Shawn Kirkpatrick
Go blindly where everyone sighted has gone before.
Visually Impaired Electronic Resource
Nowadays, dial-up internet service is hardly ever used because
high-speed internet connections are faster and just as affordable.
However, in 1994, when the internet was just becoming popular to
consumers, this was not the case. At the time, I was the System
Administrator/Loan Bank Coordinator for the Western Association of
Persons with Vision Impairment (WAPVI.) I was overseeing the
distribution and maintenance of computer loan bank equipment to
provide clients with accessible computer systems. I, along with some
colleagues, decided to create an internet service provider to
provide internet access to persons who are blind or
visually-impaired for a low monthly cost.
For this project I had to learn the Linux operating system as well
as increase my knowledge of computer hardware. I also had to design
and implement an interface that was accessible to the visually
impaired.
My ability to learn ne
w programming languages quickly was very useful for this project
because I had to learn the perl programming language.
This service, although its membership has decreased, still exists
and I manage user accounts and provide technical support to meet
users’ needs
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