RE: To Braille or Not to Braille
- From: "Harmony Neil" <harmonylm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:32:30 +0100
It's like a very simplified version of raised up large print. I don't know
how to read it to be honest because I don't need to, but not many people
know what it is either.
-----Original Message-----
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Yadiel Sotomayor
Sent: 21 October 2010 14:43
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: To Braille or Not to Braille
?Moon writing? Forgive my ignorance, but what's that?
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Harmony Neil" <harmonylm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:04 AM
To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: To Braille or Not to Braille
> I know some older people or those who struggle to read braille because of
> a
> lack of touch sensation do also use moon (a raised and very simplified
> version of large print), but I know very few people who use it or read it.
> I don't use moon because I can read braille just fine, but I can see where
> it may come in useful for some people.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Adrian Spratt
> Sent: 21 October 2010 05:20
> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: To Braille or Not to Braille
>
> Hi, Lynn and the list.
>
> Reading everyone's perspective on this question has been
> thought-provoking.
> For many of us, it isn't an either/or question. The part of the brain that
> absorbs the basics of reading shuts down sometime before adolescence. As I
> understood the research when I looked into it, this phase determines
> whether
> we will best read by sight or by touch. For people who have never seen or
> lose their sight during that window, braille should be taught. The
> enviable
> people I know who read braille fast learned it during that time. Those of
> us
> who lost our vision afterwards have a harder time picking up the speed
> necessary for extensive use, although it can still be useful for
> note-taking, poetry reading, computer code and other purposes.
>
> When I gained access to the written word on computers first via
> TeleSensory
> and since then with JAWS, I reveled in my ability to check spelling. I
> found
> that not only had I misspelled some words, but also mispronounced them.
> Any
> word with a "v" or "be" was an adventure.
>
> Blindness isn't an across-the-board disability. Each of us is affected
> differently, and we adapt in our own resourceful ways. I agree that
> braille
> should be taught to young people and, ideally, to older people, but in
> each
> instance with different expectations. The ideology of braille can be hard
> to
> take for those of us whose ability to benefit from it is limited by age
> and,
> in many cases, additional disabilities. When braille is a less viable
> option, JAWS and, yes, other screenreaders give us the means to gain
> control
> over spelling, among many other important facets of communication.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Lynn Golightly
> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 7:11 PM
> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: To Braille or Not to Braille
>
> Hi Michael and List,
>
> One of the aspects of my job at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and
> Physically Handicapped is Braille transcribing. I agree you can read one
> letter at a time with JAWS and you can proofread that way. However, when I
> proof a long document, I either need a Braille display or the hard Braille
> copy. I could read the document one letter at a time after I use the
> spellchecker, but that would take some time. I often find I miss errors in
> my writing and/or transcribing when I do not either have a Braille display
> or hard Braille copy. Often when I am reading a document sentence or
> paragraph at a time with JAWS I would swear the document was error-free; I
> find out most of the time I was wrong.
>
> I am sure you can be literate with speech and other methods of learning.
> However, for me Braille is like a sighted person's pencil and paper. I can
> use it anywhere independent of carrying a note taker with speech. Braille
> gives me so much more independence in the home with labels, and at work
> when
> I need to write down a fast note or answer one call after another call.
>
> I am afraid that due to the shortage of VI teachers and the lack of
> Braille
> instruction for blind and visually impaired students, there will be people
> who don't learn to be competent spellers or versatile money managers. For
> me, Braille is the key to literacy and independence. I also utilize JAWS
> and
> all manner of electronic gadgets to augment my ability to perform my job
> and
> live independently at home.
>
> Technology and Braille make good bed partners in my opinion. If I had to
> choose one over the other, though, I would choose Braille.
>
> Vicky Golightly
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Michael Arnowitt
> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 5:30 PM
> To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: To Braille or Not to Braille
>
> I would say literacy is more a matter of how much time and effort you're
> willing to spend. Jaws can spell out any word for you and speak
> punctuation.
> Whenever I hear a name on the radio these days now that I am blind I do
> get
> curious as to its spelling, and I find knowing the spelling makes me
> remember words and names much better. You don't even need to know any
> fancy
> Jaws command to read letter by letter, just put the cursor at the
> beginning
> of the word and right arrow one by one. Jaws could be a way to increase
> literacy, if you're willing to take the time.
>
> I don't do texting, but from what I understand nobody spells out words in
> texts, or intentionally misspells them, and these are mostly sighted
> people
> working in a purely visual medium. It's part of the times, not just a
> disease of the so-called illiterate blind. And I have heard some very good
> writers say they proofread their writing by reading it aloud. I certainly
> catch mistakes in my writing through Jaws' speech output. So to me,
> there's
> really no superiority or inferiority to learning language by writing,
> hearing, or feeling it. It's really more a question of do you have the
> motivation and energy to make the effort.
>
> Michael
>
> Dave wrote: Jerry,
>
> Good point. and to make another point that was mentioned in this forum, a
> very important aspect to learning and reading Braille is in learning how
> to
> spell.
>
> I've seen far too many posters on various lists for the blind who are
> writing at a 2nd grade level. It is clear to me that they are spelling
> strictly based on how a word sounds
>
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