Rocky Casino
March 16, 2015
Speech 1 A
Dr. Crystal Lane Swift Ferguson
Informative Outline
I. Introduction
A. Attention Device: Luis Perez has a love of photography. He likes to take pictures
wherever he goes. Pictures of cars, sunsets, beaches, anything; however when he
arrives at a photo shoot, people are both startled and confused at the long white cane
he walks with. Luis is almost blind.
B. Source: According to the New York Times of September 30, 2013 “Smartphones and
tablets, with their flat glass touch screens and nary a texture anywhere, may not seem
like the best technological innovation for people who cannot see. But advocates for
the blind say the devices could be the biggest assistive aid to come along since Braille
was invented in the 1820s.”
C. Reveal Topic: With the use of smartphones, researchers are creating apps that will
benefit the visually impaired for years to come.
D. Justification: In fact, these apps could help advance the visually impaired to new
levels of living, almost giving back their sense of sight in a way.
E. Preview: Today we will discuss the past study of the daily lives of the visually
impaired without this technology, the present study of this technology’s advantages,
and the future inventions and benefits this research can lead too.
II.Body
A. Transition to Point One: Every day people with visual impairments lead as normal
lives as they can with their disabilities, with aides that have been put into place for
decades.
1. History of Problem: With aides such as Seeing Eye dogs and canes the blind have
come far leading their lives, but there are difficulties that still arise. According to
JM Saez, F Escolano, and MA Lozano from popsci.com of January 16, 2015,
these aides are little help for obstacles like overhanging branches on a sidewalk,
or maybe even a partially open garage door. As a matter of fact there are even
more obstacles blind people face that trouble them throughout their daily lives.
2. Summation of Point 1: Due to these overhead obstacles that are sometimes
unavoidable, there is a possibility of injury to visually impaired people. However,
the Wall Street Journal of October 15, 2012, says, “Increasingly, a new generation
of products is on the rise to help enhance visually impaired consumers’ emotional
well-being and keep them more connected to society.”
B. Transition to Point Two: The good news these products are becoming more known
in today’s society and there are multiple advantages to this technology.
1. Explanation of Research: Advantages of some of this technology would include
being able to avoid over-hanging obstacles, being able to detect colors, and read
