Comments on: Death in the Social Web

By: Martin Kliehm

Martin Kliehm — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:20:31 +0000

You brought a smile to my heart.

Wonderful. That’s what I intended.

By: goodwitch

goodwitch — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:32:39 +0000

Martin, you are right. This wonderful web can give us the opportunity to connect with people on a very deep level. The more we have in common and the more we know about each other, the stronger the ties. In the past, it was hard to influence people who didn't have direct physical contact with you. But you have shown here, that the death of a man you never met… touched you.

Thank you for sharing these thoughts. You brought a smile to my heart. Indeed, John’s legacy lives on.

By: Matt B

Matt B — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:24:07 +0000

Here’s John’s obit in the Austin-American statesman.

John was interested in collaborative learning — how students can help each other learn in a classroom. The first time he set up a classroom computer lab, which I think was in the mid- or late-80s, he was struck by how the technology could change how people learn. I don’t remember the particulars, but network technology affords different types of interactions among learners.

By then John was legally blind, but he still had central vision. In the late-90s I think he could still see enough to use a computer without a screenreader, but he had already started to learn braille and screenreaders (esp Jaws). By 2000 he was using Jaws a lot.

This led John to accessibility and usability, and we owe him a lot for his work.