Hi Charles: Personally, I think we are running into one of those generation issues. It is clear to me you and I won't agree on this topic despite discussions of cost of braille, how much space it takes, or any other such limitation I personally have with braille.
The reason many professionals feel learning braille when computers and other devices have screen readers or similar voice output is that the technology is more beneficial and more useful than is braille in today's society. Let me give you a few examples. When I was in grade school, just losing my sight, I started learning braille. Now, obviously when I did my home work I had to write it down on a ten ton braille writer, that was very heavy to carry back and forth to school, and when I got my homework done I turned it into my teacher. She then took my brailed homework, handed it to the VI teacher who would read the braille, write down the answers onto a print sheet of paper, stapled it to my braille homework, and gave it back to the regular teacher. A lot of unnecessary work involved in converting my braille homework into print when the technology exists to skip that step completely. Several years later when I went to high school I decided to attend a regular high school with no VI teachers, no braille books, and it was all made possible through technology. We had a computer in the computer lab with a computer running Jaws for Dos, Jaws for Windows, and I believe Openbook 2.0. Anyway, I was able to scan and read the print homework the teachers handed out with a standard flatbed scanner and Openbook. I was able to write down my answers in Word Perfect, and print out my answers on a standard printer and turn it in the same day or next morning. It was more effective and more efficient to rely on my computer technology than it was to use braille. Now days I still rely on my technology and hardly ever have a need for braille. I carry around with me a Toshiba laptop, that weighs about 3 pounds, and certainly is a lot less heavy as a braille writer. It has five hours on a standard charge, and I usually have an extra battery in my case for longer trips giving me upwards of ten hours of battery life. I can use it for writing down notes, shopping lists, reading books in electronic formats, and so forth. I am presently looking into purchasing an iPhone or iPad to be my next generation portable device. I have yet to encounter someone who can prove to me that braille would improve my quality of life in any measurable way. So if you believe braille is better I'd like to here your opinions on how and in what way I can do better with braille what I am doing with technology. Cheers! On 12/11/13, Charles Rivard <[email protected]> wrote: > That's why I still say that hardcopy braille is the best solution. You read > > it yourself with no special equipment. Most blind people do, or should > learn to, read braille, just as most sighted people must learn to read > print. If health issues prevent you from independently reading braille, > that's another matter. Maybe an HTML document should also be provided. > Most of the problem that blind people don't read braille is the attitude of > > professionals who say, and I have personally heard them say this, "Why > should they learn braille when computers have screen readers?" I ask them, > > "How about doing away with printed material altogether, and provide > everyone, sighted or blind, with a screen reader? If sighted students are > required to learn to read, why aren't blind students?" They don't have an > answer. > > --- > Be positive! When it comes to being defeated, if you think you're finished, > > you! really! are! finished! --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
