[Ohio-talk] J.W. article

[Shelbi Hindel]

Deborah,

I agree that was a good article. I am pasting it below for people to read
with ease. I hope people have no complaints with me doing this. 

 

Shelbi 

 

Braille Literacy Month sheds light on OU's new technologies replacing the
classic tool 

http://thepost.ohiou.edu/sites/default/files/imagecache/article_image/CP_F20
12114_Braille_01.jpg

Dr. J. W. Smith, interim director of the Honors Tutorial College
communication studies program, uses braille as well as computer generated
audio to receive information. "As a long-time braille user I never thought
I'd be as happy with technology as I am. I like having both worlds. There's
just something special about being able to have this braille calendar and
have my notes for class and being able to read them," he said. (Julia Moss |
Picture Editor)

http://thepost.ohiou.edu/sites/default/files/imagecache/article_image/CP_F20
12114_Braille_02.jpg

Dr. J. W. Smith reads a braille 2014 calendar in his office. "Braille is
expensive and cumbersome to produce. but I don't think [braille] will ever
totally be gone," he said. (Julia Moss | Picture Editor)

By

Anjelica Oswald 

Walking into J. Webster Smith's office, you can see degrees and photos
covering the walls and bookshelves covered in books. The only difference
between Smith's office and that of another professor's is the stack of
braille papers next to a braille machine sitting on one half of his desk.

Smith, professor of communication studies and interim director of the Honors
Tutorial College communication studies program, has been blind since he was
born, and he uses braille on a daily basis.

"I can't imagine life without braille, but I grew up in a time when braille
was commonly taught to blind students," he said. "It helps with literacy in
general, and it gives you flexibility."

The literacy rate for blind school-age children has decreased from 50
percent to 12 percent in the last 40 years, according to the National
Braille Press. But many organizations for the blind are aiming to increase
literacy by  proclaiming January as Braille Literacy Month.

The Alden Library G. Lynn Shostack Adaptive Equipment Room is outfitted with
programs and equipment to accommodate people who are visually impaired.
Among the equipment available is the Romeo Braille Embosser (printer), a
Bierley handheld magnifier and several types of screen readers, said
Christopher Guder, reference and instruction librarian.

The embosser connects to software, which allows a document to be translated
into braille and printed for use, Guder said.

"I've used it periodically each semester," Guder said. "It depends on what
preferences students have on campus at that time, but it's not as highly
used as some of the other things, like screen readers which read a document
to you.  And, those are available on all of the computers in the library."

Accommodations for anyone with a disability are geared toward specific
individuals, said Carey Busch, assistant dean of Student Accessibility
Services.

"What we find with students who are blind, types of accommodations we make
would typically be helping them access their textbooks, printed course
materials or notes from the classroom," she said.

There is not a large collection of braille books in Alden because most of
the books can be translated with the Romeo Brailler, Guder added.

"A lot of what has happened is people have moved to the screen readers, now;
I don't know if that's the same everywhere, but that's what I've seen," he
said.

 Although there are usually 50 to 60 students at Ohio University who
consider themselves low vision or blind per year, it has been about two
years since a student has used braille, Busch said.

But for Smith, he said he can't imagine not using braille, even if it could
be considered an outdated technology.

"There is a lot of technology now that has braille displays, and I do like
doing some stuff on computer, but I can't imagine doing my job without
braille," Smith said.

Many people might think being blind is a setback, but with braille and new
technology, people who are visually impaired can do much of the same work,
he added.

"I think people think that it's a sighted world, and people think that if
you don't have sight that you are shut out of so much or that you can't
appreciate or understand this or that," he said. "That's just not true."

ao007510 at ohiou.edu

 

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