Announcing the 2019 Touch of Genius Prize Winners Posted on March 14, 2019 by National Braille Press announcing-the-2019-touch-of-genius-prize-winners/#respond There are two Touch of Genius Prize winners this year! Canute ? Bristol Braille Technologies ? won $5000 The Canute is a 360 cell braille display, with 9 rows of 40 cells developed by Bristol Braille Technologies in the UK. The Canute will be the first affordable multi-line display on the market. Targeted toward education settings and libraries, and looking toward areas of math, science, coding and music, the Canute has endured many iterations and been a cooperative experience between braille readers across the world. This ?kindle for the blind? is surely be an innovative game-changer and will only push forward braille literacy. http://www.bristolbraille.co.uk/ Braille Sheets ? ObjectiveEd? won $5000 Braille Sheets is an interactive app to help children learn to read braille developed by ObjectiveEd. ObjectiveEd?s mission is to help children with visual impairments maximize educational results. The app makes it easy to enter programs/lessons for students, see lessons from other teachers, and pair with an actual braille sheet where the student is tactile-y learning letters and words as they are getting real-time audio feedback. A collection of lessons and games, Braille Sheets will be a great supplement for teachers and an easy, affordable way to help students learn braille and become literate. https://www.objectiveed.com/ NBP awarded the Touch of Genius prize to the winners at the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference on Wednesday, March 17th. ? Image on left: Brian MacDonald (NBP) with Marty Shutz of ObjectiveEd at TOG reception. Image on right: MacDonald with Ed Rogers of Bristol Braille at TOG reception. figure ?Image on left: Brian MacDonald (NBP) with Marty Shutz of ObjectiveEd at TOG reception. Image on right: MacDonald with Ed Rogers of Bristol Braille at TOG reception. ? Image on left: Brian MacDonald (NBP) with Marty Shutz of ObjectiveEd at TOG reception. Image on right: MacDonald with Ed Rogers of Bristol Braille at TOG reception. figure end The Touch of Genius Prize is made possible by the support of the Gibney Family Foundation! Thank you! figure Learn More about touch of genius prize here figure end ? Take me back to nbp.org! figure National Braille Press Logo (take me back to nbp.org) ?Take me back to nbp.org! ? Take me back to nbp.org! figure end SHARE THIS: list of 2 items ?Twitter ?Facebook list end Like Be the first to like this. Posted in Uncategorized| Tagged Blindness, Braille, braille innovation, braille literacy, braille materials| Leave a reply article end article Remembering an Exceptional Volunteer Posted on June 5, 2018 by National Braille Press remembering-an-exceptional-volunteer/#respond A tireless competitor in all aspects of her life, Sue Ammeter was a crucial champion for the blind community. As a young child, she quickly learned to advocate for her right to read. Because of a lack of readily-available braille, Sue?s mother took it upon herself to transcribe school assignments and books for her daughter. After graduating from the University of Washington, Sue embarked on a 30-year career in state government, fighting for the employment rights of people with disabilities. She was the first blind person to work for the Human Rights Commission of Washington State and was instrumental in crafting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ensuring legal protections against discrimination for those with disabilities. Photo of Sue and Ruth Ann Hansen wearing nametags and smiling at the camera National Braille Press was honored to have Sue serve on our board for the last five years. With her leadership, we were able to raise money to produce books on living with breast and prostate cancer, as well as ensuring access to information on symptoms, treatments, and side effects for blind individuals.
From serving on committees to attending our gala to hosting one of our best-attended Because Braille Matters luncheons, Sue always strove to help. She
and John, her husband of 46 years, even joined our Braille for Life Alliance legacy program to ensure braille access for all.
Sue?s legacy of advocacy, volunteerism, and paving the path for others will stand well into our future and it is with great pleasure that we announce that
we are naming our Individual Volunteer of the Year award the Sue Ammeter Volunteer of the Year Award .
Room view of Sue's memorial, it is full of people, every table is full as they celebrate her life
NBP staff was honored to attend Sue?s memorial and celebration the life in Washington State. Sue was an amazing person, friend, and Trustee of NBP. Her
passing leaves a big hole that we all must fill to support braille literacy and the ADA.
Sue, thank you for making our mission stronger and our lives better.
SHARE THIS:
list of 2 items
?Twitter
?Facebook11
list end
Like
list of 4 items
blackwings666
cutepuppyness
gourmetandfood
travelwarehouse
list end
4 bloggers
like this.
Posted in
Uncategorized|
Leave a reply
article end
article
Writing Braille by Hand
Posted on
May 15, 2018
by
National Braille Press
1
By, Judy Dixon
When Louis Braille first began pressing dots into paper for later reading, he did it by hand. His tools were primitive but effective; he used a slate and
stylus. The top of his braille slate was a simple piece of sheet metal bent downward at the ends with small rectangular openings. The bottom of his slate
was a flat stick of wood with horizontal grooves. The exact size and placement of these elements varied somewhat as Louis?s ideas for the best way to produce
braille evolved over time.
Over the next hundred years, the tools for writing braille by hand became more sophisticated. The top and bottom of the slate were joined by a machined
hinge, the back was often made with a distinct impression for each dot, and, in the latter part of this period, various plastics were used to reduce cost
and weight, and increase resiliency.
Nine-line, wall-mountable slate for writing short memos--includes magnetic stylus, a roll of paper, and a hook for hanging messages
Nine-line, wall-mountable slate for writing short memos?includes magnetic stylus, a roll of paper, and a hook for hanging messages.
My first encounter with a braille slate and stylus was just before Christmas in first grade at the school for the blind in St. Augustine, Florida. Early
on the afternoon before Christmas vacation, the teacher gave each of us a slate and stylus. Mine was blue. She showed us how to use it and we had a few
minutes to practice.
I took my new treasure home with me when I left for Christmas. I proudly demonstrated my new skill to my two older brothers. They already knew how to read
and write and I had been very concerned about how I was going to read and write like they did. To this day, I can remember my exhilaration, ?Look, I can
read too, and I can write too.? I don?t think it occurred to me that they couldn?t read what I wrote. I could, and that was what mattered.
Throughout my school years, I took notes with a slate. By high school, I had a few different ones but they didn?t vary much because there was nothing very
unique available in the U.S. at the time.
Early on, I was aware of the slate?s limitations. When using a slate in school, I often wished for one that had a full page of cells, eliminating the necessity
of repositioning the slate down the page after every four lines. I also imagined a slate that would let me write very small braille so I could fit more
text on a page. And how about one that could write on both sides of the paper? I did not know that such slates existed.
a four-cell slate to slip over a page edge for marginal notes.
A four-cell slate to slip over a page edge for marginal notes.
Some time in the 1970s, a friend gave me a slate from England. It had braille cells about two-thirds the size of the ones I had been using. On a 4-by-6-inch
index card, I could fit 11 lines of 26 cells, far more than ever before. Later, on a visit to Germany, I got a full-page slate, 25 lines of 28 cells. It
was made of a heavy metal and weighed about a pound but it was gorgeous. When I had a couple of dozen slates, I realized I was a collector. I was primarily
interested in slates that had some function other than the ordinary ones.
Currently, there are 278 unique slates from 38 different countries in my collection. Some are historic, dating back to the 1860?s but most were made in
the mid to late 20th century.
The vast majority are slates created to produce six-dot braille, but the collection also contains slates for tactile codes other than braille, such as
New York Point, Moon Type, and codes created by individuals that were never widely used. It also contains slates for a German shorthand code, a Spanish
music code, and a Japanese code for writing kanji?all extensions of the braille code using eight dots.
Element for IBM Selectric typewriter that produced very small but readable embossed braille.
Element for IBM Selectric typewriter that produced very small but readable embossed braille.
The largest slate that I have was made in Austria and has 30 lines of 36 cells. The smallest, called a margin guide, was made in England and has only one
line of four cells. It has no hinge and is designed to simply slip over the edge of a page like a paper clip. It is used to add a page number or make a
note in the margin.
Full page metal slate from Austria.
Full page metal slate from Austria
Each slate in my collection is somewhat different from every other. There are many different sizes and as many shapes. They are made of aluminum, zinc,
brass, steel and several kinds of plastic?most of which are in fairly subdued shades of gray and black, but one is a startling fluorescent orange. Instead
of pins, some have magnets or spring-loaded clips to secure the paper, and in place of a hinge, some have stiff tape or heavy plastic to hold the two parts
of the slate together.
In the United States, we encounter only two sizes of braille, standard and jumbo. However, the size of the braille cell in slates from other countries
varies considerably. The Japanese slates typically produce braille that is somewhat smaller than the American standard, while many of the German slates
produce braille that is slightly larger than ours. There are two slates from Japan that produce braille so small that it is actually difficult to read.
Three cherry wood styluses produced in Japan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the braille standard in the country.
Three cherry wood styluses produced in Japan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the braille standard in the country.
There are several rather creative designs which allow the braille to be read while the paper is still in the slate. E-Z Read slates, which have pins in
the top instead of the bottom, were common in the United States. But several models of slates made in Italy use magnets to hold the paper. As with E-Z
Read slates, the braille can be read by lifting the back of the slate without disturbing the position of the paper. Magnets have an advantage over pins?they
leave no holes in the paper.
Among my favorites are the slates that have been designed for special purposes. The Japanese have produced a telephone message slate which consists of
a roll of paper, a small plastic slate, and a magnetic stylus, all mounted on a foam-backed board. Chemical Bank of New York developed an extremely useful
checkwriting template. It has braille cells for making notes on the stub and on the check itself, as well as the familiar template openings for completing
a check with a pen. This slate was provided to any blind person opening an account with Chemical Bank and was sold to any other bank requesting it for
their blind patrons.
aluminum check writing slate distributed by Chemical Bank of New York. Includes slots for filling out check with a pen and braille cells on the check stub
and check itself for braille notations.
Aluminum check writing slate distributed by Chemical Bank of New York. Includes slots for filling out check with a pen and braille cells on the check stub
and check itself for braille notations.
A few slates have their own associated stylus but there is a collection of several hundred styluses as well. Special ones include three cherry wood styluses
made in Japan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the braille code and an ivory stylus used by George Shearing, the blind jazz musician,
that he used during his school days in the 1920s.
An ivory-handled stylus used by the blind jazz musician, George Shearing, at the school for the blind in England in the 1920s.
An ivory-handled stylus used by the blind jazz musician, George Shearing, at the school for the blind in England in the 1920s.
The collection is contained in two wooden cabinets that were specially made for it. Each one has 36 drawers, with pocket, board and notebook slates in
Cabinet A and non-braille, upward-writing, special, and full-page slates in Cabinet B. It also has its own web site,
www.brailleslates.org.
Drawer in Judy's braille slate cabinet
Although slate use has waned considerably in the developed world, writing braille with a slate and stylus is still widespread in developing countries.
The advantages of a braille slate are numerous. Slates are relatively inexpensive, very portable, quiet to use, require no batteries, and need little,
if any, repair.
But writing with a braille slate can be very confining. Unlike using a pen or pencil, it is not possible to vary the size of the letters, to write between
the lines, or to scribble in the margins as those who write print so often do. Maybe this will happen one day and maybe, ironically, it will be technology
that does it!
Judy Dixon is the Consumer Relations Officer for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at the Library of Congress in Washington,
D.C. She has an extensive collection of both slates and braille notetakers. Judy writes many original technology books for NBP and serves as a judge for
our Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation. All photos were taken by Judy.
SHARE THIS:
list of 2 items
?Twitter
?Facebook39
list end
Like
list of 3 items
sitting bull
blackwings666
girlsincredible
list end
3 bloggers
like this.
Posted in
Uncategorized|
1 Reply
article end
article
NBP?s Quotation Booklets: A Valuable Teaching Tool Any Day of the Week
Posted on
April 12, 2018
by
National Braille Press
nbps-quotation-booklets-a-valuable-teaching-tool-any-day-of-the-week/#respond
By Mary Drain
When I stumbled upon the first quotation booklet NBP published several years ago, I knew I had to have it. Pocket-sized and spiral-bound, the booklet was
sure to offer some interesting food for thought, and in a convenient size to boot. What I did not know at the time was that this booklet, and those that
followed, would prove to be a valuable teaching tool. They offered just the right amount of content for many of my students to transition successfully
from my curriculum-driven sentences to the reading of their first official braille publication.
For students of any age, moving from learning braille to comfortably using braille is a process. Appreciating braille for its utility, grace, and for the
many jobs it does better than any other tool comes later. As someone who grew up with a tremendous amount of usable vision, I had no difficulty accessing
print using a minimal amount of magnification. Never mind that my eyes fatigued easily and my reading speed was quite slow. It was my TVI who had the good
sense and foresight to insist that I learn braille. When I asked why, he said, ?Because I want you to have options.?
Implicit in his response was a truth that I did not fully understand and embrace until I was much older. It is that achieving a level of proficiency with
braille, audio, and, for some, magnification enables those of us who are visually impaired to choose the most efficient tool (or tools) for the task at
hand, without ever having to compromise. As a braille teacher at the Orientation Center for the Blind in Albany, California, I feel fortunate to work alongside
colleagues who share this point of view, and in a residential immersion training program that has our students working with these new tools of independence
every day.
Layout 1
Nearly all of my students, most of whom are newly blind, begin my class eager to regain their ability to read and write independently. Whether having the
goal of using braille to label, read a recipe, refer to notes when giving a school or workplace presentation, or read a book someday, very few of my students
have to be convinced of braille?s value. But, because learning braille more closely resembles the running of a marathon than a sprint, keeping my students
motivated is not without its challenges. I am always mindful of proper pacing and the need for periodic pep talks.
For my students who have learned all of their contractions but need to continue to improve their reading, finding material that is both adult in nature
and appropriate for their skill level has not always been easy. In the same way I would not throw a kid fresh out of driver?s training onto a busy L.A.
street during rush hour, I?m careful not to give my students reading material that is likely to frustrate or overwhelm them. With an average of five single-spaced
lines of braille on each page (along with the attribution), each of the quotations in the quotation booklets are presented in a manageable format. They
offer a terrific way to introduce my adult students to published braille. I look forward to seeing NBP produce more materials like this in the future.
Riddles or fun facts anyone?
It seems only fitting that I conclude with a quote from Andrew Carnegie. He said, ?Anything worth having in life is worth working for.? I think we can
all agree that this is certainly true when it comes to learning braille.
Mary Drain is one of ten credentialed teachers at the Orientation Center for the Blind. Operated by the California Department of Rehabilitation, the Orientation
Center is a residential immersion program that offers classes in Orientation and Mobility, Adaptive Computer Training, Braille, Cooking, and Daily Living
Skills to legally blind individuals who are clients of the California Department of Rehabilitation.
SHARE THIS:
list of 2 items
?Twitter
?Facebook15
list end
Like
list of 2 items
sirvineperry
THE LOUD WHISPER
list end
2 bloggers
like this.
Posted in
Uncategorized|
Leave a reply
article end
article
Free Online Activities Created Especially for YOU!
Posted on
February 16, 2018
by
National Braille Press
free-online-activities-created-especially-for-you/#respond
?Great Expectations: Bringing Picture Books to Life for Blind Kids
For nearly four years, the Great Expectations program has produced original, high-interest, fun, and free activities especially for blind kids and their
families. We start with a popular picture book, and add braille to it, so blind and sighted family members can read them together. But that?s just the
beginning! From there, we use the book?s story, themes, and ideas to create a set of activities that enable blind kids to explore all aspects of the book
in greater detail, through songs, tactile play, picture descriptions, body movement, engaged listening, arts and crafts projects, inspiring real-life stories,
and much more. The goal is to promote active reading experiences for children with visual impairments.
Each book in the program explores a completely different topic, including some subjects that might seem difficult to broach with a visually impaired person.
It might seem counterintuitive to talk about different colors and shades, for example, with a blind child. But of course colors are a part everyday life
and conversation, and blind kids need to know as much about colors and their significance as any other kid in order to fully participate in their lives.
With that mindset, we use popular kids? books as the starting point for discussion, activities, and lots of fun.
Dragons Love Tacos,
our first book in the series, gives us the chance to talk about textures, preparing food, and organizing a (taco) party.
The Day the Crayons Quit,
perhaps our most popular series selection thus far, offers ideas for talking about colors with blind kids.
Pete the Cat:
Rocking in My School Shoes is all about orientation and mobility, maps, and mazes.
Iggy Peck, Architect
discusses building and buildings, architecture, and team work.
Amazing Grace
focuses on theater, presentation, storytelling, and more.
And
Measuring Penny
delves into measuring, graphing, comparisons ? and even what it takes to care for a pet!
?Lemonade in Winter cover
With our newest book,
Lemonade in Winter,
we learn all about money and running a business from Pauline and her younger brother John-John as they open a lemonade stand in the middle of winter. By
the end of the story, they?ve made less money than they spent on supplies, but learned some valuable lessons along the way. The free activities we?ve created
to go with this print/braille book explore all aspects of money and business, and tease out some of the less obvious themes in the book, like teamwork
and following directions. Here?s the full activity list for Lemonade in Winter:
Hands on Money
Don?t want to accidentally pay $20 for a $5 ice cream? Use your sense of touch to tell different coins apart and play fun games to practice making different
coin combinations. Also learn folding techniques and technology options to keep track of your different paper bills.
Spend, Save, Share
Whether you get money as a gift or earn it by doing chores, you have several options for what to do with it. Learn reasons and strategies for spending,
saving, and sharing, and then make your own spend, save, and share jars.
?Spend, Save, and Share jars
Make an Origami Wallet
Looking for a fun and unique way to keep your money safe? Use a Japanese method of paper folding, called origami, to create your own, unique mini wallet.
Team Story Building
Pauline and John-John?s lemonade stand doesn?t yield the results they expected (selling tons of lemonade and making lots of money!), but they have fun
anyway and learn that there?s more than one definition of success! Play a team story building game that shows how any new adventure can bring unexpected
outcomes.
Giving and Following Instructions
When you teach a friend or sibling something new, it?s important to give good instructions. The opposite is also true! When you want to learn something
new, it?s important to follow instructions well. Try the 10 Step Game, the Right Way to Make Slime activity, and the hilarious Exact Instructions Challenge
to see how good you are at reading carefully and following directions.
Tips from a Blind Business Person
Meet Jessica Beecham, a blind business woman with a passion for making health and wellness accessible to everyone. Jessica was a founding member of the
Sports and Recreation Division of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado; and is currently a co-founder and Program Director at a popular fitness
company in Colorado called WE Fit Wellness. See what Jessica has to say about succeeding in the business world, and review Pauline and John-John?s lemonade
stand business plan.
?Jessica Beecham
Jokes Around the Lemonade Stand
Whether or not you run a lemonade stand, it never hurts to have a handful of jokes to add fun to the day. Here are more money jokes than you can count,
and enough jokes about lemons to lift even the sourest mood.
Sing the Lemonade Song
Sing along with a song about making money at your lemonade stand and practice counting by units of 25 as you rake in the dough.
Picture Descriptions
Enjoy detailed descriptions of the illustrations in the book, all created especially for you!
TVIs, parents, and young students will discover fun ways to experience picture books on a deeper level with
Great Expectations.
Check out the website for dozens and dozens of FREE online activities!
Let us know which activities you tried out and what you enjoyed the most! And let us know what themes and concepts you?d like us to explore in the next
book in the program!
SHARE THIS:
list of 2 items
?Twitter
?Facebook34
list end
Like
Be the first to like this.
Posted in
Uncategorized|
Leave a reply
article end
Older posts
main region end
FOLLOW BLOG VIA EMAIL
Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
FOLLOW BLOG VIA EMAIL
Follow
ARCHIVES
list of 56 items
? March 2019
? June 2018
? May 2018
? April 2018
? February 2018
? January 2018
? November 2017
? October 2017
? August 2017
? June 2017
? May 2017
? April 2017
? March 2017
? February 2017
? January 2017
? December 2016
? November 2016
? October 2016
? September 2016
? August 2016
? June 2016
? May 2016
? April 2016
? March 2016
? February 2016
? December 2015
? November 2015
? September 2015
? July 2015
? June 2015
? April 2015
? March 2015
? February 2015
? January 2015
? December 2014
? September 2014
? August 2014
? July 2014
? June 2014
? May 2014
? April 2014
? March 2014
? February 2014
? January 2014
? December 2013
? November 2013
? October 2013
? September 2013
? August 2013
? July 2013
? June 2013
? May 2013
? April 2013
? March 2013
? February 2013
? January 2013
list end
BLOGS I FOLLOW
list of 6 items
? National Braille Press
? Blog Posts
? Mosen Consulting Tutorials
? Assistive Technology Blog
? Inside NBP
? The WordPress.com Blog
list end
RECENT COMMENTS
table with 2 columns and 5 rows
avatar/686de3d42ae863ce8151b91986325f2b
autoversicherungen i?
on
Braille: The Ticket to Freedom?
Shaza on
Writing Braille by Hand
10154861410731478
Andrew Lyons
on
The Road from Princeton to Bos?
Lisa Hall on
Braille: The Ticket to Freedom?
Luanne Little on
A Lifetime of NBP Braille: Fro?
table end
FOLLOW US!
list of 4 items
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
list end
FOLLOW BLOG VIA EMAIL
Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
FOLLOW BLOG VIA EMAIL
Follow
Blog at WordPress.com.
list of 1 items
Follow
list end
:)
Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., CRC, NOMC, Director,
Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness
Louisiana Tech University
600 Mayfield Ave / 210 Woodard Hall
PO Box 3158
Ruston LA 71272
Office: 318.257.4554 Fax: 318.257.2259