Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 16, 2014

SocialCoding4Good brings together individual software professionals as well as corporate social responsibility teams from companies such as Cisco, Google, Hewlett Packard, LinkedIn, and VMware to volunteer their technical skills to nonprofit partners that develop and maintain free and open source software addressing critical social problems.

Open Source 183

Open Source Africa Zimbabwe Malawi 183

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

Life is too short to throw your professional life away on stuff you don't care about. I see this hunger for meaning in most of the people I'm privileged to meet: from the college freshman to the fresh grad to the mid-career professional and the senior executive. Like many techies, I came to work on technology because I loved doing it.

Work 113

Work Social Hunger Government 113

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 28, 2014

SocialCoding4Good connects software developer professionals from companies like VMware, HP, and Google to volunteer their time and technical talent to open source social good projects at Benetech and our peers, including the Mifos Initiative , Wikimedia Foundation , Medic Mobile , and Mozilla.

Open Source 184

Open Source Literacy eBook Empowerment 184

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 7, 2011

Civil authorities, humanitarian organizations, military units with a humanitarian mission, all hopefully have well-trained and experienced professionals in positions to make these critically important decisions. Let’s call our example professional Captain Lopez.

Picture 140

Picture Data Disaster Map 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

A professional with expertise in assessing disabilities needs to certify each Bookshare member as meeting these qualifications (the copyright law in the U.S. uses the term "Competent Authority" to describe these professionals). Employ "Social Digital Rights Management" technology.

Copyright 158

Copyright Social Law Student 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 22, 2013

However, my concern today is that technology professionals have drifted over the last century away from directly applying the benefits of science and technology to the needs of all of humanity. The thrill of solving problems, of figuring something out, and bringing that understanding into the service of humanity.

Syria 196

Syria Guatemala Open Source Lecture 196

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 3, 2004

The ACM is the leading organization for computer science professionals. Patrick Ball has just been awarded the ACM's 2003 Lawler Award for humanitarian contributions using computer technology.

Open Source 278

Open Source Award Software Professional 278

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 13, 2008

Through mentors, professional networks and investor forums, ZeroDivide brings a deep knowledge of what makes a venture successful. We provide organizations with access to an ecosystem of business leaders and seasoned professionals. But access to technology is just the starting point.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco California Philanthropy Director 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 3, 2011

Free professional development for school districts across the country in order to increase utilization of Bookshare and serve as many students as possible. Our innovative approach has revolutionized the traditional library for people with print disabilities.

Impact 140

Impact Technology eBook Student 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 28, 2008

The most impressive aspect of my visit was the professionalism and pride that came through. We met many of the employees, including deaf workers, blind workers and workers with physical disabilities. The guy pictured above is a blind machinist. I also got to try out a powered wheelchair prototype. It was fun!

Picture 100

Picture Fun Job Professional 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 6, 2006

I joined another blind professor, Jagdish Chander ("Jags" to his American friends), for beers later that day, and I learned about life as a blind professional in India. Jags and I then joined a blind technical/professional couple for dinner: Dinesh and Madhu Kaushal. Jags chose to come back to India rather than stay in the U.S.

University 100

University India Spain Student 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 2, 2007

I spent most of the Clinton Global Initiative conference working with the Department of Education's special ed professionals to wrap this up, and it happened Friday afternoon: the last day of the federal government's fiscal year.

Student 100

Student United States Education Award 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 18, 2007

It's also part of the professionalization of our communications (which I'm sure long term readers will notice). Some folks are passionate about literacy and helping people with disabilities, others about human rights, and still others about the environment. So, we now have the ability to sign up for one, two or all of our project areas.

Literacy 100

Literacy Voice Linkedin Structure 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 28, 2007

Coleman, co-founder of BEA Systems, the fastest growing technology company in history, and Fruchterman, recipient of the 2006 MacArthur Genius Award, will talk about their passion for social improvement.

Change 100

Change Work University California 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 29, 2005

Working for Benetech is a rare opportunity for people in the Silicon Valley to apply their technical, managerial, professional and administrative talents to directly advancing the causes of literacy, human rights, the environment and the prevention of suffering (i.e., our landmine detector project).

Literacy 100

Literacy Environment Track Project 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 12, 2009

The inclusion and assistive technology movement of Puerto Rico is noteworthy, as illustrated by the brick and mortar formal institutions dedicated to Special Education and the informal social structures which I experienced with parent support groups, national federations, and multiple professionals working in the Special Education field.

Puerto Rico 100

Puerto Rico United States Student Library 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

But this is a critical and hopeful moment where technology and massive industry shifts make it possible to end the constant catch-up effort that limits access and dominates the day-to-day life of so many consumers and professionals.

Accessibility 155

Accessibility Global eBook Copyright 155

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 3, 2013

Many professionals argue that this decline in braille literacy has led to a literacy crisis in the American population of individuals who are blind. Data from the American Printing House for the Blind’s annual registry of legally blind students shows that in 2012 only 8.8%

Literacy 208

Literacy eBook Images Accessibility 208

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

Our team also made a dramatic investment in teacher training efforts, by not only providing several webinars each month, but also delivering our hands-on professional development workshops nationwide.

Literacy 166

Literacy Program United Arab Emirates Student 166

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 5, 2010

Make it an indispensable tool for people with disabilities, their families, educators, rehab professionals and the assistive and mainstream technology industries. The biggest enemy of a Clearinghouse is irrelevancy. Specific comments on the proposed Chairman’s Awards.

Accessibility 100

Accessibility Award Proposal Phase 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 4, 2007

She brings the printed word to students, teachers, other professionals and avid readers." "My words do not begin to tell you how significant Carrie's contributions are to blind people. Notice that it is because of Carrie's work that almost 10 percent of Bookshare's library exists. She wrote, "Please consider Carrie Karnos for this award.

Award 100

Award San Diego New York New York City 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 2, 2007

A key feature of Route 66 is the Teacher Tutor, which helps the inexpert but motivated teacher (parent, volunteer, teacher's aide, rehab professional) teach reading. Our initial focus is on serving people with cognitive disabilities who want to learn to read.

Literacy 100

Literacy San Jose Guatemala Bangladesh 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 13, 2012

The Seven Benetech Truths: Social Change Through Technology We Get Stuff Done Right Stuff Right Open Over Proprietary Partnership Over Going Alone Value Flexibility Personal and Professional Development Social Change Through Technology Benetech is about social change first and foremost. Our goal is social change at scale.

Articulate 137

Articulate Open Source Metrics Open 137

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

What if there were a website software that industry professionals could visit to discover open source organizations like Amara , FrontlineSMS , or The Guardian Project , and learn about their technical volunteer opportunities? With a seed grant from the Knight Foundation, we set out to find the answers to these questions.

Los Angeles 205

Los Angeles Mobile Impact Technology 205

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 14, 2009

I'm not the best person to advise on advocacy strategy, but I've certainly heard from the advocacy professionals that this treaty needs the support of the Obama Administration. Disability advocates have been asking me how they can help increase the chances for this effort.

Copyright 104

Copyright Proposal Audio eBook 104

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 2, 2012

Creativity Explored provides supportive studios for artists who receive individualized instruction from mentors, quality art materials, and professional opportunities to exhibit their work. You can too! The organization works with people in their 20s, to elder artists in their 80s.

Artist 158

Artist San Francisco Support Arkansas 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

Because that’s a lawsuit they are unlikely to win, and it would be a professional error to waste their client’s money attacking a library doing legal things. And then they go away. However, SOPA apparently has shoot first, ask questions later provisions.

eBook 277

eBook China Copyright Library 277

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 22, 2008

She has also made Micronesia her professional mission focus. For years she's been coming to these islands, helping health professionals and teachers better serve the blind and visually impaired children.

Micronesia 100

Micronesia Guam Children Minnesota 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 11, 2013

The Takeaway By being flexible and extending our vision to include the millions of people working in software development at for-profit technology companies, we are able to offer unique opportunities for professional and personal growth while drastically increasing the support we provide to our Project Partners.

Open Source 118

Open Source Lesson Tech Project 118

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 22, 2012

It makes me feel so professional. I shot Alisa Moore an email, and three weeks later here I am, editing children’s books that are mostly about trees and leaves. And I LOVE it! I’m so happy to have found Bookshare! It’s a great place to work and I love having a desk! John Pastorius I am from Smithfield, Virginia.

Volunteer 129

Volunteer San Francisco Team San Jose 129

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 15, 2004

They are roughly ten years old, and have begun a process of professionalization, expansion, measurement of results and building a network of replication NGOs in other public hospitals. The visit was both personally affecting and professionally interesting. Meeting very sick children and their mothers can't be experienced neutrally.

Brazil 100

Brazil NGO Children Problem 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 10, 2009

The following is the email I received from Kareem Dale in its entirety (and I have his permission to distribute it): Access to information and ideas is essential for personal and professional growth and full engagement in a democratic society. But engagement can be severely limited when information is not available in accessible formats.

Global 124

Global Paraguay Copyright United States 124