Brandon

I was very excited when I heard about the Trekker Contest giveway. The main reason that I want a Trekker is I believe it will help me become more independent, confident in my travels, and I love technology. Although I am comfortable using a cane for every day travel, the Trekker would be especially useful in unfamiliar areas, because it will help me figure out where different places are. I believe that technology has helped me become less dependent on the sighted world, and I like being able to do things for myself. I have been able to use a Braille Note and Jaws to help me do classroom work efficiently. I think the Trekker will provide advantages with travel and mobility, that these other pieces of technology have provided to me at school in the classroom.

I have several specific uses in which the Trekker will be able to help me with travel skills during the upcoming year. This summer our marching band will be going to Central Michigan University for one week of band camp. The Trekker will make it easier to navigate this large college campus since the football field is a good distance from the dorm rooms. Each day we meet at the field for marching practice. The Trekker will also help me more easily locate the cafeteria and malt shop. The Malt Shop is on the edge of campus and is a good place to get pizza and ice cream.

I will also be able to use the Trekker as a back-up travel tool while working at Camp Tuhsmeta this summer. I am pretty familar with the camp, however, it might be helpful if I wanted to take a walk farther in to the woods. This year I am working as a cooks helper, but during my free time it would be fun to show the Trekker to some of the younger campers and explain how it works and how one might eventually benefit them. I always enjoyed the time when counselors showed me new technology.

It would also be useful to use this summer when I am boating on the lake near our house. I will be able to use to find my way to shore, when I am Kayaking. I usually go out with my brother but with the Trekker I will be able to go out on my own. I will be able to set points around the lake, and use them to figure out where I am. I might even take out our families motorboat since there is little traffic on our lake (after I get my boaters safety license off the internet).

I could also use it on our family beach trip to North Carolina. I would be able to put a point in front of our beach house so I could find my way back after taking a walk on the beach. Every year, my brother and cousin walk down the beach looking for girls. I will ask them to tell me where the teenage girls are staying. This way I will be able to know when to slow down during my walks on the beach, so that I can more easily meet new friends. There is also a place on the beach where a tidal pool forms about a quarter of a mile away from the house. This will make it easy for me to go to the tidal pool to go fishing. It is easy to catch flounders and spot in the tidal pool, but I usually have to depend on someone to help me find my way there and back. It would be cool if I could catch some fish for our family to eat.

Next fall I think it would be helpful to use the Trekker during the band trip to disney world. We will be at Disney for one week. While we are there, we will be visiting theme parks, marching down Main Street, work with disney musicians, and staying at a hotel. The Trekker will make it easier for me to navigate these places on my own.

I realize as I get older I will use the Trekker more and more, since I am becoming more independent. It will definitely be a great thing to have when I am in college. I also have family on the East Coast, and traveling through the airports would be made easier.

Another exciting advantage to owning a trekker is that it would open my eyes to the world. Sighted kids can look down the street and see what stores, restaurants, and fun places to visit. I am at the mercy of the driver to tell me what he or she sees which could limit my choices. The Trekker would help me see what the other kids see using mapped points on the Trekker.

I am already familiar with the Braille Note GPS as I attended a weekend technology event. We each got a chance to do various way finding tasks which included finding a person in the middle of a field located 1000 yards away. We also used it to find specific locations which had been mapped out. I am planning on attending the GPS weekend this year so I can learn even more about the GPS and any of its new features.

This past spring, I was a guest speaker at the MAER conference in Livonia, and I had the opportunity to look at the Trekker at the Humanware table. The size of the unit would make it easy to carry around. I also thought that the tactile keyboard made the PDA very accessible.

In summary I hope that you will keep me in mind when making the decision about who will win the Trekker. I think this is a great piece of technology and I feel that it will benefit me a lot. I have mentioned a few examples of where I know I am able to use the Trekker, but if I am lucky enough to win I am sure I will find many many more uses for this great piece of technology. I will also show this to other kids so they can understand its benefits. I also believe that the younger kids learn about new technology the better. back