Re: Screen readers and how to develop them: A historical perspective
- From: Jackie McBride <abletec@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:40:55 -0700
Well I'm trying to get better at Braille, but I'm kind of like
Quenten--it's slow & frustrating. Nonetheless, when I found out in 97
that I have an inner ear disease that could take my hearing, I decided
I'd better get my a$$ in gear & learn. What I do find that I can do
better in braille than w/anything else is things like sing in the
choir, do worship readings dramatically, etc. Admittedly that's a very
limited use. & I do those things in conjunction w/a braille
notetaker/display, so I'd be in deep doo doo too if technology went
away. I haven't really experimented w/other methods of doing these
things, as until recently I haven't had any technology which would
allow it. W/the arrival of my bookport, perhaps I could experiment, so
I'm not sayin that braille is the only way to do even these things,
though I am curious how one would do dramatic reading.
I do think there is a problem when kids grow up w/no interaction w/the
written word, be that in print or in braille. Unfortunately, that
happens more w/blind kids because there aren't enough qualified
braille teachers &/or because school districts don't wanna spend the
money for it or because folks think all low vision kids should learn
print even when it's clearly inefficient for them. I find that many of
these folks, when grown, have very severe self-confidence issues when
it comes to written communication w/others. So I guess my stance
regarding kids is that they should learn written communication in
whatever form is most useable for them.
Hopefully this is middle ground? I do think that what we're all saying
is that these modalities are tools, & we should use them as we're
able.
On 12/22/10, Alex Midence <alex.midence@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi, Sina,
>
> Please see my responses below. I want to make it clear that I don't
> decry the use of technology. I think I came across as thinking this
> way when I responsed to Ken's message by stating that braille is
> useful when you don't have your tech around to help out. I did not
> mean that you should not use it, give it up, or that it needed to go
> away.
>
> On 12/22/10, Sina Bahram <sbahram@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> I can read grade 2 Braille at possibly 100 words per minute, on a good
>> day.
>> I'm also, or at least used to be, fluent in nemeth for
>> the level of math I took, which was several semesters of calculus, linear
>> algebra, differential equations, etc.
>
> Came in handy, did it not?
>
>> I definitely think braille is necessary, and amazingly useful,
>
> My point exactly!
>
>> when doing
>> things like matrices, integrals, and complex derivatives,
>> but there are other approaches to accomplish the same things.
>
> Glad you said so. I use braille a lot in math and find using speech
> only rather cumbersome for this task. Long calculations require that
> you can write your work out and refer to it as you go through it.
> Lowers the margin for error since you eliminate reliance on memory
> and remove the "forget" factor. Braille and print for that matter,
> doesn't get sleepy, doesn't get distracted and doesn't have brain
> farts. It is the constant in the equation.
>
>>
>> Now, as a comparison, I understand synthetic speech at over 1,000 words
>> per
>> minute.
>
> Awesome. Congratulations! I wish I did. I can do 400 but that's about
> it.
>> Forgive me for not giving up my 10X efficiency.
>
> Noone's asking you to. Speech is a tool, braille is a tool, both do
> good things and both are worth having and using to the best possible
> advantage. You should not cheat yourself out of either.
>
>> Take care,
>> Sina
>>
> Regards,
> Alex M
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--
Change the world--1 deed at a time
Jackie McBride
Scripting Classes: http://jawsscripting.lonsdalemedia.org
homePage: www.abletec.serverheaven.net
For technophobes: www.technophoeb.com
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