Blind NIU students can use computers in residence hall and university computer labs because of instruments such as the IBM Speechboard and Apple “Echo” computer hardware.

Devices like these speak to the user as he or she punches keys on the computer keyboard.

The abilities of this type of computer can range from enlarging the letters on the screen, to reciting each letter or word in a text, to printing Braille characters, said Linn Sorge, co-coordinator of Services for Handicapped Students.

Sorge said Handicapped Services delays buying the computer equipment because “adapted computer equipment is always expensive,” and it becomes obsolete quickly with advancing technology in the field.

Because Braille printers cost between $3,500 and $4,000, they only are available at Services for Handicapped Students in the Health Center, Sorge said.

Large print display processors cost about $2,700 but can magnify print from the screen up to 16 times.

Sorge said the goal of adapted computer devices for blind students is to “get it to talk and get it (to print) bigger.”

Neptune North’s computer lab has had IBM Vert Plus available since the week of Sep. 18, said Scott Fadden, assistant manager of Lincoln Hall’s computer lab. Apple’s Echo and a 19-inch monitor have been ordered and should arrive in two to three weeks, Sorge said.

The Stevens Building Annex computer lab also has IBM speechboard, and a high resolution 19-inch monitor for students who have difficulty seeing normal size computer print. The computer lab in Graham Hall has an IBM Speechboard.