[bksvol-discuss] Re: about braille
- From: Guido Corona <guidoc@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 13:02:25 -0500
If I may once more, ever-so-humbly chime in,
I am quietly bemused by the implicit droll suggestions that those of us
who have not embraced Braille are 'children of a lesser literacy'.
I must have been living for countless years under the now clearly
misguided self-delusion that my proficiency in handling the written
language was somewhat comparable to that of those members of the blind
community who are schooled in the tactile representation of the word.
Well, it is now clear that I am instead woefully deficient in that
regard, and my TTS-mediated textual cognition mechanism is inherently
inferior to the tactile one, because the reflexive conversion I perform
from the sounds to the underlying fully expanded words for some
unfathomable reason will never match the direct representation of the
compressed same, which can be only enjoyed by the neurologically-superior
tactile gurus.
On the other hand, when those anthropocentric views of the 'true
believers' are finally mitigated by a modicum of skeptical relativism,
when the pitfalls of aprioristic believes are detected, when the urban
legends of blind Braille employment rates uniformly peddled by the Braille
technology industry re recognized to be outdated and tendentious, and
those 'superior neurological pathways' are finally relegated to the realm
of pseudoscientific myths, then I may be eventually readmitted to the
world of the 'chosen ones'.
Do remember the words of the sage of Appenzell:
'Spoons do not gag people. People using spoons gag people!'
Aloysius.
Guido D. Corona
IBM Accessibility Center, Austin Tx.
IBM Research,
Phone: (512) 838-9735
Email: guidoc@xxxxxxxxxxx
Visit my weekly Accessibility WebLog at:
http://www-3.ibm.com/able/weblog/corona_weblog.html
"Sharon Jackson" <dolly1025@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
05/17/2004 11:21 AM
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[bksvol-discuss] Re: about braille
Paul,
I agree. Access to information is crucial to accomplishing college
courses.
I think students should gain the necessary skills to utilize all forms of
materials available to them.
I do believe that reading is different than listening because one has to
know the rules that govern the written language and formulate their own
interpretations while listening only deals with the comprehension of the
material. Does this mean that individuals who do not read cannot succeed
in
college? I do not believe this is the case as long as they know how to
access information.
In my graduate courses, we are given the necessary information to assist
children/adults in accessing information whether they have to read it
themselves or have it read to them.
Sharon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edwards, Paul" <pedwards@xxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 10:37 AM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: about braille
> The primary issue here is comprehension. I have a huge problem with the
notion that listening is not reading. It is creating immense problems for
those people who are blind who do not have access to braille or large
print
because of their physical condition. I am really bothered by purists who
are preventing kids who are blind from graduating from high school because
they cannot "read"
>
> We have also had immense success by providing access to speech
technology
for students with certain learning disabilities and also for some autistic
students. The issue is developing a capacity to acquire and retain
information. However that is done seems somewhat irrelevant to me. I am
an
avid braille reader and a good audio reader and, even though I am totally
blind and have always been so, learning tests say I am a visual learner. I
have no notion of what that has to do with the price of cheese but pass it
on for the sake of a grin.
>
> My point in even raising this question on this list is to suggest that
far too often, teachers and parents make decisions about how children
should
learn that have the effect of limiting their progress. I am tired of
dealing with students coming into college essentially illiterate,
especially
when technology can make such a difference. The issue ought to be
information acquisition and retention, not "reading".
>
> Paul
>
>
> Paul Edwards, Director
> Access Services, North Campus
> Phone: (305) 237-1146
> Fax: (305-237-1831
> TTY: (305) 237-1413
> Email: pedwards@xxxxxxxx
> home email: edwpaul@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sharon Jackson [mailto:dolly1025@xxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 3:18 PM
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: about braille
>
>
> In my graduate classes, we have debated over the issues of print and/or
> Braille are forms of reading media, but screen readers and audiotapes
are
> not. I believe this is true since the screen readers and audiotapes
read
to
> you while the others you read yourself. I guess it would depend on the
> person and how much information they can retain from any form of
information
> access. I believe everyone should use what options are available to
them,
> therefore, students should learn what is available and base their
options
> according to their preferences and not just what they are shown.
>
> Sharon
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kellie Hartmann" <kellhart@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 2:08 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: about braille
>
>
> > Hi Liz,
> > Your story about the child using only CCTV is just the kind of thing
that
> > irritates me so much. That girl will probably get into college and
wish
> that
> > she knew braille, especially if she happens to lose what vision she
has.
> >
> > I really believe that reading braille and reading with audio are two
> totally
> > different things, just as much as reading print and listening are
> different.
> > I do enjoy audiobooks, but I process information from them and from
> braille
> > in very different ways. If there is information that I really need to
> study
> > and remember I do much better if it's in braille. I once had to use an
> audio
> > version of a linguistics text, and although it was beautifully done I
> found
> > myself having to take extensive notes just to keep my mind focused
> > sufficiently. If the book had been in braille I would have taken very
few
> > notes, if any. I know that other people don't have this dichotomy and
can
> > absorb audio material as well as they absorb print, but it would be
> > impossible to know that with a young child, so they need to be taught
> both.
> > As you say, everyone will eventually make their own choices about what
> > they've been taught, but the more choices you have the better.
> >
> > As for spelling, braille can cause its own problems there too. When I
was
> in
> > school they made sure that I wrote the answers to my spelling tests in
> grade
> > 1, and later I typed them on a typewriter. That's one thing that using
a
> > computer can help with. I had to laugh the other night when I wanted
to
> > write in my journal. I've been using so many foreign language braille
> codes
> > as well as doing most of my writing on the computer, and it took me a
> while
> > to remember how to type in grade 2 braille. <lol> I read braille every
> day,
> > but I guess I don't write it very often anymore.
> > Kellie
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
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