[blindkid] iPads ... Laptops and Notetakers oh MY

Tue May 22 19:30:06 UTC 2012

I wanted to stop hijacking Rosina's thread and since other
have similar questions   I changed the subject to make it tidy.

Ok here is a question. I am trying to wrap my head around making sure my
daughter has the technology she needs.  She is 8 and collage bound.    Does
a child NEED a notetaker.   Could they have a notebook and IPad and share a
braille display?  (the IPad or IPhone for portability) Or is there
something that that makes the Notetaker a must have?   Its my understanding
that even if child has a notetaker they will still need to get PC skills.
 So a PC laptop will still be needed is the Notetaker still needed.  I know
you can share files pretty easy between the IPad and computers (using
dropbox and other programs)

Please help this clueless mom.. I think I just had ahha moment.  I would
love to hear from people who have used both and how they transitioned to
collage.

-Penny

On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 2:08 PM, Penny Duffy <pennyduffy at gmail.com> wrote:

> Like I said it reads the stuff from bookshare (Read2go provides the text
> file) but if someone gives you a braille file I have found no way to get
> the ipad to bring it up.  If you have found an application that does this
> Denise I would love to find out. May have been doing something wrong but I
> could get no application to bring up a .brf file.  Like I said I don't even
> know if this an issue .   I am having this discussion with my daughter TVI.
> Trying to figure out if a notetaker is a needed technology for her or not.
>
> -Penny
> On May 22, 2012 1:56 PM, "Dr. Denise M Robinson" <deniserob at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Penny
>> Are you talking about read2go with bookshare? Yes, the braille display
>> will
>> read braille files.
>> Denise
>>
>> On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 10:46 AM, Penny Duffy <pennyduffy at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > good question Holly..
>> >
>> > Abby uses her Ipad with a refreshable braille display and the biggest
>> > disadvantage i found is it doesn't read braille files. Which I don't
>> know
>> > if its an issue or not.  There is an great bookshare app and it reads
>> those
>> > so that is not an issue. It will put on the braille display what ever is
>> > spoken by voice over.  I am sure there are other issues.  but so
>> > far that's the only one I have found and i don't know how many files
>> only
>> > come in braille format.
>> >
>> > On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 1:35 PM, Holly Baker Miller <hollym12 at gmail.com
>> > >wrote:
>> >
>> > > Still trying to figure things out for our situation.  New braille
>> user,
>> > > middle school, responsible & tech savy.  Has enough vision that jaws
>> > > probably isn't going to be a necessity for him.  His issue is not so
>> much
>> > > with seeing but that he fatigues very quickly when reading visually.
>> > >
>> > > It seems as if buying a good netbook or ipad ($500) + bluetooth
>> braille
>> > > display ($2500) such as the Brailliant 32 would be about half the cost
>> > of a
>> > > note taker.
>> > > Aside from the slight downside of having to carry two compact items,
>> why
>> > > does it seem like this is not a popular option for most?
>> > >
>> > > The pluses would be the netbook/ipad could be reasonably replaced
>> every
>> > 2-3
>> > > years as the processors get faster & more powerful making it easier to
>> > keep
>> > > pace with technology.  Sounds like the maintenance plan on a notetaker
>> > > costs that much.  Even if the display part punks out after a few
>> years, a
>> > > lot less painful to replace that than a full note taker.
>> > >
>> > > Are there other disadvantages I'm not aware of?  Is this something
>> whose
>> > > time has come but it just hasn't quite caught on yet?
>> > > I won't be offended if there's something glaring I haven't thought of!
>> > >
>> > > Holly
>> > > _______________________________________________
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>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > --
>> > --Penny
>> > ----------
>> > My Blog - visionfora.blogspot.com
>> >
>> > NH Parents of Blind Children http://www.nhpobc.org/
>> > NHPOBC on facebook   https://www.facebook.com/nhpobc
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *Denise*
>>
>> Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
>> CEO, TechVision, LLC
>> Specialist in Technology/Training/Teaching for blind/low vision
>> 509-674-1853
>>
>> Website with hundreds of informational articles & lessons on PC, Office
>> products, Mac, iPad/iTools and more, all done with
>> keystrokes: www.yourtechvision.com
>>
>> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
>> doing it." --Chinese Proverb
>>
>> Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid: humans are incredibly
>> slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond
>> imagination.
>> --Albert Einstein
>>
>> It's kind of fun to do the impossible.
>> --Walt Disney
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>

-- 
-- 
--Penny
----------
My Blog - visionfora.blogspot.com

NH Parents of Blind Children http://www.nhpobc.org/
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