[bksvol-discuss] Re: Twin Vision Books

"Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx> · Thu, 17 Mar 2005 23:04:40 -0500

I remember, back in high school, and now looking at some of the tech the 
kids in school have now, sigh.

Smile.

You should have seen my face the first time I took a book out of the 
library, put it on the scanner, and scanned it, and was able to read it, 
this was in college, and believe it it was a truly glorious feeling.  Before 
I got that scanner, reading a book would take a month or more and that was 
with dedication using the CCTV, or waiting forever to get it in Braille or 
on tape.

It was the same feeling I got when I got my Braillenote and was able to use 
it for the first time, taking notes, reading a good book, and editing files. 
it was really exciting.

Course I was like that with the Color Detector too, smile.  I remember the 
first night that we got it, my roommate and I were wondering around the 
house finding out its accuracy, smile, and of course trying it on 
construction paper, paint (dried), marker, crayon, color pencil, and of 
course clothing.  I got it, well justified it for the art supplies, 
Elementary teachers use a lot of them, and there was no practical way to 
label all the colors and yet be able to use them, smile.

The rest has been a fringe benefit.

Technology is great.

And the internet was just a great invention that Al Gore didn't invent, 
smile.

It is my public library, my reference tool, and while I was in college my 
library catalog.  smile.

Am looking forward to that again when I go to the land of the "gay Hawks" 
in September.

Shelley L. Rhodes and Judson, guiding golden
juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc.
Graduate Advisory Council
www.guidedogs.com

The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to
stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.

      -- Vance Havner
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "siss52" <siss52@xxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 10:56 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Twin Vision Books

Oh definitely, technology is a great thing!  I am really really grateful for
technology.  Even if I don't have all of it,  I can benefit from the
scanners you all have.  <smile>

----- Original Message -----
From: "Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 9:41 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Twin Vision Books

I know for my library I am the only blind patron, though at the rate I am
going will cover all of them in town, smile.

So I don't think it is that common.  Our library had a large Large Print
section when I was growing up and it has just gotten larger.

The Braille stuff though I had to request from Philadelphia, or we had the
local prison Braille it, and then kept the books in storage for other
students.

In the olden days, smile, when I was in kindergarten to I would say second
grade my TVI or Teacher of the Visually Impaired, brailled out everything by
hand, after that we got an embosser, and it made getting the stuff into
accessible format.  Back then, OCR was actually worse than typing, course
now a days I can wip out a title in an hour if I an lucky.

So technology is a great thing.

Shelley L. Rhodes and Judson, guiding golden
juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc.
Graduate Advisory Council
www.guidedogs.com

The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to
stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.

      -- Vance Havner
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cindy" <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 6:55 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Twin Vision Books

That's wonderful. I wish regular libraries would carry
some -- or maybe they could request them if parents
ask. I think I'll ask at my library if we have any
blind patrons. I've never seen any. I do know LT books
go out, but I'm not sure with how much frequency.
Anyway, I'll mention it to our children's librarian
and maybe when she visits schools she can mention it
to the teachers.

Cindy

> There are books called Twin Vision which are written
> for blind people to
> read to sighted children.  Those pictures are pasted
> on and I understand
> that they look more realistic to sighted children.
> I do not know who owns
> Twin Vision, only that I have seen a lot of those
> books at the Illinois
> School for the Visually Impaired library.
>
> Sue S.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cindy" <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 12:23 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Innovative computer
> 'eyes' help blind read:
> The iCAREReader
>
>
> Interesting. But  as I understand the article (and I
> only read it quickly), one would have to take a book
> and scan  it. Wouldn't it be quicker, and less
> expensive, once the scanner goes on the market,  to
> download a book from bookshare if it's there? I can
> see the advantage in reading mail or magazines,
> though.
>
> Now all we need is someway to translate
> illustrations,
> into Braille, or Daisy (whatever that is), or to
> describe. Are illustrations in books from NSL (do I
> have the initials right?) described?
>
> I would think that it would be possible, though
> possibly expensive, to make at least the outlines of
> figures in books raised so that people could feel
> them
> -- and maybe make the insides of the outlines that
> are
> usually colored in different textures.
>
> Hmmm. If I were younger and had the money I'd start
> such a business. I bet it would become profitable.
>
> Cindy
>
>
>
>
> --- "Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> > New type of scanning and OCR style thing, I can
> see
> > where this would be
> > beneficial.
> >
> >
> > Arizona Republic
> > Thursday, March 17, 2005
> >
> > Innovative computer 'eyes' help blind read: The
> > iCARE Reader
> >
> > By Alison Stanton, Special for The Republic
> >
> > Thanks to an innovative device developed by
> students
> > and staff at the Center
> > for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC) at
> > Arizona State University,
> > visually impaired people will now have a chance to
> > read their mail, browse
> > through a magazine or look over a restaurant menu
> > quickly and easily.
> >
> > Graduate students Michael Rush and Sushant Bhatia
> > began creating the
> > computerized device, called the iCARE Reader, in
> > 2002, collaborating with
> > ASU's School of Architecture and Design.
> >
> > The iCARE Reader uses a 13.7 megapixel camera to
> > take a picture of any type
> > of printed page and load it within seven seconds
> > into a computer. The text
> > can then be read aloud at different speeds by a
> > synthesized voice.
> > advertisement
> >
> > "This is a tremendous opportunity to bring the
> power
> > and potential of
> > computing and information technology to help
> > individuals with disabilities
> > and in general in the realm of enhancing human
> > performance," said Sethuraman
> > Panchanathan, 43, director of the center, part of
> > the Ira A. Fulton School
> > of Engineering.
> >
> > Unlike traditional scanning devices that can also
> > convert text into voice,
> > Panchanathan said the iCARE Reader is faster, more
> > accurate and lets
> > visually impaired people skip through documents
> > quickly and easily.
> >
> > "You can go back by word, character or paragraph,"
> > he said.
> >
> > Laura Bratton, a junior majoring in psychology at
> > ASU, said she enjoys using
> > the iCARE Reader.
> >
> > "It's a lot faster than the traditional scanners,"
> > said Bratton, 20, who was
> > diagnosed at age 8 with a condition that has
> caused
> > her retina to
> > deteriorate.
> >
> > Bratton, who works in CUbiC and helped test the
> > device, said she uses the
> > reader about once a week and likes the freedom
> that
> > the device provides.
> >
> > "I have used it mainly for pleasure readings -
> books
> > that are not available
> > in alternative formats that I can scan, mail and
> > personal letters," she
> > said. "I think it will provide me the chance to do
> > more things independently
> > like read books and fliers."
> >
> > Terri Hedgpeth, 43, is a disability research
> > specialist at CUbiC who lost
> > both eyes at 18 months of age due to retinal
> > blasphoma. Hedgpeth said that
> > before developing the iCARE Reader, staff members
> > met with visually impaired
> > people, disability specialists and teachers to
> learn
> > what would be wanted in
> > such a device.
> >
> > "We took the unique approach. We decided to ask
> the
> > consumer what they
> > want," the Tempe resident said, laughing.
> >
> > Once the iCARE Reader was created, Panchanathan
> said
> > he and others from
> > CUbiC sought additional feedback from visually
> > impaired people and other
> > groups.
> >
> > "We are getting feedback before we deploy it,"
> > Panchanathan said, adding
> > that CUbiC recently debuted the iCARE Reader at
> the
> > Foundation for Blind
> > Children in Phoenix.
> >
> > John Black, 56, a research scientist at CUbiC, is
> > proud of the work done to
> > create the iCARE Reader.
> >
> > "All my life I've had a love affair with books,
> and
> > allowing people access
> > to these books is important to me," the Tempe
> > resident said.
> >
> > Hedgpeth said she knows from personal experience
> > that without new and
> > innovative devices, many visually impaired people
> > simply avoid reading
> > things that are not readily available in Braille.
> >
> > "For a lot of visually impaired students and the
> > elderly, if it is too much
> > hassle to read, then people don't," she said.
> >
> > Hedgpeth, who has used other forms of reading
> > technology for years and found
> > them "tedious and time-consuming," loves the ease
> of
> > iCARE Reader.
> >
> > "It's a lot easier. I like to be able to go in
> there
> > and put something down
> > and know what it is quickly," she said. "This
> gives
> > the person a chance to
> > read a book the way anyone else does."
> >
> > "The important word is 'independent,' " Black
> said.
> > "We are hoping to give
> > independence to people to read without relying on
> > anyone else."
> >
> >
> >
>
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/tempe/articles/0317t-icare17Z10.htm
> l
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
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> >
> > Archived at: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind/
> > Address message to list by sending mail to:
> > BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> > Access your subscription info at:
> >
>
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> >
> >
> >
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