On episode 82 of Change Makers, celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by listening to change maker, José Manuel Álvarez Cabán. Known to many as “Manolo,” hear him talk about his childhood, what motivated him to pursue computer programing, and what fuels his passion when creating programs.
On this Episode (In Order of Appearance)
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On episode 82 of Change Makers, celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by listening to change maker, José Manuel Álvarez Cabán. Known to many as “Manolo,” hear him talk about his childhood, what motivated him to pursue computer programing, and what fuels his passion when creating programs.
On this Episode (In Order of Appearance)
Additional Links
<silence> Welcome to Change Makers, a podcast from APH. We're talking to people from around the world who are creating positive change in the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Here's your host.
Sara Brown:Hello and welcome to ChangevMakers. I'm APH's Public Relations Manager, Sara Brown . And on this episode of Change Makers, we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, just a few days early this year. Hispanic Heritage Month is being observed from September 15th through October 15th, and during that time, history's culture contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America will be highlighted. So to celebrate this historic month, in this historic time, I'm talking to Manolo. Manolo has dedicated his life to promoting equal access to technology for all. He's a technological innovator, programmer, and he is a professor at the University of Puerto Rico. Hello, Manolo, and welcome to Change Makers .
Manolo:Hello, Sara. Thank you for the invitation.
Sara Brown:Okay, so we are getting your story. Um, would you just like to introduce yourself to our listeners?
Manolo:Uh , yeah, definitely. My name is José Manuel Álvarez Cabán. My nickname is Manolo. And currently I am a professor at the University of Puerto Rico. I teach , uh, assisted technology, digital accessibility and programming , uh, code coding courses. I am a blind person right now. Totally blind person. And also I love podcasting, so I have a podcast and I love podcasting and umbrella and technology, that those are my passions.
Sara Brown:All right . Well, welcome. It's so good to to have you on and talk to you today. And I always like to do when I'm interviewing a person and just finding out about them. As overall, let's, I always like to take it to the beginning. Can you talk about your childhood, where you were born, where you were raised, and what your childhood was like?
Manolo:Yes. Well , uh, I born with , uh, uh, several eye conditions. I have , uh, retinitis pigmentosa and, and also have , uh, glaucoma. I have cataract surgery of cataracts. Um , I even had cornea surgery. So I have a lot of , uh, eye conditions. So , um, I born in a very modest , um, community , uh, here in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was the, the younger son of my mom , uh, of my father. I have two older sister. And since all , all of my eye conditions , uh, my family , uh, always , uh, were searching for a , for a cure, for a medical cure. So I have visit a lot of ophthalmologists during my , my younger years. So basically , um, that's , uh, my, how is my condition, how I was growing up. Um , I cannot you that , uh, maybe a study , uh, related to my, how can I enter to school? Uh , and my elementary school, of course, it was not the same of my sister that has eyesight. I, I was the only blind person in my family. And , uh, I remember that my, my mother take me to a school that it was , uh, a few street of my home where my sister study . It was very near my , my , my home and want to enroll, enroll me in that school. And , uh, the school director , uh, say to, to my mother that I cannot attend that school because they is a , especially a school for the blind in Puerto Rico. So my mother , uh, take me to the, to that , uh, school , uh, school for the blind. But , uh, that school have , uh, two drawbacks. Uh, first for my mother, that it was a residential school that had to stay. My mother does not like that. Have a , a kid, five , six year old stay there. And I live far from that school, so I cannot go every day . So my mother goes back to the elementary school and to the school director and say that, no, that she wants, that I , uh, be enrolled in that school , uh, participant in inclusion. The school director keeps saying no. And, and no. And my mother , uh, went to the Department of Education, the center office, and she knows and learned that there are TBIs <laugh> and there's a , a teacher that this , this was in 1972 , uh, way back fi 50, more than 50 years ago. So, so I remember that. I remember that , uh, as a blanket , uh, being in the office , uh, of very long hours. Uh , the school, my mother just keep pursuing the director that she wants, that I study over there. So , uh, I was different from all other student from my sister that just go to the , uh, my neighbor go to the school and enroll . And finally the , the director then enrolled me the , in that school. So that's, that's what I initiated to elementary school.
Sara Brown:So it sounds like it was your mother who was your advocate for you when you were a child?
Manolo:Yeah, de definitely, you know, that even , uh, a , a very short time after I enrolled in the school, the school director say to my mother, "we want to , uh, that Manolo take a psychology test because we think that maybe he has some intellectual disabilities," but he , he doesn't want me to wear over there. And I take that psychology test , and I remember that the psychologist in the office of the psychology then start to do some activities. And, and in one part he take a book with a lot of pictures, and then he say , "well , uh, Manolo tell me what is in that picture?" <Laugh>. And I say , "well, I am a blind person." And he say, "yeah, I know that you are blind, but this is part of the protocol," Joe , just tell me. I I will do the, the annotations. And he, but then at the , at the result, he don't write the , the correct annotation. I don't know what , what he writes. And I have a very, very low IQ in the result at the test. And the school director say to my mother , " uh , you see, you see <laugh>, it's time that he get out of the school." And my mother say , "no, I know my, my kid is a smart kid, and with the support of the TVI, he will be okay." So that , that was , uh, I remember that, that , that , that was the , the, my beginning <laugh> of elementary school.
Sara Brown:Now, talk about, so you're , you're starting elementary school. Talk about some of your first days, if you remember some of your first days in in school and what that was like.
Manolo:Well, it , it was a , a mixed feeling. It , it was , uh, fun in the way that I was , uh, with other kids, and I was playing and all that stuff. But in the other hand , uh, it was tough. Also, I was the only blind , uh, student in, in , in the school. And I started to learn very fast that I must do some strategies and some techniques in able to survive. I start to learn that I must survive <laugh>. So , um, that helped me , uh, uh, later in my life, because that's real life. But it was a mixed feeling. I say that we have , uh, I have , uh, very good friends that have, I play with them and make adaptation, but I have other , uh, students that just make bullying to me. Uh, I think that will be very normal then in a typical , uh, school settings. But that was my reality, and, and , and I learned that.
Sara Brown:So now you're, you're a little bit older. Talk about , um, your college. What was that like? Going to college?
Manolo:College was hard, very hard for me. Um, I can , uh, tell you , uh, when I, how do I get to college and , uh, how I studied the, the career. I was been in administration with , uh, computer programming as a major, and it was a , as a result of my , um, counselor of the high school. But it was as a result of a negative aptitude, no , no , not , uh, an advice . I remember what, I was in 12 in my high school in my last year. Uh , uh, it is time I take my college board. And she talked to me and said , well, Manolo , you'll be next university. Uh , you must, must study something theoretical because you are blind. And maybe , um, uh, humanities or , uh, something related. He, she told me , uh, some careers, possible careers that are very theocraticals. And that makes me very upset. Uh , I get really mad because I , I will tell you that in elementary school , uh, that was an norm. Uh , teachers , uh, have low expectation. Most of teacher has low expectation with me. Uh, I learned that, I learned that , uh, uh, teachers say, well, math is a very visual , uh, class , uh, and they don't push me to try that. I can , um, be in advanced math , anything like that. And , uh, she, I, I, I say , well , I understand , uh, I know that I understand and I know that , uh, I can do better. But , uh, that's the way that , uh, that , that it was, especially in that very visual science and all that stuff. And when, when the counselor say that to me , uh, I start to think, well, let me think. "What is the more visual career that I can think of?" <Laugh> , and say, "oh, no, no, I , I know what I want to study." And she say , yeah, what , what you want to study? And I hear some people that talk that it was in the mid a , in the mid 1980s, that computer programming. And I say, I want to be a computer programmer, but I don't know what is that. I've never touched a computer in my life. I don't know what is that, but I know that it , it has to be something visual. And my co it was a , a big silence of my counselor. And then she tried to pursue me, say , "Manola, remember, you are blind. You, that's a very , uh, visual career , uh, you know, any blind , uh, programmer." And I say , "no, no, no. As a matter of fact, I have never met another blind person." Uh, my first, my , the other blind person, my , my first person that I meet that I blind was when I came to the university. Since I was in , in inclusion, I was the only blind person , uh, at the school. So, but that event, that event changed my life because then I went to college and I, I pursue a career that in , uh, computer programming. And I , I get just motivated to prove to my counselor and to prove all , all other people that have low expectation with me that I can do it. And that, that was , uh, the reason that I choose to study <laugh> , uh, later in the university, computer programming.
Sara Brown:You're using all the doubts and all the, the, that's almost like your fuel to, you know, I can do anything just because you don't understand it, don't under don't believe it. Let me show you.
Manolo:Yeah, definitely. I was , uh, 17 years old, so maybe it was a , a normal reaction of my part. It , the university was hard when , when I entered to university, I have to take , uh, calculus , uh, all statistic, all that visual material , uh, classes, it have , uh, take a lot of time for me. I have to find volunteers. I have to visit the, the library of blind person at the university. I , uh, I usually was in the university until 10 o'clock at night because I have to pass the note that somebody has take or read to me. I pass it to braille that it was , uh, a big sacrifice. But my field was that I , I want to prove it. I want to prove that I can do it. And that's something that I , I never put in doubt that I want to have that opportunity. And I , I , I will not fail because I have that as my nerve .
Sara Brown:Now, you started your degree, the University of Puerto Rico, and then you finished it in New York.
Manolo:Yes, yes.
Sara Brown:What were some of the things that you noticed, just whether it be at the university or just being, you know, from Puerto Rico and New York City?
Manolo:Well, at the University of Puerto Rico, I finally met , uh, the Director of the Central Computer Center, Dr . Uh, Joseph Carro , because one of the professor of my courses at the Business Administration School say to me, he's the director. And I know that he has very strange computers over there in their office. And I visit them and I say , well, my name's Manolo. And, and I say to him , uh, uh, I , uh, "my major is computer science, but I would like to admit you that I have never touched a computer." And even, I don't know if a blind person can be a programmer , uh, I just hear and, and tell him the story of the, my c of people say that I , that I cannot do it . He was a , a very tall person. And , uh, I remember he , uh, stand up from his desk in front of me, and then he put , uh, his hands on my shoulder and say, "so you are a blind person, right?" And I say, "yes," and "you want to study computer science and programming?" That's true. And I say, "yes." And he say , "welcome to the club." <Laugh>. And he , uh, showed me , uh, screen readers , uh, computers with screen readers, braille and boosters . Uh, that was amazing, that that was one of the best day of my life. I , I , I cannot believe it , uh, that I fall in love with technology right away. I say , oh my God, yes, I can do it. Uh , there is a way that I can do it, and I can do it by myself. So it , it is just , uh, that is feeling was just , just amazing , uh, to me. And then I can finish , uh, accessing technology. Um, um, they recommend me , uh, that I can finish , uh, with a scholarship , uh, in New York. And then I moved to New York. And , uh, it was quite hard. Uh , you know, something at the, at the, at the University in New York, all of my classmates, it , it was, I was the only blind person that I was studying over there also. But all , all of my classmates have the mentality that , uh, because they, they have , uh, trouble solving mentality to study computer science. They say, "hey, Manolo, are you sure there's not a cure?" Are you sure that, and and I remember he was , uh, a student and he was from Germany. He was studying over there. And he say , "you know, that my father , uh, has , uh, uh, business over there, and he knows , uh, very good ophthalmology. I, I'm pretty sure that I can talk with him, and they can find an ophthalmology that can , uh, shake you. And , uh, there's a way that you can see again." And, and I say , "well, I have visit a lot of ophthalmologists and my eye condition." I tried to explain it, but she say , "no, don't worry about the money. My father can buy the tickets ." Or , uh, that I , I have to deal with that kind of, of persons that, that have that kind of mentality of trouble solving . And , uh, with money, they can do anything. And , but they understand it. They understand me. And , uh, it was at the beginning, they , they learned , uh, how I worked . And it was a , a great experience because it was a competitive , um, degree. And I love to be in competitive , uh, areas because I, I love to learn from all of them that have , uh, some knowledge. I have other knowledge, and I really like to compete. So that , my experience was hard, but , uh, I really enjoyed .
Sara Brown:Okay. And so you, you finish college, you get your degree. What , where, where, what happens next? Where, where do you , do you go back home? Are you landing a job? What happens after you get your degree and graduate?
Manolo:Well , uh, I, I just fall in love with coding, and I say I would love to create software to help blind and special education students. And I remember , uh, at college , uh, when my assignments that , uh, my professors that just asked me to do software, that it was related to banking, because that's business administration with , uh, computer programming. And I say to my professor, well, you know, I know students, blind students that are on the library for blind. They does not anything about computers. I would love for the assignment to create a software that can teach , uh, the keyboard typing, and the , the professor say , no, you must do this. And I remember that I , I finished doing two assignment , the one that the professor , uh, assigned me mandatory. And I always do voluntary assignment related to support blind and special education students . So I say , well, I need to know how special education students learn. So I do a master degree in special education because , uh, right now I have the knowledge , uh, technical knowledge , uh, and technical skills and programming. But I would like to know how , uh, students with , uh, learning disabilities or autism or different special needs students learn. So I do my master in that, and then I obtain a job here in Puerto Rico and, and , um, assisting technology program. Uh, it was part of the university. And , uh, since I have that knowledge , uh, the tesh acts , uh, were starting. It was a perfect fit, and I have the opportunity to be creative and start to find needs and develop alternative to our students , uh, here in Puerto Rico . So that , that was my first job. And since was in the university later, then I came to be, keep studying and, and , and , and be professor.
Sara Brown:So that's how you got into that, that first job that sort of paved the way for everything you are and sort of sets the tone for where you are today. When you were in school, whether it be elementary or college, what resources did you have available to you?
Manolo:Well, in the K 12, I have a TVI, and in the university, the , uh, administration , uh, rehabilitation , uh, administration, vocational , uh, I have resources. I don't say , uh, let , let me say , uh, um, definitely that , that services can improve. Uh , that , that's , that's something that is true. Um, I learned to be , uh, auto deduct , and I learned that enable me to do good. I have to do a lot of thing by myself and try then to identify exactly what I need so I can keep , uh, learning and can do it in a competitive fields . So yeah, I , I , I , I receive that services , um, um, they do the best that they can do. Um , but , um, definitely , uh, I will be , if they do more, I will benefit , uh, from, will, benefit from , um, if I have more resources. Uh , so it was hard, but it was , uh, that what it is in that time for me.
Sara Brown:Did you face any on, on your jobs, on any of your jobs , um, or during college, did you face any sort of discrimination or, or feel any sort of pushback if you requested, you know, of , you know, any sort of assistance?
Manolo:Yeah, yeah, definitely both in college and jobs. Uh, I have the advantage , uh, at , at my , uh, job that see it , it was a job that it was related to technology, assisted technology, and then that person have a different mindset. But , uh, definitely , uh, you feel that, you feel the low expectation. Uh , uh, I remember I start to work voluntary because I say, this is the perfect work for me. Then this is a , a , a program that work with technology for , uh, person with disabilities. And I go over there and say, well, we're not hiring right now. As a , doesn't matter. I work as a voluntary, and I see it as an investment first because I want to learn. And second, because they know me and , uh, uh, later that they contract me and I start then to work over there. So, yeah, you feel it, you , you , um, uh, it is so bad that after all these , uh, laws , and here in Puerto Rico we have the federal laws and also the local laws, after all of the time , uh, today, you still , uh, find that . So you have to learn. You have to learn to , uh, in adversity. How , uh, was the , the best decision that, that you have make ? Uh, for example, if , um, I get really mad for something that have , uh, have , uh, just occur me in the world , but then I just , uh, count down and I don't make to try any decision. Uh , and then I try to think what , what is the best route to take in able to advance? And that's a reality. There's a discrimination over there. I cannot , uh, keep complaining every day , every minute about that. Um, and it is not fair. That for sure is make it harder to me, but I'm pretty clear that I want it . And , uh, no , no one and anything will , will stop that, that I will , I want . That's my goal.
Sara Brown:You're working, you're, you're doing your computer programming, you're, you're doing that. Talk about some of the major products and projects you've been a part , whether it's incorporating braille and technology for students who are blind or low vision .
Manolo:Well, I start right away to create , uh, I am very creative person and start to , uh, I, I see coding like magic because let me create something to resolve a need a problem, and I start right away to create a different solutions. I love to talk with blind persons and blind persons tell me , uh, I need that. Or especially in the area of education. For example, one of the project that has bring more satisfaction to me is , um, uh, a video game. Uh , I developed a video game , um, that is a home run derby competition. It's a baseball game, but it's a home run derby competition. And what is the game does, is that you select , um, a level of is related to math, is to support math to blind students. And you say, but , uh, multiplication or whatever you want, and then use it at the level. And the game asks you an exercise, and then they , they give you time to resolve their exercise, and then you have to type the answer. If the answer is correct, it is a home run . And is the answer is correct. It is an out, but the the game tell you the answer. And then that is a , a , uh, a great alternative because by my experience , um, visual courses , um, like math, science today, the teacher still have low expectation for blind students . So I , I say, well, let's do something that is interactive, that is fun, and then can support the learning of the skills, the basic math skill in this case that , uh, our blind student needed . And also, you can combine it , for example, in this video game, when the , they give you the time to resolve the problem. We , uh, have tested with use it with blind student here in Puerto Rico, they use , uh, the abacus. It is important that you learn to use the Abaco and learn math in a concrete way, or you can use , uh, uh, you can write the , the exercise using your break . Um , even in MF code or U a b math, or even, we are , we have started to, to using with Lego rails. The important thing is that the video game is , uh, the fun alternative, the in interactive alternative, but the teacher have that tools to support and that the student can learn from any other alternative , uh, doing the math in a very different way. Uh, that , uh, and it , it is just, just a great , uh, software that I have developed. I , I have developed software to introduce blind students to coding. Um , that's also another , uh, initiative that I like. Uh , I believe that every student in our school system must be exposed to coding. Not everyone will be ending be a programmer, but we need to expose. If, if we don't expose, then we, we will, it will be very hard, especially for a blind person. They start in , uh, in the university level to , uh, start to learn to code and, and all this stuff. Um, also, I, I , um, have worked in , uh, um, accessible and , uh, interactive , uh, talking hurricane maps since in Puerto Rico, hurricanes are very common, but every time , uh, say that a hurricane is near , uh, people , uh, visit the internet or turn on the tv, and what you see is a picture of , uh, satellite , uh, of the root , of the possible root of the hurricane. But what about a blind person? So I, I code that. And , uh, so the person can learn latitudes, longitudes can , uh, learn many things that they can then , uh, even geography , uh, different concept that can also be benefit in owners area. So I have do a , a lot of software, educational software, because I am, I always talking with the teachers, with the TVI, with the partner , with the students , any need that I believe that I can support it , and all of these alternative are for me, are very powerful. For one thing , it is very simple to use. That's something that you need when you are coding, when you , uh, are gonna make a software that will support educational , uh, skills to our students, you, that, that software must do the , the , the result must , uh, be the one that, that we would really wanted obtained . But the tool must be simple. And that's , uh, it takes time. The , and you design it, but simplicity is part of the power of the power , uh, of a real good educational software.
Sara Brown:You know, I love to hear all the, the software and the educational programs and things you've created. It's so, and just, it's so inspiring, especially because it's going for kids, it's going for education, and, you know, two very important things. Another really cool thing that's I find very inspiring too, is your work with NASA. Can you talk about that? Because if I try, I'm just gonna just fumble it all. So, talk , talk , um, talk a bit about the, the, the team you were on to develop software with NASA.
Manolo:Yeah. That , that was a proposal for NASA, University of Maryland and University of Puerto Rico. And they are trying to develop , uh, a technology , um, to be later used , um, with the astronauts. Uh , when the astronaut is walking in the space , uh, technically they are blind in, in, in a lot of activities that they have to do because for the costume they , they have to wear, but then that, that technology , uh, they , uh, went and the university , uh, knows about that proposal and say , well, non-visual access, let's , uh, talk with Manolo. And Manolo is the one that , uh, will represent us. And it was just an outstanding , um, uh, experience. I have to know , uh, Dr. Robert Shelton, he's a blind programmer that works over there in Johnson , uh, space Center and in Houston, and I learned a lot. Uh , I was part of the development team of the Spanish person . It was , uh, as sonification tool , so you can , uh, uh, load any high quality , uh, image from a planet. Uh , and then the students with a key can navigate that, and they make different sounds depending of the color of the pixel. That was about 15, 20 years ago. So that was quite innovative for that , um, moment. Right now, there's a lot of more advanced tool for, for do that, but it was a great experience , uh, and also that I love to be around a very smart persons that I can , uh, learn. And then , uh, a lot of techniques that I learned in that project then I implemented in , in the other projects. So I was very grateful to, to have that opportunity to work , uh, with NASA and develop that software that was for Windows , uh, and for Mac
Sara Brown:At the beginning of this podcast, you mentioned you, you also have a podcast, really cool. Um, but you have a lot of different things going on as well? You've got a webpage, a podcast, and your foundation. Do you wanna talk a little bit about any, all of those?
Manolo:Yeah, definitely. My webpage, it is www.manolo.net. Uh , I created in 1996, so it is way back. And it was , uh, like a project , uh, to practice my HTML and CSS <laugh> , uh, coding skills today . Uh , a a web programmer need to, to do more interactive , uh, coding Java created or Python, whatever, but it's still over , uh, over there. And, and I say, well , I would like to make a webpage. Uh , my topic will be technology for blind persons, because since I benefit , um, so much from technology, I will like that other per person can know also about technology and the benefits of technology. So it is important in Spanish language. My podcast <inaudible> , it is really into technology also in , uh, in Spanish language. All of my prior in Spanish language and , uh, will be 15 years old now in September. So , um, it , I just love it. I love podcasting and to promote the benefit of technologies or other blind persons that bring me more , uh, a lot of satisfaction because I have the opportunity to travel all around the world. Uh , it was amazing to me that I start to receive invitations to go to different countries to talk. Um, it is just amazing. Uh , e every time I visit a country, I said , I , I would like to go to a school for a blind or a school where a blind persons are, and I would like to be rural schools because I would like to know how a person in any of this country learn braille , uh, learn orientation and mobility, because we have in the United States and Puerto Rico, that is , um, part of the system in the United State education, we have a system in particular, but in other countries, they learn in a different way. And I would like to learn that and maybe integrate in this, in , in our , um, day by day here. And I remember, just give you an anecdote of a lot of that. I have one, it was in Mexico, and I say, "can you gimme to bring me to a school?" And they give me to a very rural school. They , they're one , uh, blind students. And I went over there and I meet the students and I say , hi , you , what is your name? And they say, hi , hi, Manolo, nice to meet you. And I say , but wait a moment. You know me. It say , of course, we hear all of your, and I say, but you hear all the podcast . But , uh, the person that bring me here say "that here in the school, you don't have computers." You the , how can you hear the podcast? Uh , explain me that. I say , oh, well, the Library of the Blind in Mexico City, they record your podcast on a cassette tape, and then they bring it to other schools so the person can know the , the technology. And I say, oh my God, that , that's the power of technology. A a podcast that I , uh, record , uh, in the room of my, of my house, the power that can change life and , and impact life. And , and that's , I have a lot of story about that because you have, you must , uh, uh, um, be clear that Spanish speaking, a blind person does not have the same access to information because all of the information of the technology it is in English generally , uh, has more information in , in English, even coding. So , uh, for a Spanish speaking person, blind receive current information in Spanish. It will be, it can be , uh, and it , it is , uh, different in their lives . So I keep, it is voluntary and , uh, I keep it , uh, up to date because I, now I know that I have a responsibility because a lot of people benefit from from that.
Sara Brown:Wow. And so now you've got that thing, you've got that in the back of your mind to , wow. So they were recording it on cassette and playing it for them. Yeah . How remarkable, how does that feel? How does that feel like, just emotionally, psychologically, you know? Yeah,
Manolo:It was unbelievable. I , I , I cannot believe, and I say , wow, that I cannot record a podcast and say anything just to say, I , I had a , a responsibility because there are persons that their life can be improved through the information that I am providing. So, oh , it , it was , uh, it was just shocking to me. It was just amazing. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> , uh, but they talk to me, oh, you remember in the , in their episode 15 that you tell, tell that . And I have to say, well , I say that <laugh>, <laugh> ,
Sara Brown:I , I said that, did I really ? Oh , well , I guess I did <laugh> .
Manolo:Yeah , they know exactly everything. And I say , oh my God, <laugh> . But that , that , uh, helped me because , uh, every podcast, I, my goal is to improve it mm-hmm. <affirmative> and to try that , uh, at the end, the person that , uh, just listen to the podcast can, that , that information can be useful.
Sara Brown:Wow. What problems do you see in the field, and what do you think can be done to correct them?
Manolo:Well, there , there will be some combinations. Uh, we have here in Puerto Rico establish , uh, a model, and right now I am a contractor of APH to Jeff , uh, t hat, g imme t hat opportunity. A nd w e a re s upporting a ll o f o ur t eachers w ith the APH products. U m, and we a re, uh, doing in Spanish, all the training in Spanish o r Braille Blaster, t he Page Blaster, t he Pix Blaster, the Mantis, the Chameleon, uh, k now that t he Chameleon mantis have a Spanish version. So that's something that, uh, overcame that barrier, t hat language barrier. They, they overcame also the, um, um, the c ost of the equipment since APH has quota over here in Puerto Rico also have q uota. So I , I am talking about Puerto Rico and the way w hat w e, we d o it, uh, supporting in Spanish language and in educational related to APH. So that's wonderful. W e, w e, APH also have created centers, e ight centers in the, a educational < inaudible> h ere in Puerto Rico. So the teacher can visit a nd can use the equipment, o r that's, uh, a g reat model. So n o o o other countries does not have that opportunity. O other Spanish speaking countries. That's what I then, uh, keep creating, uh, c ustom software and all t hat stuff. But there's another, uh, recommendation that I g ive to any blind student that, uh, want to learn, uh, s peaking, uh, Spanish speaking blind student that want to, uh, learn coding, they must start in the best way that they can d o, learn s ome English, because coding, it i s in English by itself. And, uh, if you want to be a programmer, a c oder, sooner or later, you w ill need to, to understand some English, t he, the best t hat, t hat, that you can. And has been w ork. I have been, uh, mentoring a s tudent from different p arts, a nd I have made t he arrangement, I have to, um, get voluntaries that can teach, uh, using WhatsApp or, um, s oon, uh, to try to help them supported in, in certain times, uh, uh, English and, a nd all t his stuff. So yeah, English, it is important in the coding, and we have to t rying to see our reality and trying to resolve t hat situation. U m, when we resolve, uh, t hat, t hat's a multifactorial, uh, situation that is, i s not that easy to just w in one decision and maybe, we'll, w e'll never get to the optimal r esult where we have to do, uh, something and we have to start, uh, learning in our, um, implementation and try at the end that more blind students can be programmers.
Sara Brown:So you're also part of our new device called the Monarch. Can you talk about what your part on the development of the Monarch included?
Manolo:Well, I , I am working just as a early beta tester , uh, thank you to Jeff and make observations or recommendation. And definitely , um, when we are ready to implement it , uh, in Spanish to our Spanish teachers here in Puerto Rico, we will do it, and APH will be supported. So , uh, it is a great technology. I just love the Monarch multi-line <laugh> braille display, and it is , uh, a challenge to develop so new innovative technology, but , uh, have also , um, uh, very , uh, responsibility also that it , it can be , uh, uh, a tool also to all student , including that one , uh, blind student that speaks Spanish. So that , that's , uh, my , um, the best way that , that I can support that great development of APH.
Sara Brown:Can you talk, one thing I'd like to know is braille. Are you a braille reader?
Manolo:Well , definitely.
Sara Brown:So talk to me about the importance of braille. I understand the importance of braille, but then there's some families out there that have children who are blind or low vision and don't really see a need to have them learn it.
Manolo:Definitely. Braille is <inaudible> . Uh , the , the way the , the, when we access braille, what we really are doing , uh, with our fingers are reading and we identify the form of that letter. Uh , one is A one and two is B. It is similar as a person that can see the a , uh, can see the form of the , uh, alphabet, the Roman , uh, alphabet. So the , the only , uh, system that we , uh, can provide equal access to reading and, and to writing, writing , uh, it is braille. And I cannot have make it seen in , uh, my knowledge of braille , uh, especially in math classes, that there's no way that you can resolve , uh, an ar algebra exercise, a geometric exercise without using a braille code with, in a concrete way. And you cannot depend on your memory , uh, to do math problem because just one number that you forgot that you will have the , the reserve , uh, run. And for coding, coding braille, it is just , uh, so powerful. I use my Manis, or all the time when I coding , I can know if a variable, it is an uppercase and it's a lowercase, all the special characters. So I strongly , uh, recommend , uh, all of our blind student that lay braille and the teacher that instruct our kids in braille. It is very important, and I say it always to TVIs, you have , uh, uh, very, very, very , uh, responsibility, right ? Responsibility is to teach braille to our students. If you don't teach braille, then well , we are in jeopardy and who's gonna teach our kids braille? And the only way that we can guarantee that braille keep , uh, current , and now with technology, it is , uh, amazing , um, alternative like the mon if , uh, thanks in part to our TVI, that that can teach that skill to our blind students.
Sara Brown:My last question, I always like to ask, is there anything you would like to say, whether it be about programming, braille, anything you wanna wanna add to this conversation of your life?
Manolo:Well , um, just to be persistent , uh, in life, you, at the end when you finally did what you really wanted , then you will have a lot of ion , but it , it not always be easy, but be persistent , uh, have a positive attitudes. Is , is that important? Uh , I will finish telling you that, going back to the story of my counselor at the high school, when I finish my degree, I photocopy the diploma of , uh, my grade , uh, is in , uh, computer science Business administration. And I went to my school and I went to this , uh, director , uh, office and I said , uh, I would like to talk with the counselor. And she just, just retired , uh, last year. And I said , well , uh, I take out the photocopy of my diploma. I said , I want that. We can put that in the special education office because that will be inspiring to other student that will receive a lot of, no , that will be in a greatest disadvantage, but if you perseverance at the end, you can do it along , uh, against a lot. And the TVI a , that TVI, that was there, that was my TVI, just love the idea and put it and that great , uh, bring me a lot of satisfaction, but the persistent , the perseverance and you just know that at the end you'll have that satisfaction , uh, to do it. I would like also to mention that I'm starting to translate all of my, so work from Spanish to English, so you can check the show notes and will be links so you can also download it and also more students can benefit from it.
Sara Brown:Alright , Manolo, thank you so much for coming on Change Makers and talking to me and telling me you're , and sharing, sharing your story with me.
Manolo:Thank you for your invitation. I , I appreciate it.
Sara Brown:Thank you very much for listening to this episode of Change Makers. I put links to Manolo's website, he mentioned in the show notes. And as always, be sure to look for ways you can be a change maker this week.