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.
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
USB, or Universal Serial Bus, has been a feature of braille displays for over twenty years. Originally a standard for connectivity, it has evolved over time to also provide power and charging capabilities. However, if USB is supposed to be Universal, why are some chargers faster than others, and why won’t some chargers and cables work at all?
On Tuesday 29 October 2024, we unravelled the answer to this far from straightforward question. Along the way, we covered:
A brief history of USB
Common USB connecters and how to tell the difference between them
How and when the USB cable you use may impact performance
What happens behind the scenes when you connect your braille display to a USB charger
What to look for when buying replacement cables and chargers
Whether or not a power bank is a viable solution for charging your braille display on the go
Things to try if your braille display won’t charge
The session was presented by Mobeen Iqbal from Taira Technology, an independent provider of bespoke and specialist hardware, software and support solutions. Mo has over fifteen years’ experience working with hardware of all shapes and sizes, from custom-built desktop and laptop computers to TV set top boxes and remote controls, and has a passion for improving the ease of use of technology for blind and partially sighted people.
There are trade offs with having replacements batteries. In addition most braille displays have to have a medical certification which also plays a big role on deciding a replacement battery.
EU parliament has voted on a law that will require User replaceable batteries. I believe this should be in force by 2027. From a HumanWare perspective, we want to ensure products have a good life battery span and made light. An approach like the BI 20x where the battery is replaceable but held with two Phillips screw. We also have to consider battery collaboration. To respond to the medical certification, I will try and get a response from our team on this. This is a really good discussion.
Braillecast
Untangling the Wires: Why Connecting and Charging your Braille Display with USB Doesn't Always Work (Extra 79)
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.
iOS and iPad OS 18, released on Monday 16 September, include the biggest refresh of Braille Screen Input since the feature was first introduced in iOS 8. Although you can, for the most part, still use Braille Screen Input as you always have done, the new functionality in Apple’s latest flagship operating systems is a source of much excitement throughout the blind community and will almost certainly take your Braille Screen Input experience to the next level.
Join us in this episode as Matthew Horspool talks us through what’s new.
Summary of New Features
New gestures for entering and exiting: double tap the far edges of the screen with two fingers to enter. To exit, pinch outwards or inwards, or perform a two finger scrub. BSI is also still available in the rotor and if this is enabled, the rotor gesture still works to exit, but it does not work if BSI is removed from the rotor.
You can now braille a for sign.
There are keyboard clicks and haptics during text entry, the same as those for the QWERTY on-screen keyboard.
When searching for apps on the home screen, you can now use grade 2.
You now have access to a Braille Item Chooser from within Braille Screen Input. It works in a similar way to searching for apps on the home screen, but functions within apps.
You can now enter Braille Screen Input automatically when encountering a text field.
Braille Screen Input now uses the Braille Table options in Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver, Braille to determine whether input is contracted, uncontracted etc. Swipe up with two fingers to change braille table.
There is a new Command Mode, accessible via a three finger swipe left or right from within Braille Screen Input, or a tripple tap with two fingers at the far edges of the screen from elsewhere. Gestures in Command Mode are akin to braille display commands with the space bar held down, e.g. type the letter h in Command Mode to go to the home screen. You can also move the cursor and perform text selection with one finger and two finger swipe gestures.
When using the Braille Item Chooser or searching for apps on the home screen using Braille Screen Input, you can opt to remain in Command Mode when swiping right with two fingers rather than exiting Braille Screen Input altogether.
When in Command Mode, if the setting to enter Braille Screen Input when encountering a text box is enabled, VoiceOver will automatically switch from Command Mode to Braille Entry Mode when a text box is encountered.
There are new sounds for entering and exiting Braille Screen Input, calibrating the dots and changing between Command Mode and Braille Entry Mode.
There is now a setting to determine whether translated text appears on the screen whilst Braille Screen Input is active.
All Braille Screen Input gesture assignments, plus the assignments for entering Braille Screen Input, can be customised.
Braille Screen Input now supports Japanese braille.
N.B. if the master toggle for VoiceOver sounds is switched off in Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver, Sounds and Haptics, the new Braille Screen Input sounds will not play.
Do you need an easy way to identify your shampoo from your hair removal cream? Do you want to avoid accidentally feeding dog food to your dinner guests—again? Does your granddaughter complain that you’ve covered up the print label on her favourite midnight snack with your “special dots”?
Our sense of touch can give us much more information about our environment than we may think. Naturally, there’s braille, but how else can we use this powerful tactile sense to make things easier at home and further afield?
In this Masterclass, Matthew Horspool and Chantelle Griffiths joined forces to take you on a tactile journey to help you master your sense of touch for the simple, yet powerful purpose of identification and marking.
They covered:
How everyday office stationery can save your sanity when travelling.
How a simple rubber band can turn nightmare neighbours into amicable allies.
How to use braille in fun and creative ways, even if you’re not yet a confident braillist.
Why you need to own hair ties, even if you have no hair to tie.
How texture and orientation work together to create a customisable system for identification that anyone can use.
And so much more!
Whether you’re newer to sight loss or blind since birth, there’s something here for everyone. Join us to learn how to level up your tactile marking skills, and create unforgettable experiences for yourself and others, for all the right reasons.
Braillecast
Beyond Bump-Ons: Creative Approaches to Tactile Marking (Extra 76)
This session, presented by Saima Akhtar, is designed to give you a Whistlestop tour of the fundamentals of Arabic braille. Rest assured, it’s not nearly as complicated as you think. By the end of the session, you will have more insight into the following areas:
The origins of Arabic braille
Common misconceptions around the structure and layout of Arabic braille
How the Arabic alphabet is constructed (here we will tackle the puzzling conundrum surrounding how to identify consonants and vowels)
Next steps for anybody looking to learn more after the session
Please note, it will be much easier to follow along if you have a grasp of grade one English braille as Saima will refer to similarities between English and Arabic braille throughout the session.
Many braille displays include an SD or Micro SD card slot. However, when it comes to purchasing a suitable card, there are so many options! Which is best, and which work with your braille display?
In this session, we were joined by friend of the Braillists Ben Mustill-Rose to help make sense of them. He covered:
According to its website, “BrailleBlaster™ is a braille transcription program developed by the American Printing House for the Blind to help transcribers provide blind students with braille textbooks on the first day of class.” It uses markup from source documents to automate formatting, and provides “tools to make advanced tasks quicker and easier.”
Although it is “Designed primarily for editing textbooks that meet the specifications published by the Braille Authority of North America,” the adoption of Unified English Braile in most English-speaking countries makes it suitable for use in a wide variety of applications in many parts of the world. It is free of charge and compatible with virtually all braille embossers.
On Tuesday 20 February 2024, we were delighted to be joined by two representatives from APH to introduce us to BrailleBlaster and demonstrate some of its features:
Willow Free is the Tactile Technology Product Manager and based in the United States
Michael Whapples is the Lead Developer of BrailleBlaster and based in the United Kingdom
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
Braillecast
Fully Automated Braille Translation with RoboBraille (Extra 72)
Following our exploration of braille translators during National Braille Week, we were delighted to be joined by esteemed assistive technology pioneer Dean Martineau. Dean is a long term braille user and has spent many years developing his own personal braille shorthand system.
In this Masterclass, Dean introduced us to the Biblos braille translator and demonstrated how he uses it to translate text into his personalised shorthand system. He also covered some more conventional uses of the program and compared it with other free translators on the market, including Send to Braille and Sao Mai Braille.
Braillecast
Free Braille Translators: Biblos, Sao Mai Braille and Send to Braille (Extra 71)
