[blindkid] something everyone should read

Sun Sep 16 19:00:04 UTC 2012

Denise,

The link is an interesting read. Thanks for that.

You may well be correct about the trends, but remember that some of the pieces now making an appearance in those statistics (such as the iPad and other iOS devices) didn't even exist less than three years ago. iOS itself has only been around (for the iPhone) for about 5 years.  The continuation of trend lines presumes some things are not going to change much with existing products. Freedom Scientific (they make JAWS) is loosing market share because there is more competition yet they are not offering a substantially improved product or more competitive pricing. Some years ago there was MUCH talk about the PAC Mate Omni from Freedom, but BrailleNotes advanced since then and the PAC Mates (so far) have not. It is hard to sell the same computer with no substantial changes for seven years, but if memory serves, the OMNI is indeed 7 years old now. A few years down he road, Freedom may have made a shift and taken back over a lot more of the market with JAWS and their notetakers, or they may sit and scratch their heads until they go out of business or get bought out.

When we're trying to guess where we're headed with technology for our kids, some still in elementary school (or younger), all we can really do IS guess. My daughter has nearly 9 years to go to high school graduation, then 4 years of college, and quite probably some time in graduate school before she is involved with technology in the "real world". Looking just at what iPads have done in 3 years, what must be likely in another 12 or 15?

The NFB may indeed help bring a car to market for the blind to drive, but it may also be that the blind join the sighted in a future where many people are driven about by autonomous cars, not out of need, but for simple convenience. The future is hard to predict, after all. 

It isn't just blindness technology or computer technology as such. I've been involved in photography rather heavily for well over 30 years. I know a LOT about which films work best for what and how to "push" and "pull" exposures and processing for films, color spaces...  how to wok in darkrooms... there are many aspects of it all, but I never use any of that information directly anymore, because now nearly all photography is completely digital. Same thing for video production I've done. I have a degree in audio engineering and I know all about recording with those huge old consoles and those giant reels of 2" wide recording tape and how all the equipment reacts to various technical issues related to analog recording. Only now we rarely use actual analog recording decks or signal processing gear, so much of that knowledge is no longer of practical use. I have every reason to believe this will happen with much of what our kids learn now about matters of adaptive technology, but we can't sit and wait to see where we end up either...

We have multiple Perkins Braillers around here and they get only minimal use. We own several embossers. I cannot remember the last time we used one of them. Instead we use a refreshable braille display. Some of Kendra's material is embossed at school, but not all. We find some advantages in embossed text books, so we still request them, but if they were properly setup, much of the text content could be as easily accessed electronically. The big hold-up is graphics. That plus the expense of a conventional electronic braille display which impacts a lot of situations.

My guess is in the next few years, someone is going to come out with a much more cost effective way to produce refreshable braille. When that happens, we will probably see a larger matrix available which could display multiple lines of braille at once, or more importantly actual graphic content. (The multiple lines being a "freebie, not a pressing need.) Once that is possible and you tie it to a proper input source, you can even digitize properly processed visual information from still photos or even live video. Once the display is available, we can produce all sorts of tactile information from otherwise visual input. Imagine the implications! Tie that to modern OCR technology and a GPS and there would seem to be few limits to O&M potential, for example. OCR reads signs, data base and GPS determine exactly where you are, etc.... Of corse we still need basic orientation skills with a cane when the battery goes dead, and we need to have that dusty Perkins around when we have to actually emboss a sheet of paper physically. It does happen now and then.

I believe we need to expose our children to all the adaptive technology we reasonably can, but to hold the schools to the highest possible standard and measure of cooperation possible as we do so. If we don't have our kids "up to speed" with what is available now, when the new technologies continue to emerge, our kids won't be ready and they will be slower to adapt and learn. Technology is going to be changing and evolving for the rest of our lives and our children's lives too, after all.

On Sep 16, 2012, at 12:40 PM, Dr. Denise M Robinson wrote:

> The debate is huge....arguements abound when people get together to discuss
> ---what technology  should be taught to a blind child--especially when it
> comes to talking software and computer OS---well, here is the data on this
> subject. WebAIM took past data and compared it to today's and here is what
> you need to learn if you are going to compete in today's job market.
> Natural trends will show you where the market is going
> 
> So if you are a teacher of the blind/visually impaired or rehabilitation
> teacher for the blind---you need to be highly proficient in these skills to
> teach your students.
> *Screen Reader User Survey #4
> Results<http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey4/?goback=.gde_2484780_member_120522872>
> *
> 
> -- 
> *Denise*
> 
> Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
> CEO, TechVision, LLC
> Specialist in Technology/Training/Teaching for blind/low vision
> 509-674-1853
> 
> Website with hundreds of informational articles & lessons on PC, Office
> products, Mac, iPad/iTools and more, all done with
> keystrokes: www.yourtechvision.com
> 
> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
> doing it." --Chinese Proverb
> 
> Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid: humans are incredibly
> slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond
> imagination.
> --Albert Einstein
> 
> It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
> --Walt Disney
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