Audiobooks for the Visually Impaired: Classics to Thrillers
August 9, 2008 by Brad Morgan
Filed under Reviews
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Technology has the capacity to help improve and enrich many lives, and audio books for the blind are a prime example.
From textbooks and newspapers to magazines and best-sellers, our society is extremely visual. Added to that is the overwhelming use of computers and the internet, which are primarily visual mediums. What is taken for granted by most of us - even simply flipping through a magazine - is a struggle for those who are blind or visually impaired.
In today’s society, we obtain a great deal of information and entertainment using computers and the internet. Because they are very image-based, blind and visually impaired people struggle much more to access comparable information. Nor is Braille that much more convenient. While it does allow people to enjoy written language, it can be expensive and out of reach for many blind people.
With one seemingly simple advancement, doors to gaining information, being entertained, and staying current with the news were thrown open: enter audio books for the blind.
For the first time, visually impaired people could go online and download their choice of books. The mass production of audio books for the blind, the opportunity came to learn in a way that had never been available before. In addition, the audio books were inexpensive or even free, making them accessible to most blind people.
It is clear that audio books for the blind have really helped many people obtain an education that they would not have had ten or in some cases even five years ago, and it is yet another example of how the technological world we live in has created huge advantages for people everywhere.
The scope of audio books for the blind is unlimited, giving visually impaired people the ability to enjoy subjects like art, music, drama, history, economics, geography, literature, and more. This would have been unimaginable - or at least a dream - even a few years ago.
Great advances that have been made in blind education through audio books in the core areas of reading, writing, mathematics and science, and as a result, blind people are able to easily access educational audio books.
Audio books for the blind also provide an opportunity for entertainment. Now, blind and visually impaired people can simply hear a story for pleasure, and the choices are diverse. Thousands of books - all different forms of fiction and nonfiction, contemporary or classic, popular, and more obscure - are available for the enjoyment of blind people.
Audio books are a great example of how technology can benefit and enhance people’s lives, especially those with disabilities.
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