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New Technology Take Braille Into The New Century

July 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Braille letter/symbol.

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Not since the birth of the Braille language has there been such an exciting time for those who have lost their ability to see. Today, technology is helping the blind take part in more activities than ever before. New technology is available to do everything from read a computer screen to help with the task of creating text messages. Anyone who diagnosed as blind should invest in these programs.

  • JAWS: the most robust text reader for a computer. The program reads written words on a computer screen and makes it possible for the user to navigate the Internet.
  • Kurzweil: This simply program allows a user to scan any written document into a computer. IT then translate the document into audible form.
  • GOODFEEL: Blind students and musicians can use this nifty use to translate music into a format that the blind can study and play.
  • Virgo 4: A text converter that is light years ahead of industry standards. It can also be used to create text to braille documents.

To make things even easier, there are new Braille keyboards. These keyboards make it exceptionally easy for students to use computers. By combining a Braille keyboard with a program like JAWS, the blind can use a computer as effectively as a seeing person.

While there is no doubt that being blind is a disability, today it does not mean living life in a world of darkness. Thanks to recent technological advances, the blind can now experience the world in a whole new way.

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Jobs for Blind Adults

February 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Although many people may assume that all blind people are completely disabled, that notion is just a stereotype.  Many blind adults lead full lives and can work in a variety of industries.

Masseuse

Blind adults may be interested in a career as a masseuse.  Many blind people develop their other senses, including touch to heightened levels. Blind people can use their increased sense of touch to get a job at a spa or even start their own massage business.

Transcribing

Most blind people can type perfectly fine since anyone can memorize a keyboard.  Think about it, you probably have been using a computer so long that you barely look at the keys anyway.  Blind individuals can  listen to audio tapes and type up transcripts.  This can lead to a job in medical transcription or as a court reporter.

Teaching

Blind people can make great teachers because they have had to overcome a lot of obstacles in life.  Any learning material available in books can also be found on audio tapes.  Blind teachers can be inspirational to young children.  A teacher’s aid can help the blind lead teacher to grade papers.

Reach for the Stars

Modern technology has given many blind people the opportunity to do almost any job that they want.  You will find blind people being productive in all sectors of life from law to food service to journalism to accounting.  Colleges and Universities make it possible for blind students to get an education, leading to very intelligent blind individuals eager to work.  Most companies would be happy to make a few accommodations to hire a blind person if they are the candidate most qualified for the job.

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Web-Braille Important Tool for the Blind

October 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Reading Braille
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Web-Braille Important Tool for the Blind

Web-Braille is an innovative web-based resource that gives the blind vital access to many thousands of magazines, books and even musical scores as produced by the NLS (National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped) division of the Library of Congress. It also includes an ever-expanding collection of locally transcribed titles produced by cooperating partner libraries. One must have a password in order to access the Web-Braille website, and the files offered are in an electronic form of contracted braille that requires that the user have special equipment in order to make it functional.

Web-Braille Content Provides Blind With New Vistas

Since 1992, close to 10,000 titles have been produced by the NLS for downloading from their website. These can also be read online at the Web-Braille library. These titles are added to the collection at the same time that printed braille-books are shipped to libraries serving the blind. Magazines are also available in the Web-Braille format. Generally they can found on the website within a week or less of when the printed-braille version is made available. For the blind who are musicians or composers, there’s also great news. Several thousand braille scores are currently found on the Web-Braille website, with new ones being added each month by the NLS. These scores cover the gamut of musical instruments and styles. Both instrumental and voice compositions are included. This is one of the most popular features on the NLS website. Piano compositions in particular are one of the more prevalent resources.

Access to Web-Braille Website Secure and Blind-friendly

In order to use the website, a user must work with their local coordinating library to set up their account. This includes an email address and user-created password. The library then finalizes the process of activating the blind person’s account. An email is sent once this process is completed. Upon admission to the website, the user will discover that the site is designed with their unique needs in mind. With access, the user can now request items to either be mailed or downloaded at no charge.

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Filed Under: Advancements, Braille, Support, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

Digital Talking Books Opening New Worlds to the Blind

October 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment
An assortment of early boomboxes.

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Digital Talking Books Opening New Worlds to the Blind

For many years, the only format of talking books available to the blind were those recorded onto cassette tapes. This analog recording process has been a proven and affordable technology, but also one with limitations. These include degradation of audio quality over time, a time-consuming process for recording and transferring the data, and limited length of recording time. The great news is that in recent years, digital recording onto media cards, CDs, DVDs, and the Internet have eliminated most if not all of these analog tape obstacles. Digital offers a wide variety of improvements versus analog, including the ability to use a recording in a wide variety of mediums, greatly improved audio quality, and the flexibility of rapidly sharing the information recorded to many more blind users.

New Machines and Tools Created to Help Blind Readers

With the rise of digital as the predominant medium for blind readers, there has also been improvements in the machines used by the blind to read these new and improved books. For many years, there was only one device available for users to choose from for reading books. There are now many exciting features for blind users to choose from, including such things as being able to jump back and forth in a book, bookmarking, being able to vary the speed of the playback, and even keyword searches within the text. These and other advances are making for exciting and untapped worlds to be opened to the blind.

Braille Still Vital to the Blind

One may wonder if these advances have rendered the learning and usage of Braille as unimportant. Just the opposite is in fact the case. Both the machines and the media used to use these technologies commonly use Braille to provide instructions for usage and customization. Braille is also still considered a superior technology for reading books, especially for the reader looking for a greater catalog of material to read from. Users of Braille can be confident that it will be a vital part of the landscape for years to come.

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Filed Under: Advancements, Blindness, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Printing Technology Making Braille Books More Affordable

October 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Braille notice board

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Exciting New Developments in Braille Technology

For blind readers and writers of Braille, these are very exciting times. Improvements in modern technology are making unprecedented advances and opening new doors to the blind that have long been closed. This is true both with computer hardware as well as with new software. In the past, blind Braille users had to rely on a limited number of printing houses determining what was and what wasn’t worthy of being converted to braille. But with the explosion in computer technology, especially as it relates to braille, users are now blessed with a wide variety of options. It is true that some personal printers and Braille print programs are still expensive, there are now several low-cost options as well. If a blind user has a personal computer, a Braille printer, and conversion software, they are well-positioned to control the type of content they want to consume.

Printing Technology Making Braille Books More Affordable

For example, there are now several personal Braille printers that are narrower than previous versions, which leads to lower paper and printing costs. Another development is something called “paperless” Braille. This fascinating technology involves the use of a handheld device attached to a computer. This unit has a board with small pins on its face, and allows the blind person using it to feel Braille dots as the pins raise while they’re reading a text. There is also a process that prints Braille using a glue-like substance onto a glossy paper surface. These and other advances are all part of the new wave of improvements making life ever better for the blind.

New Advances in Braille Publishing

These improvements are not limited to the tools used to read and to write Braille. Even the language itself is being improved. For example, a blind physicist by the name of John Gardner has been working on a Braille system for writing math equations. It’s called Dots Plus, and uses existing Braille for numbers and letters but also employs math symbols in the same way that the sighted see them, but raised and magnified.

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Filed Under: Braille, General, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Braille Books Require Unique Process to Create

October 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
POTSDAM, GERMANY - AUGUST 07: Ballot papers f...
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Braille Books Require Unique Process to Create

Once a book has been translated into Braille, whether that has been done by a transcriber or through computer technology, the next step is proofreading. If the book was transcribed, no additional steps are required before proofing is done. However, if the translation was done with a computer, then the text must first be printed out. This printout is then reviewed by someone trained in the editing and proofing process. They are looking for grammatical and other errors in order to correct them before the final printing process begins. Interestingly, both a blind and a sighted reader work together as proofreaders, allowing them to compare the original text with the version printed in Braille.

Next Step is to Create a Print Master

After the proofing process is completed, a master version is then produced. This is the version that will be used to cast the print version onto a zinc metal plate. A separate machine is employed in the stamping of the text onto the zinc plates. Each page of the text has a separate master plate, which is bowed in the center in order to fit onto the printing press’s rotating barrel.

Braille Book Printing Process

The zinc plates are then fitted onto the printing press and the press worker then runs the special paper used for Braille books into the press. Unlike a traditional printing press, there is no ink used on a Braille printing press. The letters are also embossed, allowing the impressions of each raised dot to transfer onto the special Braille paper. Once this is completed, the paper is removed from the press and moved to the finishing station before being bound into binders. This is another unique aspect of books printed for the blind. Traditional books are bound in some form of book cover, either hard or soft-back. But because books in Braille are on heavier paper and are often larger than traditional books, the pages must instead be placed in a binder of some kind. Books for the blind are truly unique in many ways.

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Filed Under: Braille, General, Technology Tagged With: , ,

How Braille Books Are Made

October 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment
A Braille writer with similar functionality to...

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How Braille Books Are Made

The process of creating a book printed in Braille is a fascinating one. Because each Braille character is slightly different, great care must be taken in the printing process to achieve accuracy and precision so that words and phrases are printed properly. The sizes of a Braille books can vary, but the standard version is generally around 11 x11.5″. The paper used is also different than standard books. It must be thicker and heavier than standard paper is, since the blind user will be touching each page as they read. One paper often used is something called “swell paper.” This is a heat-sensitive paper that actually swells when it is printed on. Zinc is also an important component for printing books in Braille, since the text is first printed onto a plate made of zinc before being embossed onto the paper. Braille books are also bound differently than is a traditional book. Instead of a hard or soft-cover, they are instead bound in plastic three-ring binders.

Translation Process for Braille Books

With the exception of books written in Braille, the first step in publishing a book is to have it translated into Braille. There are typically one of three possible ways for this to be done. First, a typist may use a special six-key typing machine to convert a manuscript into Braille. Although more laborious and time-consuming than other options, Braille typists bring a high degree of professionalism and training to the translation process, leading in most cases to more accurate outcome. The other methods for translation both involve some form of technology. One is to feed English text into a computer scanner, which then translates it into Braille and outputs it accordingly. The other is to have the text which was originally stored or created on a computer in English then printed out in both Braille and other languages. The most significant and obvious advantage of these two methods is speed. Entire books can literally be converted into Braille in mere seconds. These are exciting times for readers of Braille.

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The Dangers of the Decrease in Braille Usage

October 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Making Map for Blind

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Traditional Braille Use in Decline

There is a real but subtle threat to the future freedoms and opportunities available to the blind and sight-impaired. This threat is not readily apparent, and is even dismissed by many as non-existent. What is the threat? It is the steady decline in the percentage of blind children who are learning and subsequently using braille as a means of reading and writing. Although there are valid arguments as to why this may not be a significant shift, most in the blind community are quite concerned about it. In fact, over thirty states have passed so-called Braille literacy laws. These laws require that every blind student, even if they have only a small amount of residual vision, are to be given an assessment to determine if Braille will help them. If it is determined that it will be helpful, the children then have Braille taught to them. In essence, these laws create policies in favor of Braille and Braille usage.

The Dangers of the Decrease in Braille Usage

The primary reason that many who suggest this decline is insignificant use to defend their position is that newer and better tools are available for the blind. Are there new and exciting means of reading and writing available today? Absolutely. This is a good thing. However, the ability of the blind to fully engage in the world is, at least in part, dependent upon their abilities relating to Braille. Even if technology has opened new pathways to communication for the blind, understanding and usage of Braille provides a vital foundation for the use of these and any other present or future technology that may be developed. In other words, knowing Braille is a win-win skill. The dangers of not knowing how to use this tool include being limited in comprehension of what is being read or spoken by someone, being dependent on memorization to acquire knowledge, and most significantly, becoming less-literate than they might otherwise be. Every worthy means must be employed to reverse this trend. The future freedoms of the blind depend on just such a reversal.

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Technology Opening New Doors to the Blind

October 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Imprimante-braille

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Technology Opening New Doors to the Blind

For those who are blind or who suffer from low vision, this is an exciting time to be alive. Advances in technology are rapidly and permanently opening new doors that have long been closed to these individuals. In some ways this can be overwhelming to someone who has had to live with some degree of imposed limitation for at least some portion of their life. Now that these limitations are disappearing, a blind person must begin to view the world in a new and at first unfamiliar way. People that haven’t had to face the everyday struggle of living in a sightless world may sometimes lack empathy for these individuals, which is understandable. It is ultimately up to each blind or sight-impaired person to determine how they will employ technology in their lives.

Assistive or Adaptive Technology: What is it?

One of the more exciting developments in recent years has been the emergence and incremental improvement of assistive or adaptive technology. There are many different types and categories of tools available, including such things as electronic braille readers, digital book players, computer software and computer scanners, large print calculators, and others. These items can range in cost from a few dollars to a thousand dollars and up. The most basic definition as to what one of these devices are is this: Any tool or device that provides greater ability and freedom to someone who otherwise would lack these things. it is important to note that with many of these tools, first having a basic understanding of braille makes them much more effective and helpful.

Is Braille Still Important?

For this and many other reasons, being “conversant” in braille is as vital a skill for the blind in today’s world as it has ever been. Although there are some both within and outside the blind community that have advocated for a decrease in the value placed upon learning and using braille, the evidence is clear that this is still a critical capability to have in the world today.

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Filed Under: Advancements, Blindness, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Braille in the 21st Century

October 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment
chessboard for blind players

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Braille in the 21st Century

The world is an exciting place to live in at the dawn of the 21st century. Technology is making life more favorable but also more complex. This is also true for people in the blind community. Technology allows the sight-impaired to do things that they’ve never been able to do before, but at the same time it has also created new challenges and anxieties unknown in earlier, simpler times. In order to thrive in such an environment, it is essential that a person have on hand a map and instructions on how to use it to find one’s way to freedom and joy.

Reading the Key to Success

Many life skills are important in a person’s journey to personal fulfillment and meaning. But of these, perhaps none is of greater value than that of being able to read and comprehend what one has read. This is equally true both for those who are blind and those who can see. Just as a person who can read is considered to be literate, so someone who is blind but that can use braille or other means to read should also be considered intelligent and capable of thought. This is true whether one is reading books for employment, education or merely entertainment. In each case, being able to read gives the blind person a window to the world that would otherwise be shut. Everyone is benefited when someone has access to enlightenment.

Books and Braille Are Keys

Every effort should therefore be made to ensure that the blind have unfettered access to the full range of books available to anyone else. Technology is increasingly making this possible, but as of today there are still countless volumes that are sealed shut to the sight-impaired. For the benefit of all, tireless effort should be exerted to achieve this important objective. Books in braille are the most powerful way for the blind to have access to an exciting new world.

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