[Ohio-talk] J.W. article

[Barb Fohl]

What a splendid article promoting Braille, J. W.  Thanks for pasting it in, 
Shelbi.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shelbi Hindel" <shelbiah1 at gmail.com>
To: "ohio talk" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2014 9:19 AM
Subject: [Ohio-talk] J.W. article


> 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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