[duxuser] Re: Why Six-key Entry?

  • From: "Lisa Hall" <lhall10@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2005 13:14:03 -0500

Hi everyone,

 

When I was at Louisiana Center for the Blind back in 1994, I learned how to
input ASCII Braille characters on the typewriter keyboard with a Braille
display attached to the computer.

 

When I took the Reading and Writing Braille 1 & 2 back in the spring and
summer 2003, I learned how to input six dot keys using the typewriter
keyboard with both Perky Duck and the Duxbury Braille translator using a
Braille display to check my work on the screen. It's another skill that I
have mastered in the Braille translating business. 

 

I have been very busy updating my web pages and doing a lot of consulting
work for Northwest Vista College since completing the Braille Transcription
Program at Northwest Vista College. I am on my fourth week at this job
working from home keeping track of my activities and the timing to do each
job. Please take the opportunity to view my web site and maybe you'll come
away learning something new every time.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

Lisa Hall,

Consultant for Adaptive Technology for Northwest Vista College, a college of
the Alamo Community College District. 

Web page: http://home.satx.rr.com/lisahall

Phone: (210) 829-4571

E-mail and MSN I.D.: lhall10@xxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

  _____  

From: duxuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:duxuser-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of WarrenDFig@xxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2005 8:02 AM
To: duxuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [duxuser] Re: Why Six-key Entry?

 

Remember when we were going to totally abandon conventional ovens in favor
of the microwave? Now it is true that many people's cooking habits center on
the newer technology, but it's also true that conventional ovens still sell.
There's a place for either or both devices in the modern kitchen.

 

It's the same thing with ascii braille and six key entry. Both techniques
are available for use in any combination. But I'd guess that the use of
ascii braille is on the rise as people become more comfortable with its use.

 

I learned to use ASCII braille in the 80s when I had to write a daily
Braille Corner for the  print edition our school bulletin. At first it was
difficult for me. It felt really wrong to type a comma or a 4 and get a
capital sign or a period on the screen--my fingers and my brain wanted to
rebel. In time the uniquely strange became comfortably familiar and I got
used to it because I had to. Now, it is simply another skill I possess.
(While I can type in ascii braille, I don't like to look at it in anything
but a braille font.) I suppose that's because I read braille with my
fingers,  too. However, I know quite a few transcribers who work exclusively
in ascii braille  and do quite well.)

 

I like to use six key for spatial things and appreciate features that make
using it easy. In MegaDots, you can set an editor preference that
automatically flips your keyboard into 6-key mode when you have chosen the
Translate Exactly style. So when I input something like a crossword puzzle,
I 6-key it in the print side and move on. I hope the next braille production
program can do this and even change that portion of the text to a braille
font on the screen.

 

I am happy that Susan Jolley brings up these and other thought-provoking
issues for I believe that her open mind and willingness to explore different
avenues makes her a strong advocate for braille. She is more a part of
braille's future than its past. And that's not always appreciated in our
insular and super ultra conservative braille world--we guard our traditions
and practices aggressively sometimes to our own detriment. 

 

Warren

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