[laptop-accessibility] Introduction

[Kevin Cole]

[Reposted from a post to the Sugar list earlier today. -- KJC]

Hi,

I'm new to this list, but Ivan Krstic suggested this was the group I'd want.

I'm at Gallaudet University, which some of you may not know is the
only accredited liberal arts university for deaf students in the
world.  We're 70% federally funded and in return for that funding, are
supposed to serve as a model for deaf education in the US.  We're also
supposed to provide statistics on the demographics of deaf children
and youth, as well as data on their academic performance.  We have a
primary school and a secondary school for deaf students on the same
plot of land as the university.

And, we have an international outreach arm.  Which brings me to the
obvious: Deaf kids in developing countries often have no access to a
traditional education and may not even attend school while their
hearing peers do.

A low-cost, low-power laptop with a built-in webcam and a somewhat
iconic interface offers some interesting possibilities for folks whose
primary means of communication is via sign language.

I'm beginning to generate some interest on campus in the XO, and will
be hosting the next meeting of the OLPC Learning Club of DC when I get
back from PyCon 2008 (Chicago).  With any luck, some of the people on
campus who claim to be interested in improving deaf ed outside the US
will attend.

P.S. On the off-chance that some of you are in the DC area and unaware
of the OLPC Learning Club of DC, you can find them (along with
directions to the upcoming meeting) at http://olpclearningclub.org/

-- 
 Kevin Cole                    |  Key ID: 0xE6F332C7   (GPG/PGP)
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