Speaker: Theo Holroyd

CSUN Round-Up 2024 (Episode 54)

The 39th CSUN Assistive Technology Conference took place from 18 to 22 March in Anaheim, California, hosted by the Centre on Disabilities, Division of Student Affairs at California State University, Northridge. There were many exciting braille product announcements at the conference, and the latest prototypes of previously announced braille products were also exhibited.

In this episode, we are joined by a panel of braille experts who attended the conference. They will help us unpack the announcements and share their thoughts on the products they saw.

If you are planning to attend any of the Sight Village exhibitions in the UK, this episode will help you decide which products you might like to see for yourself.

Products discussed in this episode:

On the panel:

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Braille Technology Throughout the Ages (Episode 47)

This episode focusses on braille technology: its past, present and future. We are joined by historians, people working in the braille technology industry today and developers of the next generation of braille hardware and software.

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Introducing Linux (Extra 48)

Linux: it powers everything from laptops to toasters, braille displays to coasters. You may have heard of the world’s most popular operating system if you follow technology related news, but what is it and how do you get started exactly?

In the second of our computer science themed Masterclasses, we explored how to get started using Linux with technologies that you’ll already be familiar with. We started by getting access to a test system to experiment with, then introduced everyone to a few basic commands that allowed us to perform some basic tasks.

For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Festive Fun: More Christmas Pictures with a Perkins Brailler (Extra 47)

In our last Masterclass before the Christmas break, we’re delighted that Kim Charlson, Executive Director of the Perkins Library (part of Perkins School for the Blind), was able to join us again. 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 Christmas-themed drawings 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 festive pictures made entirely of braille dots!

And don’t worry: if you heard Kim’s excellent session last year, this year’s pictures are brand new!

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JAWS and Braille: A Closer Look (Extra 29)

In Using Braille on Windows, we introduced you to the basics of making a braille display work with various screen readers. In this session, we took this to the next level in the first of an occasional series of Masterclasses looking at the braille settings of a particular screen reader.

This time it was JAWS. There are lots of settings and we weren’t able to cover all of them in an hour, so instead we reviewed some of the most common questions we’re asked, found the settings that relate to them, and explained what they do.

We covered:

  • Adding and selecting your braille display
  • Choosing your braille code and grade
  • Status cells and their use in structured mode
  • Reversing panning buttons and panning by paragraph
  • Using JAWS Braille In ™

This session was recorded on Tuesday 6 July 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.



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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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Notetaking: Making Notes for Yourself (Extra 16)

Led by Holly Scott-Gardner, this session looked at how to take effective notes in braille for your own personal use. We covered increasing your speed when note taking, ways to organise your notes and the tools that you may wish to use.

This session was recorded on Tuesday 2 March 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Notetaking: Making Notes for Others (Extra 15)

If you are required to take notes as part of a team, whether that’s in a meeting or for group projects, this session is for you! Led by Matthew Horspool, it guides you through using braille to take notes that are also visually accessible. We talked specifically about taking notes using a braille display, and writing Markdown in braille to format your notes.

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

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Braille for Public Speaking (Extra 14)

Led by Holly Scott-Gardner, this session guided participants through using braille to present more effectively, especially useful if you need to deliver speeches for work, school, or as part of one of your interests. We covered writing a presentation script, using cue cards and the best way to set up your braille display or hard copy braille when speaking.

This session was recorded on Tuesday 16 February 2021. For further information please visit the Braillists Foundation Media Page.

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Using Braille as a Presentation Tool (Extra 13)

Led by Holly Scott-Gardner, this session covered using a braille display with Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides. We guided you through how braille output works with these applications and the ways in which braille output can enable you to deliver more effective presentations.

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

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