December 12/97

SARAW funded for French version of program

lhe Organization for Economic Co-

operation and Development
(OECD) recently held an international
conference in Vancouver on Policy
Strategies for Improving: Literacy
Skills.

“As part of this conference,
delegates wished to visit exemplary
literacy programs in the Vancouver
area’’, said Linda Mitchell, executive
director of Literacy B.C. Fourteen
delegates, representing 12 different
countries came to visit the Speech
Assisted Reading And Writing
(SARAW) lab at Capilano College.

SARAW received the Association
for Canadian Community Colleges’
Award of Excellence in Literacy in

College alumnus
continues to
contribute to his
alma mater

apilano College alumnus

Leonard Lee certainly knows the
meaning and the value of the term
lifelong learner.

He first came to Capilano College
in 1982, enrolling in academic studies.
After attending the University of
British Columbia, where he majored in
math with a Computer Science option,
he returned to Capilano College in
1984 and completed the two-year
Computer Systems Management
Diploma program.

After graduation, Leonard moved to
Toronto where he worked in computer
operations for ScotiaMcLeod Inc. and
as a computer analyst with Bell
Canada. When his contract ended in
the fall of ’88, Leonard returned to
Vancouver and worked with Crown
Paper as a data processing analyst in
charge of a national enterprise.

“T quit in 1991 and travelled to
Europe for a few months — something
I should have done right out of high
school,” he says. “I wanted to travel

1992, and the Governor General’s Flight
for Freedom Award in 1996.

SARAW is a talking computer
program designed to teach basic reading
and writing skills to adults with
physical disabilities. Special features
allow students to access the program
even if they cannot operate a standard
computer keyboard.

The SARAW program was developed
as a partnership between Capilano
College and the Neil Squire Foundation.
The generosity of many organizations,
most notably Digital Equipment of
Canada Ltd., has enabled the
distribution of 207 SARAW computer
systems (equipment valued in excess of
$1 million) to colleges and community

Leonard Lee

and experiment — to see what I really
wanted to do in my life.”

He returned to Vancouver and sold
insurance for New York Life. “I did
quite well and even won the rookie
salesman of the year award in 1992,” he
says, “but I realized my heart was in
computers.”

In 1993, Leonard started his own
business called Binary Computer
Systems and just recently launched it as
a full-time practice. “I provide high
level computer services to small and
medium sized businesses,” he explains.
“Companies that can’t afford full-time
specialists hire me.”

The cycling enthusiast’s best memory
of Capilano College was when his
computer class won a national
programming competition put on by
Ontario’s Carleton University. “We

groups across Canada.

The development of SARAW
began in 1990, a collaboration
between Capilano College literacy
instructor, Pat Hodgson, and Don
Bentley, a computer programmer at
the Neil Squire Foundation. Don also
teaches ABE at Capilano College.
This month, the College and the
Foundation received from the
National Literacy Secretariat,
funding for a French version of
SARAW. Lyn Gareau, a French
instructor at Capilano College, will
be collaborating with Pat and Don on
this latest enhancement.

Submitted by Don Bentley

worked two years on our project and we
beat all colleges in Canada. One time we
worked in the computer room for 54
hours straight. I also enjoyed the
Mountain Bike Racing Group, which I
started at the College.

“T think Capilano College is a hidden
gemstone that has yet to be discovered,”
Leonard adds. “It gives a good balance
between academic studies and hands-on
experience. Plus, the instructors are all
top-notch and they have experience
working in the real world — for
example, Richard Longworth, Bawn
Campbell and Crawford Kilian, to
name a few.”

Last spring, Leonard was elected to
the board of the Capilano College
Foundation where he represents College
alumni. As a lifelong learner, he
continues to take courses that will keep
him ahead of the competition. In 1992,
he took a First Aid course at Capilano
College and currently he is taking
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
courses.

The married father of one lives the
marketing rule: look for opportunities
where there is change. “My long-term
plan is to establish Binary here in the
Lower Mainland and possibly in Calgary
and to establish myself in the Internet
community,” he says. “The nice thing
about this industry is that it’s constantly
changing.” So, too, is Leonard.