Call Letter For Informatics Training Program For The Visual Impairments

To: Individuals/Organizations

Since 2003, Sao Mai Informatics Center for Visual Impairments has started and developed the distance computer training program for the visual impairments all over the country, and has brought back some considered result :

- support for the establishment of 9 computer labs in 9 provinces: Tay Ninh, Dong Nai, An Giang, Ben Tre, Nghe An, Hue, Da Nang, Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh.
- annually opening of 1 or 2 tele-courses and the averaged number of trainees each year is about 60 persons/course
- has hold 4 conferences in the southern provinces, with the topic Visual Impairments Along With Information Technology, in the purpose of calling the care and supporting of the Government for the local associations, schools and centers for visual impairments

At the result:

- 90% of the trainees finished the tele-courses can apply the benefit of Information Technology in their work and study
- Sao Mai Center has completed a set of basic informatics training textbook used for the tele-courses, including many different formats: digital audio book Daisy, Braille books, Braille materials. This set of textbooks is used very commonly in Vietnam.

As you know, Informatics plays an important role in developing of the country and Informatics is also a very good tools for the visual impairments to integrate into the society, help them to be more self-confident, improve their independence in study and life, clear their inferiority complex. Particularly this is also a very useful tool for the visual impairments to study and work easier, share information with others via the Internet, and be able to get the simple works in offices such as data management, to receive/send email and fax, to print office documents...

Nowadays, the needs of the visual impairments to learn Informatics is numerous over the country. We want to develop and expand the tele-training courses to many associations, centers, schools for the visual impairments over the country, but our most difficult challenge is the fund and equipments for this programs. You can support us in form of money or equipments.

Our Informatics training program is one of the strategic and long-time programs to motivate the development and applying of Information Technology in the visual impairments' study and work, and to improve their ability by sharing information with others. Thus, the care and support of your individuals/organizations for this our program is truly necessary.

Sao Mai will organize to carry out its main operating plans to develop and expand the network of distance courses for the visual impairments throughout the country:

1. train the source teachers for associations/centers/schools for the visual impairments in provinces/cities
2. establish computer labs in provinces/cities for visual impairments with enough equipments and supporting software
3. build the online learning system for visual impairments
4. update and edit the set of advanced course textbooks for visual impairments used in distance studying including: web programming, soft programming, network/system administration, music composing/audio processing,...
5. organize the distance training courses
6. produce and provide course materials such as digital books (Daisy), Braille books, Braille materials

Our method of distance training is using the Internet support utilities such as Yahoo Messenger, Skype, telephone and in addition we will develop the online course administration system. All the course materials are created suitably for tele-learning such as audio book Daisy (teachers will instruct and present on computer), Braille books will embossed pictures (the illustrative pictures on computer are embossed so that the visual impairments can understand the objects of the graphical user interface)

Here by the list of minimum required equipments of a computer lab for the visual impairments:

- tables and chairs
- computers with configuration: Pentium 4, RAM 512 MB, HDD 80GB, VGA 128MB, DVD-Combo, 17" monitors (for low-visual persons), speakers, headphones
- Switch, network cables, RJ45 connectors (to connect the networks)
- Router ADSL (to connect to Internet)
- Printer, Scanner

- Software for visual impairments:
Vietnamese software will be provided by us. Here by the commercial software we have to buy for the lab:
>> JAWS: 1,095 USD (Screen Reader, www.freedomscientific.com)
>> ZoomText 690 USD, (Screen Magnifier- for low-visual persons, www.aisquared.com)
>> OpenBook: 995 USD (Text-recognition and to-speech program, www.freedomscientific.com)

Again we hope for the care and help from your offices, unions, departments, individuals, and organizations to bring the compulsory Information Technology to all the visual impairments all over the country, help them to soon integrate into society.

Your goodness can contact us at the page Contact for further information about this informatics training course or you can directly contact Mr Dang Hoai Phuc, Director with following contact information:
Office number, +84 8 8495069 , extent 104
Cell number, +84 90 3979323
Email: phuc@saomaicenter.org

On behalf of the Board of Sao Mai Center and the beneficiaries, we sincerely thank the organizations, individuals in and out of the country has been supporting Sao Mai for nearly 6 years, in the mercy of that we can achieve these results. We hope we will contiguously receive the accompanying with Sao Mai, with the visual impairments from the organizations, individuals, to carry out our programs in the future.

We wish your organization success and happiness.

Board of Directors
Sao Mai Center for The Visual Impairments
July 06, 2008