[nobe-l] Re Liz's questions

Tue Aug 23 05:00:18 UTC 2011

It should also be possible to use the BrailleNote as an external Braille 
display for a laptop or netbook. That would allow for the versatility of 
a laptop without taking a loss on investing in a BrailleNote.
All Best,
James

On 8/22/2011 11:30 PM, Irina Anisimova wrote:
> Thanks, Liz and James.
>
> As for projecting from Braille note, it might be a good idea to bring
> both your brail note and a small laptop to class.  Unlike brail
> displays, they are now extremely cheep.  You can buy a netbook for
> $200 online.  You can then project your document onto a screen and
> that would not interfere with your lecture notes on braille note.
>
> For a discussion section, a nice detailed handout might also be just enough.
>
> Best,
>
> Irina
>
>
> On 8/22/11, bookwormahb at earthlink.net<bookwormahb at earthlink.net>  wrote:
>> 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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>>
>>
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