<div dir="ltr">This is a tough question. I think that services like AIRA are great in a pinch, such as in the examples you cited below. Where I will not be OK with it is if school districts start using it to replace teaching important skill sets, such as reading tactile graphics, learning travel skills, and other crucial blindness skills. I would probably argue that children and or folks who are learning blindness skills should stay clear of services like AIRA. GPS would be another example - newly blind individuals, or blind children, who are learning travel skills, should not use GPS. None of these services are replacements for the basic skill sets. Thankfully, none of this stuff was around when I was growing up, so I have the skill sets to manage my travel and other daily skills if my technology becomes unavailable for some reason, which we all know it inevitably does.<div><br></div><div>I guess you could liken it to the argument that many schools attempt to push audio books on their blind students, instead of teaching them braille, which is ultimately setting them up for failure.</div><div><br></div><div>Robert</div><div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">On Wed, Nov 7, 2018 at 5:53 PM Deborah Armstrong <<a href="mailto:armstrongdeborah@fhda.edu">armstrongdeborah@fhda.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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<p class="MsoNormal">I’ve noticed that many colleges are now supplementing help for blind students using Aira. Aira is a service that enables one to use either their phone’s camera or special glasses to show a sighted agent what they are having difficulty with
and the agent assists. The agent can help the user navigate, read signs, understand study materials such as charts and graphs, and do anything else that “requires” sight.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Aira is also popular with newly-blinded folk, because it’s an easy way to get instant help.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Their website is here<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://aira.io/" target="_blank">https://aira.io/</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And a an edited description of the new plans is here:<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“AIRA Killing Unlimited Plan, Raising Prices for Others, Adding $29 Intro Plan”<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reported by Blind Bargains<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <a href="https://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=19611" target="_blank">
https://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=19611</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Copying from that page’s pricing info:<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">New Plans<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Intro: 30 minutes for $29 a month. 97 cents per minute.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Standard: 120 minutes for $99 a month. 83 cents per minute.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Advanced: 300 minutes for $199 a month. 66 cents per minute.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Premium (not advertised on website): 700 minutes for $329 a month. 47 cents per minute.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Former Legacy Plans<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Basic: 100 minutes for $89 a month. 89 cents per minute.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Plus: 200 minutes for $129 a month. 65 cents per minute.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Pro: 400 minutes for $199 a month. 50 cents per minute.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Unlimited: unlimited minutes for $329 a month. 47 cents per minute.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other Notes<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Additional minutes can be purchased for $50 for 50 minutes, or a dollar per minute, which is higher than the cost of minutes on any of the current plans.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• All plans except Intro can be shared with up to 2 other users.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Those wishing to use the Horizon glasses also will need to pay an additional $25 a month for 24 months or $600 one-time. Horizon is also not available<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">on the Intro plan.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• The plan for NFB members also remains, which is 140 minutes for $99 a month, so essentially 20 additional minutes.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What bothers me about Aira is that it’s tempting to use it to simply save time, which works great if you already know how to do something on your own. If you need to make sure you put tuna in the sandwich and not cat food, or you need to
understand the anatomy textbook to prepare for an exam, Aira can be a lifesaver. I have friends who know how to use their phone to identify packages, and they know how to ask for directions to navigate an unfamiliar area. But they use Aira because it’s more
convenient than struggling. It’s nice to have an Aira agent tell you if your colors match or you really are at the right restaurant.
<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, what happens when using Aira becomes a substitute for learning to do things on your own? Nobody’s talking about this, but just as notetakers are often used when a student would do better with notetaking technologies like Sonocent,
my concern is that Aira will become the easy but pricey fix. Technology does this too – the modern taxi driver seems unable to cope when his GPS goes down. So maybe I’m just a luddite. Still, when I FaceTime my girlfriend in Walmart to check the color of a
garment before purchasing it, I’m glad I don’t need Aira to function.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">--Debee<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
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</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">Robert Spangler<br>Disability Services Technical Support Specialist<br><span><a href="mailto:rspangler1@udayton.edu" target="_blank">rspangler1@udayton.edu</a><br></span>Office of Learning Resources (OLR) - RL 023<br>Ryan C. Harris Learning & Teaching Center (LTC)<br>University of Dayton | 300 College Park | Dayton, Ohio 45469-1302 <br>Phone: 937-229-2066<br></div><div>Fax: 937-229-3270</div><div>Ohio Relay: 711 (available for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing)<br></div><div>Web Site: <a href="http://go.udayton.edu/learning" target="_blank">http://go.udayton.edu/learning</a><br><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>