AbilityNet has been working with the Connecting Bristol bid interviewing and emailing local disabled people and groups about what they would like to see in their digital future. Jo Greenwell, from AbilityNet, has been in contact with several groups and was at the Watershed Meeting on the 14th December with a range of alternative keyboards and mice. She briefly talked about the importance of the needs of disabled people being built in to the bid so that disabled people could shape their digital future.
Some issues raised so far by the people have included:
- The importance of the internet – “No internet that would hurt me”
- Broadband needs to be widely available so as to make and benefit from podcasts, mp3’s, videos and other ways of communicating
- Computers and access technology can be too expensive for people to buy
- Support is sometimes needed to overcome problems and give confidence to try out new things
- “It’s not just about physical access to computers its about who and what I can connect with”
- Web pages need to be designed with accessibility and usability in mind
If you have ideas on what you would like to see Bristol’s digital future and what tools support you need to be a part of it please email jo.greenwell@abilitynet.org.uk or write it here!
The hardware on show included the Intellikeys keyboard, which comes with different keyboard overlays to suit different users and the user can also design overlays to suit their needs. It is used in schools with different types of educational software and the keyboard can be tilted at a 45 degree angle towards the users which makes it more comfortable to use.
