how do the blind use a computer ??

Question

i have to write 200 words on how the blind use a computer i have 2 days to do it i know nothing on how they use a computer so please someone help me

Answer 1

Even people who are totally blind can do everything using only a keyboard. Many blind computer users use a Braille display in conjunction with speech

Since ancient times, human ingenuity has devised ways and means of compensating for sight loss.
One thousand years ago, monks used natural glass 'reading stones' to help them see well enough to read and copy religious texts. Then in the 13th century the master-glassmakers of Venice began making spectacles.

In 1825 Louis Braille invented Braille, the raised dot system of reading and writing. This allowed people who were totally blind to access the printed word for the first time and to become literate.


In the early 1980's the speech synthesiser was invented as a means of allowing people with low or no vision to hear the contents of a computer screen spoken to them. Such use of computers has made a number of things possible:

Quicker and cheaper production of Braille.
Reading machines that can convert the printed word into a computer form and give it back as synthesised speech.
Access to the computer as a tool for employment and to use in study and learning.
Due to these and other technological advances, many people with vision impairments now enjoy new opportunities in learning, leisure and employment.

Reading books, magazines and newspapers
If you have little or no vision, you may find it difficult or impossible to read printed items such as books, magazines, newspapers or even the mail that comes through your door. Technology can help though. If the right technology is used, you will enjoy the same freedom to read as everyone else.

So how does it work and what's available?
Depending on your level of vision, there are different technology aids that can assist you.


CCTVs
A Closed Circuit Television, or CCTV, is a device that magnifies things so they are easier to see. It has a built-in camera which takes a picture of a printed page and shows it enlarged on a screen.
CCTVs come in different shapes and sizes, depending on what you want to do. Portable models help in situations where you need to move around a lot. They have their own screen. Some models can display the picture on your TV screen and allow you to change the colours of the text and background to whatever is easiest for you.

Scanners
A scanner is similar to a photocopier, but as well as taking a picture of a page it can read the text. Some scanners can speak the text out loud, so they can read the daily newspaper to you, or your favourite magazine. All you have to do is place a page on the scanner and press a button. Most scanners need to be connected to a computer. The computer stores the text and can read it out to you. Or you can add the text to an email or print it, even alter it using the computer.

Reading and writing on a computer

Many people with vision impairments all over the world use a Personal Computer (PC) every day at home or at work. Thanks to assistive software, they are able to do things on their computer which would previously not have been possible. And there is no need to use a mouse. Even people who are totally blind can do everything using only a keyboard. This means they can type documents, read memos and emails and use a whole range of computer software, just like their sighted friends and colleagues.

How does this assistive software work?
Depending on your level of vision and your preferred way of accessing information, there are a number of options available. We'll briefly describe each one here.

Screen magnification software
Even if you only have partial sight, you may still be able to use the computer screen with the help of screen magnification software. This software enables the computer to enlarge the text on its screen so that a partially sighted person can see it comfortably. It can also change the colours used and the amount of the screen that is enlarged at any one time.

Magnification with speech
Some screen magnification software gives you the option of having the text on the screen spoken to you by the computer, as well as being magnified. This can be very useful if you want to do a lot of computer work but find that you get eyestrain after a while.

Screen readers
A screen reader is a piece of software that enables a totally blind person to use all the functions of a computer, making it possible for them to read and write documents, use the internet and send email, using only a keyboard and without needing to look at a computer screen. The screen reader speaks all the information that would appear on the screen. It is able to describe everything on the screen, including all the commands and buttons that you can use.


Braille
If you would rather read in Braille than have the text spoken to you, a Braille display may be what you need. This is like a miniature screen sitting in front of the keyboard, capable of displaying a line of Braille by raising and lowering small plastic pins. You can easily move your hands between the keyboard and the display and read the text which is displayed a line at a time. Braille displays come in several sizes, depending on the amount of information that you need to see at any one time. Many blind computer users use a Braille display in conjunction with speech output.

Braille printers
A Braille printer, also called an embosser, enables a blind person to print things in Braille from their computer. Several types of Braille printers are available, capable of printing different levels of Braille and at different speeds. Braille translation software is used to prepare documents before they are sent to the Braille printer.


Portable note takers
If you are blind and would like to be able to take notes in a class-room, lecture hall, or while you are on the move, a note taker may be just the thing for you. These small, portable devices enable you to type in and read back notes using a built-in refreshable Braille display or speech output. They may also include other useful functions, like an address book, telephone dialler, diary, calculator or alarm clock. There is a range of models available with different keyboards. Some can be connected to a computer to save the notes you have made. The most advanced units have the full functionality of a laptop computer.

Using technology to help with communication
So far, you've seen how technology can help you to read and write, even if your sight is not perfect. A computer is much more than a machine for reading and writing though. It can be a very useful communication aid, for example thousands of vision impaired people all over the world use email every day to communicate with family, friends and colleagues.


Talking Mobile Telephones
'Talks' is a new software package for mobile phones, developed in Germany, that lets a user send and receive text messages, view, add, edit and delete contacts, access lists of calls received and made, and use many of the phones features such as the clock, calculator and calendar, through speech-assisted software, - all previously inaccessible.

Answer 2

Hope I can help. My father lost his sight in a colliery explosion in 1947, when he was just 20 years of age. He learned to type as part of his rehabilitation (this was common then - blind people were only assumed to be capable of typing or becoming a telephone switchboard operator). He embraced new technology and bought a computer with a primitive "voiceover" during the 1970s. The computer keyboard is set out out largely as a "QWERTY" layout as on typewriters, so he took to it immediately and to this day I still cannot match the speed at which was able to type on one. My father was the first blind person to pass the tortuous "Chartered Institute of Secretaries" examinations and went on to attain an honours degree with the Open University in Social Science. He also received the MBE for services to the disabled. Mastery of the computer keyboard was the starting point for all of this. Good luck with your project!

Answer 3

My best friend is blind, so I feel I'm qualified to answer this question correctly. She uses speech software called Jaws; it's made by a company called Freedom Software you can probably look them up online for more information. The software reads out menus on programs, eBooks, and she can even use MSN messenger just like everybody else does. This software is far more commonly used by blind people than Braille pads for computers mainly due to cost; the software is about £500 ($900), and the Braille pads start at £7000 ($12,000). Of course there are some things it can't help with, such as playing Solitaire for example - but she's able to do most of the things that I am.

As for people who are both deaf and blind; very few of them would be able to operate a normal computer without assistance; but if they did, they'd have to use a Braille pad.

Answer 4

I also know some can touch type, and then have a programme which verbalises the words on the screen, but a friend of mine is able to make out the screen as long as she has it in the largest font, she is registered blind and even has a guide dog. Remember the percentage of the population who are blind, and those that are actually 100% blind are two different things.

Answer 5

Go to http://www.iet.tv/search/index.html and do a broadcast search for Chris Mairs. He's totally blind and he's an olympic water skier. Computers might seem easy after that! But his talk, which you will find in audio and video from this link, shows just how difficult that can be, even with a whole bunch of technological help. I strongly recommend sitting through this, he's a great speaker and your 200 words will seem very short once you've seen it.

Answer 6

They use reader software such as JAWS, which speaks out the screen contents and verbally confirms their actions. They use keyboard shortcuts rather than the mouse.
I am an IT lecturer and have had several blind students, who all did very well. They didn't need brail keyboards as they could touch type on a standard qwerty. The actual PCs were standard, and they used MS Office.

Answer 7

Touch typing or there are computers that spell out the letters you type. My Dad is registered blind and we were given details on computers for the blind or partially sighted. try your local Blind Society

Answer 8

Look at your keyboard! Ever wondered why the letters F and J have a line that stands out? It is so that people can feel where the keys are without having to look.

Answer 9

Badly!!!


Actually, I'd like to know that, it must be with sound, but then how does a blind deaf person use a computer???

Answer 10

They have computers with voice recognition and voice playback. The computer boards letters are in brail so they can type. the computer will read back the words as they type as well.