To avoid having to have my homework rewritten by someone else so that a
teacher could read it, I learned to type. We did not have computers at all
for blind people, as I graduated high school in 1972. I grew up using
braille, and it is still a big part of what makes life enjoyable, being to
do my own reading and not solely relying on technology to do my reading for
me. With braille, I determine the inflections and the way that things are
read, rather than relying on some form of narration. What you do on a daily
basis is best done through the use of computer and technology. I would
never want to live without braille in some form, whether it be through the
use of hardcopy or a refreshable braille display. It would be like never
actually reading a book. Sure, I can listen to books, but there's nothing
better to me than actually doing my own reading.
---
Be positive! When it comes to being defeated, if you think you're finished,
you! really! are! finished!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Ward" <[email protected]>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2013 6:53 AM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] the cost of documentation - Re: Some
practicalquestionsreguarding the Monopoly game
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].
---
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].
