[Nfb-science] Braille Displays

Sun Sep 5 04:52:39 UTC 2010

You may use audio as you would print, but I can think of several
instances in which a refrshable Braille display would be the better
option and well worth the cost.

The frist instance is an example from my own life. I cannot learn
audioally. It takes me twice as long to learn from an audio textbook
what I'd learn from a Brailled textbook. I know this because I have
taken Hadley classes in both audio and Braille formats and now take
them exclusively in Braille because I find it very hard to follow the
text when it is in audio format. Further, I cannot listen to an audio
clip or tape and something else at the same time (such as a teacher
talking or someone discussing the text). However, hardcopy Braille is
not always practical, even if it is available (I have a friend who got
her high school math book for this year...it is five volumes of
Braille! I think a digital Braille text would have been a better
option, especially since their house is full of Braille books in every
room, so sometimes finding the right volume is not easy, whereas
digital Braille can be labelled and searched for wih ease).

Another instance in which Braille would be preferable over audio on a
computer is for people with hearing loss. I have a friend who is
totally blind since the age of three and reads Braille at
almost-lightning speed. However, give her something to listen to and
it takes her at least twice as long to read it because she has to go
back over it several times. She misses words because she can't hear
them. She also cannot listen to what is going on in her environment at
the same time, so listening to an audio textbook or something on her
computer while in class would a no-no...she'd miss what the teacher
was saying half the time because she was working with her computer,
even if all she is doing is listening to herself type so she doesn't
make typos.

Further, for a deafblind person, a refreshable Braille display can
mean the difference between having full access to the computer and
having little or no access. Audio simply isn't a usable resource for a
deafblind person, but Braille can open alll the doors to
accessibility.

Another instance in which the refreshable Braille display would be
preferable over a screenreader is while reading specially formatted
text. Tables are easier to read in Braille then listen to. Poems in
special format (all right aligned, some ines left-aligned, some
right-aligned, and some centered, or all the lines centered) would not
have the full effect in audio, but with a refreshable Braille dispaly,
the special formatting would still have its intended effect.

One last example I can think of (that doesn't mean there aren't more,
it's just that I don't want to go on and on...I think you get the
picture, or I hope you do) is when the spelling of a word really
matters. For example, when learning a foreign language or new
vocabulary that is difficult to spell. Do you think it would be easier
to learn how to spell omnipotamia if you had it in Braille or listened
to it? Which would make it faster to check the spelling? In my
opinion, the Braille display, since you could see the spelling as you
read it, while with a screenreader, you would have to go back and have
the screenreader spell it over or go over it character by character.
In the Harry Potter books, I listened to the first two in audio and
kept wondering "How do you spell Hermione"? With an "io" or an "Oi"?
It really bugged me, because I am a geek like that. But what if you
had to write an essay about a novel you read for school, and you
misspelled the name of the main character because you listened to the
book instead of reading it using a Braille display (perhaps because
you got the book from Bookshare or it's from an online library, or its
13 volumes and you dn't want the hassle of carrying around all those
volumes)? I think the teacher would be certain to correct you, but it
would be quite embarrassing if the character's name is Maudraline, and
you spelled it Modraleen or some such...spelling can be important, and
you can't learn spelling from audio books! When learning a foreign
language, knowing where the accents are placed or how an odd word is
spelled is quite important. In Spanish, an accent or the lack thereof
can make a huge difference. As example, consider the difference etween
por que and por que (wht an accent on the e). The first means because;
the second why. When listening to an audio book, you might hear "Por
que vas al mar" If there is an accent on the e and a question mark, it
would mean "Why do you go to the sea?" and if there is no accent and a
period, it would mean "Because you go to the sea."

I agree that for some people, a refreshable Braille display would be a
waste of money. My boyfriend is one of those people. He not only
doesn't read Braille well (and only uncontracted Braille), but he is
dyslexic, so reading the Braille on a refreshable disaply, he would be
more likely to missepll a word or misunderstand it. His preference is
for something like the VictorStream Reader, which will read the words,
but you can also go back and sepell the words. Other people, whether
dyslexic or simply an audio learner, just learn better when hearing
something compared to reading it or seeing it. For these people, a
screenreader would be preferrable.

But that does not mean that a refreshable Braille display is a waste
of money for everyone. As I hope I demonstrated above, there are many
instances in which a refreshable Braille display is not only well
worth the cost, it is also an essential tool. some of the reasons I
gave above rre those I gave when arguing for a refreshable Braille
display to be purchased as an essentila accessible technology for
purchase by Vocational Rehabilitation. I won that argument and will be
getting a refreshable Braille display, which I think I could not
succeed completely without. I tried to take a Spanish class without
access to my book in Braille, but I ended up asking the professor
every time she wrote something whether there was an accent in the
words she wrote, and I had trouble remembering accents. I also had to
read part of a book out loud in a class as part of group participation
(it was a skit), but had difficulty doing this by listening then
repeating. If I had had it in Braille, I would have had no trouble
reading it out loud as my fingers moved over the lines.

I hope that these arguments make sense, and I hope this will add
positive infoormation to the conversation. Thank you for allowing me
to ramble about it *grin*

On 9/4/10, Mike Freeman <k7uij at panix.com> wrote:
> I disagree with Robert in that I don't think
> Braille displays are worth the money in general although there may be
> specific employment situations (call centers anyone?) wherein they might be
> helpful. I believe with a bit of ingenuity, one can largely discern computer
> programming formats and the like with speech. But then I may be cheating
> because for many years, I used an Optacon with CRT lens to read the computer
> screen and do my programming.
>
> And yes, I have a braille note-taker so I'm not knocking braille.
>
> Mike
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Christine Szostak" <szostak.1 at osu.edu>
> To: "NFB Science and Engineering Division List" <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 8:45 AM
> Subject: [Nfb-science] Braille Displays
>
>
>> Hi All,
>>  John's post prompted a question for me.
>>
>>  For those who use Braille displays with JAWS, what specifically do you
>> find them most useful for? Are they worth the investment in your opinion
>> and if so, is there a particular brand that tends to be highly
>> recommended?
>> Many thanks
>> Christine
>> Christine M. Szostak
>> Graduate Student
>> Language Perception Laboratory
>> Department of Psychology, Cognitive Area
>> The Ohio State University
>> Columbus, Ohio
>> szostak.1 at osu.edu
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-- 
~Jewel
Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com