[nobe-l] Re Liz's questions

Mon Aug 22 21:25:02 UTC 2011

You can read text files in the braille note like a word document or .txt 
file, but it cannot go to certain pages and probably would mess up 
footnotes. It translates the words for you in grade 2 braille, but some 
formatting you would observe on the PC is lost.
I'd say its better to  have a computer to show your documents and project to 
a screen and other advantages james said.

Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: James Fetter
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 2:08 PM
To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] Re Liz's questions

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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