Date of Arrival: Friday, October 18
Date of Departure: Sunday, October 27
Purpose of Visit: To investigate the possibility of the AIR Foundation’s first tablet pilot program to be launched in Columbia
Program Summary: The AIR Foundation intends to put a tablet computer in the hands of every blind child in developing countries. To start, the AIR Foundation would like to launch a pilot program in the country of Colombia. With access to tablet computers blind children will be on a level playing field with sighted counterparts. A blind child should use an off the shelf tablet for maximum integration. These devices are quite inexpensive and provide blind users access to an included screen reader with human sounding text to speech as well as Braille and text magnification. When these accessibility tools are combined with specialized gestures, the blind tablet user can navigate the tablet's installed software and also software made available to tablet users via the integrated app stores or through a custom-built app designed by the AIR Foundation.
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Goal 1: Identify Key Contacts |
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Objectives |
Status |
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Identify schools serving blind students in and around Bogota |
Completed |
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Identify nonprofit groups working with or on behalf of blind individuals |
Completed |
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Identify government and nongovernment officials directly involved with programs for persons with disabilities |
Completed |
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Identify government and nongovernment officials involved in primary and secondary education |
Completed |
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Goal 2:Understand the Beneficiaries |
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Objectives |
Status |
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Gather pertinent student demographic data: number, age, gender, and socioeconomic |
Completed |
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Understand future prospects for blind students under the status quo |
Completed |
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Meet with faculty directly involved in blind student’s classroom instruction |
Completed |
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Goal 3: Understand the Current Educational Models |
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Objectives |
Status |
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What curriculums are teachers currently following? |
Completed |
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What technology is currently used to deliver lessons? |
Completed |
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What are the greatest deficiencies in the current system? |
Completed |
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What kind of policies and initiatives govern the education of persons with disabilities? |
Completed |
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Goal 4: Logistics |
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Objectives |
Status |
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Reach a consensus on a suitable name for the pilot program |
Completed |
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Define the pool of students who will participate in the pilot program |
Completed |
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Identify key liaisons for communication between Colombia and the AIR Foundation |
Completed |
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Agree on a feasible timeline to plan, execute, and evaluate the pilot program |
Completed |
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Completed |
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