|
BEST PRACTICE: CYBER CAFÉ
for People with
Disabilities
|
J. Scott Strauss "chats" with Doria
and
Nick Vilocchi Jr., who are
frequent visitors to the Cyber Café. |
SPRING VALLEY, NY.
The Rockland Independent Living
Center (RILC) has a new program to help bridge the digital divide - a cyber
café. Every Friday, from 1 PM to 8 PM, consumers are welcome to stop by
the center for conversation, refreshments, and computer instruction.
Visitors receive instruction on how
to operate Personal Computers (PC's), emphasizing tips to surf the Internet,
correspond by email, and engage in chat room discussions.
RILC's home page, www.rilc.org,
makes note of the following benefits:
"Everybody's on the World Wide Web.
We use it for fun, research, learning, communication, shopping, banking and
much more. It's changing the way we do business and the way we experience our
world."
Some PC users come to the Cyber
Café to gain access to a computer with Internet capability. In President
Bush's "New Freedom Initiative," it identifies that…"Computer usage and
Internet access for people with disabilities is half that of people without
disabilities." A recent telephone survey of training needs for the centers in
Federal Regions I and II prioritized basic PC literacy as a major need.
For more information about the Cyber
Café, contact the Rockland Independent Living Center (RILC) at (845)
426-0707 Voice, (845) 426-1180 TTY, or www.rilc.org website. The center is
located at 230 North Main Street in Spring Valley, NY.
National Center on Accessibility
Conducts Outdoor Access Training
Saratoga Springs, NY - October 9,
2003.
The New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) and NYSILC co-sponsored a three-day training
conducted by the National Center of Accessibility (NCA) October 7-9, 2003. Ted
Galusha of the Glens Falls ILC and Larry Root of the Tri-Lakes CIL were among
the 44 participants. Most of those in attendance were DEC and NYS Parks and
Recreation personnel. The classroom portion of the training was held at the
Saratoga State Park facilities, while field exercises took place at Moreau
State Camp Ground. The sessions focused on accessible trails, fishing, and
docks. Playgrounds were not addressed. Carol Frasier, Access Coordinator for
DEC, invested substantial time and effort to plan and schedule the event. The
Northeast ADA & IT Center located at Cornell University helped to defray
some last minute conference costs. |
