A special visit to New College Worcester
On Tuesday 11th January members of the Optelec team had the absolute pleasure of visiting the students at New College Worcester. New College Worcester is a boarding and day secondary school for children who are blind or partially sighted, also accepting students with additional needs such as hearing impairments, autism or limited mobility.
At Optelec we are always interested in opening minds to the possibilities that assistive technology can bring to anyone with a visual impairment. At the top of this list are our young generation of blind and partially sighted children, who have their whole lives ahead of them and so much to look forward to, especially with the exponential improvement in assistive tech. Across the board the current generation of young people seem to be technology enthusiasts, and the students at New College are no different. We were greeted by the excited buzz we expected, which only grew as we began to showcase some of our technology.
Image shows some students playing with a tablet shape electronic magnifier
As part of the curriculum at New College Worcester students learn how to use a range of different speech software to suit their differing experiences and preferences. But we were able to bring a few new pieces of technology to really make an impression. Among the line-up of assistive tech on show were: the sophisticated smart camera OrCam READ, which uses AI to instantly read any printed or digital text; the powerful HD desktop magnifier, the DaVinci Pro; and some of our versatile Optelec Tablets.
It was fantastic to meet such a bright group of young techies, and we hope that during our short visit we sparked a few imaginations. After all, assistive technology can play an important role in securing independent, happy and productive lives for the students of today and as they grow up and blossom into adulthood. If they can enjoy their hobbies and passions and move towards successful career prospects assisted by our technology, then our vision has truly come to life.
Image shows a student with her hands under an electronic magnifier