My experience learning the Optacon was very different than most any other I've read on this list - I guess because I'm at least a good bit younger than most of the people posting here. I was essentially forced into learning to use the Optacon as a student at the Overbrook School for the Blind. I remember early on being "tested," I guess you'd call it, to see if I'd be a good candidate for training and not knowing what in the world they were doing to me. I just remember them putting my hand in some machine that made funny buzzing noises and tickled my finger! In fourth grade, I believe, I began my training with the Optacon. I don't remember actually learning to use it, though I do remember many days when I'd cry, I guess in frustration, during class. My teacher would get angry at me and tell me to turn the machine off till I calmed myself down. I knew the point of learning the machine; but as a child, I guess learning to read print wasn't of such importance to me. (I learned to type around this same time and just took off with it. I loved to type so much and got so good at it that I'd write my parents notes instead of asking them things; and my father bought me a Royal electric typewriter for my tenth birthday.) I don't remember how often I had Optacon class or for how many years, though I probably had it for two or three, until I finished elementary school. I remember at one point reading a book of some sort in class and being able to read at a reasonable speed, though I have no idea how fast it was. The Optacon teacher also taught typing; and because of this, I was introduced to the typewriter lens for the Smith-Corona. Someone either from the school or my parents set it up where I swapped typewriters with the school so that I could use the typewriter lens with my Optacon and be able to read what I typed. So I took home a Smith-Corona from the school, and they took my Royal, which was still there years later, as I found out when I visited. (We eventually swapped the typewriters again, though I don't remember why or when it was.) While I was in elementary school, I remember working with the music teacher to learn to read print music. I don't know how often I actually used the Optacon after that, though the school had given me one and only asked for it back years and years later; luckily, my father told them I was still using it, even though I wasn't at the time. The Optacon stayed in my parents house for years, untouched, until, living on my own, I encountered problems with my scanner and couldn't scan my mail anymore. It was then that I got the idea of using my Optacon. I was surprised, but I was still able to use it, even after all that time. It's funny, but now that I have the Optacon here with me, I'm always finding uses for it and would never want to be without it; I don't know how I lived without it all those years! I certainly don't have the speed I used to have; and in truth, I can't even use it for more than a few minutus at a time before my finger goes numb. But boy, am I glad I was forced into learning it as a child and that I still have access to such a wonderful machine. Rachel To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject. Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject.