Speaker: Bob White

Introducing BUOC: Braille, User-Oriented Code (Extra 80)

The latest in our occasional series showcasing historical braille shorthand codes which you might still find useful today:

Braille, User-Oriented Code (BUOC) was a code written by the late Australian, Rebecca Maxwell, with the support of Australian Braille Literacy Action (ABLA), formerly the Australian Guild of Business and Professional Blind. It was last revised in 1998 and includes a number of useful devices for making braille shorter.

We were delighted to be joined by Jordie Howell, a great proponent of BUOC and a contemporary of its author. Jordie introduced us to the principals of BUOC, described how some common words and phrases can be shortened and explained how we can find out more about this grass roots code.

Find out more on the ICEB Shorthand Codes page

During the session, two books on grade 3 were also mentioned by way of comparison. These books are also available on the above web page in BRF format, and can be obtained from NLS in the US using these catalogue numbers:

  • BRA03950 The Braille Code A Guide to Grade Three Braille for First Year High School Students by Ruth Hayden
  • BRA18832 Key to Grade Three Braille by Lewis Rodenberg
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Read Aloud With Confidence (Extra 78)

Reading aloud is a skill that is both terrifying and liberating. Adding braille to the mix presents unique challenges that can often get in the way of recognising significant progress. Along with reading speed and fluency, the one question we hear most often is: “How can I improve my ability to read aloud?”

Building on the topics from her popular masterclass, Revitalise Your Braille Reading Technique, Chantelle Griffiths returns to uncover some of the mystery and magic of reading aloud and to share some tips and tricks to help.

In this masterclass we explored:

  • How a six-year-old Chantelle connected the dots between elephants, cats and reading aloud, and the one word she learned that can help you, too.
  • What reading aloud is not, and why “not” helps a lot!
  • The surprising visual analogy that can improve your reading exponentially, if you choose to see it.
  • The three infuriating words that everyone hates to hear but loves to experience.
  • How moving on is not giving up, but levelling up.
  • The capital B mindset that resets your brain and your reading practice every time.
  • And so much more.

Why not bring along some familiar reading material, electronic or hardcopy, and try some of what you learn with us in real time.

Whether you’re new to reading aloud or you just want a fresh perspective, there’s something here for everyone.

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Fully Automated Braille Translation with RoboBraille (Extra 72)

Sometimes, you just need a BRF file with no fuss, even though you know it might have the occasional error or won’t be formatted quite as you’d like.

RoboBraille is one solution to this problem. It works with a large variety of file formats including PDF, Microsoft Word and plain text, and converts them to braille within a matter of minutes. Best of all, it’s entirely online, so you don’t need to install anything. You can use it on computers even if you don’t have admin rights, smartphones, tablets and even braille notetakers.

Join us in this episode to find out:

  • When is fully automated translation appropriate (and when is it not)?
  • Translating files through the robobraille.org website
  • Translating files by emailing RoboBraille
  • How to evaluate the output
  • Where to find help
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