Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

Libraries for people who are blind or dyslexic are the primary source of accessible books in audio, large print or braille. But, some companies want to empty the library shelves and insist that only books that can’t be purchased are allowed to be stocked in such libraries. Bookshare was created under the Section 121 U.S.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 3, 2011

The theme of IDPD 2011 is “Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development.” This year, for the first time, IDPD is commemorated with supporting sub-themes (see the full list here ), to draw attention to key issues that come into play in the intersection of disability and development processes.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 5, 2015

Twelve years ago, the Fund made its first grant to Benetech, in support of the then newly launched Bookshare , our accessible online library for people with disabilities that get in the way of reading print, including visual impairments and dyslexia. The Lavelle Fund also supports programs benefiting the developing world.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 15, 2012

Benetech’s Bookshare library is living proof that real, transformative change happens through partnerships and by helping people unleash their talents and energies. We blew up the old approaches to converting inaccessible books into accessible equivalents. With support from the Bookshare community, we changed that reality.

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Library Student eBook Accessibility 164

Tech Soup

FEBRUARY 21, 2013

As smartphones and tablets grow in popularity, mobile optimization is something libraries and nonprofits should pay close attention to in the coming year. Why should mobile be part of libraries and nonprofits' game plan? Multiple studies have found that more people are accessing the web from a mobile device. Why Mobile?

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 17, 2014

The tools we develop for that purpose span a range of fields—from human rights , to global literacy , to the environment —but no matter what area we work in, we depend on an IP system that’s friendly to technological advances and to positive social impact. In the U.S., In the U.S.,

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Tech Soup

JANUARY 22, 2013

Of course libraries are all about education in its various forms. PowerMyLearning is a new, free online resource that has educational games, videos, and other activities for elementary, middle-school, and high school-aged students. There are now a dizzying array of online resources in this area. I think I may have a lead for you.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 23, 2014

Technology currently serves privileged groups through tools that provide access to education, literacy, health, and justice. One major step to improving security of sensitive information was the recent development and release of Mobile Martus. Our Bookshare online library is continuing to multiply its impact.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 16, 2011

The goal of the DIAGRAM R&D Center is to greatly improve access to graphical information for students with print disabilities (for example, helping blind students get access to important graphics inside textbooks). We are also building a content model for making images more accessible.

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Images Alternative Student Accessibility 194

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

The goal of the Treaty is to make a copyright exception for the blind and other people with disabilities that stop them from reading print, and to make import and export of accessible content legal. My core point: Don’t put up bureaucratic barriers to access. The biggest challenge for access is that it’s expensive.

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Copyright India Library United States 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 10, 2011

Benetech got a call recently from an excited Bookshare member who had been waiting to download our new Read2Go accessible e-book application for Apple devices. Graduate student Maria Georgakarakou, who is blind, gave us a rave review for the Read2Go app which allows those with print disabilities to listen to books in the DAISY audio format.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 3, 2013

Betsy Beaumon I recently had the honor to speak at the first-ever Braille Summit , hosted on June 19-21, 2013 by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) and Perkins School for the Blind. Guest Beneblog by Betsy Beaumon, VP and General Manager, Benetech’s Global Literacy Program. Accordingly, U.S.

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Literacy eBook Images Accessibility 208

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

Bookshare and our other Access to Literacy initiatives, including the DIAGRAM Center and Route 66 Literacy, all made big strides this year through the significant dedication of the community that makes it all happen. At the close of 2012, we are five years into our work in education and are serving over 230,000 students.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 20, 2015

She runs a for-profit social enterprise named Daproim that provides data entry services using disadvantaged students as their primary workforce. Bookshare is our large digital library for students with disabilities such as blindness or dyslexia. We go way back with her firm. and we needed more help. No problem!

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 10, 2014

However, she soon encountered the frustrating “accessible book famine” because very few books available were available in Braille. This reality changed when both Kevin and Sophia learned about the accessible online library Bookshare , an initiative of Silicon Valley technology nonprofit Benetech. Data is now a core resource.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 3, 2008

This is a guest blog from Anna Reid, an Amherst student who interned with Bookshare.org International this past summer. A related, but slightly different and less recognized issue, is the fact that people with disabilities such as blindness often have limited access to printed materials, even if they are well-educated.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 1, 2014

Treating them as customers, rather than objects of charity, promotes their sense of ownership and self-agency as they use the tools that we develop to achieve their own goals. Case in point: our accessible online library, Bookshare. Our role as technologists is to provide the tools that empower them to do so.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 10, 2014

This reality changed when Frank found out about Benetech’s Bookshare accessible digital library for people with print disabilities. Frank’s story exemplifies the life-changing power of access to information and reading. I began a reading binge. Without this service, Bookshare would not be the resource it is today.

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Tech Soup

AUGUST 14, 2013

This week we learn about the Resilient Africa Network (RAN), which is helping African students use open data for disaster relief. There is also some interesting insight into the link between open development and social impact bonds, while the data dilemma is brought to the fore. Big Data for Development.

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Data Student Open Digital 52

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 16, 2014

From people in Latin America who face severe water scarcity to at-risk human rights defenders and students with disabilities, our users and their families are the ones who best convey the impact of our work. Consider third grade student Brennan Draves. And we have even more improvements in our development pipeline.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 10, 2013

Now, as a pragmatic idealist I’ve always believed that technology could be an immense force for good in the world, but I’ve also recognized that great technology wouldn’t get developed—no matter how beneficial—if it was missing one important factor: big profits. We don’t know if the student ever gets past Chapter 1.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 8, 2011

All interested nonprofits or social enterprises will be able to leverage SocialCoding4Good by posting their open source software development projects for social change and inviting volunteers to work on them. Our members are now downloading accessible books at a rate of more than one million books per year!

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Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

JUNE 11, 2013

Stanford University lecturer Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen teaches students at Stanford about how to master philanthropy. The author of the book, Giving 2.0 , has just released all her teaching notes and syllabi, along with philanthropy library. 3) Giving 2.0:

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Giving Philanthropy Teach Student 98

Tech Soup

MARCH 26, 2013

In actuality, hackathons are events where ideas are hatched and technology needs are met — making them excellent opportunities for nonprofits, charities, and libraries! A hackathon is an event where programmers, developers, designers, and leaders come together to collaborate on an app, website, or software projects.

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Museum 2.0

AUGUST 8, 2010

Last month, I got a chance to talk with Nell Taylor, founder of the Chicago Underground Library. This combination of technical ability, neutrality, and fierce belief in freedom of expression is undervalued in society and by many existing library systems. Nell will be responding to comments on this blog and can also be reached here.

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Chicago Library Public Culture 48

Tech Soup

JUNE 27, 2017

I'd like you to meet Kerry Thomson at Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, Indiana; Lori Chidgey of Corazon Ministries in San Antonio, Texas; Betty Martin of Cape Girardeau Public Library in Missouri; and the late Rory Foster of the Northwoods Wildlife Center in Minocqua, Wisconsin. A World Where Everyone Has a Decent Place to Live.

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Tech Soup

MARCH 7, 2017

Gender equality is one of the 17 new UN Sustainable Development Goals. women became the majority of law students. The Gender Parity Index is a UNESCO measurement of access to education for both males and females. Janet Mawlyoo , executive director, Kenya Community Development Foundation. Those themes hold to this day.

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International Celebrate Technology Colombia 68

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 12, 2009

Why shouldn’t visually impaired and disabled students in the United States have easy access to the study of the languages? Why shouldn’t students in Puerto Rico benefit from our technology and services? Within these regions there are nine Service Centers for Special Education that train and service teachers and students.

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Puerto Rico United States Student Library 100

Amy Sample Ward

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

I’m in Austin, TX, today engaging with librarians, digital curators, and technologists working at the nexus of communities and knowledge at the Electronic Resources and Libraries annual conference. Libraries: The Oldest New Frontier for Innovation. You can follow along with the sessions today through Wednesday using #ERL11.

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Tech Soup

JULY 18, 2017

UNESCO views NGOs' role in fundamental economic development as crucial, especially in countries where governments are unable to adequately educate schoolchildren. They’re now to the point where each student has access to an individual computer workstation during classes. Education Is a Major Nonprofit Activity.

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Tech Soup

AUGUST 16, 2013

For schools and libraries that offer Internet as well as internal. intranet) access, AUPs are important to protect young users against. to or accessing the network. organization’s data if the user is an employee) when accessing or while. device to access your network, your AUP should address who is.

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Tech Soup

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

views NGOs' role in fundamental economic development as crucial, especially in countries where governments are unable to adequately educate schoolchildren. They’re now to the point where each student has access to an individual computer workstation during classes. Education Is a Major Nonprofit Activity.

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Brazil Map Local San Francisco 60

Tech Soup

JUNE 25, 2013

The students are generally post-high school, but have no access to further education or training. The organization focuses particularly on women and students in rural areas. Saint Anthony's Education Centre empowers underserved students with education and job training. Environment. About SANGONet.

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South Africa Africa Profile Case Study 60

Get Fully Funded

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Cloud storage: For file sharing and storage, you can start with Drive through Google Workspace, so all documents can be stored in a convenient, accessible place. Most people you work with, from students to volunteers to Board members, will already know how to use them. The Bottom Line Whew, that’s a lot of nonprofit tools!

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Tools Nonprofit Doc Google 105

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 18, 2008

The main reason for my visit to South India was the National Seminar on Print Access For All, which was organized by the dynamic Mr. Krishnaswamy. He has taken on delivering print access as his personal project after his retirement from a senior police force role. More on him later as well.

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Tech Soup

JUNE 16, 2014

By making sure all your work, important documents, and communications stay in one central place – easy to search, and easier to access. free Cloud online collaboration nonprofits libraries cloud computing' Who Is Podio for? What Does It Mean to Be Sponsored by Podio? There’s no time limit on a Citrix Podio sponsorship.

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Group Project Management Library 41

Tech Soup

OCTOBER 7, 2015

We recently invited people from three of the top product donation nonprofits to participate in a webinar about how to access donated products and services. Matthew Perdoni, Independent Sector's business development director, presented on its new IS Affinity Program. Registration for nonprofits and libraries is free.

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