Do you ever listen to Science Fridays on NPR? This great radio show broadcasts on many public radio stations on Fridays from 11am – 1pm (PST). If you can’t listen to it live, you can also stream it from their website when it is convenient for you. Well, last week’s topic on Science Friday August…
By Emily Flynn, Program Coordinator for Ability Tools This month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Liu for our “Get to Know Your AT Advocate!” blog series. Amy is an AT Advocate at Center for Independent Living that has locations in Oakland and Berkeley. Amy has been an AT Advocate for over two years…
By Emily Flynn, Program Coordinator, Ability Tools I have been working with Ability Tools and CFILC’s Digital Access Project for about six months now and I have been really enjoying seeing the connection between the two programs. The partnership between the assistive technology (AT) that Ability Tools provides and Digital Access Project’s low-cost internet service…
By Rosemarie Punzalan, Program Coordinator for Ability Tools Do you want to borrow devices to try for free for thirty days? Below are some of the newest devices that have been recently added to the AT Exchange, on of the many free services of Ability Tools. (Computers & Related) J-Pad Joystick for iDevice This…
The field of AT is ever-changing, multifaceted and oh-so-dynamic! Sometimes it gets overwhelming to think about new and constantly evolving technology and the fact that there is always more to learn. Well, the following blog writers can help you make sense of it all, and figure out which AT could work best for you and…
by Chi Hung Luke Hsieh, Assistive Technology Advocate at Community Access Center in Riverside, CA Amazon announced its latest big idea last month: The Amazon Echo. The Echo is essentially a hands-free, voice activated Bluetooth speaker connected with wifi and to the cloud with a processing chip and 7 microphones. For more detailed information, visit…
by Christina Mills, Deputy Director of CFILC I’ve been around a number of people with all sorts of different disabilities. When I served on the State Independent Living Council, I had a colleague, Loretta Moore, who was blind. Loretta became a dear friend of mine. Loretta and I both lived in San Diego and since…
by Justin Harford Yesterday, June 3, 2014, I cast my first ballot independently as someone who is blind, using an electronic voting machine at my local polling place. This experience brought me a lot of satisfaction both because I was participating in the electoral process as a good citizen who had done their homework,…
By Rhett Simmons of West Coast Captioning Assistive Technology (AT) has been a major part of my life for the last 23 years. In 1991, I started using AT to provide captioning services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. In case you don’t know, captioning is the black box with words in it…
by Nubyaan Scott, Program Coordinator Joe Xavier is the newly appointed Director of the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR). He recently took some time to talk with us about his background, hopes for the future, and his thoughts on Assistive Technology (AT). Take a few minutes to get to know Joe; we’re sure you’ll find it…