Stephanie Sergeant – Braillecast

The Braillists at NFB 2023 (Episode 50)

The Braillists Foundation held a face-to-face meeting at the 83rd annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind at the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, Texas, in July 2023. Our Chairman, Dave Williams, was there with a microphone to soak up the atmosphere.

We spoke to:

Bristol Braille Technology CIC
Hable
A Cubed Design
Ka Li (consulting for National Network for Equitable Library Service and member of the Australia and New Zealand Accessible Graphics Group (ANZAGG) and the EBraille Tactile Graphics Taskforce)
Marco Salsiccia, Senior Native Mobile Accessibility Coach at DEQ Systems and owner of the Blind SVG Study Guide
Danielle Montour, volunteer Braille and Tactile Literacy Educator at the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, New York
A. T. Guys and Blind Bargains

With thanks to the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library for allowing us the use of their room for our meeting.

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Using Braille Displays with Phones and Tablets (Episode 45)

The Braillists Foundation recently held its first face-to-face event since the Coronavirus pandemic. In this episode, we catch up with some of the people who attended, and we also hear recordings of the three presentations which took place:

Reading multilingual text using an iPhone, the Kindle app and a Focus 14
Text entry with an iPhone and a Brailliant BI40X
Reading books with an iPhone, the Kindle app and an Orbit Reader 20

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How to Choose your Braille Display (Extra 21)

We were delighted to be joined by renowned braille display expert Jackie Brown. Jackie is a freelance writer, regular reviewer of braille technology, and author of “Braille On Display” (published by Mosen Consulting), a comprehensive comparison of braille displays and guide to choosing the right one.

On Tuesday 20 April 2021, Jackie talked us through the process of choosing a braille display. She outlined which factors to consider and why, and the key features of the braille displays which are currently on the market. If you’ve ever wondered “Which braille display is the best one?” you are sure to have the answer at the end of this session.

For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Dr Robert Englebretson on the International Phonetic Alphabet (Episode 25)

Based in Houston, Texas, Dr Robert Englebretson is widely recognised for his contribution to braille research. In 2008, his work on updating the Braille International Phonetic Alphabet was published by the International Council on English Braille, and in 2019 the Braille Authority of North America made him a recipient of the Darleen Bogart Braille Excellence Award in recognition of this work.

More recently, in his role as Associate Professor of Linguistics at Rice University, he has begun to tackle misconceptions around how students learn to read and write braille from the perspective of the cognitive sciences, with a large research project due to be completed in 2024.

On Friday 3 June, we caught up with Robert as part of our series of Stay Safe: Stay Connected conference calls, and we started by asking him to describe the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Links of Interest

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An Introduction to the Abacus (Extra 9)

What is an Abacus and why would you use one? In this session, led by James Bowden, participants learnt about the various features of the Abacus and why it is ideal for use as a blind person.

The session covered:

Physical description and orientation
The beads and their meaning
Setting numbers
Basic addition
Overflows and carries

If you have an Abacus, you might find it helpful to have it with you so that you can follow along.

This session was recorded on Tuesday 8 December 2020. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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