[accessibleimage] Re: New to Tactile Graphics

***** Lynchburg City Schools
*****   915 Court Street - Lynchburg, VA 24505
*****   Mail Administrator - mail@xxxxxxxxxx

My students switched to reading braille with the Tiger embosser without missing 
a beat. We have even found some beginners read it better. 
I switch back and forth between using the swell touch paper and the embossed 
graphics. The students need to be able to read them all. Some books still have 
diagrams with embossed graphics and some have switched to the black raised 
lines. My students prefers the black raised line to give a quick visual check 
then to use touch to get the details. Word to the wise, don't get the cheap 
swell touch paper, not worth having in my opinion. 
With graphics you need to develop a good system of naming and saving, so you 
can reuse with minimal changes. Many of the shapes are basically the same,  the 
numbers used will change for different examples. 

-----Original message-----
From: "Kaizen Program" kaizen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:56:00 -0400
To: accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: New to Tactile Graphics

> Greetings all,
> 
> The tactile graphics produced by the Tiger are quite good. But,
> unfortunately, many braille readers find the braille produced even by the 
> recent Tiger embossers difficult or
> annoying to read because of the relative closeness of the braille dots, 
> especially in large amounts. The problem is not related to  the size of 
> anyone's hands, but, to the optimum spatial configuration for
> easily discerning the symbols when using the pad of one's finger, related to
> average nerve sensitivity in the pad of a finger.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Sylvie
> Sylvie Kashdan, M.A.
> Instructor/Curriculum Coordinator
> KAIZEN PROGRAM for New English Learners with Visual Limitations
> 810-A Hiawatha Place South
> Seattle, WA  98144, U.S.A.
> phone:  (206) 784-5619
> email:  kaizen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> web:  http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/
> 
>  Well it depends on what you mean by smaller braille.  Tiger technology 
> places dots exactly 0.100 inches apart within a braille cell.  Other 
> embosser range
> from 0.092 to 0.100.  Spacing between braille cells is 0.250 inches 
> horizontally and 0.400 inches vertically for virtually all braille embossers 
> including
> Tiger embossers.  I suspect that you are referring to the sharpness of 
> braille that was typical of Tiger embossers a few years ago.  If the punch 
> force
> was set high, the dots could be sharp.  Current generation Tiger embossers 
> have dots that are much less sensitive to precise punch settings.  They are
> pretty much identical to all others braille dots on top but have slightly 
> smaller bases in order to get 20 dots per inch when embossing graphics.  I 
> do
> not believe that braille readers can feel the dot base, at least not without 
> trying hard, so current generation Tiger braille should certainly not feel
> "small".
> Hope this is helpful.
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "T. J." <tjmaries@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 7:17 PM
> Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: New to Tactile Graphics
> 
> 
> Yes, it is smaller but when I requested a sample graphic (to see if the
> tiger embosser was something I want eventually), the Braille labels on the
> graphic did seem smaller (to me) but no harder for me to read (I do have
> small hands though).
> 
> T. J.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Bret Kroeker <bkroeker162@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Adaptive Graphics ListServ <accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, April 6, 2009 7:07:43 PM
> Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: New to Tactile Graphics
> 
> It is my understanding that due the fineness of the embossing of the tiger
> braille embossers, the braille text is a bit smaller and harder to read. Can
> anyone tell me if this is true. I have never used a tiger embosser so I
> don't know the quality of braille. Thanks.
> Bret
> 
> ________________________________
> From: john.gardner@xxxxxxxx
> To: accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: New to Tactile Graphics
> Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 13:52:44 -0700
> 
> 
> Hello Bret, if you are getting a Tiger embosser, you'll get TSS with it. TSS
> has a good braille translator application that lets you translate everything
> in MS Word, including math, and in Excel, including Excel charts and
> graphics. And you can print graphics from any standard application.
> 
> Duxbury also supports math braille from MS Word I believe, so it is no
> longer necessary to use Scientific Notebook.
> 
> From: accessibleimage-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:accessibleimage-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bret Kroeker
> Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 11:05 AM
> To: accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [accessibleimage] New to Tactile Graphics
> 
> Hi All,
> I am a Braille Transcriber with a school district, and am visually impaired.
> One of our students is going to be taking an algebra/geometry class next
> year. We will be required to create all of the charts, graphs, and other
> graphics for the class. I am using Duxbury as my translation software and am
> using a program called Scientific NoteBook to create all of the mathematical
> text. I was told that there is a program that works with Duxbury called TGD
> Pro which allows you to copy an image and then import it into a duxbury
> file. Does anyone have any good ideas or suggestions for me on the best way
> to create a tactile graphic electronically? I have limited sight, so being
> able to draw or create things by hand may be out of the question. Our
> district will be getting one of the new Tiger braille embossers so I think I
> can create tables and charts with excel and then emboss them. Thanks for any
> suggestions or advice.
> Bret
> ________________________________
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> 
> 
> 
> 

Kit Burnett 
Teacher of the Blind & Visually Impaired

Laurel Vision Program
401 Monticello Ave
Lynchburg City Schools
Lynchburg, VA 24501
(434)522-3716

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