clive@druhi.UUCP (02/21/87)
in article <1518@bunker.UUCP>, wtm@bunker.UUCP says: > Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP > > Index Number: 0061 > Written-by: <philabs!ihnp4!UORDBV!DAVR_IENGL> 08/29/86 > > > [This is the second of three articles by Harvey Lauer and > Leonard Mowinski.] > > > > SELECTING COMPUTER AIDS FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED > > by Harvey Lauer and Leonard Mowinski > > Blind Rehabilitation Technology Specialists > > September, 1985 > > > "I've read the literature on computer aids, but I am still in a > quandry." > > Hearing this again and again from both consumers and counselors > prompted us to write this paper. We'll attempt to fill in some gaps in > the literature and in courses on the state of access technology for > the visually impaired. Some familiarity with computer aids is assumed. > This is not an evaluation of any particular aid. Our purpose is to > present a theoretical framework for comparing the aids; we do use some > brand names in our illustrations. We want to discuss the expertise > needed to implement this challenging access technology, and the reasons > why computers can be a mixed blessing for blind people. > > Aids Can Play Three Roles > > There are three categories, roles, or "personalities" for computer aids. > Understanding this is crucial for anyone issuing, teaching or using the aids. > They can serve as "stand-alones", as the "heart" of a system, or as "peripheral > devices". > > Both the VersaBraille and Kurzweil Reading Machine are billed as > "stand-alone" devices. That label does fit the KRM fairly well. It is designed > as a dedicated system; it is inefficient as a peripheral talking terminal at > present. Unfortunately it will never serve as a word processor or run a > database. As a reading machine, it does stand alone. However, when it is > used to scan print and then send data to a computer for processing and > reprinting, it is technically a peripheral device. > > The VersaBraille, due to its useful overall design, fits into all three > categories. It has enjoyed success despite its small computer, slow > operating system, limited keyboard and the fact that it does not send its > commands to its port. Let's examine these three roles in detail: > > The VersaBraille can stand alone for taking notes and record keeping. > Paper braille and recordings are nearly as useful for those tasks. The VB would > not be fully exploited if it was only used as a stand-alone device. > > But when it is used as the heart of a system, the VB becomes more valuable. > You can connect a keyboard, drive a printer and a speech device. Then you > can create, edit and print texts without retyping and losing control of your > material. It does require a lot more training and study to use the VB at this > level. > > Using the VB as a peripheral can be even more effective and requires > yet a higher level of training and teaching skill. Remember, however, > that if it were nothing but a peripheral, it would lose much of its > value. You are using it as a peripheral when you interface it with a > main frame computer, either directly or through a telephone modem. > Many jobs now require that capability. It is a peripheral when you > use it with a personal computer running special software. The VB really > shines when the user learns all three of these roles. If the only > instruction is "how to use the VersaBraille as a stand-alone device" > then both the user and the machine are shortchanged. > > Any computer worth its chips for sighted people will also perform those > three roles. But most of them are not accessible to blind people. Fortunately > for us, there are specialized hardware and software application that do perform > these three crucial roles. (Examples include the Brailink, the I.T.S., the > Avos System, the IBM PC, and the Apple.) > > For example, when we play games or run a talking database in a > microcomputer, we are using it as a stand-alone device. When we boot a > talking terminal program and telephone a data bank, we are using it as a > peripheral. The same is true when we interface it (as a talking or > large-print terminal) to another microcomputer. In that case, the other > micro runs the applications programs. When we run a multi-media word > processor such as BRAILLE-EDIT and generate texts in braille, speech, > and print, we are using an Apple as the heart of an accessible computer > system. > > Training > > Training is the least understood aspect of computer aids for the blind. > Vendors and users often sabotage their own long-range interests by claiming > that sophisticated aids can be learned easily from manuals. Some people can do > that, but we have all had enough experience to know that many people > cannot learn to use their first computer aid from any manual. People's > ability to learn how to use any computer-based system varies widely. > At one extreme, there are those who can work from a list of commands > on a reference card. At the other end of the scale, many need several > weeks of training before they can make any sense of their manuals. > Teachers are no different. Most lack the requisite experience to train > students in the new access technologies. > > The fear, awe, and hostility surrounding computers is a serious > handicap. We only exacerbate the problem if we try to dazzle people with an > illusion of simplicity. The bald truth is that both the teachers' and the > users' needs are not met by the existing manuals. > > Any training center considering adding "computer aids" to its list of > prosthetic devices should ponder four things: > > -- Computers and related equipment must be evaluated as they become > available. Funding for evaluators, as well as for equipment purchases, is > needed. > > -- Most centers do not now have sufficient staff to teach computer > literacy and use to their clients. In the past, the Living Skills department > taught the use of sensory aids (such as the Optacon and Kurzweil Reading > Machine). It's wrong to assume the same staff will be able to teach > Versabraille, Visualtek, Viewscan etc. in addition to their regular duties. > We recommend that one full-time position per VA center be added for the > express purpose of teaching computers and other sensory aids as they > become available. Centers with no such program will need additional > staff. These same people can also be responsible for helping out the > Living Skills and Research departments if computer training slows down. > > -- We need to develop a computer literacy course that can be an > established part of a training Center curriculum. > > -- It is important to match the proper equipment with the needs of the > user. A team consisting of training center personnel should be developed to > help evaluate requests for equipment. > > > Expertise Needed For Prescribing > Computer Aids > > There are two types of expertise needed to prescribe effective computer > aids. Right now, few people are experts in both areas. > > (1) Rehabilitation skills must be brought to bear on the problem. > We must have someone well-versed in "human engineering"--the knowledge > of what can be done with special computer aids. The mode of input, > the media of output, the devices, and the software must be matched to > the client's abilities and the tasks to be done. However, rehab > personnel still lack both general computer literacy and knowledge of the > function and operation of individual special aids. Complete knowledge of > the access technology is currently possessed by only a handful of people. > The computer field is constantly changing, and it is a challenge to > maintain up-to-date evaluations of the aids available. The country needs > several centers (super centers) which, in addition to training, are > dedicated to evaluating aids and committed to sharing results with > developers and local trainers. At present, many aids are being developed > in partial vacuums. Local trainers, where they exist, cannot > keep up with the technology. > > (2) Computer applications technology is currently the realm of > applications engineers and systems analysts. They must begin to coomunicate > with administrators, office personnel, programmers and technicians to > implement their work. Knowledge of the spectrum of applications > technology is even more diffused in the sighted world than in > the blindness community. Most placements of visually impaired workers require > teams of five to ten people to implement. > > Five different skills are needed in the interfacing process. To be > successful, you must find people who know how to use the special devices, > how to interface that special technology, how to use the regular office > equipment, and how to interface it, too. Last but not least, there must > be a person well versed in the real needs of the office environment. > It may make more sense to create a parallel, accessible computer system, > rather than trying to make the main office system itself acessible. Any > blind person who is persistent enough and lucky enough to get a piece of > appropriate technology, must be even luckier and more persistent to get it > interfaced and working. > > > The Quandry Summarized > > Selecting aids is not a trivial task. Few counselors know where to > start. It has often required three days of work to confer and prescribe > computer aids for a complex office environment. Sometimes, even then, > applicability cannot be fully assured. > > Computers can be a mixed blessing for us. If the cost of prescribing, > interfacing and training goes unrecognized, chaos and frustration can > result. Blind people must approach computer use in a different way from > sighted people. Voice output is not exactly comparable to screen output. > Computer software is becoming more and more screen oriented. It's easy for a > sighted person to quickly skim a "help menu" on the screen to locate commands. > If standard software is merely made to speak, the user may have to listen to a > long list of commands, trying to remember the right one. Braille > reference cards can be helpful. But there is still a need for specialized > software designed for efficient voice output. > > Of equal importance is the fact that sighted people using computers at > work need to know much less about their machines. There's usually lots of > reference material available in print. Some programs are so popular that there > are literally scores of books aimed at beginning users. For the average sighted > worker, "interfacing" is a verb they'll never encounter! Until the blind person > learns the intimate details of a particular system, they are likely to > need a lot of ongoing technical support. Remember that software changes even > faster than hardware. We can't assume that systems support people will > continue to help blind workers and their equipment adapt to changes in a > computer-oriented work environment. > > Functional computer aids (both software and hardware) can range in cost > from $500 to $15,000. A successful prescriber will keep in mind all the > possibilities; the various roles a device can play; and the susceptibility > of any device to obsolescence due to the rapidly changing technology. > > We estimate that for every success story in this field, there is one > inefficient application, another inadequate one and two or three more > unmet needs. This is an uphill road, a pioneering trail. Can we reverse the > trend of lost jobs and educational opportunities? Cooperation among > researchers, service providers, and users is essential. Each state needs a > computer aids center. At the few existing centers, the few staff are > struggling to learn and apply the basics. The computer aids centers or > clinics should give literacy training to rehab staff, train and assess > clients, and interface equipment for clients. > > The manufacturers and vendors cannot keep up with the application or > interfacing of what they sell. As a result, it is often catch-as-catch-can > for the blind user. Sometimes a helpful, persistent colleague takes the > initiative in getting the user's equipment working. But this AGAIN places > the blind user in a dependent role. > > Computers are billed as "friendly", but their power and swift > evolution make them bucking broncos. If we harness their power and mold > their multiple personalities to meet our needs, we can achieve competence > and parity wherever our society chooses to use computers. > > > > Harvey Lauer and Leonard Mowinski > Blind Center (124) > Veterans Hospitatl > Hines, Illinois 60141 > (312) 343-7959 > > [From the L-HCAP mailing list] > > ********************************************************************** > This is a moderated news group. To submit an article, send e-mail to: > {decvax, philabs, ittatc}!bunker!handicap > **********************************************************************