[Blindmath] Data on braille vs. speech use

Sun Mar 20 23:51:51 UTC 2016

We (ETS & Design Science) conducted a study as part of a IES grant. The
study compared MathPlayer's speech/navigation using a Word document
(NVDA+MathPlayer+MathType) against braille and large print for blind and
low vision students taking algebra 1 thru pre-calc classes. The results
were that there were no significant differences in comprehension rates
although students preferred their standard method of access. The lack of
difference held across students and across preferred formats. There was no
significant difference in the time they took to solve the problems either.

Caveat: the study was small (21 students) by normal standards, but moderate
by the standards of studies involving students with vision disabilities.

My paper talking about this was accepted at ICCHP for this summer. ETS will
publish a detailed report on the study in their ETS Research Report Series
<https://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports/ets> in a month or
two.

Note: I don't think this has to be an either/or issue. NVDA+MathPlayer
supports refreshable braille devices along with magnification. Some other
systems support both also. Of course, that's not the same as embossed
braille, but it is cheaper and more immediate.

Neil Soiffer

On Sun, Mar 20, 2016 at 11:55 AM, Ken Perry via Blindmath <
blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> I agree with this in fact I wish my braille skills would have grown quickly
> but truth is when I lost my sight I found that I sucked at braille.  Maybe
> if I took a couple years to really work at it I would have been better long
> ago.  I didn't want to take time learning braille though I wanted to get
> back out in the work world which meant I used what I had and got through
> college as quick as I could.  Even though that turned out not to happen
> because I started working at the college which slowed down my classes.
>
> Ken
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve
> Jacobson via Blindmath
> Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2016 7:38 PM
> To: 'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics'
> <blindmath at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
> Subject: Re: [Blindmath] Data on braille vs. speech use
>
> Hi,
>
> There are so many variables that I think it would be difficult to provide
> an
> answer that is of value.  If one had the ability that Ken describes, it is
> going to make doing math with speech easier.  If one is going to pursue
> math
> seriously, I think one needs to at least get enough exposure to braill to
> be
> able to fairly assess their own capabilities.  Having said that, I would
> certainly not tell someone who could not learn braille that they should
> give
> up on math.  There are people on this list who have shown that would be
> wrong.
>
> However, if one is looking for a way to know for sure that learning braille
> would not be worth it, I just don't think it is possible to say with
> certainty.  If one has the option, it makes sense to have as many tools in
> one's box as one can get, and being able to take advantage of braille and
> speech and figuring out where they fit in best in one's processes makes the
> most sense to me.  In the case of math, I don't think one's reading speed
> with braille is all that important.  In fact, since much of my use of
> braille as an adult has been examining computer code and to a lesser degree
> math, my reading speed has fallen because I tend to read for detail.If one
> is considering in this discussion using a one line braille display, I think
> braille's advantages are definitely smaller.  Being able to have multiple
> lines available by embossing on paper is a big plus.  I hope we see that
> multi-line braille display at some point.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
>
>
> On 3/19/16, Aqil Sajjad via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> > Is there any available data on the effectiveness with which people use
> > braille or speech output for doing high-level algebra? Especially at
> > the college or grad school level? I am genuinely curious since there
> > are plenty of strongly-held opinions around but was wondering if there
> > is any data on the subject.
> >
> > For everyone's sake, I do hope that there is enough data to show that
> > both braille and speech can be used equally efficiently and that it
> > depends on the individual. But I will share my own opinions later.
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