Hi Dominique, all,
I have copied and pasted below and it reads fine now. You have just
inadvertently given me a tip to copy and paste other articles first for
me to read
for my blind media news group, easier that way, thanks, enjoy article.
Apple engineer Jordyn Castor has never been one for limitations.
She was born 15 weeks early, weighing just under two pounds. Her
grandfather could hold her in the palm of his hand, and could even slide
his wedding ring
along her arm and over her shoulder. Doctors said she had a slim chance
of survival.
It was Castor's first brush with limited expectations — and also the
first time she shattered them.
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Castor, now 22, has been blind since birth, a result of her early
delivery. But throughout childhood, her parents encouraged her to defy
expectations of
people with disabilities, motivating her to be adventurous, hands-on and
insatiably curious.
It was that spirit that led to her interact with technology, whether it
was the desktop computer her family bought when she was in second grade,
or the
classroom computer teachers encouraged her to use in school.
block quote
"I could help make technology more accessible for blind users."
block quote end
She says the adults in her life would often hand her a gadget, telling
her to figure it out and show them how to use it. And she would.
"I realized then I could code on the computer to have it fulfill the
tasks I wanted it to," says Castor, whose current work focuses on
enhancing features
like VoiceOver for blind Apple users. "I came to realize that with my
knowledge of computers and technology, I could help change the world for
people with
disabilities.
"I could help make technology more accessible for blind users."
Bringing a personal perspective to Apple innovation
There's an often overlooked component of "diversity" in workplace
initiatives — the need to include the perspectives of people with
disabilities.
Keeping tabs on the needs of the blind and low-vision community is a key
component of Apple's innovation in accessibility. Castor is proof of how
much
that can strengthen a company.
She was a college student at Michigan State University when she was
first introduced to Apple at a Minneapolis job fair in 2015. Castor went
to the gathering
of employers, already knowing the tech giant would be there — and she
was nervous.
"You aren't going to know unless you try," she thought. "You aren't
going to know unless you talk to them ... so go."
group start Apple engineer Jordyn Castor poses for a headshot. Castor is
a driving force behind accessibility of Apple products, especially for
blind users.
Apple engineer Jordyn Castor poses for a headshot. Castor is a driving
force behind accessibility of Apple products, especially for blind users.
Image: Provided by Apple and Jordyn Castor
group end
Castor told Apple reps how amazed she was by the iPad she received as a
gift for her 17th birthday just a few years earlier. It raised her
passion for
tech to another level — mainly due to the iPad's immediate accessibility.
"Everything just worked and was accessible just right out of the box,"
Castor tells Mashable. "That was something I had never experienced before."
block quote
"I'm directly impacting the lives of the blind community."
block quote end
Sarah Herrlinger, senior manager for global accessibility policy and
initiatives at Apple, says a notable part of the company's steps toward
accessibility
is its dedication to making inclusivity features standard, not
specialized. This allows those features to be dually accessible — both
for getting the tech
to more users, as well as keeping down costs.
"[These features] show up on your device, regardless of if you are
someone who needs them," Herrlinger tells Mashable. "By being built-in,
they are also
free. Historically, for the blind and visually impaired community, there
are additional things you have to buy or things that you have to do to
be able
to use technology."
At that job fair in 2015, Castor's passion for accessibility and Apple
was evident. She was soon hired as an intern focusing on VoiceOver
accessibility.
As her internship came to a close, Castor's skills as an engineer and
advocate for tech accessibility were too commanding to let go. She was
hired full-time
as an engineer on the accessibility design and quality team — a group of
people Castor describes as "passionate" and "dedicated."
"I'm directly impacting the lives of the blind community," she says of
her work. "It's incredible."
Innovation with blind users in mind
Increased accessibility for all users is one of Apple's driving values,
under the
mantra
"inclusion inspires innovation."
Herrlinger says the company loves what it makes, and wants what it makes
to be available to everyone. She describes the need to continuously
innovate with
accessibility in mind as part of Apple's DNA.
"Accessibility is something that is never-ending," Herrlinger says. "It
isn't something where you just do it once, check that box and then move
on to do
other things."
And it's a dedication that isn't going unnoticed by the blind community.
On July 4, Apple was the recipient of the American Council of the Blind's
Robert S. Bray Award
for the company's
strides in accessibility
and continued dedication to inclusion-based innovation for blind users.
group start Sarah Herrlinger, senior manager for global accessibility
policy and initiatives at Apple, and Eric Bridges, executive director of
the American
Council of the Blind (ACB), pose with the Robert S. Bray award at ACB's
national conference on July 4, 2016.
Sarah Herrlinger, senior manager for global accessibility policy and
initiatives at Apple, and Eric Bridges, executive director of the
American Council
of the Blind (ACB), pose with the Robert S. Bray award at ACB's national
conference on July 4, 2016.
Image: PRovided by Apple and ACB
group end
The company, for example, made the first touchscreen device accessible
to the blind via VoiceOver. Recent announcements of Siri
coming to Mac
this fall, and of newer innovations, like a magnifying glass feature for
low-vision users, have continued the promise of improving the Apple
experience
for those who are blind and low vision.
"The fact that we take the time to innovate in these ways is something
new and different," Herrlinger says. "It was not the expected thing in
the tech
community."
block quote
"[Accessibility] isn't something where you just do it once, check that
box and then move on to do other things."
block quote end
Often, the success of such innovations depends on the input of the
community — and employees like Castor provide irreplaceable first-hand
insight into
the tech experience for blind individuals.
The most recent example of community-driven innovation can be found on
the Apple Watch. During a meeting, Herrlinger explains, a person who
sees could
easily peer down at their watch to keep an eye on the clock. A person
who is blind, however, hasn't had a way to tell time without VoiceOver.
After confronting the conundrum, Apple solved the issue by making a
feature that tells time through vibrations. The addition, Herrlinger
says, is coming
to
watchOS 3
this fall.
High-tech meets low-tech
Castor says her own success — and her career — hinges on two things:
technology and Braille. That may sound strange to many people, even to
some who are
blind and visually impaired. Braille and new tech are
often depicted
as at odds with one another, with Braille literacy rates decreasing as
the presence of tech increases.
But many activists
argue
that Braille literacy is the key to employment and stable livelihood for
blind individuals. With more than
70% of blind people
lacking employment, the majority of those who are employed — an
estimated 80% — have something in common: They read Braille.
block quote
"Braille allows me to know what the code feels like."
block quote end
For Castor, Braille is crucial to her innovative work at Apple — and she
insists tech is complementary to Braille, not a replacement.
"I use a Braille display every time I write a piece of code," she says.
"Braille allows me to know what the code feels like."
In coding, she uses a combination of Nemeth Braille — or "math Braille"
— and Alphabetic Braille. Castor even says that with the heavy presence
of tech
in her life, she still prefers to read meeting agendas in Braille.
"I can see grammar. I can see punctuation. I can see how things are
spelled and how things are written out," she says.
The technologies that Apple creates support her love of Braille, too —
there are various modifications, like
Braille displays
that can to plug into devices, to help her code and communicate. But
Castor also often forgoes Braille displays, solely using VoiceOver to
navigate her
devices and read screens.
group start A Braille display like this one, which is compatible with
Apple products, allows blind users to navigate technology using Braille
commands.
A Braille display like this one, which is compatible with Apple
products, allows blind users to navigate technology using Braille commands.
Image: PRovided by Apple
group end
That autonomy of choice in accessibility, Apple says, is intentional.
The company believes that the ability to choose — to have several tools
at a user's
disposal, whenever they want them — is key to its accessibility values.
Giving back to the community
Last week, Castor attended a conference hosted by the
National Federation of the Blind,
where she gave a speech telling her story. She says the impact that
Apple has had on the blind community was extremely clear as soon as she
stepped into
the conference hall — just by listening to what was going on around her.
"When I walk through the convention, I hear VoiceOver everywhere," she
says. "Being able to give back through something that so many people use
is amazing."
Castor was recently able to use her presence and perspective at Apple to
give back to a part of the community she's especially passionate about —
the next
generation of engineers.
She was a driving force behind accessibility on Apple's soon-to-be released
Swift Playgrounds,
an intro-to-coding program geared toward children. She's been working to
make the program accessible to blind children, who have been waiting a
long time
for the tool, she says.
"I would constantly get Facebook messages from so many parents of blind
children, saying, 'My child wants to code so badly. Do you know of a way
that they
can do that?'" Castor says. "Now, when it's released, I can say,
'Absolutely, absolutely they can start coding.'"
group start Promotional materials for Swift Playgrounds show how the
program will work when released in fall. Users will code commands to
make a character
move throughout puzzle-like challenges. The program will use VoiceOver
to be accessible to blind children.
Promotional materials for Swift Playgrounds show how the program will
work when released in fall. Users will code commands to make a character
move throughout
puzzle-like challenges. The program will use VoiceOver to be accessible
to blind children.
Image: Provided by Apple
group end
Castor says working on Swift Playgrounds has been an empowering
experience, and her team has deeply valued her perspective on the
VoiceOver experience
for blind users.
block quote
"[Blindness] does not define you or what you can do in life."
block quote end
She says the task-based, interactive app would have made a massive
impact on her as a child. The program is, after all, a guided way of
taking tech and
figuring out what makes it tick — a virtual version of the hands-on
curiosity adults instilled in her as a child.
"It will allow children to dive into code," she says of the program.
"They can use Swift Playgrounds right away out of the box; no
modifications. Just
turn on VoiceOver and be able to start coding."
As someone who was always encouraged to challenge expectations, Castor
says she has one simple message for the next generation of blind coders,
like the
children who will sit down with Swift Playgrounds in the fall.
"Blindness does not define you," she says. "It's part of who you are as
a person, as a characteristic — but it does not define you or what you
can do in
life."
article end
http://mashable.com/2016/07/10/apple-innovation-blind-engineer/#GT0vPkRTiOqu
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