Updates and news from Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/news.php 2010-03-11T14:52:41+01:00 text/html 2010-02-28T08:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=39 <a title="Visit the SS12 site" href="http://ss12.info"><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/program_ss12.jpg" alt="SS12 Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a><p>The USC vs UCLA SS12 is underway. Teams are feverishly coding. Tonight we will know which teams are going to the finals on March 6th!</p><p><a href="http://ss12.info">See the SS12 site for more information!</a></p> text/html 2009-09-24T07:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=37 <a title="Visit the SS12 site" href="http://ss12.info"><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/program_ss12.jpg" alt="SS12 Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a><p>Project:Possibility, <a href="http://acm.cs.ucla.edu/">UCLA Association for Computing Machinery</a> and <a href="http://pollux.usc.edu/~acm/">USC Association for Computing Machinery</a> are preparing for an exciting weekend of code!</p> <p>We have had three successful events at USC and one at UCLA with approximately 80 graduate and undergraduate students participating each time. We are proud to announce that this year's SS12 will be a cross-town rivalry competition between UCLA and USC's best and brightest! UCLA vs USC SS12 will be held on Feb 27-28, with a Final on March 6th.</p> <p>This event is intended to raise awareness of Assistive Technology needs and empower students to make a difference. There will also be great prizes for the winning teams, plus the pride of beating the rival school and helping people at the same time! We are also looking for industry mentors and sponsors to help guide the teams, if you are interested please <a href="http://projectpossibility.org/contact.php">contact us</a>.</p> text/html 2009-09-23T07:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=38 This means that participants in our competitions can now utilize the iPhone SDK to build Assistive Technology solutions on the iPhone platform, test their code on real iPhone and iPod Touch devices and we can distribute finished applications as free downloads via the Apple iPhone App Store directly to users! text/html 2009-02-16T08:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=36 <a href="http://ss12.info/ucla"><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/program_ss12.jpg" alt="SS12 Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a><p>The project info for the six exciting new projects from the most recent UCLA SS12 event has been <a href="http://projectpossibility.org/projects.php">uploaded!</a></p> text/html 2009-02-02T08:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=35 <a href="http://ss12.info/ucla"><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/program_ss12.jpg" alt="SS12 Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a><p>Project:Possibility and <a href="http://acm.cs.ucla.edu/">UCLA Association for Computing Machinery</a> are proud to say that our first UCLA SS12 event was a huge success! We had around 40 eager participants working on the following projects:</p> <ul> <li>Accessible Facebook</li> <li>Audio Guardian</li> <li>Color reader</li> <li>HandiMap</li> <li>Project AWE (website accessibility tagging tool)</li> <li>Word Predictor v4</li> </ul> <p>A big thank you to all our sponsors: Google, Cisco, Lockheed, UCLA ACM and Mozilla! Look for the projects to be added to our website soon! You can also check out pictures of <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/projectpossibility/UCLASS122009Orientation#">Orientation</a>, <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/projectpossibility/UCLASS12Day1#">Day 1</a>, and <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/projectpossibility/UCLASS12Day2#">Day 2!</a></p> text/html 2009-01-30T08:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=34 <a href="http://ss12.info/ucla"><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/program_ss12.jpg" alt="SS12 Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a><p>Our first SS12 24 hour code-a-thon event at UCLA put on by Project:Possibility and <a href="http://acm.cs.ucla.edu/">UCLA Association for Computing Machinery</a> is about to start! </p> <p>The competition will run all day this Saturday and Sunday. For more information visit <a href="http://ss12.info/ucla">the UCLA SS12 website.</a> If you would like to attend the project presentations and closing ceremonies at the end of the event, <a href="http://ss12.info/ucla/contact.php">please let us know!</a> text/html 2009-01-29T08:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=33 <a href="http://stevens.usc.edu/playvideo.php?v=31"><img src="http://stevens.usc.edu/images/logo.gif" alt="USC Stevens Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a><p>The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation has produced a <a href="http://stevens.usc.edu/playvideo.php?v=31">video highlighting Project:Possibility</a>.</p> <p>Thanks to USC Stevens for all their support!</p> text/html 2009-01-04T08:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=31 <p><strong>Project:Possibility is looking for project mentors!</strong></p> <p>Be a part of our exciting programming competitions and at the same time improve the lives of millions of peoples! We are looking for motivated individuals in the Los Angeles area to volunteer to lead a team of university students in developing software for persons with disabilities. We have a two day competition coming up at the end of January (<a href="http://ss12.info/ucla/">http://ss12.info/ucla/</a>) and another longer competition planned for spring.</p> <p>If you are interesting or would like more information, shoot us an email: info@projectpossibility.org</p> text/html 2008-12-18T08:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=32 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/business/smallbusiness/18edge.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&ref=smallbusiness&adxnnlx=1231699874-kw+m3HmxusTCe6w3iWHFDw"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/nytlogo379x64.gif" alt="NYTimes Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a><p>We were recently interview by James Flanigan of the New York Times and our article was published in the <a href=" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/business/smallbusiness/18edge.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&ref=smallbusiness&adxnnlx=1231699874-kw+m3HmxusTCe6w3iWHFDw">Dec 18th edition of the prestigious paper!</a> </p> text/html 2008-12-08T08:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=30 <a href="http://ss12.info/ucla"><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/program_ss12.jpg" alt="SS12 Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a>Project:Possibility and <a href="http://acm.cs.ucla.edu/">UCLA Association for Computing Machinery</a> are preparing for an exciting weekend of code. Our last successful event had approximately 50 graduate and undergraduate students participate in second annual USC SS12. Over 100 students applied to be a part of SS12. Spots are in high demand so <a href="http://ss12.info/ucla/register.php">register</a> early. This year's UCLA SS12 will be held on Jan 31st - Feb 1st. This event is intended to raise awareness around the disabled community and empower students to make a difference. Oh and there's only a $1000 cash prize for the winning team to top it off. Please visit <a href="http://ss12.info/ucla">the UCLA SS12 website</a> for all the details and latest announcements! text/html 2008-10-12T07:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=25 Project:Possibility competed in the <a href="http://stevens.usc.edu/read_article.php?news_id=377">2008 USC Student Innovator Showcase</a> sponsored annually by the <a href="http://stevens.usc.edu/">USC Stevens Institute for innovation</a>. This contest brought together 30 different student projects to compete for the most innovative ideas. Project:Possibility is proud to announce that we won the grand prize of $1000! <p>The speaker at the awards ceremony had some interesting words about our organization. He acknowledged that Project:Possibility entered the contest last year, but did not win. He said that a large part of our success this year came from our headway on implementation, shaping Project:Possibility from an idea to a &quot;movement that will have immense societal impact.&quot;</p> <p>Congratulations to the all staff and members! These are exciting times for our organization.</p> text/html 2008-09-22T07:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=24 <a href="http://ss12.info/"><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/program_ss12.jpg" alt="SS12 Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a>Project:Possibility and <a href="http://pollux.usc.edu/~acm/">USC Association for Computing Machinery</a> are gearing up for another exciting weekend of code. Last year's successful event had approximately 40 graduate and undergraduate students participate in our first ever SS12. Over 80 students applied to be a part of SS12. Spots are in high demand so <a href="http://ss12.info/">register</a> early. This year SS12 will be held on Oct 18-19th. This event is intended to raise awareness around the disabled community and empower students to make a difference. Oh and there's only a $1000 cash prize for the winning team to top it off. Please visit <a href="http://ss12.info/">the SS12 website</a> for all the details and latest announcements! text/html 2008-09-07T07:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=26 <a href="http://www.mozilla.org/"><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/partner_mozilla.gif" alt="Mozilla Foundation Logo" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" /></a>The <a href="http://mozilla.org">Mozilla Foundation</a> has awarded Project:Possibility a $15K grant to continue its efforts in spreading awareness of accessibility and encouraging students to engage in open source accessibility projects. The funds will be used in support of the Project:Possibility initiative for the continuation of the <a href="http://ss12.info">SS12 Code for a Cause</a> and <a href="http://semesterproject.info">Semester Project</a> programs, development of new programs that will pipeline university students and young professionals into the open source and assistive technology communities, a detailed design of a self-sustaining online community for open source accessibility, and injection of open source accessibility material into the university curriculum. text/html 2008-08-29T07:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=27 Project:Possibility is very excited to announce that we have obtained <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)">501(c)3 tax-exempt status</a> from the IRS. The IRS grants this coveted status upon organizations who meet specific legal requirements and operate under strict conditions with the goal of providing a public benefit. 501(c)3 status makes P:P exempt from paying federal taxes and allows any donations to be a tax deduction for the donor. This status is also a requirement by all foundations and government agencies when applying for grants. We started the process in September of 2007 when P:P was formally organized as a public charity non-profit corporation. After many forms and paperwork, legal fees, government fees, and a lot of effort we were able to surpass this milestone and be granted exempt status. This opens many doors for the project, allowing us to seek and apply for grants and accept public donations. The grants team looks forward to identifying and applying for grants that will enable P:P to continue providing programs such as SS12 and Semester Project and make headway into developing solid community based open source software to promote our mission. text/html 2008-08-27T07:00:00+01:00 http://www.projectpossibility.org Project:Possibility http://www.projectpossibility.org/viewNews.php?id=28 Project:Possibility would like to welcome two new members to the <a href="http://projectpossibility.org/about.php">Board of Directors</a>: Mark Sakata and Steve Lee. <p><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/director_mark_small.jpg" alt="Photo of Mark Sakata" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" />Mark is a Disability Specialist at <a href="http://www.pasadena.edu/">Pasadena City College</a>. He has served individuals with disabilities for over 20 years within non-profit, medical rehabilitation and post-secondary educational settings. His expertise in assistive technology includes experience as an Assistive Technology Specialist, Trainer, and Rehabilitation Counselor at the <a href="http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Facilities/UWMedicalCenter/">University of Washington Medical Center</a> in Seattle, and the <a href="http://www.csun.edu/cod/">Center on Disabilities at California State University Northridge</a>. Mark has a Masters degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and Psychology from the <a href="http://www.unc.edu/">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a>. Mark's first hand experience and contact with persons with disabilities provides P:P with a platform to showcase and test our projects with real users. His passion to help people, which is displayed in his daily job, along with his experience will be an asset to overseeing the direction of the project.</p> <p><img src="http://projectpossibility.org/image/director_steve_small.jpg" alt="Photo of Steve Lee" border="1" style="border-color:#000000; float:right; margin:1em;" />Steve is a freelance software developer and advocate of Open Source Assistive Technology and accessibility and has been creating with IT for some 27 years. Based in the UK, he plays an active part in the <a href="http://mozilla.org/">Mozilla</a> and <a href="http://www.gnome.org/">GNOME</a> accessibility developer communities as well as being a founder of <a href="http://www.oatsoft.org/">oatsoft.org</a> and board member of <a href="http://schoolforge.org.uk">schoolforge.org.uk</a>. Current activities include an open symbol set, computer and web access for those with age related disabilities, and introducing older people to the possibilities of computers and the web. Steve is also an avid <a href="http://eduspaces.net/stevelee/weblog/">blogger</a> and as such will be and enormous asset in promoting P:P in the open source accessibility communities. His passion to make technology accessible has been demonstrated over the years and will undoubtedly help in ensuring the future of P:P.</p> <p>Mark and Steve join current board members Christopher Leung, Elias Sayfi, and Stanley Lam. Board member Marc Allen has decided to step down. We wish him luck in his endeavors and hope to have him continue on the team in other roles. The Board of Directors looks forward to providing strategic planning and long-term direction to P:P in fulfilling our goals and meeting our mission. With the addition of these two very qualified individuals we're well on our way.</p>