Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Change in idea

I have decided to change the main idea of my paper from going through the experience of having no cell phone to seeing things through someone who is blind. So far it has been a lot easier to write about and research. I have found a lot of good web sites. I went to Google and typed in “being blind” in the search box. The first website that was available was http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_rnib003680.hcsp it is a really good website. It has all sorts of links that lead you to information on how to get around being blind and different organizations that can help you. I then typed in “stories of being blind” and a lot of good websites came up. The one that I chose was, http://www.networkforgood.org/volunteer/volunteerstories.aspx, it has three really good stories of volunteers working with blind people. This website really helps me understand what it is like to be and work around blind people. In the second story it talks about a woman being blind for forty seven years, and in that time she has run thirty marathons. That seems crazy to me. I have two perfectly good working eyes and I don’t think I could run one marathon much less thirty. That takes a lot of determination that not just any person has. When I was looking for my third website I chose to go to, dogpile.com and searched “being blind”. The first website that came up was the American foundation for the blind. It turned out to be the best website I found, overall. http://www.afb.org/. The website has categories for everything; it has information that relates to friends and family, seniors, kids, professionals, and Employers. It even has a really helpful quick fact section that really helps for research, and how to see things the way they do.

3 comments:

Ryan said...

I think seeing the world through someone who is blind is a good subject choice. It seems like you are off to a real good start getting your facts and other information. What motivated you to choose this subject?

Kathy said...

Spencer, Ryan just asked a good question: What motivated you to choose this subject? You do need to have a *purpose* for your quest, and the more developed the reason for your exploration, the better. Why blindness?

(One quick side note: I know you've already given up on the other topic, but when I searched a phrase like "dependence on technology," I found a lot of great articles re: people struggling with our new dependence, and some people eschewing new tech all together. Anyway, in the future, be sure that you brainstorm a lot of different possible search terms before giving up.)

Back to blindness. It sounds like you found some very good sites, but remember that you need to not just tell us what *kinds* of information the site provides, but also a few of those *specific* details that struck you! This is especially important in your essay, when you need to be educating your audience about the perspective. You've got to provide actual detailed information, no?

Have you scheduled your interview? Contacted the Disability Resource Center? Get to it. Good luck,
Kathy

Kathy said...

Oh, one more thing, Spencer. Note that it's fine that you changed topics, but you'll still owe me 4 total blog updates about your chosen topic. So you need to re-do that first one, exlaining WHY you're choosing this topic, and what impressions / assumptions / questions you have. Do this as soon as possible, as this was supposed to set up your "ground zero" before beginning!