Archives: Episode

Braille on iOS, Part 1 (Extra 38)

Following our brief introduction to Braille on iOS last year, we’re delighted this year to have been joined by Scott Davert, one of the most well-known authorities on the topic, to explore this winning combination in more detail. Scott is the Coordinator at the Technology, Research and Innovation Center, part of the Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults, and serves on the editorial team at AppleVis.

In a series of three Masterclasses, he discussed and demonstrated how to make the most of using your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch with a braille display, from basic exploration to text editing, web browsing and much more.

In the first Masterclass, he covered:

  • Supported braille displays and how to connect them
  • Braille settings in Voiceover
  • Exploring the home screen
  • Some useful braille display commands

This session was recorded on Tuesday 1 February 2022. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Choosing and Setting UP Your Embosser (Extra 37)

In our first Masterclass of 2022, Matthew Horspool tackled the hows, whys and wherefores of braille embossers: choosing them, setting them up and making the most of them. The session covered:

  • The purpose and function of an embosser and why you might want one
  • Different types of embosser
  • Different types of paper
  • Connectivity options
  • The user interface
  • The relationship between embosser and computer
  • The role of translation software

This session was recorded on Tuesday 18 January 2022. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Drawing Stars with your Perkins (Extra 36)

Happy Christmas! In this special episode, James Bowden talks us through drawing some stars. The instructions are provided in written form below:

Star 1

  • Line 1: ow sign (Dots 246); comma (dot 2)

Star 2

  • Line 1: o (dots 135; k (dots 13)

Star 3

  • Line 1: capital sign (dot 6); ar sign (dots 345); gh sign (dots 126); apostrophe (dot 3)
  • Line 2: dot 4; wh sign (dots 156); s (dots 234); a (dot 1)

Star 4

  • Line 1: space three times; letter sign or grade 1 indicator (dots 56); semicolon (dots 23)
  • Line 2: space three times; ar sign (dots 345); gh sign (dots 126)
  • Line 3: space twice; ar sign (dots 345); space twice; gh sign (dots 126)
  • Line 4: x (dots 1346) twice; space four times; x (dots 1346) twice
  • Line 5: space twice; wh sign (dots 156); space twice; s (dots 234)
  • Line 6: space four times; wh sign (dots 156); s (dots 234)
  • Line 7: space four times; dots 45; b (dots 12)

A Box

  • Line 1: p (dots 1234); c (dots 14); l (dots 123)
  • Line 1.5: l (dots 123); space; l (dots 123)
  • Line 2: c (dots 14) twice; a (dot 1)

Star 5

  • Line 1: space twice; capital sign (dot 6); i (dots 24); en sign (dots 26)
  • Line 1.5: space twice; comma (dot 2); space twice; comma (dot 2)
  • Line 2: dot 4; ed sign (dots 1245); space three times; dots 46; f (dots 124)
  • Line 2.5: space twice; semicolon (dots 23); dot 5; space; semicolon (dots 23)
  • Line 3: space twice; r (dots 1235); a (dot 1); e (dots 15); l (dots 123)
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Drawing Pictures With Your Perkins (Extra 35)

We were delighted to be joined by Kim Charlson, Executive Director of the Perkins Library (part of Perkins School for the Blind). Kim is author of the book “Drawing with your Perkins Brailler”, which includes step-by-step directions for creating 36 different drawings including shapes, animals and subjects with holiday and transportation themes.

In this session, she used a drawing of a Christmas tree to explain the concepts behind using braille cells to create pictures. Bring a Perkins and some paper and follow along and, by the end of the session, you will have your very own frilly Christmas tree made entirely of braille dots!

This session was recorded on Tuesday 7 December 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Leisure Reading with Refreshable Braille, Part 2 (Extra 34)

We were delighted to have been joined by Sean Randall for the second in a two-part series. Sean is something of a computing and IT mastermind and now works at New College Worcester, training many of their students in the use of assistive technology including screen readers and braille displays.

This session covered sources of reading material that are more mainstream in nature, including apps or specialist software used to read. These included:

  • Amazon Kindle
  • Local libraries
  • Smaller publishers (e.g. Smashwords

This session was recorded on Tuesday 23 November 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Focus Braille Displays, ElBraille and JAWS 2022 (Episode 36)

Freedom Scientific is perhaps best known for its popular JAWS screen reader, but it also manufactures the Focus line of refreshable braille displays. The first generation of these well-known units was released in the early 2000s, and now the fifth generation is available in 14, 40 and 80-cell configurations, with the 40-cell version being an integral part of the ElBraille from Elita Group. To tell us more, I’m joined by Ron Miller, Blindness Hardware Product Specialist at Vispero.

UK Pricing

All products available from Sight and Sound Technology Ltd and all prices given ex VAT.Focus 14 £1275 Focus 40 £2950 Focus 80 £7850 ElBraille 40 £1535 with Intel M3 or £1825 with Intel I5

Links

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The BrailleSense 6 (Episode 35)

For at least the past 30 years, blind people have been well-served by notetakers: electronic, computer-like devices with a Perkins-style keyboard and speech and braille output. At their most basic level, they’ve functioned as an electronic brailler for composing documents and, of course, taking notes, but they’ve also included functionality such as a calculator, address list, scheduler and, latterly, internet connectivity. Over the past few years, there’s been a steady shift towards vastly increasing the capabilities of these devices, with many moving towards either Windows or Android.

The latest of this newer style of notetaker is the BrailleSense 6 from Selvis Healthcare (formerly Hims). It measures 9.65×5.67×0.87 inches, weighs 1.58 lbs (2.3 lbs with case), and is equipped with a 4590 mAh user-replaceable battery, wi-fi up to 802.11AC, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS and compass, USB C with display port functionality, full-size SD card slot, 13 MP rear camera, microphone and stereo speakers. It’s also just received its first software update.

Stuart Lawler is Head of Digital Content at Sight and Sound Technology Ltd, and Business Development Manager at Sight and Sound Ireland, and he joined me to tell us more about this update and the BrailleSense as a whole.

The BrailleSense 6 retails for £4395 excluding VAT.

Useful Links

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Leisure Reading with Refreshable Braille, Part 1 (Extra 33)

We were delighted to have been joined by Sean Randall for the first in a two-part series. Sean is something of a computing and IT mastermind and now works at New College Worcester, training many of their students in the use of assistive technology including screen readers and braille displays.

This session primarily discuss the various braille devices available to consumers. He then provided an overview of libraries and sources of materials specifically for blind people, including:

  • RNIB: reading Services, Bookshare and NTNM
  • The Seeing Ear National Accessible Library
  • Bibles for the Blind

This session was recorded on Tuesday 9 November 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Braille in Spain and Translating for the Spanish Foreign Ministry with María García Garmendia (Episode 34)

George Bernard Shaw, in his play Pygmalion, wrote that “the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.” That line has its roots in spoken language, though of course in English rather than Spanish! But what about written language?

We quite often talk about braille being useful as a tool when learning languages, but María García Garmendia of Madrid, Spain has taken things to the next level by qualifying as an official translator for the Spanish Foreign Ministry. As well as professionally translating to and from Italian and Portuguese, she’s also a fluent speaker of English, German, French and Russian.

She’s been blind effectively since birth due to Retinopathy of Prematurity, learnt braille from the age of three and, in addition to her translation work, she has a part-time job as a lawyer in one of Spain’s principal banks.

In this episode of Braillecast, we hear more about her legal and translation work, the availability of braille and braille technology in Spain, and the Spanish braille code. We also discuss her thoughts about grade 2 braille, scenarios in which braille is especially useful, and braille education.

Links

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Kawal Gucukoglu on Being a Braille Transcriber and What Braille Means to Her (Episode 33)

Transcription, for anyone who doesn’t already know, is the process of taking content in one format and converting it into another. In this case, print is being converted into braille, a process ubiquitous in the production of braille books, magazines, bills, bank statements, legal documents and much more. Humans have been at the heart of this process since its inception and, in spite of numerous technological advances, they remain so today.

Kawal Gucukoglu, herself blind since birth, was a braille transcriber at RNIB for over 23 years, and in this episode of Braillecast, she shares some of the highs and lows of this part of her career, as well as what braille means to her more generally. We discussed the change to Unified English Braille, the evolving role of technology, the division of labour within a large organisation, and unique opportunities afforded to her through her braille-related work.

Resources

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