Visually Impaired Resource Guide Glossary

Alternate Format Materials - Usually educational materials that have been produced in a format other than the original format eg. braille, raised line drawing, tape recording

Braille 'N Speak - compact computer with voice output and a braille keypad

Braille Lite - compact computer with voice output, a braille keypad and refreshable braille (tactile display)

Braille Translation Programs - Computer software that translates computer text to braille text which can be sent to a braille printer and produce hard copy braille

Etext - (short for electronic text) describes the method of storing the context of a book onto a computer disk

Graphic User Interface - (GUI)

Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) - a potentially unlimited number of computers all over the world networked together for the purpose of information exchange

Modem - a device which allows computers to communicate over telephone lines

Nemeth Code - braille symbols that represent mathematical informationNote: Braille using students must learn different meanings to the same braille symbols depending upon whether they are reading math, literature, music or computer braille

NCR Paper - No Carbon Paper is commercially available paper, chemically processed in order to produce a copy without the use of carbon paper

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) - the skills that enable you to know where you are, where you are going and how to get there safely and efficiently

Screen Board - a screen on a frame that provides a textured surface to construct tactile drawings

Scanner - a device that scans text which via Optical Character Recognition software (OCR) can import into a computer

Vision Resource Teacher - a certified teacher who has extensive training in the education of students of who have a visual impairment

Questions to Ask When Selecting Computer Technology for Visually Impaired Students

What do you want the student to do with the technology?

• word processing
• research topics (Internet use)
• organize a large amount of data and find recorded information quickly
• communication aid (Please refer this student to the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Expert for your school and the SET-BC staff for your area)

Does the student see the benefits of using a computer?

• Will he/she be motivated to learn the skills necessary to make the computer a useful tool?
• How successful is the student without technology?

How often and when will the student use the technology? (daily, weekly?) How many times per week and in what areas?

Where will the students workstation be located in the classroom(s), library(s) and at home?

Does the student have any keyboarding skills and if not how long until he/she acquires it in order to make the computer functional? Can the student be learning keyboarding while waiting for his/her technology to arrive?

What platform (IBM compatible/MAC) do the parents/students and school based team prefer and what are their goals for the student? What technical support is available at home/school?

What hardware is at the school/home?

Are there any additional costs not covered by the school or SET-BC? i.e.network cards that allow students computers to print over a network, modems, CDRoms

Make sure you have enough RAM and hard drive space to run the number of programs the student will use at any one time. CDRoms, Internet access and some programs (such as an encyclopedia) use a great deal of RAM and hard drive space

How will the student access a printer at home/school?

How will the student deal with security in the school and at home?

If the technology will be used at school and home, has a safe system for transporting been established?

What support can the school provide in terms of problem solving at the classroom/school level?

Who will introduce the technology to the student, when and how will it be monitored in the classroom?

Who will provide the software and teach the student how to use it? Is the software supported by school personnel to problem solve at the classroom/school level?

What software do you want to run and what are the memory requirements of these programs?

Who will provide instruction and support for the parents?

Programs to Restrict Net Access

Cyber Patrol: available for Windows from Solid Oak software at 1-800-388-2761 or 805-967-9853

Kinderguard: by TeacherSoft

Net Nanny: contact netnanny@netnanny.com

NewView: inter net access control software for Windows

SurfWatch: a program that allows parents to 'lock out' Web sites

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