Tips for Typing with BrailleTouch
The following are some hopefully helpful tips with using the BrailleTouch app released on January 31, 2013.
I have tested holding the iPhone using a Case-Mate Phantom case with my iPhone 4s, using a slider case, and without a case. All of these tests were performed with and without using headphones.
The app was equally usable for me utilizing all of these methods. Be aware, however, that using it without headphones and with a slider case and without a case entirely tended to block the speaker, so it might be advisable to use headphones when in a crowded and/or noisy environment. For some reason, I did not have this issue when using the Case-Mate Phantom case. In one point, however, I must disagree with the BrailleTouch User Guide, as it states that if using headphones, it is better to use those with a 90-degree plug. I found it easier to use headphones with a plug that goes straight in and not one with the right angle on the plug.
All of this is just a precursor to telling you what you really want to know; what is the best way to hold your hands while using the device!
When using BrailleTouch, remember to have your phone in your hands so that the home button is oriented to your right. The Screen Lock button should be on your left-hand side, and the screen of the phone should be facing either completely away from you or, my preference, face up in your hands with the back of the phone/case parallel to the ground.
Now I have found the easiest method for successfully typing with consistency is to rest the part of the phone with the lock button positioned in the webbing between my thumb and forefinger, while the bottom of the phone nearest the home button is positioned against my right palm. I also find it easier to type with my elbows tucked in nearer my body rather than pointed outwards.
Again, the best advice I can give is to play with BrailleTouch and find the position that seems most comfortable to you. If it helps, think of BrailleTouch as a braille machine with an ergonomic keyboard. I hope this has been helpful to at least some people that might be struggling with getting a comfortable grip and with getting consistent writing with BrailleTouch. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to leave me a message. Good luck and happy brailling.
Comments
#1 Please add your tips to this BrailleTouch guide
For some people, BrailleTouch works immediately. For other people, it takes a little practice and experimentation. I encourage those of you that have mastered BrailleTouch to post your tips and advice for others here. The trick to using BrailleTouch is to find a comfortable way to hold the phone in the special way, and to find the braille dots so you can type quickly and accurately with it. I will monitor this forum thread and update the BrailleTouch user guide with tips and suggestions that may help others. The User Guide and Help in the app has worked for many people, but I am always open to improvements and better descriptions that can help everyone get the most out of this app. Thank you so much for starting this topic, sockhopsinger!
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/app/brailletouch/id579725651?ls=1&mt=8
Best wishes,
Caleb
http://brailletouchapp.com/
#2 What I Appreciate about BrailleTouch
I found the app in the app store and downloaded it, almost immediately buying the upgrade. What I appreciate about BrailleTouch is that it balances mainstream technology with the language that the blind have used to read and write for over 200 years. Now there is no excuse not to learn braille. This language will endure, even in the wake of new technology that some people use just to listen to what they are reading. Thank you so much for making this app so that braille will be used, even on mainstream devices where one can just listen rather than read.
#3 Supporting Braille Literacy
Hi Kira,
Thank you very much for your post. BrailleTouch is the result of university research at Georgia Tech, where I am a graduate student. One of our primary motivations for this work is to support braille literacy.If you or anyone else is a braille instructor or student, and you find BrailleTouch useful, please tell us your story. You can email me directly at info@brailletouchapp.com
We hope that the free trial version of BrailleTouch will be useful to people who are learning and teaching braille. A $200 iPhone or iPod touch is much cheaper than a braille notetaker, or even a Perkins Brailler. We hope that the BrailleTouch app can help people learn the six key braille keyboard and the braille alphabet. We know that reading braille with your fingers is different than writing it. But we sincerely hope that BrailleTouch is helpful to people who are learning and teaching braille, especially on a modern and fun device like an iPhone or iPod touch. Braille must endure as a language.
Thanks so much Kira for your comment. You have stated better than I ever could the reason BrailleTouch exists.
Best wishes,
Caleb
http://brailletouchapp.com/