Glossary
Braille, Louis:
Inventor of the Braille system.
Born on 4 January 1809 in Coupurai (40 km from Paris), died on 6 January 1852 in Paris.
Braille printer:
A printer that prints text in Braille. A short time ago printers appeared on the market that can generate tactile graphics. The Study Centre for Blind and Partially-sighted students has both types.
Braille display:
The device is connected to a computer and a software package enables the content on the screen to be converted to Braille line by line.
Screenreader:
A computer program that controls the Braille displays and speech synthesizers. The screenreader program transfers the data intended for output to the Braille display or the speech synthesizer. The Braille display or speech synthesizer generates output of the data in tactile or audio form. Screenreaders allow the user to adjust the Braille output, the speed and the sound of a synthesized voice and assist in the operation of the various auxiliary components. The user can also specify how, when and which data are to be transferred to the Braille display or the speech synthesizer.
File formats:
Word, Excel, PDF etc.. File formats are important for blind and partially-sighted people in that not all are accessible for them.
DUKATH:
DUKATH (Drahtlose Universität Karlsruhe (TH) is the term for the Universität Karlsruhe's wireless net. It is a wireless LAN network, meaning the data are transferred via radio waves.
Editor:
Program to create or change files.
Fonts:
Fonts are script types.
Frames:
Frames enable the browser window to be split into two or more parts and different HTML files can then be loaded in each part.
The frames are defined by means of a FRAMESET-tag. Within the tag the user specifies, for instance, how many lines and columns are required.
Large-screen monitor:
A large-screen monitor has a screen larger than 21"
Imagemaps:
Imagemaps provide the opportunity to define several image link sectors within a single graphic in a web-site. This means that the user can create a banner graphic for the upper edge of the page and integrate several button sectors within the graphic.
Jaws:
JAWS (= Job Access With Speech) is software which implements speech technology. In connection with the Windows operating system it enables access to all standard software applications and the Internet.
JAWS verwendet eine integrierte Sprachausgabe über die Soundkarte des Computers, um den aktuellen Bildschirminhalt wiederzugeben. Gleichzeitig kann die Ausgabe auf einer Braillezeile erfolgen.JAWS uses an integrated speech output via the computer's soundcard to describe the current screen content. Output can simultaneously be made with a Braille display.
Compatibility:
Possibility to use various devices in conjunction with others, comparing and harmonizing data between a note device and the PC, for instance.
Compilation:
The translation of the entire source code of a program from a high language to the object code. Only when this process is complete can the respective program be started.
The object code represents an executable machine code or a variant of the machine code.
LAN:
Local Area Network. A network of inter-connected computers.
Mobility training:
Blind people are not immediately able to find their way from A to B on their own. If a student begins to study in strange surroundings, he or she must become acquainted with the relevant infrastructure elements. This is where mobility training comes in. The training programme is usually financed through the students health insurance. The programme can begin as soon as residential and study locations are known.
Notetaker:
A compact device providing a range of frequently-used applications, such as appointment book and word-processing. Notetakers for blind people are always equipped with speech output and/or Braille output. Hence, the Braille display is not connected to the computer via a serial port or USB jack but is already integrated in the device. Many of these notetakers have a Braille keyboard instead of a conventional keyboard and Braille characters can be entered directly on it.
NUKATH:
"Notebook Universität Karlsruhe (TH)"
OCR-Software (Optical Character Recognition):
A text transferred to the computer from a scanner is initially in image form. Text must be generated from this image once more so that it can be read by screenreader or processed using a text-processing program. This is what OCR software does.
Portability:
The weight and the size of a study aid play a crucial role in whether a student is able to take the device to a lecture, for example. Does the device fit in a case etc? Is it protected against moisture and bumps?
Source file:
In commands to copy files or program instructions under MS:DOS or Windows, the source file is the file containing the data to be copied or the instructions.
Visual impairment:
There are three levels of visual impairment:
for visually impaired people, vision is reduced to below 1/3 to 1/20 of the standard, severely visually impaired people have vision which is from below 1/20 to 1/50 of the standard, people are considered blind if they have no vision or have so little vision that they have to behave in the same way as blind people, when their vision is less than 1/50 of the standard.
Visual impairments:
Visual impairments can arise at any age. They can exist from birth or they may be acquired. Generally the level of impairment depends on the scale of the reduction in visual acuity. Some eye diseases cause particular forms of field-of-vision limitation (tunnel or telescope effect). A visual impairment affects three factors: mobility, orientation, communication.
People with a severe visual impairment generally learn Braille and attend training programmes to learn how to make more efficient use of their remaining vision and to improve their orientation skills, and hence increase their mobility.
Synthetic speech output:
Output of screen content by means of an electronically-generated voice. This does not involve natural (human) voices and sounds.
W3C:
W3C = World Wide Web Consortium. A consortium of commercial organisations and educational institutes that supervises the development of the World Wide Web and promotes standards for all relevant fields of activity.
Whiteboard:
A so-called "Whiteboard" is used during the course of a virtual lecture. It enables the lecturers and students online to interact through real-time chat and on a "white board". The same rules are applied for working together on the whiteboard as in chat. The whiteboard can be used to create graphics, develop mind-maps, carry out inquiries, surf to websites. These can be jointly processed and presentations can be carried out.
