Comments on Perspectives from a Blind Point of View: Is Braille Doomed to Become Obsolete?

Sorry to be jumping in on an old conversation, but...

2010-11-24T14:10:17.451-08:00

Sorry to be jumping in on an old conversation, but I was doing some research for a braille class I'm taking and found this blog. Very good, Alena! I'm also studying to become a teacher for blind & visually impaired students.
Darediva asked about learning to read braille. There's a good online course that you can do at your own pace through Hadley School for the Blind. http:/

I'm doing my thesis on Braille.. Are they Craz...

2010-02-25T05:56:15.194-08:00

I'm doing my thesis on Braille.. Are they Crazy?! Erin J is right how can the Deaf-Blind read then?!

Alena, You are the bomb. Or is that to old an ex...

2010-02-04T11:07:55.584-08:00

Alena,
You are the bomb. Or is that to old an expression?
I can't wait to hear about your findings. You have alot of backers. The other day I was subbing and the boy doing the lunch menu for the school on the school news was blind and using a braille reader.
You are so right. It does sound like the sighted are trying to make decissions for the blind. Sounds totally right

Braille will never be made obsolete and I really d...

2010-02-04T06:38:56.609-08:00

Braille will never be made obsolete and I really do not appreciate people trying to innovate on it by switching normal braille from its 6 celled construct to an 8 celled construct.

Anybody that says braille is obsolete, costs too much, and other bashing rejections is obviously fully sighted. They hate anything that's different and meant to accommodate others. Its part of the whole

Wow. I had no idea some people would actually thin...

2010-02-04T06:15:40.186-08:00

Wow. I had no idea some people would actually think it is a good idea to do away with braile! Yikes! What a horrible idea! Wheel chair ramps are costly too, but we need more rather than less of them.

There are so many reasons why audio books are inferior to braille. Besides, how would a blind person even operate them without braille? (Perhaps I'm missing something, but it seems

I know I'm one little person trying to involve...

2010-02-03T17:13:27.847-08:00

I know I'm one little person trying to involve myself with the problem of not enough transcribers. I researched the need for transcribers before I requested retraining through the VA's vocational rehab program, and the facts I found were most distressing to me. How can we get more braille in the hands of people if there is no one to process it?

I must admit that learning

Braille has been under attack since its invention....

2010-02-03T15:30:19.738-08:00

Braille has been under attack since its invention. As long as braille readers demand it, it will stay around. I have read numerous articles about the benefits of braille to children in terms of literacy, spelling, language acquisition, etc. I am sure we'll be hearing from you in that department and I hope we do.

I think technology, rather than replacing braille can help promote

So, do they not factor in elevators, and other sim...

2010-02-03T13:00:04.351-08:00

So, do they not factor in elevators, and other similar places where an audio option isn't available and/or wouldn't work? Opting to eliminate an entire language, is just ignorant!

you sort of hinted, but the other benefit is that ...

2010-02-03T08:32:11.182-08:00

you sort of hinted, but the other benefit is that you're using different parts of your brain, and that's good mental exercise.