Inspirational Video

 

Inspirational Video

 

 

 

 

 

I chose this video because I found this to be a truly inspiring journey of how technology has played such an amazing part in this man's life and for all blind people. Technology has given opportunities for the blind to read and to be like everybody else. I love to get lost into a book and I thoroughly enjoy reading I find it so peaceful. Technology and inventors have come together and have provided the equipment now for blind people. Iphone's and laptops are more accessible to the blind, there are talking books on cd's for blind people to listen to stories. Which is brilliant for the education systems today.

Ron McCallum was born in 1948, after he was born he became blind it was a rare condition that he had through being born premature. Even though he is blind he still became an academic and a lawyer.

This video was very moving and inspirational as he talks about being blind and how he loves to read.

'I love stories, I want to read' 

 Through technology he was able to become a confident academic and a fine reader.

He learnt braille at the age of 5 and in high school he had his first ever Phillips Tape Recorder. This gave him the ability to let family and friends record material for him and then he could play it back on his tape recorder as many times as he needed. The technology of tape recorders were everything to him and he used them for 25 years during his career.

 He talked about his first blind computer called the 'keynotegold84k' which was invented by Russell Smith. This computer had cost him $4,000 dollars back in 1987.  The computer had a speech synthesiser which gave him the ability to read back what he typed. This aided him with his social lifestyle and also with his job.  

'This allowed me to enter the computer world'

Machines were invented in 1989 where Ron could scan books and the machine would talk back to him. Now instead of a machine technology has developed rapidly, that he now has JAWS (job, access with speech) programme on his Iphone and Laptop. This gives him the ability to browse the Internet and the programme will read out to him information from the internet.

Technology has it's bad points but I am truly touched by how technology has effected this man's life, technology has helped the blind in so many ways.