[nabs-l] braille displays

[Jewel]

Hi,
Jewel here. I have a Focus 40. For me, the main benefit is not
wondering how a word is spelled while I'm reading it, knowing where
the punctuation is put, and being able to read instead of listening to
e-mails, books, and schol work.

An example: In Spanish class, we have to know how to spell words
correctly. Without the braille display, I have to listen to each
letter individually for every word. This takes waaay to long. Also, I
am given worksheets where I need to put the answer within the area of
the line. If I am lsstening to this, I have to go word by word until
it says underline underline underline. With a braille display, I can
find the line just while reading and can press a cursor routing key to
go directly to that area.

I had no troulb e setting up the display. It comes with a CD that you
put in the computer and goes step by step through the process. Also,
it has a Braille translation key that, when on, translates whatever
you are reading into grade 2 Braille, whether on-line, in a word or
TXT file, or hatever. To read a BRF file, you just press the braille
translation key to turn that off.

I'm still learning how to use the display as a keyboard, but it is
proving promising. I know how to move through a file without touching
the keyboard, and am learning how to type using the six-dot keyboard
(which is actually eight because it can do computer Braille).

I wanted to show someone how much of a difference the dislay made for
me, so I read a file for the first time via the JAWS speech, answered
comprehension questions, then read it with the Braille display and
answered other questions. I got way more comprehension when I read the
file with the display.

I've never use d a Braille note, but with the Focus 40, I have several
options for panning, using a wizwheel, two rocker switches, and two
panning buttons. For examle, I tend to use the right panning button
for panning while reading a long file, because I can just tap it at
the end of the line before moving b ack to the beginning of the line.
When I'm skimming a document, I use the wizwheeel to skim by line,
paragraph, or sentence. Moving the cursor is easy, like I said
earlier, by just pressing the button above the cell you want the
cursor to move to.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer.

~Jewel

On 4/28/11, Nicole B. Torcolini at Home <ntorcolini at wavecable.com> wrote:
> What model and KS version of the BrailleNote do you have? You can use the
> BrailleNote as a Braille display for the computer.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 7:08 PM
> Subject: [nabs-l] braille displays
>
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I’d love to have a braille display.  If I work for a government
>> organization or contractor, they will likely purchase one for me as they
>> have the funds for it.
>> But privately, I don’t know.  Isn’t the typical display $3000?
>>
>> Anyway, as I dream of what I think its benefits are, I’d like to know the
>> reality of them.
>> I’m not an auditory person and I’ve just thought that reading the display
>> via the computer will afford me the opportunity to see the punctuation and
>>
>> spelling you miss with speech.
>>
>> So for those of you who use displays, what are your thoughts?
>> What display do you have?  How does it work?  What are the benefits?  Is
>> it like the Brialle Note display where the cursor can be moved at the
>> touch of a button?  Do the pins stay duravle?  If not, how often do they
>> need maintenance?
>> If you buy a display to work with jaws, is it hard to install?
>> Also, can the display show you grade 2 braille in text documents?  I mean
>> does it automatically convert to grade 2 braille even though its text? If
>> not, do you have to convert to .brf to run it?
>>
>>
>> Any pros and cons, I’d like to hear.
>>
>> I have the display on the Braille Note and do not use speech.  The braille
>>
>> is quiet and works so much more efficiently for me!
>>
>>
>> Ashley
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