IssieBoard, a new accessibility app developed by SAP Labs Israel in partnership with Beit Issie Shapiro (BIS), allows people with learning disabilities, visual impairments, and developmental and intellectual disabilities to use all functions of a virtual keyboard.
The app offers users large keys, making it easier to use than the default keyboard, and it enables making personal adjustments to suit the user’s needs. For example, you can alter the background color, the color of different keys and letters, divide the keyboard itself into different color sections for better orientation, and more.
IssieBoard is a new accessibility app developed by SAP Labs Israel and Beit Issie Shapiro
Technology Accessible to All
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile” -Albert Einstein
BIS is Israel’s leading organization that provides innovative therapies and services for children with disabilities and their families. BIS recognized the powerful potential of technology for people with disabilities. This is where SAP Labs Israel came in. Given SAP’s approach to helping the world run better, we focused resources on enacting positive social change through entrepreneurship and education.
As an SAP developer who worked on the project, I was incredibly moved by the good cause. Knowing I helped others communicate, read and write via technology accessible to all, makes my life more meaningful. The fact I enjoy writing iOS applications is just a bonus.
Global Recognition Elicits Awareness, Exposure, Downloads
Once IssieBoard was made available for download in English for iPhone and iPad, it was presented at the Assistive Technology Industry Association conference in Orlando, Florida, earlier this year. I also had the privilege of presenting it at Bar Ilan University’s annual volunteering conference. These appearances elicited awareness, exposure, and downloads – IssieBoard has been downloaded more than 5,000 times to date worldwide. The Department for Special Education in Israel’s Ministry of Education recently recommended that IssieBoard be used among people with disabilities across Israel.
Watch this video to find out more about how IssieBoard is making a difference in people’s lives.
Photos via SAP Labs Israel
