[Nfb-science] Hello

[qubit]

Hi Karen --
Are you saying that a tactile graphic should always include a verbal 
description? I think this could be helpful, but sometimes verbal 
descriptions can confuse as much as they can enlighten.  It depends on the 
picture.
As a person who had low vision while getting my degrees, I used a CCTV to 
enlarge the pictures -- some pics I couldn't see as my vision was quite 
distorted -- but the simple graphs and diagrams such as math graphs and 
circuits or other diagrams that contained only outlines and no shading, I 
had no trouble seeing.
Moreover, my vision was so bad that I had to magnify to almost the max to 
zoom in on what I needed to see, and I had only a foggy idea of the context 
of what I was looking at.  This caused me a little difficulty in some 
subjects, but nothing insurmountable.

As for tactile pictures, I learned braille early but seldom used it until I 
lost the rest of my vision. Hence I know how to read it, but my fingers are 
just not sensitive in identifying what is in a picture.  Case in point, at 
the campus where I did my undergraduate studies there was a large tactile 
map of campus on one wall of one of the blind reading rooms in the library. 
Even though I walked all over campus, I found it hard to follow what the map 
"looked like" in the big picture.  I don't know if it was a translation step 
from tactile to visual that I was trying to do -- but reading tactile 
diagrams was simply difficult.  I wonder if this is true for all partially 
sighted students.  How do totally blind persons do with tactile graphics?
I am still working on my braille and tactile sensitivity and perception.
I compare it to learning a foreign language -- you're not supposed to resort 
to translating words in your head from one language to another -- similarly 
in tactile reading, I think you have to suppress the tendency of visualizing 
everything -- in the visual cortex or wherever that is done -- but get used 
to just recognizing touch and orientation etc.

Anyone want to shoot my hypothesis out of the water? *smile*

Karen, are you sighted?
--le



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "KEC at VISI.COM" <kec at visi.com>
To: "NFB Science and Engineering Division List" <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 10:13 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-science] Hello


Hello,
    This tactile graphics is an issue that keeps coming up.  As a sighted
person, and a "science person" who has transcribed science/math materials as
well as tutored some blind students, I believe that the tactile graphics are
fine if use with an educated reader who can clearly explain what you are
feeling.  I think too often the graphic looks good to a sighted person, and
yet is misleading to someone who doesn't see.  Also, since some people with
visual impairment see well enough to have images enlarged on the computer,
it is only a subset of the blind community who truly relies on tactile
images.  I would like to see if we can have educated individuals who can
give a verbal description that accompanies tactile images/materials.  I have
repeated seen blind individuals not have the same understanding of a graphic
image as sighted ones.  This is just based on the "snap shot" view that a
sighted indivual has that is not duplicated when you are feeling the whole
image.  Simple verbal descriptions that give an understanding of what the
"larger picture is" and possible 3D models rather than images would be a
great improvement. I have been trying to encourage educators of this
approach, but they complain about the costs and state this is how it has
always been done.  If anyone on the list agrees and have an ideas on how we
could make this improvement, I believe that is would help many.
Karen

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kartik Sawhney" <sawhney.kartik at gmail.com>
To: "nfb-science" <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 2:05 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-science] Hello


> Hi,
>
> Thanks a lot Mike for the reply from your side. I wanted to know if
> these techniques enabled you to understand all sorts of diagrams with
> ease. As it is, Physics curriculum is full of diagrams only. How did
> you manage 3-dimentional figures. Further, explaining complex
> structures as loops when dealing with electrostatics becomes tough.
> Isn't it? How did you manage it then? I would request other people on
> list to kindly comment and help me out as well. Further, is the
> curriculum of the American universities as MIT  and others have a
> curriculum for Computer Sciences and Electronic Engineering which is
> suitable for completely blind students?
>
> Regards,
> -Kartik.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfb-science mailing list
> Nfb-science at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-science_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Nfb-science:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-science_nfbnet.org/kec%40visi.com
>


_______________________________________________
Nfb-science mailing list
Nfb-science at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-science_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
Nfb-science:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-science_nfbnet.org/lauraeaves%40yahoo.com