For years being literate simply meant the ability to read and comprehend the printed word. But today, being literate is so much more. It means you have the ability to solve problems, think critically, communicate and collaborate with others and have a deeper learning experience that allows greater learning. Literacy can also lead to independence, the ability to find and hold down a job, and ultimately to pay your bills and raise a family, if that is your desired path.
But literacy for people with vision loss hasn’t always been easy or convenient. Over the past five years a British company has been working on a “Kindle for the blind,” a multi-line braille e-reader that displays nine lines of braille text at a time.
The Canute 360, as it is called, displays about one third of a (print) page, meaning the user only has to press forward every 360 characters rather than the normal 20 or 40 characters available on many refreshable braille devices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAXjpUg8Zlk
Bristol Braille Technology in Bristol, UK says the Canute 360 will make learning more practical for students and make reading digital Braille books affordable, practical and enjoyable again for the entire blind community.
Learn more about the Canute 360.
Read about how the Perkins School for the Blind is working with Bristol Braille.
If the Canute 360 isn't an option for you, people do have other options. The American Foundation for the Blind’s VisionAware provides these five great reading apps for booklovers, and several other services for reading, including reading services such as WXXI Reachout Radio, NFB’s Newsline service, the National Library Service (NLS) Talking book program and BARD Mobile app, Sero(formerly iBlink) and Bookshare. Check out all these options here.