[blindkid] Question: Braille Displays or Paper Braille for Increased Reading Speed?

[Arielle Silverman]

Hi Sally,

It surprises me that your son couldn't efficiently navigate back to
specific parts of the text on the BrailleNote. Although there is the
disadvantage of not being able to locate section headings, the
BrailleNote does have the find command, which allows one to search for
a specific word or phrase anywhere in the text. Did he try using the
Find command (space + F)? It may also be possible to replace section
headings with double paragraph breaks.
I agree with you, though, that hard-copy Braille allows us to see how
documents are formatted.

Arielle

On 7/16/13, Sarah Thomas <seacknit at gmail.com> wrote:
> Although I think a braille display could be a faster way to absorb braille
> if one is an efficient user, I worry about the thought that the display
> could be thought of as a replacement for paper braille.  One important
> difference in my mind, is learning how a page is formatted.  Also,
> formatting is a means of conveying information.
>
> When the school district my son attended learned that print could be
> converted to braille with a .doc file on the braillenote, they tried to give
> him 40 (print) page reading assignments with questions at the end that
> referred to specific paragraphs in the text.  It was not possible for him to
> navigate the assignment on the braillenote with efficiency.  As unfortunate
> as it is, there is not one solution to the braille reading issue.
>
> Sally Thomas
>
>
> On Jul 17, 2013, at 3:29 AM, Allison Hilliker <AllisonH at benetech.org>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Hi All,
>>
>>
>>
>> I had a question that came to my mind due in part to the fascinating
>> Braille discussion we've had on this list lately. Do you know if Braille
>> format has any impact on Braille reading speeds and fluency? In other
>> words, is one more likely to increase their reading speed by using
>> hardcopy Braille as opposed to a Braille display? Or does Braille reading
>> speed simply increase with practice regardless of how one gets their
>> Braille? Are your kids/students increasing reading speeds through their
>> displays or do they still use hardcopy a lot when learning?
>>
>>
>>
>> I ask because an NFB member who is also a Braille instructor once told me
>> that It is harder to increase reading speed using a Braille display than
>> it is using paper Braille. Does anyone know if this is true?
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Allison
>>
>>
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