access

by Meredith Aalto Few will argue that one of today’s greatest assets is the ability to access the Internet. We get so much information from it, but not everyone is able to own a computer. What are a person’s options if s/he doesn’t have a computer? How can a person get access to the Internet or even basic software programs? …read more

by Shannon McCue I think we all can agree that access to information technology is important. As a member of the CTC VISTA Project, I gained a lot of insight into a variety of Community Technology Centers and was able to become broadly familiar with the field of Information Technology Accessibility. As my fellow VISTA’s were working on projects that helped low-income youth, ethnic groups, etc. gain access to technology, I was thinking, hey what about people with disabilities? As a person with a disability I know how it feels to be left out for this reason. Fortunately, when it comes to accessing technology, I don’t have any problems, but there are a lot of people that do. For instance, what if a person who is blind doesn’t have access to a computer and needs to use the Internet? What if a person with mobility impairment does not have the dexterity to use a mouse or keyboard? What will happen to our generation’s access to information technology as we start to get older? These are issues that need to be addressed. Luckily, we are finding answers to these questions, but you have to know where to look. Organizations like the Alliance for Technology Access along with CTCNET have partnered up for initiatives like the Connections for All Project (C4All), and they are addressing some of these very same issues. After I completed my year and a half as a CTC VISTA at the University of Massachusetts/Boston, I received a fellowship at the Institute for Community Inclusion, which is also affiliated with UMass/Boston. I had to come up with a project that had to do with increasing awareness and services to people with disabilities, which I have one year to work on. My project is about Accessible Community Technology Centers (CTC) in Massachusetts, and I’m mostly concentrating on neighborhood centers and computer centers within housing developments. I will be contacting and meeting with these centers to assess whether their facilities, programs, and communications are accessible for people with disabilities. …read more