What a joke. Lazy, apathetic, despicable attitude from the NZQA.

Story from stuff.co.nz:

A blind Christchurch schoolboy is frustrated he has to miss out on NCEA credits because exam organisers say they cannot accommodate his disability.

Hagley Community College year 13 pupil Dylan Neale cannot sit Tuesday’s level-three National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) drama exam because it requires watching and analysing a DVD.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority has said it does not know how to enable that to happen for Dylan, 18. The authority has ruled out providing a reader/writer or speaker.

“If I could just do the exam like everyone else, it’d be good, as I’d get more credits and it sounds like an interesting exam.”

With dreams of being a comedian, Dylan said he enjoyed the freedom drama provided. Being unable to sit the drama exam “loaded a lot of extra pressure on the major production we had to do, which was worth five credits, as it meant I really had to get it right and it was stressful”.

The exam is worth four credits and Dylan needs 42 to reach his University Entrance (UE) goal. He still expects to gain UE, but does not want other sight-impaired pupils disadvantaged in a similar way.

read more...

I’ve said it before: I’m a bit of a gadget nut. Last week, I posted my review of the Playstation Move and a few years ago I reviewed the original iPhone, both reviews written from a wheelchair user’s perspective. However, recent articles have come to light that make a single line in my iPhone review stand out:

Well, for a start I can say with confidence that it’s probably not the best phone for those of you who are blind or have a visual impairment.

Let it be known I am officially scratching that line from the record. I recently came across an incredibly emotional blog post from a blind guy who had just purchased his first iPhone, after having it recommended to him by a friend. He says it changed his life. Hear that? Changed. His. Life. A wee excerpt:

Last Wednesday, my life changed forever. I got an iPhone. I consider it the greatest thing to happen to the blind for a very long time, possibly ever. It offers unparalleled access to properly made applications, and changed my life in twenty-four hours… I have fallen in love.

Sounds incredible, right? He goes on to talk about how the iPhone is enabling him to see colour like never before. Check out his beautifully-written review in full by clicking here, and for those of you who are blind or vision impaired, maybe the time is nigh that you jumped on the iBandwagon!

As user ‘sophieg’ pointed out over at the forums, it is the annual Blind Week appeal coming up towards the end of the month – October 23 – 29, to be exact! Not knowing much about what the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind do, a quick squizz around their official site reveals a huge list of awesome stuff the Foundation does on a day-to-day basis to assist blind, deafblind, and vision-impaired people. Their services include things such as:

Then this is the place for you! The linked article describes a bushwalk set in the 35-hectare World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park, and features a special bush walk designed for those with vision impairments called ‘Senses Trail’. The 500m-long trail was the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It has 13 stopping places with signs in braille. A rope guides walkers along the trail, and small rope tails hanging from it warn there’s a step coming: one tail