Seeing Things From Another Point Of View

SoCS undergraduate student Mark Goldberg was one of nine finalists to pitch at the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) competition, held yesterday at the Ontario Centres for Excellence Discovery event in Toronto.

Mark had 90 seconds to pitch his project - POV - an application developed to let people without visual impairments see the world from the point of view of those who do. The project has two major goals. The first, Mark says, is education. "POV breaks down barriers and allows individuals without visual disabilities to better understand daily life for individuals with visual disabilities." The second goal is to provide designers with a tool that will allow them to build with accessibility in mind.

Mark has also had success with another project known as PHON-E-TIC, which won him 2nd place at the Connect EnAbling Change Design Competition. PHON-E-TIC was designed "for individuals who aren't as experienced with evolving technologies and the smart-phone era." By emphasizing simplicity, Mark has designed a simple interface that is user friendly and intuitive.

Mark, currently on his first 8 month co-op term, is enrolled in the Bachelor of Computing, Computer Science major. To students thinking about Computer Science as a career, Mark suggests "it is important to really understand what you are passionate about and motivate yourself to pursue it. Remember why you are in the field. Motivate yourself, teach yourself, and explore."