| Welcome to Virtual Vision Technologies Since 1991, your source for disability access solutions that work. Virtual Vision Technologies is a full service one-stop Disability Accommodations and Accessibility firm serving people who are blind or low vision, and those whose visual, physical, or learning impairment make it difficult to access computers or read websites and hard copy print. We are a Certified National Woman Owned Small Business. We offer total accessibility solutions and support for employers, educators, and people with disabilities in Fortune 500 corporations, business and industry, nonprofits, and federal, state, and local government. Our mission is to support people with disabilities in work and school readiness and on-the-job training, to enable them to excel at academics and employment. Our mission is to support educators and employers: to help them create accessible customer and employee worksites, and to tap a new source of qualified, productive students and employees. Our goal is to help employers recruit, hire, screen, train, and work with people with disabilities. Our goal is to help educators foster accessibility on campus and in distance learning initiatives. The word is out: qualified employees with disabilities excel at productive jobs and teamwork, reduce high turnover rates, reduce recruitment and new hire costs, reduce re-training needs, and offer paperless solutions to everyone in the mainstream competitive workplace. You heard it here first: qualified students with visual impairment use high tech Assistive Technologies (A T) to successfully compete and excel in mainstream classrooms from kindergarten through postgraduate. We offer the full range of Accessibility / Accommodation services, A T equipment, repairs, and maintenance, as well as AT/IT management systems to enable people with disabilities to excel in their vocational and/or educational role in the mainstream competitive market. We offer enterprise support to develop and manage corporate accessibility initiatives; ADA Compliance support, staff support for working with people with disabilities, website, worksite, and software accessibility evaluation and remediation, Reasonable Accommodation for individual employees and students with disabilities, and functional assessment and job training for people with disabilities. We offer Disability and Reasonable Accommodation fulfillment, including technical and functional assessment, recommendations, equipment provision, retraining and other services as indicated. We offer Assistive Technology (AT) product sales and pre/post sale support for your organization’s Standard A T software, hardware, and peripheral products, including computer Braille. This includes AT/IT acquisition planning, impartial product consultation, sales, delivery, installation, repairs, warranties, multi-site licenses and initial orientation and follow-on training in the use of any specific AT, technical and disability assessment, skills assessment, hiring. | | | Product and Service Spotlight | | | | |
News From The Virtual View: VVT Enhances V-Learning Training (December 2008) What is V- Learning? V-Learning is Virtual Learning – training delivery options that permit an instructor to work with a student at a distance through electronic resources to provide training to students unable to come to an on-site Learning Center. V-Learning allows students to have training provided in inclement weather, at work locations or home through phone, the Internet, Websites and even direct computer to computer contact. VVT has offered V-Learning courses since early 2007, using a combination of phone teleconferencing and e-mail to provide one-on-one instruction, to guide the students pace and focus and to test the students progress by e-mailing assignments to the instructor. These delivery methods have been exercised and refined in both individual and corporate environments. Learning In Tandem (LIT) is a brand new addition to the VVT V-Learning training delivery arsenal. LIT allows a VVT instructor anywhere to access a student’s computer remotely to facilitate training or even technical support. Just as the two riders of a tandem bike can both pedal, and therefore learn how to balance a bike, with LIT, both the student and instructor can use the computer at the same time, allowing the student to learn and grow in a safe environment. This new offering takes advantage of the fact that Freedom Scientific has just released JAWS Version 10, and a revolutionary new add-on, JAWS Tandem. This add-on allows Both the student and the instructor to have control of the PC, enabling the instructor to guide the student through exercises and closely monitor the student’s progress. The instructor and student have equal access to the student’s PC, and both the student and instructor can start and or terminate the connection at any time with a simple key press Learn more about Learning In Tandem Learn more about VVT's V-Learning 10th Annual ATIA Conference (January 2009) ATIA (the Assistive Technology Industry Association), is a not-for-profit organization of manufacturers, sellers and providers of technology-based assistive devices and services. The ATIA will host its 10th Annual conference (http://www.atia.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3280 ) in January, 2009 in Orlando, FL The annual conference has an overarching goal of providing enhanced benefits and opportunities to people with disabilities. The conference (January 28 – 31) will host More than 125 exhibitors and more than 275 educational sessions and hands-on labs. Virtual Vision Technologies (VVT) will participate at ATIA 2009 in the Leadership Forum on Accessibility as a sponsor. This is a 2-day independent forum (Jan. 29 -30) within the ATIA conference. The Leadership Forum is designed specifically to help large corporations government agencies and educational institutions to derive business values through the use of accessibility. VVT’ will speak to all of these areas based on its extensive experience in providing accessibility solutions that ensure the productive presence of a disabled employee or student. The Well-Equipped Professor (November 2008) Christie Gilson Ph. D. a bright and well educated professor, has just begun her latest teaching assignment, at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA. Christie, who received her doctorate from the Department of Special Education, College of Education, at the University of Illinois earlier in 2008, is now an Assistant Professor of Education at Moravian. Christie’s career has been an eclectic one--highlighted, in part, by her studies and research in 2007 as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Hong Kong (http://www.miusa.org/ncde/stories/christiegilson). At Moravian, Christie will continue her longtime focus on teaching, research and advocacy for blind and disabled students. Christie really believes that the sighted should know how Blind people live and work. That's why she has Braille books, an abacus, and other blindness tools scattered about her office. Christie says, “Anyone who wants to check out what Braille is like can grab a book of poetry, a Braille map, or other book off my shelf and check it out. Christie, an open and funny woman is eager to educate people about the ways that disabled people learn and live. Moravian has gone all out in providing Christie with the access technology tools that she needs to ensure a productive academic environment. At their request, the staff at Virtual Vision Technologies (VVT) has been on-site to do the product installations, training and support: In Christie’s Office, she now has the tools for success, including JAWS, and a whole host of Access Technology. Similarly, in her classroom she is outfitted to be a dynamic professor. The library is no exception: she will be able to do research and plan lessons with all the modern tools available to her. Christie said in response to the exceptional accommodations, “I didn’t expect all this, but I am very grateful for it!” Surely Christie’s students will be the beneficiaries of the College’s foresight.
Introducing the Dolphin Pen (August 2008) Everyone respects a trend-setter. Dolphin, a little known but innovative English/Irish Access Technology company that has been around for decades, was the first such company to make their products available to people whose lifestyles demand mobility. Long before any other manufacturer of access technology, Dolphin Computer Access made their products available on a pen. Simply carry your pen in a pocket, purse, or backpack, and bring it with you. Think of it another way. Sure, it would be nice to take your computer wherever you go. This is of course not always possible, or at least can present an inconvenience. The next best option may be to leave the computer behind, and carry your Screen Reader or Screen Magnification software in something as portable as a pen. For exact product information, use the following link: http://www.virtualvisiontech.com/products.cfm?catid=30&productid=104 In short, long gone are the days where we are forced to be tied to our desks. Because of innovation that started with Dolphin Computer Access, persons with visual impairments are able to be as mobile as the rest of society. Isn’t parity great?
Blindness doesn’t deter law clerk from High Court (July 2008)
Isaac Lidsky, a blind young attorney, is about to become the first legally blind law clerk to serve at the Supreme Court. His unique story has been chronicled by several national TV networks, including CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/20/blind.law.clerk/). Lidsky, 28, will work with the retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. As for the future, Lidsky plans to go to London, England, after his clerkship ends, so his wife can finish her master's degree. He would be set to rejoin his law firm, where he has taken a leave of absence. Virtual Vision Technologies has provided access technology training for Isaac since 2006, first at the Department of Justice and then at the Jones Day law firm in Washington DC. The VVT trainers have worked one-on-one with Isaac on the use of screen readers and magnification/speech software products. In addition, the use of these access technology products in conjunction with industry standards such as Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes and also proprietary software has been examined. VVT takes pride in its role in this groundbreaking adventure. VVT Receives City of Philadelphia Mayor's Award (October 2007) Virtual Vision Technologies has had had a long and productive partnership with the city of Philadelphia. In particular, extensive access technology training was provided during 2007 to visually impaired employees of several of the city’s leading agencies. The extra effort associated with this training led to VVT and four of its trainers being honored with the 2007 Access Achievement Award, presented by the Mayor’s Commission on People with disabilities City of Philadelphia (http://www.phila.gov/mcpd/ ). these awards honor private businesses, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and individuals that have made outstanding efforts to improve and increase access for persons with disabilities throughout the Delaware Valley The award reads “presented to Virtual Vision Technologies for outstanding commitment to increased access for people with disabilities through the removal of physical and attitudinal barriers”
Verizon Customer Service Center Values Its Six Visually Impaired Employees (October 2007)
The Verizon Wireless Service Center in Albuquerque, NM employs six people who are visually impaired or blind. A company spokesperson indicates that any special needs are minimal compared to the value of the employees. Verizon goes out of its way to find qualified candidates for its center without any hesitancy over disabilities. (Albuquerque Journal – http://www.abqjournal.com/AED/606326west_news10-27-07.htm ) Verizon Wireless has set up a program to help integrate visually impaired and blind employees into the workforce and VVT is a partner in that program. VVT instructors, all skilled users of the technology that they teach, have gone on-site at the Albuquerque center and other Verizon Wireless centers across the country to do one-on-one training that combines access technology with Verizon’s in-house application programs. Any compatibility quirks are discovered and dealt with. The new employee is then prepared to enter the standard 18 week training course and maintain the pace with fully sighted peers.
Virtual Vision Technologies makes demonstration equipment available for unbeatable prices. This equipment has been on display in our equipment showroom and has been used lightly, for demonstration purposes only. We make these special single units available at a lower price so that they may be affordable to more of the blind and visually impaired population. This equipment is in perfect working order, and most of it comes with a one year warranty, ensuring that you can get service if you should need it. Please feel free to contact your local sales rep with questions or for a demo. Please note there is only one of each unit described. All units are sold on a "First Come, First Served" basis. Units must be paid for at the time of purchase. Sorry, no time payment plans available... Browse the demo equipment!
VVT announces remote AT skill-assessment hiring & training tool for employers around the world (September 2007)
Virtual Vision Technologies announces a groundbreaking new AT skill-screening assessment tool, called AT SAM (Assistive Technology Skill Screening and Assessment). ATSAM can be administered remotely by VVT assessors, to job applicants, new hires, or embedded employees with disabilities located at an accessible workstation anywhere in the world. Virtual Vision AT SAM assessors measure the competency skills of the blind or low vision employee to use talking screen reader software (JAWS), digital Braille display for computer, and/or low vision screen magnification software to access a Windows / Vista PC and operate Microsoft Office applications, including MS Word, Excel, and Outlook with email and internet. To schedule an assessment or find out more:
Call: 610.622.0728 or 610.734.0711 and ask for Dr. Edwin Staudt. Email: Info@VirtualVisionTech.com
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