[Nfbktad] FW: Braille Reader

Tue Mar 29 16:59:30 UTC 2016

FYI,

Todd

  _____  

First affordable braille reader launched. 

TORONTO, March 24, 2016 /CNW/ - The new Orbit braille reader was launched
last night at the Annual International Technology & Persons with
Disabilities Conference in San Diego, California.

The Orbit braille reader is the first ever affordable refreshable braille
reader that is portable. Until now, braille displays cost on average around
$3,000, putting them out of reach for many people - not just in Canada, but
around the world. In contrast, the new Orbit braille reader will retail for
under $400, providing an important new option for people who are blind or
partially sighted to access literacy at an affordable cost. 

"Solving the global issue of affordable refreshable braille devices is not
something any one organization can do, and we were thrilled to be part of
the consortium that took on the challenge of making braille technology
widely available," says John Rafferty, President and CEO of CNIB. "It means
that a braille reader can now be right in the homes of many children and
youth who are learning to read, and it also provides previously lacking
access to braille in many developing countries."

CNIB is one of ten organizations worldwide who were involved in creating the
new technology, along with the RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind)
in England, NFB (National Federation of the Blind) in the United States,
American Printing House for the Blind, New Zealand's Blind Foundation,
Perkins, the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted,
Association Valentin HauY (AVH), Sightsavers, and Vision Australia. CNIB
provided research and development funding, expertise and testing.

A refreshable braille display is a device that allows a person who is blind
or partially sighted to read the contents of a display, like a computer, a
text line at a time as a line of braille characters. 

In addition to CNIB contributing financially, Diane Bergeron, Executive
Director, Strategic Relations and Engagement, CNIB, was a member of the
product development committee which provided input on design and testing in
Canada. "Reading is one of the daily human activities affected most
profoundly by vision loss, and it's absolutely critical to the success of a
person who is blind or partially sighted living in a sighted world," said
Bergeron. "Early childhood literacy can have an impact on a person's
commitment to education, ability to work and level of personal satisfaction
in life."Braille continues to be an important tool for people who are blind
or partially sighted, despite advances in technology. Reading braille helps
teach basic literacy skills like spelling, grammar, sentence structure and
comprehension in a way that audio cannot help with. Simply hearing the words
"there" and "their" won't teach you how "they're" spelled.

The Orbit braille reader works over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and can read files
stored on an SD card inserted in the reader. The Orbit braille reader can
read translated, formatted braille (BRF) files, translated, unformatted
brailled (BRL) files, portable embosser format (PEF) files and text (TXT)
files.

CNIB is the exclusive supplier of the Orbit braille reader in Canada, which
will be available in the fall from Shop CNIB at www.shop.cnib.ca
<http://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/www.shop.cnib.ca?p=eyJzIjoibHpX
RjkzbXBxdHdIbERDc20xV1Nham5JVVdNIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZc
IjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwOlxcXC9cXFwvd3d3LnNob3AuY25pYi5jYVxcXC9cIixcImlkXCI6
XCI1OTA2MTg0OWM0MWQ0NjFhYmRhY2NhMGY1NjRlODI4ZlwiLFwidXJsX2lkc1wiOltcImRiN2Y4
ZDZkNjg1NjZkY2VjODVkMTMwOTY4Yzg4NGYzNTliMzE5YzFcIl19In0> .

  _____  

_______________________________________________
Nfbk mailing list
Nfbk at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbk:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbk_nfbnet.org/debra_trevino%40bellsouth.
nethttp://mandrillapp.com/track/open.php?u=30489975&id=59061849c41d461abdacc
a0f564e828f

Kirsten

Kirsten Schmidt, M.Ed., CVE

Adult Education Coordinator/Low Vision Instructor 

Kentucky Career Center

Ky. Office for the Blind

McDowell Center

8412 Westport Rd.

Louisville, KY  40242

(502) 429-4460 ext. 241

(502) 429-7101

kirstenm.schmidt at ky.gov

blind.ky.gov

Ky Career Center

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbktad_nfbnet.org/attachments/20160329/a5082261/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 43 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbktad_nfbnet.org/attachments/20160329/a5082261/attachment.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.png
Type: image/png
Size: 28794 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbktad_nfbnet.org/attachments/20160329/a5082261/attachment.png>