[Ohio-talk] a very thought and anger-provoking article from NBP

Thu Mar 14 19:22:26 UTC 2013

Hi Shelbi, 
Nice to hear someone interpreting the NBP post as I did.  I did want to
clarify one thing, though.  I read all of my Ohio-Talk posts, andall other
emails as well, in braille.  
Peace,
Deborah

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Shelbi
Hindel
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 2:47 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] a very thought and anger-provoking article from NBP

I believe I had a similar thought process to Deborah's. Most of us read
Braille and use technology too. If you post to this list you probably are
not using Braille. I don't want to give up any of my options for reading.
This person could be concerned about her job, too. I'd say we need to work
to encourage Braille which we are doing with BELL and to have technology be
accessable. Certainly technology is not going away. Those of us who have
been out of school for a time and have awareness of how school is today can
also say it is very different today than yester year.  
I am pasting the article here for people to read.

Shelbi

Are we witnessing the demise of braille?
Posted on March 13, 2013 by Kimberley Ballard I am sometimes asked to write
recommendation letters for students who have interned or volunteered at
National Braille Press and are looking to go to college, qualify for a
scholarship, or find a job.  Many of these requests are from young adults
who are blind or visually impaired.   I have worked with many interns and
volunteers over the years, with many different skill sets, accomplishments,
and personalities.  At NBP, however, they do have one thing in common: they
are usually all proficient braille readers.

I wonder how much longer this will be true?  Don't get me wrong, these
students don't use braille exclusively.  I think you would be hard-pressed
to find anyone these days who doesn't use some other form of technology to
accomplish tasks that used to be done almost entirely with braille. But
braille is still viewed by these students as an essential means to literacy.

Technology is changing the way students learn, and blind students are no
exception.  One may argue that the technological boon has had an even bigger
impact on blind and visually impaired students, and in many ways, this is a
good thing. But with technology changing so quickly - the National Academy
of Sciences estimates that the rates of technological change in the 21st
century is equivalent to all the change in the previous twenty thousand
years - will the loss of braille skills be the fallout? Will the shiny lure
of iPads and the ease and economy of using audio tools hasten its demise?

As an organization that believes in the power of braille, what role will NBP
play in the digital age?

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-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Deborah
Kendrick
Sent: March 14, 2013 2:30 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] a very thought and anger-provoking article from NBP

Hi Aleeha and all,
I would encourage you to read this post again.  To me, it sounds as though
she is simply raising the very same questions that we braille lovers in the
Federation are asking.  That is, what role will braille play in the future?
She is raising questions, asking us to think about literacy, and does not
seem at all to be pronouncing the death of braille literacy.  
We all read so much every day that it is easy for any one of us to
misconstrue something read in haste.  That goes for me, too, of course.
Perhaps I am missing the point.  But the message seems to me to be simply a
person who understands the power of literacy asking question about our
future.
Peace,
Deborah

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cheryl
Fischer
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 1:33 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] a very thought and anger-provoking article from NBP

Sounds to me like this person from National Braille Press is not aware of
how people are using Braille displays with devices such as the iPhone or
iPad.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Aleeha
Dudley
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 12:35 PM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Subject: [Ohio-talk] a very thought and anger-provoking article from NBP

Hi all,
     I just wanted to share this because it caught my attention in a very
big way. I first came across it on Twitter and became very angry that an
organization such as NBP, who professes to provide Braille materials and in
fact has the word Braille in its name, could write such an article that
undermines everything they have been doing for years. I'd love to hear
others' thoughts on this article. The link is
here:
http://nationalbraillepress.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/are-we-witnessing-the-d
emise-of-braille/
Aleeha

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