if you want his e mail address
here it is
he is travelling to nepal and going to stay at delhi air port for few hours
if you want to talk to him i mean any one from delhi person
Cary Supalo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
firoz
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roopakshi Pathania" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2008 3:58 PM
Subject: [AI] Biochemist introduces technologies for blind students
Cary Supalo, a blind biochemist, wants to help blind chemistry students
succeed in science.
Last Wednesday, Cary Supalo, a blind biochemist, introduced a group of
students and teachers to the tools he is developing to help visually
impaired students
succeed in chemistry.
Supalo, who graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1999 and is
currently a member of the National Federation of the Blind, said many
blind students
feel they suffer from a lack of opportunity. He questioned whether or not
the "passive approach" many teachers currently take toward blind students
in
the classroom would encourage anyone to pursue a career in science.
He recalled a time during high school when he was extremely excited to
take calculus but found out his high school was unwilling to support him.
He remembered
telling a teacher, "I am always going to be limited in what I achieve."
"That's how I truly felt in high school," he said.
As a result, Supalo is determined to "foster a more hands-on experience"
for blind students in the chemistry lab. He feels the key to making
students passionate
about a particular subject is to give them the confidence to do the work
by themselves.
He noted that blind students like to be in front of the class so they are
less distracted by noises some students would consider insignificant, such
as
"the infamous candy wrapper." In addition, students should read the lab
before class so they can "predict what they think is going to happen."
Supalo discussed several technological developments to assist blind
students in the classroom.
He introduced a program called JAWS (Job Access with Speech), designed to
convert computer text into audible speech. Supalo and his colleagues
managed
to make JAWS compatible with the various lab probes created by Vernier
Technologies. Thanks to Supalo and his team, more than 125 probes are now
able to
convert text to speech.
Supalo discussed the Submersible Audible Light Sensor, or SALS. This
device consists of a submersible sensor attached to a control box, which
contains
a speaker. The SALS allows blind students to recognize when a combination
of chemicals yields a new result. Since the student is unable to see the
reaction,
the SALS produces a certain pitch when it is submerged in liquid. When two
chemicals combine, a completely different pitch is produced due to the
change
in light content, indicating to the student a change has taken place in
real time. Supalo demonstrated the SALS to the audience, and it was clear
that
many people were impressed with the technology.
Another device showcased at the lecture was the Color Analysis Laboratory
Sensor, or CALS. Like the SALS, this device consists of a probe connected
to a
control box. The CALS identifies the values of red, green, blue and white
to tell the student the color of a specific solid or liquid. The CALS can
identify
certain shades of colors, such as "light red" (pink) or "dark blue"
(navy). It currently has a 95 percent success rate, and Supalo is working
to make it
even more accurate.
In addition to the SALS and CALS, Supalo also mentioned a new stopwatch
for blind students he helped develop. It is the only one of its kind that
allows
for accuracy up to one hundredth of a second.
Supalo told the audiences these devices could be used in a variety of
modified experiments for blind students, such as a "freezing point
depression" lab.
Supalo concluded that above all else, he wanted to "maintain a high
expectation for blind students."
"It is important to educate blind students so they feel that they really
can do this stuff," he said.
Eva Scott, a teacher in the visually impaired program at the College,
thought Supalo's presentation was "awesome."
"He's right that there are so many blind students that are easily
discouraged, and I think this is opening a lot of doors," she said.
Source:
http://media.www.signal-online.net/media/storage/paper771/news/2008/11/19/News/Biochemist.Introduces.Technologies.For.Blind.Students-3549756.shtml
To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes,
please visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please
visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
