Everyone knows how chic it is to use the Internet - how cool it is to be able to get the latest news about Wall Street and your favorite baseball team, all while you write some boring report.
But for people with disabilities, the latest advances in computer technology mean more than just being able to do work or track sports stats. Advances such as the development of the World Wide Web and the Internet have created personal freedoms, giving those with visual, hearing or mobility impairments a newfound sense of independence.
"For blind people, it really opened a lot of doors," said Michael Hudson, OPHS's blindness and visual impairment specialist who is also visually impaired. "Before e-mail, I'd get handwritten letters and I couldn't read them. The phone was my way of communicating," he said. "Finally, e-mail came out and we were able to use screen reader software to read our own messages. Blind people clamored for this kind of technology. It meant that physical proximities didn't matter."
Hudson has been active in developing OPHS's technology center, a microlab geared toward people with disabilities. When the room is completely remodeled and ready for use in December, students will have access to four new computers, all of which will offer adjustable-height work stations, voice input and output capabilities, large print output, and the ability to print in braille. Students will also be able to check out spell-checker equipment.
Though he speaks highly of the Information Superhighway, Hudson says the issue of accessability has crept from the real world into the virtual world.
"The newest issue in computing is accessibility," he said. "Software companies need to build accessibility into their programs. It's just like curb cuts - if you put them in while you're building roads, they're not that expensive. But if they're an afterthought, they're costly and create headaches."
By that same token, people should make their web sites accessible while they're constructing them, he said. That means avoiding an emphasis on sound or images. Microsoft Windows, for example is a visually-based environment, a huge stumbling block for the visually impaired. Even MSU's home page creates problems, Hudson said, because the text is arranged in a pattern that appeals to sighted people - not screen readers. Screen readers only read across the page. They can't easily jump around and follow sections of text blocks.
"The World Wide Web brought in pictures and sounds, and as a result, we developed a more complex way of constructing our screens. But, to a blind person, what the heck!" said Hudson. "Web page designers shouldn't present information - unless it's critical - in columns like newspapers.
But blind people aren't the only ones with a stake in this, said Hudson. If web pages become audio or visually focused, he said, the deaf computer users may not receive the messages, either.
Still, Hudson enjoys the freedom he's gained from using the Internet both at home and at work. For example, the Yahoo search engine enables him to do something many people take for granted, namely using the phone book. Yahoo has the White and Yellow pages for most cities in the U.S. on-line. As for his favorite web site, well, Hudson admits his favorite is the one that gives him the information he needs at any point in time.
"The Internet presents a huge opportunity for me personally. I used it when I was shopping for computers to use in the tech room. Historically, I would have had to have called the computer stores myself and done all my research over the phone," he said. "This has proved to be a great independence application for me. And it's awesome for people with disabilities. It eliminates the transportation problem all people with different disabilities have.
"Overall, I think it's a good thing, and I'm trying to take full advantage of it."