This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Get the Picture! Viewing the World with the iPhone Camera

National Braille Press publishes book on iPhone and iPad accessibility

 Leading national braille publisher,  National Braille Press (NBP), announced today the premiere of their new book Get the Picture: Viewing the World with the iPhone Camera by Judy Dixon. The book, for both sighted and braille readers, shares the best strategies for utilizing the iPhone and iPad camera and rates the most accessible apps for blind users. 

“The iPhone and iPad have become a great resource for education, reading, photos and much more,” said Brian MacDonald, President of National Braille Press. “There is a steeper learning curve for people with low vision in using these devices, especially the camera, because of its visual nature. This book is a great way to show readers how to utilize the iPad and the iPhone camera in ways that are specific to blind users.”

Find out what's happening in Walthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 Dixon explains the purpose of her book: “Nowadays blind people have become interested in photography because of the popularity of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Instagram. We want to know how to take better pictures, just like everyone else, which is what I discuss in the book. But beyond that, the camera on an iPhone or iPad can be used to gather visual information beyond anything I ever imagined. I can use it to recognize currency, identify objects, read a barcode at Whole Foods, and so much more. Yesterday I received a credit card in the mail, whose number I couldn’t read. So I made a FaceTime call to a friend on my iPhone and, after a bit of positioning, she was able to read it to me easily—it was amazing!”

In the book, Judy Dixon, Consumer Relations Officer for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, shows how to use the camera on the iPhone and iPad for more than just taking pictures. She uses the camera to identify the color of her sweater, pull out an Andrew Jackson 20-dollar bill, scan a barcode, or use FaceTime and Skype. Judy has applied the knowledge she has gained from months of research on iPhone photography and has put into practice strategies enabling people who are blind to enjoy creating and sharing their own photographs of the world around them.

Find out what's happening in Walthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

ABOUT NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS

A non-profit braille publisher, National Braille Press promotes literacy for blind children through outreach programs and provides access to information by producing information in braille for blind children and adults. National Braille Press is the premier braille publisher in the US that specializes in producing original braille works written by blind authors expressly for blind people. www.nbp.org

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?