Please help me become a Digital Hero!
Hi, in case you're in a hurry and already know about this the voting link is:
If you're not already registered and signed in with Digital Heroes (and you probably aren't) this link will take you to a sign in or register page. You need to sign in either via Facebook or to register via your email address. TalkTalk state that this information will be used only for Digital Heroes voting. I'm in the Skills category, which is reached by clicking on the four hands in a red circle icon at left of screen. Sorry, they've not made it terribly easy for people with sight loss :(
If you have time, please read on.
TalkTalk is a major UK telecoms company and offers these awards annually.
You may know that I'm registered blind and a passionate proponent of the life-changing benefits of smartphone and tablet technology for blind and partially sighted people. Vista, the wonderful Leicestershire and Rutland sight loss charity which I used to chair, has nominated me for a TalkTalk Digital Heroes Award. We've been shortlisted and public voting is now open. I'd be very grateful if you can help Vista and me to win this award so we can do much more work to transform the lives of blind and partially sighted people through technology. Please vote for me if you like our project and please consider spreading the message to your friends.
I'm providing training and, where necessary, Vista is providing equipment to blind and partially sighted people to help improve their lives through smartphone and tablet technology. The excellent accessibility of iPhones and iPad to people with poor or no sight is amazing and you may be astonished at just how many useful day to day tasks can be accomplished with these devices.
It's not just being able to send and receive emails and participate fully in social networks like Facebook and Twitter. These devices can speak printed letters and magazines, recognise items by barcodes, act as magnifiers, work like Satnavs for walkers, speak the colour of clothing - the list is endless. But most people with sight loss need substantial one-to-one training before they're ready to reap the benefits of the equipment and that's just what I'm doing. I'm building a website of training materials at bit.ly/blindios, and in the medium term, I'm planning to build a team of trainers and maybe some of the people I've trained will be able to join that team. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Here are quotes that we've prepared for the media.
“Through Vista’s bursary scheme we meet visually impaired people from all walks of life looking for assistive technology to improve their circumstances. I’m able to talk through the equipment and ensure it gets maximum use. As a visually impaired person I understand how important it is to have the skills and confidence to use it properly.
“When people lose their sight they can often feel isolated and cut off from the world. If I was fortunate enough to win, the prize money would be used to help as many visually impaired people as possible through Vista, to feel digitally included, across Leicestershire and Rutland.”
If you have read this far and want to vote, here's the link again! I'll be posting on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Instagram too, so please retweet my tweets and share on other social networks with your followers if you like this project.
(voting closes 8 September 2015)
Thanks so much for your interest.
Please help me become a Digital Hero!
Hi, in case you're in a hurry and already know about this the voting link is:
If you're not already registered and signed in with Digital Heroes (and you probably aren't) this link will take you to a sign in or register page. You need to sign in either via Facebook or to register via your email address. TalkTalk state that this information will be used only for Digital Heroes voting. I'm in the Skills category, which is reached by clicking on the four hands in a red circle icon at left of screen. Sorry, they've not made it terribly easy for people with sight loss :(
If you have time, please read on.
TalkTalk is a major UK telecoms company and offers these awards annually.
You may know that I'm registered blind and a passionate proponent of the life-changing benefits of smartphone and tablet technology for blind and partially sighted people. Vista, the wonderful Leicestershire and Rutland sight loss charity which I used to chair, has nominated me for a TalkTalk Digital Heroes Award. We've been shortlisted and public voting is now open. I'd be very grateful if you can help Vista and me to win this award so we can do much more work to transform the lives of blind and partially sighted people through technology. Please vote for me if you like our project and please consider spreading the message to your friends.
I'm providing training and, where necessary, Vista is providing equipment to blind and partially sighted people to help improve their lives through smartphone and tablet technology. The excellent accessibility of iPhones and iPad to people with poor or no sight is amazing and you may be astonished at just how many useful day to day tasks can be accomplished with these devices.
It's not just being able to send and receive emails and participate fully in social networks like Facebook and Twitter. These devices can speak printed letters and magazines, recognise items by barcodes, act as magnifiers, work like Satnavs for walkers, speak the colour of clothing - the list is endless. But most people with sight loss need substantial one-to-one training before they're ready to reap the benefits of the equipment and that's just what I'm doing. I'm building a website of training materials at bit.ly/blindios, and in the medium term, I'm planning to build a team of trainers and maybe some of the people I've trained will be able to join that team. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Here are quotes that we've prepared for the media.
“Through Vista’s bursary scheme we meet visually impaired people from all walks of life looking for assistive technology to improve their circumstances. I’m able to talk through the equipment and ensure it gets maximum use. As a visually impaired person I understand how important it is to have the skills and confidence to use it properly.
“When people lose their sight they can often feel isolated and cut off from the world. If I was fortunate enough to win, the prize money would be used to help as many visually impaired people as possible through Vista, to feel digitally included, across Leicestershire and Rutland.”
If you have read this far and want to vote, here's the link again! I'll be posting on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Instagram too, so please retweet my tweets and share on other social networks with your followers if you like this project.
(voting closes 8 September 2015)
Thanks so much for your interest.