[nfbmi-talk] Volunteer opportunities

[Larry D. Keeler]

Too Bad You didn't live in Ann Arbor!  I could find a few!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cheryl Wade" <wadecher at msu.edu>
To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2011 11:14 PM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Volunteer opportunities


> Dear Listers,
>
> As a future rehabilitation counselor, I want to volunteer my time working 
> with people with disabilities before my practicum and internship next 
> year. I live in East Lansing.
>
> People who are blind are the population that most interests me. Are there 
> any opportunities for tutoring blind children, working with Braille or 
> helping in any job search types of programs? I have thought that, living 
> in the Lansing area, there would be children who might benefit from 
> summertime tutoring in Braille literacy or other skills. It would be fun 
> if blind adults in the Lansing area, where I live, could band together and 
> serve as tutors for blind children.
>
> I attended the Braille-athon on Tuesday and liked it very much. I was most 
> encouraged to see children there who were writing with slate and stylus 
> and to meet people representing various organizations.
>
> Another question: does anyone know of any research in developing a 
> computer screen with refreshable Braille? I have always thought that, 
> since blind people go to school to learn to rread rather than to learn to 
> listen, we ought to be able to read -- literally -- our computer screens. 
> I'm thinking of refreshable Braille buttons, or even a very large screen, 
> and a cursor that we could manipulate with our hands, the way a person 
> manipulates a mouse.
>
> It would seem this idea is far-fetched and unlikely but, with the new 
> refreshable Braille displays that National Braille Press is designing, 
> refreshable Braille would be much more reasonably priced. Think of seeing 
> the words "click here" and being able to feel, with our hands, where the 
> "here" is because there would be a literal box made of raised dots, and we 
> would simply move the cursor into the box.
>
> I'm hoping someday blind computer users will be able to do a lot more 
> pointing and clicking than they do now. iPads are wonderful, but they 
> still don't have a raised-dot screen and we still have to plot visual 
> points using our ears, not our hands. Translating a visual screen into an 
> audible equivalent, to my way of thinking, has not been much fun. So once 
> again, we must be content to listen.  I would much, much rather be able to 
> have a touchable screen that duplicates the visual computer screen instead 
> of a car that I could drive blind. Visual people could say "see that box 
> on the upper left of the screen? Click that," and we could just reach over 
> and feel the box and drag the mouse over to it.
>
> Forgive my rambling.
>
> Cheryl Wade
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