[nobe-l] Re Liz's questions

Mon Aug 22 18:08:02 UTC 2011

I have heard that both the BrailleNote and PacMate are supposed to be 
able to hook up to a monitor and display documents, but I have never 
used them for that purpose, so I'm not sure about their limitations or 
compatibility with specific monitors. I was able to get an external 
Braille display through my state's department for the blind at no cost 
to me, so that might be an option for those interested in going that 
route. The one major advantage I found of using a laptop and a Braille 
display is versatility, especially when I had to be able to go to a 
specific page in a word document. This was very helpful in conference 
presentations, in which I had to be ready for someone to ask a question 
about a claim made on a specific page in my paper or even within a 
footnote--that happened once. It also came in handy when discussing 
papers with students. I'm not sure if the BrailleNote Apex has a word 
processor that allows you to go to a particular page in a word document 
or to bring up footnotes, endnotes, etc; I know the PacMate and older 
model BrailleNote I previously used did not.
All Best,
James

On 8/22/2011 1:36 PM, Elizabeth Phillips wrote:
> Thanks, Erina, I really appreciate the suggestions.  It's great to meet you,
> too.
>
> I currently don't bring my laptop into section, for the extra jaws talking
> issue you were mentioning.  I currently use a BrailleNote Apex, which does
> have a Braille display on it--so I personally am hesitant about the extreme
> cost of a laptop display.  I do knowthat Braille Notes can hook up to
> external moniters--does anyone know if it's possible to project a handout
> word document from the Apex to an external screen?  That wouldn't solve the
> problem of using powerpoint, but it could be a great option if you can work
> with word or text files.  In philosophy there isn't much need for pictures
> or diagrams, and as I am TAing for the class I'm in, the professor already
> handles the powerpoint.  I hope someone can give you a more direct
> suggestion on powerpoint and Braille--hopefully what I've said is at least
> somewhat helpful.
>
> Be Well,
> Liz
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Irina Anisimova
> Sent: Sunday, August 21, 2011 9:49 PM
> To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nobe-l] Re Liz's questions
>
> Hi Liz,
>
> My name is Irina and I am also a graduate student at the department of
> Slavic Languages and Literatures at Pitt.
>
> I agree with Cayte that it will help to ask students to tell you their
> names, when they make a comment during the discussion I tried it in my
> classes, and although I always had to remind them, I remembered their
> voices very quickly.  I also think that if you have more then 50
> students in your class, you would never be able to remember everyone,
> but at least you will know the active students.
>
> I will also suggest combination of handouts and projecting from a
> computer to the screen.  Power Point is fine to use with JAWS.  I use
> office t003, because I generally find it easier.  May be somebody else
> could comment on using newer versions of PPT.  You can also project
> Word documents onto a screen. Or even type in Word if you want to make
> a quick reference.  I used to do that in my language classes.
>
> I also have a question for the list concerning using the braille
> display for teaching.  I currently use JAWS and have a headphone in
> one ear, but find it at times annoying, especially when I want to show
> a clip from my computer and JAWS continues speaking for a while.  Does
> anyone on the list use brail display for teaching?  Does it work well
> with PPT and other programs?  I am considering buying it at some
> point.
>
> Regards,
>
> Irina
>
>
> On 8/20/11, Cayte Mendez<katz4god at yahoo.com>  wrote:
>> Hi Liz,
>>
>> My name is Cayte.  I'm an elementary school teacher in NYC.  Welcome to
> the
>> list!
>>
>> When I first started teaching I had a really hard time learning my
> students'
>> names.  One thing you might try is having students call out their names to
>> you when they have a question or comment.  As the semester progresses
> you'll
>> probably learn to associate voices with the different names, so when they
>> come see you before or after class you'll have a reference.  Also, I took
> a
>> few classes in college where we had assigned seats.  It's a little more
>> formal than the usual set-up, but that way you can have an idea of who's
>> talking by where they're sitting in the room.
>>
>> Presenting class materials without the board is a little tricky.  Do your
>> colleagues use PowerPoint or is it ok to use handouts?  I have some
> residual
>> vision, so I don't know how accessible PowerPoint is, but maybe someone
> else
>> on the list knows?
>>
>> Again, welcome to the list and I hope we can be a helpful resource for you
>> in the future.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> A book is a garden carried in the pocket.
>>
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