Instant Access to Braille: Refreshable Braille in the Inclusive Classroom
By Beaver, Katie; Oddo, Christine; CSUN Technology and Persons With Disabilities Conference - 2002,Publication Date: 2002
Article focuses on the benefits of using refreshable Braille in inclusive classrooms. Educational materials can be scanned into a computer and saved to disk or converted to electronic format. Refreshable Braille displays utilize a series of small pins that raise and lower to form Braille characters. After a line of text is read, the user can refresh the display by pressing a button, and then read the next line. Refreshable Braille displays are built into portable Braille notetakers that can be used for both reading and writing. The benefits of using this technology in the classroom include: (1) timely access to textbooks and instructional materials in Braille format, (2) immediate tactile feedback through the refreshable Braille display, which eliminates the need to produce hardcopy Braille, (3) reading skills training for students with visual disabilities, who can independently access text, (4) the ability to utilize information from the Internet and CD-ROM applications, and (5) the ability to facilitate communications between students with visual disabilities, their classmates, and parents.
Published by: Center on Disabilities at CSUN (Website:http://www.csun.edu/cod/)
Link to text: http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/2002/proceedings/155.htm
