[accessibleimage] Re: Touch Graphics version of Touch The Sun!

Hi Francesco, 

Please contact me at my email, which is sl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  I will let
you know all about our work and send you some samples of the tactile images
we make. Thanks for your interest.  

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: Centro de Estudos Inclusivos (CEI/UFPE) [mailto:cei@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 2:48 PM
To: accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: Touch Graphics version of Touch The Sun!

Dear Steve:
This is Francisco Lima, writing from Brazil.
I am quite new in the list and have not written yet. However, the exciting 
message from Sylvie has encouraged me.
I have been researching mental representation and raised-drawing production 
and recognition, since 96. I have taken part of the Psychonomics and 
presented some of my work at the ISAC conference. However, since the year 
2000, I have not presented any of my work out of Brazil, for a variety of 
reasons.
But this introduction is just to tel the group I am quite happy to be able 
to exchange information (learn) with you folks and to ask some more detail 
about this fantastic  "prototype Illustrated Digital Talking Book".
Could you possibly send me some   more information on such prototype?
I use a voice syntetizer (Jaws) and any eletronic file will be welcome to 
read.
Best regards,
Dr. Francisco Lima
Ps. My english is very rusty, so if some expression is not very well 
linguistically suited, please let me know.


is just to

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steven Landau" <sl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 10:29 AM
Subject: [accessibleimage] Re: Touch Graphics version of Touch The Sun!


> Sylvie,
>
> Thanks for the kind words and your enthusiasm.  I am so happy that you and
> your students enjoyed our prototype Illustrated Digital Talking Book, 
> Touch
> The Sun for the TTT, based on Noreen's Braille version.  We are hoping to
> move forward with this project, with the hope of producing an authoring
> system to make lots of books that work the same way.  We will know in
> September whether our grant proposal is accepted, and we will keep you and
> the list informed on our progress.
>
> Steve
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kaizen Program [mailto:kaizen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 9:21 AM
> To: accessibleimage@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [accessibleimage] Touch Graphics version of Touch The Sun!
>
> Greetings colleagues,
>
> The students and instructors of the Kaizen Program have been privileged to
> try out the Talking Tactile Tablet prototype of the Touch Graphics talking
> book version of Touch The Sun.
>
> Before summarizing our experience I want to remind people of Steven 
> Landau's
> description of the TTT version of Touch The Sun, which was posted on the
> list on Thursday, March 16, 2006 7:27 AM. I don't think I can describe it
> with as much accuracy and detail, so I will restate Steve's description
> here:
>
> "It is an Illustrated Digital Talking Book, based on Noreen Grice's Touch
> the Sun. It uses the same images that were in Noreen's book, but rather 
> than
> read the text in Braille, you place a tactile overlay sheet on a TTT and
> then navigate through the text by pressing the right and left arrows to go
> forward or back. Like in DAISY books, you can also press the up and down
> arrows to change the navigation level (the increments you move when you
> press the right or left arrow), which can be set to chapter, paragraph,
> sentence, word or letter. When you want to explore the pictures, you do 
> that
> by touching lightly, then pressing down on any part you want to hear audio
> description for. You can also hook up a Braille display to the computer, 
> if
> you prefer to read the text that way."
>
> We received the Touch The Sun TTT program last week, and my partner, Robby
> Barnes, installed it without any difficulty.
>
> Then, before introducing it to our students, both of us tried it out. 
> Robby
> is partially sighted and I am totally blind, and we both found it easy to
> use. It needs some rough spots ironed out to make it operate more smoothly
> and with fewer little errors, but it is very accessible.
>
> Then I used it with three of my adult new English learners who have been
> reading the book in braille with me and enjoying the tactile graphics. 
> They
> also participated in Noreen's prototypical science lessons with similar
> tactile graphics, but slightly different interactive activities involved.
>
> My students are now very enthusiastic about the whole experience, 
> including
> especially the TTT part! One man in his fifties, who did not learn to read
> and write in braille or in any format until he came to this country ten
> years ago, is now so enthusiastic about reading the book that he wants to
> get it himself. This is the first book that has made him truly excited 
> about
> reading! So, I am thrilled.
>
> All of the students enjoyed having access to the same material that fully
> sighted people have. They all are more and more interested in learning 
> about
> science topics as part of learning English. And, the TTT version of Touch
> The Sun makes it very easy for them to feel fully supported in exploring 
> the
> tactile graphics on their own, going over and over them.
>
> So, thank you! thank you! all at Touch Graphics for producing and sharing
> this material.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> 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/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Other related posts: