[accessibleimage] Audio-Tactile Viewers

Good morning, Don, Karen, Lisa, and all!  I have spent a day or two in my
personal "think tank" after work, spent partially in walking a quarter
mile track outside the building where I am housed.  I have logged some
miles while mulling over the matter of audio-tactile viewing devices.  I
wish I could say that the audio-tactile gods spoke to me while I was
jogging around the track, but unfortunately many questions kept surfacing
to which I seek answers.  I have also spent time gleaning information from
the TGD, Tactile Graphics, and SAL websites in an effort to understand and
compare their similarities and differences.  I eliminated SAL from my list
due to its cost and its focus on teaching braille to the very young
student.  Plus, I couldn't find where it offered dual purpose as an
effective audio-tactile viewer.

How many audio-tactile viewers, be they TGD or TTT, or something similar
(how many versions of an audio viewing device exist?--I couldn't locate
others) are currently placed in facilities/institutions and being used on
a daily basis by teachers of the blind and/or classroom teachers?  Are
there any stats on this?

How feasible is it to design and produce the overlays in one location and
then send them to another location where the audio tags are attached by a
classroom teacher?  Is this something that a teacher or her paraeducator
can very easily learn to do?  This is a critical question!  I know from
years of personal experience that the majority of classroom teachers need
to be led by the hand through learning to use new technology (hardware and
software).  If teachers don't have a strong technology support system,
they tend to reject new technology, e.g., mention the word "Intelli-Tools"
to many teachers and they "run for the hills"!  I see an audio-tactile
viewing device as an important tool for blind students within the
classroom where the content is generated by the teacher on site--and often
on the fly.  For example, a teacher might need a tactile map of the state
of Nebraska where she needs to place only a few pieces of information for
the day's lesson.  Multiple tactile maps of the state could be produced,
via computer graphics, for the teacher who places pertinent audio tags on
each map as the day's assignment dictates. 

Or ... could the tactile graphic be designed and the audio tags attached
by the transcriber or tactile artist, per teacher prescription, in one
location and then, when the tactile graphic arrived at the student's
school, would the audio tags assigned in the production location work with
another pad or tablet in the student's classroom?  I assume this is
possible, but I'm not clear on this.

A tactile-audio viewer would go far in validating the acceptance of TGD,
Tiger, and "toaster" graphics, which up to now have not been well-accepted
by many braille reading students.  Highly textured and dimensional
graphics with braille labels are a wonderful tool for braille readers and
by no means should they be displaced, but in the present real world where
tactile graphics are expected to be produced in record numbers, it would
seem that the audio feature would successfully compensate for the lack of
high dimension and varied textures, although these would still exist to a
lesser degree.  In fact, it seems that it would more than compensate, as
the elimination of labels would allow for more detail in the drawing and
the audio description could be as comprehensive as one chooses to make it.
 And what about our schools' low vision students and identified
non-readers?  Surely, they could greatly benefit from a--shall we now call
it a "visual/tactile-audio device"?  Oh--the possibilities!!!

I sincerely hope that the patent issues regarding the TTT vs TGD are
resolved soon.  On the surface it appears to be primarily a matter of
semantics.  The focus needs to be on getting these devices marketed so
that targeted populations have access to this revolutionary (not
really--the NOMAD has been around for ages--I have one!) educational tool.
 -- kt

P.S.  I loved your stories, Don!   And ... Karen, I agree with you
completely.  There certainly is a place for high-resolution masters for
essential core graphics.  Bottom line--it's time to combine and coordinate
ALL our efforts for the greater good!

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