Creating User POI's in Mobile Geo

This weeks lesson with mobile geo taught me about user Points of Interest (POI). One of the great things about mobile geo and Sendero GPS is that you can create your own POI's. I think in particular these will really come in handy on my college campus. Since the POI's built into GPS systems really only cover particular buildings, this may not be enough information for the blind to find where we need to go.

Yesterday I created three POI's. These included my home, the bus stop I use, and the library on LBCC's campus. One of my plans to help orient me to the college campus is to create user POI's for the buildings I use. I would like to create POI's for my actual class rooms, but I often lose my satellite connection once I'm in a building. At least though getting to the buildings should be easier.

One of the cool things about Sendero is that they're creating a database of user POI's. THis means that users can create the POI's and upload them to the web. Then when you update your map you will get the new POI's that were created by other users. If you are a current Sendero GPS user, here is the site to find out more about the user POI database.

Next week I plan on using my user POI's to get places and I'll let you know how it goes. I also hope to create a pedestrian route to somewhere in town I want to go, that I don't know how to get to on my own.

Is Braille Doomed to Become Obsolete?

There has been a lot of talk about whether braille should still be taught and used. In a recent New York Times article, the author points out that braille really just costs too much. Another blogger, compared braille to Latin, and concluded that since text to speech is more prevalent and less costly than maybe braille should die out just as Latin has. The problem with both of these philosophies is that they both ignore the facts. The fact is that most of the small number of people who are blind and employed are braille readers. Also if you take away braille, then you are stripping away the ability for the blind to connect to language in the same way their sighted peers do.

In some recent posts I have talked to you about my goal to improve my braille skills. One of the reasons I'm doing this is because I want to become a teacher for the blind, but I'm also doing it because it's a completely different experience than reading using my ears. Reading using my hands is the only way for me to recreate what it was like to read with my eyes. Not even the greatest audio book can do that. .

The system for the blind to be able to read and write has only existed for 200 years and now people already want to throw it away? That's not only unreasonable, it's likely not what the blind community really wants. What this feels like to me is the sighted world believing that because there aren't enough braille instructors, and because producing braille can cost more, that using it is a waste of time.

In my Introduction to Education class I will be researching how knowing braille effects how well a visually impaired child does in school. When I'm finished with my project I will report on my findings. I have a feeling that I'm likely to find that braille helps children in reading, writing, and math rather than hurts them. I also believe that I will find that children who use all the technology that is available to them will do better in school. Braille is one of many tools that the blind have access to, and if we're smart and we care about our visually impaired children then we'll do everything we can to make sure braille always exists.

What are your feelings about the role of braille? If you know braille, do you think your life would be the same if you never learned it?

Using Accessible GPS for the First Time

In November of last year I started working part time for Sendero Group. I am in charge of their social media, so if you're a fan of their facebook page, or you follow them on twitter, then now you know who is behind all that great content. I have really enjoyed learning more about the company and working with the team. Since I represent them online, it seems important that I learn how to use their products. So starting this week my goals are to learn how to use mobile geo and sendero GPS on the Voice Sense.

I will admit now that as techie as I am, I've never owned an accessible cell phone or PDA. So when I turned on my demo cell phone this week, I realized that not only would I be learning about mobile geo, but I would also be learning about mobile speak. I haven't downloaded the manual yet, but I have a feeling I will get to that point. For now, I am exploring, and seeing what I can learn on my own.

I am proud to say that I have already created a route, and learned how to use mobile geo to tell you where you are as you drive or walk along. Creating a route was quite tedious because I was unsure of all the steps, but I think that now that I understand the process, inputing addresses will be much easier. I really enjoyed having mobile geo tell me where I was when I was on the bus because I now know what streets we use. When I use the city bus, they have a built in GPS that announces every stop, but when I'm using the bus to go to my community college, there is no GPS.

I hope to take you along with me on this journey. If you are a mobile geo or Sendero GPS user, please feel free to give me any tips, and if you're not, maybe these blog posts will inspire you to start using an accessible GPS.

Should Braille Instruction Be Mandatory?

In Nebraska, the state legislature is considering a law that would require all visually impaired children to learn braille. As I've mentioned before, the NFB estimates that only 10% of blind children in the nation are literate in braille. I agree with them that this is a big problem, the question is, will mandating braille instruction solve the problem.

One of Nebraska's state senators, who himself is blind was the person who proposed the bill. If passed, braille instruction would be mandatory unless the parents object. Also, braille instruction would start in elementary school regardless of the child's level of vision loss. This would mean that people like me who could read print at an early age would learn braille early even though I might not need it until later. The belief of the supporters is that early braille instruction will increase reading and writing speed and comprehension, which will in turn make the blind and visually impaired more employable. Although braille is not a requirement for most jobs, 70% of the blind population that has a job knows and uses braille.

The opposers to the bill don't think the law is necessary because it goes against the philosophy that education should be personalized to the child's needs, and the belief that there just isn't enough teachers to fulfill the requirement. The other problem with the bill is that braille instructors would have to be nationally certified through a specific program before they could continue to teach braille.

In this case I feel that both sides have valid arguments. On the one hand increasing braille literacy should be a goal for the nation, but on the other hand, making braille a requirement can't truly be achieved until there is enough instructors. I also don't believe that instructors should have to be nationally certified, especially if they've gone to school to become a teacher for the blind.

The NFB is currently working on a recruitment plan to increase the numbers of teachers for the blind. As someone who is pursuing that career, I hope their campaign is successful, but until we increase the number of qualified professionals, I'm not sure mandating braille instruction is the way to go.

What do you think? Do you feel mandating braille instruction is the solution to the braille literacy problem, or is there another way?

Here is the link to the article discussing this issue.

German Scientists May Have A Way to Restore Sight in the Blind

research is being done around the world to find a cure for retinal degenerative diseases like RP. I've told you about the artificial retinas being created in the states and Australia, as well as the possibility of using stem cells. Scientists in Germany are currently working on developing a micro-chip that will be implanted behind the retina.

Last year researchers implanted the micro-chip into 11 people. Their results were very good. All of the patients were able to identify objects and read letters. The fact that they could read at all is very impressive since most of the other micro-chips are not providing enough vision to do this. The micro-chip has 1500 photo cells, and the surgery only takes 4 hours. In their small number of participants, there was no rejection of the implant. Since the device still needs further study, participants are only allowed to have the implant for a few weeks.

The researchers are hoping that soon they will be able to demonstrate that the micro-chip is safe enough for patients to have it implanted permanently. In fact, they're hoping to have the implant put in over a dozen people this year. If this micro-chip continues to restore people's vision, this could be the answer that those of us with degenerative eye diseases have been looking for.

To read the whole article on the micro-chip, visit this link.

A Look Back at My First Week of Classes

All I have to say is I'm really glad I'm only taking two classes. Although I have spent more of my life in school then I have spent out of it, getting back into the habit of doing homework and being prepared for class is still something that I'm going to have to get used to again. I am happy to report that I successfully made it to my classes the whole week, and I only got lost a hand full of times. Thankfully, people are very helpful and Midge and I are learning more about the campus each day.

Now that I've reassured everyone that I can get to my classes, I'm sure you're wondering how I feel about these courses I'm taking. The answer to that question is that I'm looking forward to learning a lot in my Introduction to Education class, and I'm not looking forward to all of the brain hurting that is going to come from my Math for Elementary School Teachers class. Here's why I feel the ways I just described.

Education, and our educational system is something I'm passionate about. I think this course is going to help me learn more about why we teach children the way we do, and it's going to help me explore my own philosophies to decide what kind of teaching strategies I'm going to want to use with my students.

My math class on the other hand is going to just be tedious. Although the math is not nearly as complicated as my calculus class was, the kind of math we're doing is very spacial, and when you can't see what you're doing, the math becomes that much more challenging. On Friday I did my first set of homework problems with my class assistant and I felt frustrated because I knew that if I could see what the problem was, I would be able to solve it a lot faster. I'm actually considering getting the text in braille for next term even though my nemeth braille skills are not unto par. Just having the diagrams in a tactile form may be enough for me to not feel as overwhelmed. For this term, I will use the method I used when I was getting my undergrad which includes me writing down the problem and solving it on paper. Even though I can't read what I've written, and neither can anyone else, this helps me understand the problem a lot better.

So that's the basic low down from the first week. I'm really grateful for having a lap top computer since my bus gets me to class 1.5 hours before my class every day, and I'm also grateful for having a guide dog because she makes me feel calm when I'm worried about finding our way.

Talking About Going Back to School on "In the Loop"

One of my favorite podcasts that I listen to is a show called In the Loop. One of the reasons I like it so much is because they include interviews with their listeners, and they're always asking for our involvement in other ways. I was one of the featured stories on the show in June of last year, and this past week I got a chance to be on the show again.

The episode this week focuses on what people are going to do in 2010. As I mentioned last week, I am going back to school for the first time in 5 years. My post intrigued the host of the show, so he called me up to find out more about how I was feeling about this transition and what I'm going back to school for. Here is a link to the podcast. You will find my interview at the very end of the show, but I encourage you to listen to the whole thing. If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing to the podcast.

If you're a newer reader, and would like to hear my first interview, this post will help you find it.