there could be any number of reasons she might not feel comfortable using the BN. Simple familiarity and ease with hard copy braille is a good one. Concern that she might lose her place or not be able to do her speech smoothly. i think it would depend on the circumstances. There might be times I'd use hard copy and times I'd use the BN. well, for me, most of the time when I do speeches or sing for that matter, I do it all from memory, because I hate having to carry anything on stage with me. i think that the example of an interactive speech would be a good opportunity to use a braille note, because you can stop and start. Perhaps though, if I was going to read a long part of a speech or a novel aloud, I might choose hard copy. And especially if it was poetry, I'd use hard copy braille. When I first had mine, i would not have been comfortable using it to read for a public presentation. Now I'm used to using it just about anywhere so would have more confidence. I highly doubt Sandy's problem is shame over her technology. mine sure wasn't. My hesitating to use it came from still having a lot of confidence in hard copy and feeling unsure of myself using the BN. Give me a PC, and i can do anything, in public or not, but the BN was new territory that I just learned as i went along.
Sherry -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ann K. Parsons Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2005 5:39 AM To: Braillenote List Subject: [Braillenote] Braillenote or hard copy Hi all, Sandi kelly writes: > Tomorrow I am presenting at our semi-annual inservice > day at work. > I spent the time making a hard copy of my speech. I > don't feel comfortable > using my braillenot for my speech. What I want to know > is what other people > do. It is an interactive speech and I will be doing > some starting and > stopping. > > I did not write it myself. It is a scripted > presentation. ugh. > > I am just curious what other people do. > I will use my hard copy tomorrow because that is what > I am the most > comfortable with this time. Sandi, my first question is why are you uncomfortable using the BN for your presentation? Seems to me if you were making a presentation involving responses from a group, that it might be nice to have the info on a BrailleNote. There's no futzing about with huge bloppy Braille sheets, no turning pages, no trying to find your place in a document while the audience is waiting for you to speak. There are any number of reasons why using a BrailleNote makes sense. When I was in a concert last spring, the words were all in Hebrew. Now, I'm not Jewish and I don't speak or read or write Hebrew. So, I had a friend copy the transliterated text of the words to the Bloch Sacred Service into a doc file. I transferred it to my BN. I used it in the concert. (BTW, for all you choral singers out there, if anybody wants the words to the Bloch, just write me and I'll send it.) You know, this just made me think of something. If there are others out there who have words to hymns, songs and choral pieces and they want to share, what better way to do it than by using a BN? I don't read Braille Music, but having word to certain pieces makes sense. I have somebody braille the words to the Carmina Burana and I have them in an old, dusty folder. But if we do it again, I'm going to get an electronic copy. Again, if anybody wants the Bloch just yell! Now the case of the BN is black, that was no problem, but the strap is also black. So it would have shown up on my white blouse. So, I corralled a friend who found some lace in her sewing basket. We replaced the black strap with the white lace and all was well. The little clips for the strap for the case aren't hard to find, I think I may get somebody I know to make a white strap for me and I'll have it if I need it again. I was thrilled to have my BN with me on stage! I just reveled in the ability to read my words, follow the music and be right on time and right on cue! The real issue here is why you are uncomfortable using the BrailleNote. If it's a voiceNote, then I can see a problem, but if it's a BrailleNote, just turn off the blessed speech and use it. Is it that you are worried that your co-workers or your boss is going to think you're weird for using your BrailleNote? Is it that you think you will stand out? What? Lady, if you're embarrassed about using a piece of equipment that is like a pencil, then you better grow up! Who the Hell cares how you have the script written? You could write it on birch bark if you wanted to do so, so long as you have the script. A BrailleNote is a piece of equipment that helps you to be interdependent! If anybody says anything, to you, tell them to go suck eggs! Ann P. -- Ann K. Parsons email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WEB SITE: http://home.eznet.net/~akp Skype: Putertutor "All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost." JRRT ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
