Writing a code of universal empathy

After COVID-19 struck, Choi, who is based in New York, continued meeting his Ebenezer School students online. In one of his workshops, students composed poems about their living spaces, used a handy tag to translate them into HTML, which, in turn, was interpreted in the form of graphics using ASCII coding. The patterns that emerged from this exercise have been adapted to make quilted laptop sleeves. It's a coming full circle of sorts. The poems the Ebenezer students composed now exist in tactile and tangible form.

Choi, who has worked with hearing-impaired and physically challenged groups before, says he was "inspired by the curiosity of the students and how they use technology to connect with friends, navigate the city, and play video games."

"Technology needs to support people with various abilities and access needs. It's important to avoid furthering discrimination against the marginalized people by creating inaccessible technology," he adds.