Category Archives: Technology
Day 20: 31 Days of Braille
Learning Braille Later Neva Fairchild, National Independent Living Associate for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), documents her journey with braille, which started later in life. As a student with low vision, it is clear, in retrospect to see … Continue reading
Day 19: 31 Days of Braille
To Braille or Not? Didn’t We Cover This Already? Lunch with friends and a discussion about braille in their lives… MS, just on the other side of 60, who likes his Thai food spicy, learned braille in public school during … Continue reading
Day 18: 31 Days of Braille
Luis Perez on Braille On a recent episode of the AT Banter podcast, Luis Perez, universal design advocate spoke about the value of braille. As with all their podcast interviews, this one was informative about the direction universal design was … Continue reading
Day 17: 31 Days of Braille
Navajo Language Braille Code A teacher for the visually impaired (TVI) in New Mexico developed a braille code for the Navajo language. In a recent article in the local newspaper, the teacher Carol Green was interviewed about her braille code, … Continue reading
Day 16: 31 Days of Braille
Tech Increases Braille Availability This article about the recent anniversary of the National Braille Press highlights both the decline in braille literacy and the increasing importance and access to braille in the digital age. At some point in the video, … Continue reading
Day 15: 31 Days of Braille
Braille is for Students With Sight Too It might be easy to assume that a student with low vision, that is, a student who can see text in some way, is not a candidate for braille. A student who can … Continue reading
Day 13: 31 Days of Braille
Braillex: First Refreshable Braille Display In 1975, Papenmeier Reha Technology produced the first commercial refreshable braille display, the Braillex. Research on the Braillex began several years earlier in a program with Prof. Dr. Werner Boldt of Dortmund University. The original … Continue reading
Day 9: 31 Days of Braille
Electronic Refreshable Braille Display Bonnie Gouzie, Director of the Access Technology and Employment Services (ATES pronounced At-Ease), at The Iris Network in Portland, Maine demonstrates a Focus 80, 80 cell braille display. This display is connected to a Windows 10 … Continue reading
31 Days of Braille: Day 7
Why Read Print? In this digital age, when smart phones, tablets and computers can read text out loud, narrated books can be downloaded and played almost instantly, and broadcasting is at our fingertips, how important is learning to read print? … Continue reading
Day 6: 31 Days of Braille
Braille in the Workplace If you are blind or visually impaired you are probably familiar with the unemployment statistics for individuals with a vision loss– over 70% are unemployed, and that number has changed very little in recent years. What … Continue reading