are First students Worldwide to
Receive MOUS Accreditation

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

      Microsoft Office User Specialist iQcenter

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
      3rd July 2002
      Irish Blind Students are First students Worldwide to Receive MOUS
Accreditation
      First in Ireland Covering All Ranges of Disability to Achieve Top
Percentile Scores in MOUS Exams.
      Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday July 3, 2002...Four students at
Coláiste Íde College of further education Finglas are the first blind or
partially sighted students worldwide to receive MOUS (Microsoft Office
User Specialist) accreditation. This unique course has been developed in
association with Colaiste Ide the National Council for the Blind
Ireland, Visually Impaired Computer Society and the Irish Wheelchair
Association Ireland.

      In 2001, Mary McNally, a Course Tutor in Technical Support at
Coláiste Íde CDVEC College of Further Education was asked to develop a
course which would enable blind or partially sighted students to pursue
the same computer courses as able-bodied students. After extensive
research, McNally developed a unique package for blind students based on
the integration of the screen reader JAWS (Job Access with Speech) with
shortcuts keys from Microsoft Word. By integrating both languages blind
students are now able to utilize a computer system to the same degree as
an able bodied person.

      McNally has also created a course for partially sighted students
combining a version of Zoomtext and Microsoft Word. Both these software
developments have enabled partial sighted and blind students to sit the
same exams as able-bodied students this year. All completed the
following exams: FETAC Customer Service Level 2, FETAC Communications
Level 2, FETAC PC Maintenance Level 1 and Personal Development FIT
Fastrack to Information Technology and in fact all achieved merits and
distinctions with four students going on to do the MOUS Exam in the
accredited IT centre at Whitehall College.

      "The most important thing for blind students is to learn to
visualize the screen," said McNally. "Therefore, computer training
starts off with keyboard familiarisation. Only then do they make the
jump to Microsoft Windows, which is very difficult for the blind at
first. Speech access software also enables them to learn typing and all
areas of the Microsoft Office Suite, which includes Word, Excel Access,
PowerPoint, File Management and the Internet.

      "The new course was an immense challenge for the students
concerned but has opened up a whole new world to them," says McNally.
Traditionally, blind students have been channelled into positions such
as switchboard operators in the workplace. Our graduates are now
equipped for positions in Technical Support, Business Administration or
they can go on to 3rd level education in IT."

      "Technology is always changing and new applications are constantly
being developed," adds McNally. "We want to produce graduates who can
cope with this change. At Colaiste Ide, we teach students the
fundamental concepts underlying what they are doing so that they can use
this information to reason their way out of problems and figure out the
new software they will encounter in the future. Our objective was to
hopefully change direction for our students and I think we have achieved
that."

      The four students who attended the first blind MOUS accreditation
course at Coláiste Íde were between 30 and 55 yrs. Two were partially
sighted and achieved a result of 100% each. The two blind students
received results of 85% and 88%.

      About MOUS

      The MOUS Program is Microsoft's official desktop certification
Program, aimed at increasing customer productivity and measuring and
validating users' skills within the Microsoft Office suite of desktop
applications. Deployed throughout more than 4000 testing centres around
the world, MOUS enables individuals to prove their knowledge of
Microsoft Office and employers to ensure a return on their investment
and a reduction in their support costs.

      Each exam is a qualification in its own right and MOUS
certification is available in Core and Expert level for Word and Excel
and only Core level in PowerPoint, Access and Outlook in Office 2000 and
Office XP. Master certification is available for those wishing to
demonstrate the breadth of their ability across five Microsoft Office
applications, including Word Expert, Excel Expert, PowerPoint, Access
and Outlook.

      Additional information on the MOUS Certification Program can be
found at www.mous.ie or 00353-1-2360423

      About Coláiste Íde

      Coláiste Íde focuses on PLC and further education provision within
the Finglas and North West area and has been involved with Second Chance
Education for more than 10 years. Since 1989 over 1000 mature students
have availed of the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme. The
Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) is an initiative whereby
unemployed adults can return to full-time study and retain all their
social welfare payments.

      For more information, please contact:

      Niamh O'Neill Prodigy (01) 2360423

      Jillian Godsil PRG (055) 294 55




     © Prodigy 2002
        Microsoft and the Microsoft Office logo are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
      One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052
      Developed by Crestnorth Limited



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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