{"ID":2833273,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.03398","arxiv_id":"2512.03398","title":"Teacher, But Also Student: Challenges and Tech Needs of Adult Braille Learners with Sight","abstract":"Braille literacy is critical for blind individuals' independence and quality of life, yet literacy rates continue to decline. Though braille instructors in integrated K-12 classrooms play a central role in literacy development in blind youth, prior research on braille learning almost exclusively focuses on blind adolescent students. As a result, we still know little about how sighted adult teachers learn braille. To address this, we interviewed 14 educators, including 13 certificated Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVIs) and 1 paraeducator, who learned braille as adults. We found that they: (1) lack consistent braille exposure to reinforce knowledge and skill; (2) have limited time to practice due to myriad responsibilities of adulthood; and thus, (3) seek learning tools that are engaging and efficient. Our research draws attention to the needs of a group of braille learners who have been overlooked and identifies new design opportunities to facilitate braille literacy.","short_abstract":"Braille literacy is critical for blind individuals' independence and quality of life, yet literacy rates continue to decline. Though braille instructors in integrated K-12 classrooms play a central role in literacy development in blind youth, prior research on braille learning almost exclusively focuses on blind adoles...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.03398","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2512.03398v1","authors":"[\"Quan Zhou\",\"Cameron Cassidy\",\"Alyson Yin\",\"Stacy Branham\"]","published":"2025-12-03T03:09:42Z","proceeding":"cs.HC","tasks":"[\"cs.HC\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}