DO-IT stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology and is an organization headquartered at the University of Washington which supports teens and adults who are blind as they enter into high-tech fields. Sheryl Burgstahler, Director of Accessible Technology Services at the University of Washington, and Mamoru Iwabuchi from the University of Tokyo explain more about the program and how it benefits blind teens and adults. Blind Bargains audio coverage of CSUN 2014 is generously sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind.
Transcript
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Hide transcriptDirect from San Diego, it’s BlindBargains.com coverage of CSUN 2014. The biggest names, provocative interviews, and wall-to-wall exhibit hall coverage, brought to you by the American Foundation for the Blind.
For the latest technology news and accessibility information on cell phones, mainstream and access technology, personal medical devices, office equipment, digital audio players, and web-based and app technologies, log onto AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind’s monthly technology magazine, www.afb.org/aw.
Now, here’s J.J. Meddaugh.
J.J.: We’re here at CSUN 2014 with Sheryl Burgstahler from the University of Washington, the Director of Assistive Technology Projects. Was that close enough to your title? Wow.
SB: Sure.
J.J.: And also Mamoru from the University of Tokyo. All of this, we’re here talking about DO-IT. Welcome to Blind Bargains. Go ahead and tell us, Sheryl, a little bit about DO-IT and why you’re here.
SB: Yeah. Well, I direct Accessible Technology Services at the University of Washington in Seattle, but part of that role is directing the DO-IT Center, and DO-IT stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology. We in the DO-IT program help teenagers with disabilities move on to college and careers, particularly in high tech fields, and use technology as an empowering tool. But we also work with faculty members to help them be prepared to work with students with disabilities and technology companies and so forth.
J.J.: So what are some examples of how do you do that?
SB: Well, for teenagers with disabilities, we have what’s called the DO-IT Scholars program, and it’s a competitive program, so students apply to get in, and about 20 students a year, all from Washington state, come live in the dormitories at the University of Washington. They have all types of disabilities, and we’re working on helping them be successful. They get to communicate with faculty members and learn about self-determination and use technology, learn how to live in the dorm and just basically move on to adult life. And we have different types of disabilities because we’re creating leaders in the next generation, and so we want these students to not just know about their own disability, but to be an advocate for people with other kinds of disabilities.
J.J.: So what types of activities go on during the program?
SB: Well, we have a computer lab, and there’s a lot of assistive technology in there, of course, for the students. And they’ll do some web searches, maybe on careers or different science topics or whatever. They’ll have some science labs where they go in hands on with regular faculty members at the University of Washington and learn how to do that and to accommodate their disability, and they do field trips like the Pacific Science Center. So they have a lot of fun, and to Microsoft, and when they’re at Microsoft, which is a big highlight of the trip, there’s a panel of people with disabilities who work at Microsoft sharing their experiences and what it’s like to work at a large technology company. So they just do a lot of different things, and last night they had a dance.
J.J.: Always fun.
SB: Yes, that’s the way we put the crowning touch on it.
J.J.: Absolutely. So after the high school program, you said you also help people transition, so what might someone use your services for after high school?
SB: They do a lot of communication online. They come to multiple summer programs. The third year they come, the ones that come are interns in the program, so they get that work experience. But they’re communicating online, and as they get older, they’re sharing their experiences with the younger scholars, so they’ll share – we just had a conversation going actually today and yesterday on a student that had a difficult time with a faculty member at a university who disclosed their disability and made it very uncomfortable in the class, and she shared that. The group gave ideas of what she should do, and she ended up talking to the faculty member and had a very positive outcome from all that. So what started as a problem ended up to be a positive outcome. so they share those experiences. And then we’ll tell them on the list about internships and other things they might want to participate in.
J.J.: It’s kind of like the never-ending mentoring, right?
SB: Exactly.
J.J.: People sharing information with other people and older helping younger. Sometimes younger helping older.
SB: Exactly, yeah. It’s just very much a big mentoring environment. We started to DO-IT in 1993, our first summer program, so we have well over 300 participants that are still actively involved in the community at different levels. And you’re right, some of the younger students end up mentoring the older ones.
J.J.: Sure. So benefits for those – I’m sure we have lots of listeners outside of the state of Washington – how might they benefit here?
SB: Actually, outside of the state of Washington, they can join what we call our DO-IT Pals Program, and that’s for any teenager who has a disability and is interested in pursuing college. There’s no cost to it; they can join our online community and engage with the DO-IT Scholars and DO-IT Pals and the staff, and we’ll share resources and so forth and make friends. It’s pretty cool.
J.J.: Sure. It’s pretty much like an online social network, but a little more focused on…
SB: Yes, yes, very much.
J.J.: Right, sure. Now, beyond the activities here at U of W, you also have a program going on in Japan as well?
SB: Yeah. Mamoru can talk about that.
J.J.: Sure.
M: Yeah, we started the same program called DO-IT Japan in 2007. Before that, I had a chance to live in Seattle for a year to learn how to organize that program as well.
J.J.: The same types of activities, you have the teen program there?
M: Pretty much the same, yeah.
J.J.: Except you don’t do a field trip to Microsoft, probably.
M: We do, actually.
J.J.: Oh, you do? So there’s offices out there too?
M: They visit Microsoft Japan.
J.J.: Oh, perfect, perfect.
M: We also work with other companies, like Fujitsu and other companies.
J.J.: Has there been any collaboration between the two programs as far as any connections yet?
SB: Yeah, when Momoro [sp] started his program in Japan, we found some funding to send to participants, to DO-IT scholars from the University of Washington program over to Japan to help them get started, to share their experiences in the United States, and then Momoro [sp] and his colleagues have brought students, DO-IT scholars from Japan over to the United States, and they’ve met some of the scholars and ambassadors within that DO-IT community in Seattle and beyond.
J.J.: In addition, for older blind people or those perhaps looking for employment, do you usually hire for the summer programs to try to be as mentors?
SB: We do hire some part-timers in the summer program, but probably the best way to get involved with DO-IT is to be a DO-IT mentor. As I mentioned, some of the scholars, as they grow up, they become mentors, but we also accept adults who have disabilities or work with people with disabilities to be mentors as well.
J.J.: And what would a mentor do? What might be the time commitments?
SB: There’s no large time commitment because it’s all online, and it’s a group format, so it’s not one-on-one where you have to say you have to spend time with this particular student. Some mentors spend a lot of time in the online community, giving advice, receiving advice, making comments, whatever, and others just kind of chime in every once in awhile when it’s a topic of interest to them. So we really let people contribute at the level that they want to contribute at.
What we’re looking for in a mentor is someone that wants to share their experiences and give advice to young people who have disabilities, maybe even share resources that they hear about, and that they find that fun to do, and they join with a very large group of people with disabilities.
J.J.: Do you have a vetting process for mentors?
SB: There’s an application form, and they have to – it’s on our website, so if they do a Google search or if they go to the DO-IT website, which is DO-IT, they can search under “Mentor” and they’ll get the application form. And there is a vetting; it’s not real complicated, but they have to give references, and we do a criminal background check. That’s about it. And they have to answer some questions like why they want to mentor younger people. That’s mainly to make sure that they know what they’re getting themselves into.
J.J.: Sure, that makes sense. Go ahead and give your contact information if people want to get a hold of DO-IT or learn more information.
SB: Yeah, www.uw.edu/doit, and if you click on “International,” if you go to the DO-IT website, you can get connected to the DO-IT program in Japan, but we also have one in Malaysia and some efforts in South Korea.
J.J.: Oh, great. Are you working on expanding into other countries as well, or other places in the U.S. as well?
SB: In the United States, people have adopted parts of DO-IT in different formats. No one has fully adopted the program like Japan.
J.J.: Sure. Is that something you would like to see happen at some point?
SB: Sure, sure. We share resources. On that same International page, there’s a connection to a document which is called “Replication and Adaptation of DO-IT Practices,” and that’s where we’re sharing with other countries, but even in the United States, some of the things we do.
J.J.: Hey, thank you both for being on the podcast.
M: Thank you.
SB: Yeah, thanks for stopping by our booth.
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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.
