[blindkid] On the Future of Braille: Thoughts by RadicalBraille Advocates (Bookshare)

Bonnie Lucas lucas.bonnie at gmail.com
Tue Jul 16 06:33:32 UTC 2013 

Truly, I think it is possible for children to learn both computer and a
notetaker. Of course, it is necessary for the parents to really push.
Fortunately, when Aubrie wasn't receiving the computer training that she
needed, we hired the best computer teacher in Atlanta and treated it like
piano lessons. She had an hour lesson each week for the same price we would
have paid for piano. The nice thing was that at the end of a year, she was a
great computer user and that has made all the difference in the world. Upon
moving to Alaska, it didn't take the school district long to see that she
was miles ahead of the other students her age and she still is. She is also
an expert BN user. It is nice because when she goes to church, she can
participate in doing all the reading and singing that everyone else does and
she never hesitates to read in any class. If she had to pieces of equipment
i.e. display and another device for running it, it would be a pain for her
because right now, she doesn't like a purse so on Sundays she has nothing
more than the BN. Bottom line, if your child is going to have a notetaker,
they'd better be equally as good with the computer as the BN. If I may, I'll
brag just a little more, she is the best high school flute player in the
state of Alaska and has just returned from a flute camp at Oberlin College.
Also, 800 on the reading on the SAT. Okay, I'll quit because she is pretty
sloppy in some other areas, room..., after all, she is a normal teenager in
most ways! You know, a bit snarky and such. 

-----Original Message-----
From: jim at riversedgehomes.com [mailto:jim at riversedgehomes.com] 
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2013 7:03 PM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] On the Future of Braille: Thoughts by RadicalBraille
Advocates (Bookshare)

Tammy and Darci,

I agree with Dr. Robinson that PC/MaC is critical but I also believe that
Braille literacy is mandatory.

Your kids should have a screen reader that they can afford. But our
experience with our daughter is that nothing can replace the fluent Braille
literacy that one can attain from a Braille Note or other similar device. We
sought and received the help of our local Lions Club for Lauren's first
Braille Note.

The school finally saw the wisdom in it and followed up with replacement
versions as needed (and took all the credit). VOCRehab never argued; they
were happy to help.

Yours,

Jim Beyer


> That would be awesome and amazing for a child to have that kind of 
> technology available to them like that. It  would certainly start to 
> help close the gap between them and their sighted peers.
> We're currently in the same boat as Darci. At what point do you go in 
> debt to provide your child the same technology as their siblings and
peers.
> Especially when the school won't help qand others tell you it's going 
> to be out dated.
> HIMS did tell us at the NFB Convention that their braille sense was 
> made to not go obsolete, because of the cost they wanted it made to 
> last a long time and any thing from here on out would just be a matter 
> of downloading updates and/or new programs not buying a new machine. 
> We thought that was awesome news and their part.
>
> Tammy D. Parson
>
> On Jul 15, 2013, at 7:53 PM, "Deborah Kent Stein" <dkent5817 at att.net>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> The National Library Service is contemplating a Braille display for 
>> Braille readers, that would be distributed the way the digital 
>> cassette machines are today.  May it come to pass!
>>
>> Debbie
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darcirae Hooks"
>> <draehooks at yahoo.com>
>> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)"
>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: "Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)"
>> <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, July 15, 2013 5:51 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] On the Future of Braille: Thoughts by 
>> RadicalBraille Advocates (Bookshare)
>>
>>
>>> My biggest beef, is the cost to get the technology to my Braille 
>>> reading 9 year old. Computers for my sighted children are way more 
>>> affordable than for Caiden. I don't feel this is fair. Also at what 
>>> point do u take the plunge, break the bank, just to be told u r 
>>> better off waiting until he is older bc technology gets outdated too
quickly.
>>> My sighted kids don't worry bc we can update or afford a new 
>>> computer but braillenote is too expensive to have that in the plan.
>>>
>>> Any suggestions????
>>>
>>> Darci
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Jul 15, 2013, at 15:26, "Dr. Denise M Robinson"
>>> <deniserob at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Amen to Braille!!!! This should not even be a question---would 
>>>> print for the sighted ever be a question---never--neither should 
>>>> braille
>>>>
>>>> *Dr Denise*
>>>>
>>>> Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
>>>> CEO, TechVision, LLC
>>>> Specialist in Technology/Training/Teaching for blind/low vision
>>>> 423-573-6413
>>>>
>>>> Website with hundreds of informational articles & lessons on PC, 
>>>> Office products, Mac, iPad/iTools and more, all done with
>>>> keystrokes: www.yourtechvision.com
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 2:45 PM, Allison Hilliker
>>>> <AllisonH at benetech.org>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Everyone,
>>>>>
>>>>> I thought some of you might like to read the below post from the 
>>>>> Benetech blog. Benetech is the company that runs Bookshare.org. 
>>>>> The article demonstrates Bookshare's support for Braille access 
>>>>> and global literacy.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>> Allison
>>>>>
>>>>> http://benetech.blogspot.com/2013/07/on-future-of-braille-thoughts
>>>>> -by.html
>>>>>
>>>>> Guest Beneblog by Betsy Beaumon, VP and General Manager, 
>>>>> Benetech's Global Literacy Program.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Betsy Beaumon
>>>>> I recently had the honor to speak at the first-ever Braille 
>>>>> Summit, hosted on June 19-21, 2013 by the National Library Service 
>>>>> for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) and Perkins School 
>>>>> for the Blind. With the goal of promoting braille literacy, this 
>>>>> landmark meeting brought together braille experts from around the 
>>>>> world to Perkins' campus in Watertown, Massachusetts.
>>>>>
>>>>> My biggest takeaway from the summit: the time could not be more 
>>>>> urgent, and more hopeful, for the future of braille and the 
>>>>> prospects of those who need it. That's why braille is an important 
>>>>> focus for us in Benetech's Global Literacy Program - we know that 
>>>>> we must keep braille relevant and make it more available.
>>>>>
>>>>> One of the biggest reasons is that among people who are blind, 
>>>>> braille literacy has been linked with higher education levels, 
>>>>> higher likelihood of employment and higher income. Accordingly, 
>>>>> U.S. federal law supports braille instruction. In what is known as 
>>>>> the "braille provision," the Individuals with Disabilities 
>>>>> Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 mandates that the teams who help 
>>>>> write educational plans for students with disabilities presume 
>>>>> that all blind and visually impaired children should be taught 
>>>>> Braille unless it is determined to be inappropriate.
>>>>>
>>>>> What's alarming is that for decades the number of braille users 
>>>>> has been on the decline. And today, braille is not being taught to 
>>>>> most blind children. Data from the American Printing House for the 
>>>>> Blind's annual registry of legally blind students shows that in 
>>>>> 2012 only 8.8% of legally blind children in public and residential 
>>>>> schools used braille as their primary reading medium.
>>>>>
>>>>> Many professionals argue that this decline in braille literacy has 
>>>>> led to a literacy crisis in the American population of individuals 
>>>>> who are blind.
>>>>> Community concerns have grown so strong that on June 19, the first 
>>>>> day of the Braille Summit, the Department of Education Office of 
>>>>> Special Education and Rehabilitative Services issued new guidance 
>>>>> to States and public agencies to reaffirm the importance of 
>>>>> braille instruction and to clarify the circumstances and 
>>>>> evaluation requirements under the law.
>>>>>
>>>>> At Benetech, we agree that braille is an essential literacy tool 
>>>>> and that every child who needs it has the right to be taught 
>>>>> braille. We also know that braille materials must be far more 
>>>>> available to braille readers of all ages in order to realize their 
>>>>> full benefits. At the Braille Summit's kick-off event, keynote 
>>>>> speaker Peter Osborne, Chief Braille Officer for the Royal 
>>>>> National Institute of Blind People, U.K., argued that we must 
>>>>> shift from spending on the provision of hard copy braille to the 
>>>>> provision of refreshable braille and the associated digital file 
>>>>> formats to enable people to read so much more.
>>>>>
>>>>> "As organizations," Osborne said, "we must liberate spending to 
>>>>> focus on the promotion, learning and innovation around braille," 
>>>>> and recognize that we ought to embrace today's changing economics 
>>>>> and technology so that braille can be part of an equation which 
>>>>> delivers access to information for all, not just to those who can 
>>>>> afford it.
>>>>>
>>>>> We strongly support this position and believe the digital content 
>>>>> revolution holds the best promise for the future of braille. The 
>>>>> massive shifts in the fields of consumer technology, education, 
>>>>> and publishing open the door to combating some of the major 
>>>>> obstacles to braille availability - high cost and time to produce 
>>>>> hard copy braille books, as well as difficulties in distributing 
>>>>> and storing them due to their large size (for example, one Harry 
>>>>> Potter book in printed braille stands about four feet high). We 
>>>>> are confident that technology can continue to improve the quality 
>>>>> of electronic braille such that a blind consumer can expect both 
>>>>> immediate AND high quality braille on demand.
>>>>>
>>>>> As we have explained in other Beneblog and Bookshare blog posts, 
>>>>> these are exciting times for everyone who has been working to meet 
>>>>> the imperative to provide people with print disabilities equal 
>>>>> access to published information. The increasing focus on digital 
>>>>> content, rather than its printed form, and the shift to electronic 
>>>>> distribution of ebooks pave new avenues for removing the barriers 
>>>>> to accessibility. At Benetech, we want to ensure that in this 
>>>>> brave new world of digital content, braille is as available as any 
>>>>> other ebook format to those who want it. In this sense, you could 
>>>>> say that we are radical braille advocates.
>>>>>
>>>>> With Bookshare, Benetech's online library for people with print 
>>>>> disabilities, our ebook-based approach to the accessibility 
>>>>> challenge has already delivered on the promise of ending the 
>>>>> famine of accessible books in the United States. Now, with the new 
>>>>> Marrakech Treaty from the World Intellectual Property Organization 
>>>>> (WIPO), and our hundreds of direct publisher relationships, we are 
>>>>> poised to help deliver on this promise worldwide.
>>>>>
>>>>> Today Bookshare adds around 3,000 books per month to the 
>>>>> collection, with our publisher and electronic distribution 
>>>>> partners supplying most of these books, at the same time as they 
>>>>> go to electronic retailers like Amazon. We also continue to add 
>>>>> books from volunteers, staff and outsourcers through scanning and 
>>>>> proofing, including student requests. Our commitment to braille 
>>>>> literacy means that the entire Bookshare collection of over
>>>>> 198,000
>>>>> titles (and counting) is available not only for use in text, audio 
>>>>> or the combination, played with a wide variety of assistive 
>>>>> technology tools, but also formatted for use on electronic braille 
>>>>> displays.
>>>>>
>>>>> Granted, due to the limitations of fully automated conversion, 
>>>>> this is not perfect braille, and we continuously work with experts 
>>>>> to improve the quality of our Braille Ready Files (in the BRF 
>>>>> format). Creating a perfect digital braille book, particularly 
>>>>> with subjects such as math, still requires a great deal of human 
>>>>> preparation and is therefore very expensive.
>>>>> Our belief is that having hundreds of thousands of solid - if not 
>>>>> perfect - braille books available to read as soon as they are 
>>>>> available to everyone else is far better than getting them much 
>>>>> later or not at all. The convergence of standards in digital 
>>>>> publishing and major advancements in braille codes - such as the 
>>>>> recent adoption of Unified English Braille
>>>>> (UEB) format by the Braille Authority of North America - are on 
>>>>> our side.
>>>>> This allows a much broader group of experts to keep working on the 
>>>>> problem.
>>>>> Imagine the day when we are ready for UEB launch: the entire 
>>>>> Bookshare collection will be made available in UEB with a click of 
>>>>> a button!
>>>>>
>>>>> The road toward full access for braille readers has a number of 
>>>>> other hurdles that must be overcome. One major roadblock is the 
>>>>> affordability of braille reading tools. The cost of electronic 
>>>>> braille displays remains prohibitively expensive for most blind 
>>>>> people in the world. We believe that every reader should be able 
>>>>> to have a braille display and we therefore support the efforts to 
>>>>> bring this cost down, especially for those least able to afford 
>>>>> it. We are now directly participating in the DAISY Consortium's 
>>>>> Transforming Braille project, which seeks to dramatically lower 
>>>>> the cost of braille cell technology, the fundamental technical 
>>>>> building block of a braille display. This is important here in the 
>>>>> U.S., and critical for the inclusion and empowerment of people in 
>>>>> developing countries.
>>>>>
>>>>> Another major challenge involves the graphic content in ebooks, 
>>>>> such as pictures, charts, and diagrams, formulas and special 
>>>>> symbols. Images are currently omitted altogether in electronic 
>>>>> braille formats and require extensive human intervention to 
>>>>> produce in an accessible, tactile form. In response to the need to 
>>>>> make accessible images cheaper, better, and more cost effective, 
>>>>> we created the DIAGRAM Center with funding by the U.S.
>>>>> Department of Education Office for Special Education Programs (OSEP).
>>>>> Through this R&D Center, we are working to revolutionize the 
>>>>> availability of accessible images and tactile graphics by 
>>>>> targeting standards and developing open source tools that help 
>>>>> close the gap between what technology can do automatically and 
>>>>> what requires expert human work.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> A 3D graphic test on paper substrate of a circuit diagram.
>>>>> Image by the National Braille Press, a DIAGRAM subcontract.
>>>>> We are addressing key questions such as: When is a tactile required?
>>>>> How
>>>>> can we make tactiles easier to produce, use and share? And how 
>>>>> will changing technology impact tactile design, production and use?
>>>>> Against each
>>>>> of these questions we are targeting projects on which we 
>>>>> collaborate with some of the leading experts in the field. DIAGRAM 
>>>>> projects include automating a tactile graphic decision tree to 
>>>>> target the efforts of experts; multiple projects around 3D 
>>>>> printing as an inexpensive, emerging output format for tactile 
>>>>> objects; our Poet tool for crowd sourcing image descriptions and 
>>>>> MathML; tools to read QR codes as labels on tactile graphics to 
>>>>> increase available information; and work in whole new haptic 
>>>>> graphical models for fully electronic tactile experiences. We are 
>>>>> also actively pursuing legal approaches to allow sharing of image 
>>>>> descriptions and tactile graphics files to reduce costly re-work 
>>>>> by underfunded schools and nonprofit organizations/NGO's.
>>>>>
>>>>> We are developing many of these free tools with publishers and 
>>>>> content creators in mind and in consideration of the online 
>>>>> platforms more and more people use to author and publish 
>>>>> information. As the entire industry is changing the ways in which 
>>>>> content is produced and as digital content becomes increasingly 
>>>>> media rich, we want to ensure that all content that is born 
>>>>> digital is also born accessible. Through intense collaboration, we 
>>>>> are advancing open tools and standards so that accessibility is 
>>>>> built into mainstream products.
>>>>>
>>>>> The future of braille, empowered by innovations in technology, is 
>>>>> bright.
>>>>> And while the advancement of technology presents new types of 
>>>>> challenges for accessibility, we at Benetech see them as 
>>>>> tremendous opportunities for making content truly and universally 
>>>>> accessible. New technology will allow breakthroughs that will 
>>>>> continue moving people who have vision impairments toward a better 
>>>>> tomorrow. With cooperative and coordinated efforts across many 
>>>>> communities, we can achieve a future in which new technologies 
>>>>> improve braille proficiency and life outcomes for braille readers.
>>>>>
>>>>> Please join us in realizing this "radical" future!
>>>>>
>>>>> Bookshare is participating at the National Federation of the 
>>>>> Blind's National Convention in Orlando, Florida on July 1-6, 2013 
>>>>> and at the American Council of the Blind's 52nd Annual National 
>>>>> Conference & Convention in Columbus, Ohio on July 4-12, 2013. We'd 
>>>>> love to meet you there!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> *Dr Denise*
>>>>
>>>> Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
>>>> CEO, TechVision, LLC
>>>> Specialist in Technology/Training/Teaching for blind/low vision
>>>> 423-573-6413
>>>>
>>>> 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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>>
>>
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