Rehabilitation for The Visually Impaired in Taiwan

Recording and Production of Digital Talking Books

From May to August, we continued recording books in DAISY format.  Two books are finished and one book is under recording.  All books are produced in DAISY format and will be given to visually impaired people for free.  And in our website, there is a section called “DAISY Library”.  Every month, we produce about 80~90 e-books in DAISY format and put them on the website.  This library has over 350 members and over 3400 DAISY books till now (2014 August.)  All DAISY books are free to visually impaired people.  With your financial support, we can continually record more audio books and produce e-books in DAISY format.  In modern time, DAISY format is the best way to read and the best way to publish for the visually impaired (According to the DAISY consortium).  These books and web broadcasting programs are made especially for visually impaired people, and we will teach them how to read these books with free classes.  We also put our web broadcasting programs on TDTB’s website.  The website of web radio programs is: http://www.tdtb.org/information_2.aspx. The broadcasting programs are about useful topics of English learning, Health, Travelling, Book reviews and Interviews.  In the future, we will continue recruiting volunteers to record daisy digital talking books and touching articles.  The section of good article is called “Garden of Heart” on our website.  There will be more articles and radio programs if TDTB raise more funds. 

Computer Training Courses

With your support, we have held as many computer courses as we can.  This year, we have focused on three kinds of classes: the NVDA classes (about how to use screen reader “NVDA”), the writing classes (for visually impaired and dyslexic students to learn how to write an article), and the classes for teachers and parents (how to aid visually impaired students).  Besides, we have one to one classes for those have particular needs.  The content of class includes basic computer information, keyboard lessons, iPhone and Android (most popular topic!), music editing software (such as Goldwave, My studio PC), Microsoft Office (WORD, PowerPoint) and Youtube (search and download), blogs and surfing the internet.  Our computer teachers are visually impaired people.  They learned from our vocational training course for months; and when they finished this course, they are capable of teaching other visually impaired people.  In 2013, there were 105 people use the project to learn more than 2000 hours of free computer classes.  We also planned new classes in the future such as literature classes.  If we have enough funds, we can hold more and more new classes.

The Walking Library: DAISY player

The DAISY player is as big as the cellphone, but it’s the most convenient tool to gain information for the visually impaired.  Visually students can use it to read all kinds of digital files.  In this way, we don’t need to spend a lot of money producing braille books.  If visually impaired people joined our DAISY library for free, they can download over 3000 DAISY books into the players.  It is like they bring walking libraries with them, wherever they go, they can read books by hearing.  DAISY players have another useful function: recording voices.  You can use it to record class, notes, natural sounds or anything else.  As for the music, you can save all your mp3 into the DAISY player, making it into a music player.  However, some visually impaired people cannot afford the price, so TDTB borrow DAISY players to visually impaired people and dyslexic people.  And we held classes to teach them how to use the DAISY player.  With this tool, visually impaired people can enjoy their lives more digitally and full of information and recreation. 

Links:

• homepage of TDTB

Recording and Production of Digital Talking Books

In 2014, we finished recording three books in DAISY format and two of these books are bestsellers in Taiwan.  One book (Who is waiting for you in a shiny place?) is from the famous writer: Jian Zhen ().  All books are produced in DAISY format and will be given to 300 visually impaired people for free.  As we said before, DAISY format is the best way to read and the best way to publish for the visually impaired (According to the DAISY consortium).  These books and web broadcasting programs are made especially for visually impaired people, and we will teach them how to read these books with free classes.  We also put our web broadcasting programs on TDTB’s website.  The website of web radio programs is: http://www.tdtb.org/information_2.aspx. The broadcasting programs are about useful topics of English learning, Health, Travelling, Book reviews and Interviews.  In the future, we will continue recruiting volunteers to record daisy digital talking books and touching articles.  The section of good article is called “Garden of Heart” on our website.  There will be more articles and radio programs if TDTB raise more funds.  The booklist is:

Who is waiting for you in a shiny place?)

Goodbye, Ohara

Rain of Osmanthus 

Computer Training Courses

With your support, we have held as many computer courses as we can.  This year, we have focused on three kinds of classes: the NVDA group classes (about how to use screen reader “NVDA”), the writing classes (for blind students to learn how to write an article), and the classes for teachers and parents (how to aid visually impaired students).  From Jan. to May, we held 8 NVDA group classes, three writing classes and three classes for teachers and parents in Taiwan (Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohshung).  All of our teachers are visually impaired people.  They learned from our vocational training course for months; and when they finished this course, they are capable of teaching other visually impaired people.  Other computer courses are personal computer class, which includes basic computer information, iPhone and Android (new topic!), music editing software (such as Goldwave, My studio PC), Microsoft Office (WORD, PowerPoint) and Youtube (search and download), blogs and surfing the internet.  In 2013, there were 105 people use the project to learn more than 2000 hours of free computer classes.  We also planned a new class for the visually impaired.  That is photography class for the visually impaired children.  If we have enough funds, we can hold more and more new classes.

Maintain and Enlarge the Taiwan DAISY Library continually. 

This Online library is constructed in 2010, and visually impaired people could join to be a membership from that time.  This library has over 350 members and over 3300 DAISY books till now (2014 May.).  In 2014, the rotary club of Tienmu will cooperate with TDTB to enlarge the scale of DAISY Library.  We will enlarge the scale for 480 books with their support!  The books will be chosen from popular books, awarded books, classical novel for teenagers and many other good books.  

The model of Taiwan DAISY library mainly referred to a famous organization called Bookshare.org in USA.  From 2007, Bookshare.org acquired a subsidy about 32 million dollars from the Special Section of Education Department of U.S.A. in five years.  With enormous fund, Bookshare.org had more than 120,000 books and 150,000 members in 2011.  TDTB tried to build a DAISY library from the successful experience of Bookshare.org.  TDTB not only provides DAISY books but also provides computer training courses, which make this library accessible for visually impaired people.  This year, TDTB will cooperate with Rotarians to expand DAISY library.  TDTB will continue to make DAISY books and recruit members.  We will especially focus on visually impaired students.  We will try hard to improve their reading ability and computer ability.  With your help, TDTB will continually make good DAISY books for the visually impaired.  And the dream of reading without barriers for the visually impaired can be realized in the future.

Links:

• official website of TDTB