I have a pretty active social life and like to travel a lot and often fly or take Amtrak trains alone. This would not be possible without my little Brailliant Braille display. Since I am deaf and cannot hear to talk on the phone and am also blind and cannot see to read texts, this is my only way of communicating with anyone. I not only use text messaging to communicate with family and friends but also use it to communicate with my employer, to "call in sick", to schedule appointments with doctors, to ask my guide dog school questions, and to check my credit card and checking accounts and the weather. It also allows me to access the web where I can shop for my groceries, dog food, Braille embosser paper, labeling tape and more. And last but not least, my Brailliant gives me 24/7 access to a favorite pastime: reading. I love to read!

I've been able to edit HTML code efficiently. -- When I call Dell's tech support line, I'm able to read off my customer ID. -- During my last year in college, notetaking was more efficient. -- As the webmaster for the National Alliance of Blind Students, I often use the Braille Note's braille display to read notes I prepare prior to board meetings. -- Dialing phone numbers is more efficient.

What is so neat is I can go to my local library which has a public wireless network, and just use it to either download and read Bookshare titles, or search for internet radio stations.

During my last semester of undergraduate study, I was required to student-teach Spanish at my local high school. The Stream allowed me to test my students using an external speaker. I played audio clips of Spanish conversations, and students were to answer questions on their computers and save them to text files. Although I had a computer that allowed me to read text files, nothing is as small and compact as the Stream. The Stream has been, and will continue to be, an integral part of my life.

I was working with an early elementary student. Like all young students her dexterity, finger isolation and strength was weak. She spent more energy trying to push down the keys on a Perkins than focusing on her braille symbols as she wrote words and sentences. This is a very bright little girl. To see her labor over mechanics while she was ready to burst into braille was frustrating. I knew about the MountBatten and had seen it at conference. I took a mini class and I was sold. I purchased two as we had another student who was struggling. The difference was immediate. She moved over the keys easily. Because she no longer has to keep "pushing those keys down" she writes pages which is also contributing to putting a story together, sequencing, and using more punctuation. Problem solving along with using her imagination also are increased. No more heavy sighs over brailling. I cannot say enough about this. One of our best purchases!