Podcasts about braille authority

We start this episode in conversation with Maria Stevens, Chair of the Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust. We find out more about the work of BANZAT, the standards it has created and how it is helping to promote braille across New Zealand. We also discover more about the relationship between BANZAT and the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities. Afterwards, we catch up with Chantelle Griffiths, a familiar voice to many Braillecast listeners. She is also a BANZAT trustee and responsible for a new and exciting course to train blind people to become braille transcribers.

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

Getting tactile diagrams at University is often not as easy as it should be. However, the Open University has an excellent reputation for accessibility, and has developed robust processes for students to request diagrams and for those diagrams to be designed and produced. This session was presented jointly by Jeff Bashton, former Visual Impairment Adviser at the Open University; and Andrew Whitehead, Graphics Media Developer within the OU's Learner and Discovery Services. It briefly outlined what the Open University is, before explaining what gave rise to the tactile diagrams initiative and how it was developed. Andrew illustrated how diagrams are prioritised, and described the tools and techniques he uses to design and produce them. We learnt how these techniques are applied to standard graphs and charts, as well as more complex images such as a cross-section of part of the brain! If you are currently studying at University, or thinking of starting a University course soon, this session serves as a case study of how Universities can provide effective support in this area. We gave details of DSA funding models at the end of the presentation. If you are interested in tactile diagrams in general, this session offered valuable insights into the tools and techniques available and the reasons for choosing them. Decision Tree: Deciding if a Tactile Diagram is Necessary Start Is the information a repeat of the facts? Yes: go to 5. No: go to 3. Would the information be more meaningful in text form? Yes: go to 6. No: go to 4. Return to 2. Does the graphic require the reader to use visual discrimination or visual perception? Yes: go to 7. No: go to 8. Return to 3. Do not produce graphic. Return to 2. Create a figure description. Do not produce a graphic. Return to 3. Modify the graphic. Return to 4. Is the actual object unavailable, too small, too large, or too dangerous to examine by touch and perceived details? Yes: go to 11. No: go to 9. Return to 4. Does the reader need the information from a map, figure or graph to complete an assessment/task or to participate in discussions and/or answer questions? Yes: go to 11. No: go to 10. Return to 8. Do not produce graphic. Return to 9. Produce graphic. Return to 8. Return to 9. Tactile Diagram Transcribers A2I All Formats Pia RNIB Business Services RNIB Personal Transcription Services Scottish Braille Press Swansea University Transcription Centre University of Leeds Equality and Inclusion Unit Sources of Tactile Diagrams RNIB Bookshare - Accessible Images APH Tactile Graphic Image Library (TGIL) National Braille Press (NBP) Tactile Images and Maps from the Lighthouse for the Blind, San Francisco Sources of Swell Paper and Heat Fusers HumanWare Swell Form Machine Sight and Sound PIAF Tactile Image Printer HumanWare Swell Touch Markers HumanWare Swell Touch Paper A4 100 sheets HumanWare Swell Touch Paper A3 100 sheets Sight and Sound PIAF Swell Paper Braillists Consumables page Other Links of Interest Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics from the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) Inkscape Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment Tactile Reading Conference 2025 Visio Tactual Profile and Feel Free

Kia ora Mosen At Largers. A reminder that this podcast is indexed by chapter. If you listen with a podcast client that offers chapter support, you can easily skip between segments. We also make transcripts available, thanks to sponsorship by Pneuma Solutions, a global leader in accessible cloud technologies. Visit them on the web at . You can find the transcripts on our website at Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Intro and some notes for new listeners,0:00.000 Mathieu Paquette and Dominic Labbe from HumanWare discuss the Victor Reader Stream Third Generation,1:43.692 Statement from New Zealand's Braille Authority on always capitalising the word Braille ,52:57.572 Apple Watch Ultra,55:30.099 BARD and Zoom now on the BlindshellClassic 2,1:01:04.515 Pneuma Solutions bringing RIM to the Mac,1:02:25.500 The blind community could reinvent visual interpretation,1:03:42.563 Envision announces a range of price points for its glasses,1:11:10.143 Bar refuses to serve a woman because she's blind and has no carer,1:18:22.271 The Bonnie Bulletin says hi to 212,1:31:53.271 She's here! She's here!,1:33:52.148 How we ended up with our SunStream Evolve 10 infrared Sauna,1:41:22.036 The Qardio Arm blood pressure monitor,1:48:52.285 The Shure MV7,1:53:29.134 Brailliant follow-up,1:55:11.116 Mastodon, Cricket and Internet radio",1:56:01.126 Closing and Contact info,2:00:14.661 Share your thoughts on these topics or any others. Drop me an email in writing or with an audio attachment, Jonathan at MushroomFm.com, or phone the listener line in the United States, +1864-60Mosen, that's +18646066736. Keep up with Mosen At Large between episodes. Follow MosenAtLarge on Twitter where you'll get audio extras, links to interesting news stories, sneak peeks about what's coming up and more. If you'd like to subscribe to our announcements only email list, please send email to And if you like the show, we'd love a positive review and for you to spread the word. Thank you.

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 ... Read more

Check out the latest episode of Outlook where we speak with Natalie Martiniello and Jen Goulden from Braille Literacy Canada (BLC) as they celebrate thirty years. They discuss the early influence of braille literacy in their lives, how Braille Authority of North America (BANA) made Canada realize we needed something of our own, and what our guests believe is the future of braille in the literacy of Canadians who are blind and visually impaired. In January, the month of Louis Braille's birth, Natalie and Jen share their bilingual perspective, while explaining the unique connection to Mr. Braille that French-Canada holds close to its heart. What is Braille Literacy Canada and how is BLC at the forefront of the education into the value of braille in this country? To learn more, check out the official website at: http://www.brailleliteracycanada.ca

This episode features an interview with Darleen Bogart, CNIB National Braille Convenor and long-time representative on the BANA Board. She looks back at the establishment of and early days of the Braille Authority of North America in 1976. Darleen reflects on the composition of BANA, projects and means of communication over the years. She brings the history of BANA forward and updates us on her current activities.

Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired opened its doors in 1903, and is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Clovernook's Braille Printing House has been in operation since 1914, when a printing press was donated to the organization. Braille production has evolved considerably over the years, and today Clovernook is a global producer of braille – over 20 million pages of braille are shipped to libraries and individuals each year. Much of Clovernook's work is on a contractual basis with the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), Library of Congress, which provides accessible materials to their patrons. Clovernook also produces a number of additional publications, as well as menus, business cards, calendars, and other assorted braille items. A recent addition to Clovernook's services is an Arts & Accessibility Initiative which subsidizes the production of accessible materials for cultural institutions. At Clovernook, each step of the braille production process is able to be performed in-house – this includes scanning, transcription, proofreading, embossing, binding, and shipping. Clovernook is also a founding member of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA). NLS has offered braille transcription courses and professional certifications since the 1960s. These courses are available free of charge to any citizen or resident of the United States, function as an industry requirement for many state and federal braille production contracts, and aim to ensure that braille transcribers and proofreaders are familiar with the established rules and guidelines of braille codes used in the United States. In November 2012, Unified English Braille (UEB) was adopted by BANA's United States members and implementation began in January 2016. Prior to UEB, English Braille American Edition (EBAE) and Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation (Nemeth) were the braille codes used for producing braille materials in the United States. As NLS began updating its courses to reflect the new code, it was determined that a new course was needed. The Literary Braille Transcribing course focused on teaching the basics of how to transcribe “literary” materials – it did not address the transcription of mathematics or technical subjects. Moreover, with the adoption of UEB and retention of Nemeth, two viable mathematic codes were now official in the United States – however the Nemeth certification course was the only NLS course that covered mathematics. In the fall of 2016, under contract with NLS, Clovernook began developing the Technical Braille Transcribing course – an NLS certification course for the transcription of mathematics and technical materials using UEB.

Jennifer Dunnam, former president of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) and Manager of Braille Programs at NLS, outlined the progress leading to the transition from EBAE to UEB.

Show Summary: State Services for the Blind hosted a Career Expo for high school and college students who are blind, low vision, or DeafBlind . The event took place on Saturday, April 27. Throughout the Expo students had the opportunity to: Connect with adults with a vision loss from a variety of professions and careers. Hear from college representatives about what college is like. Learn why diversity matters from an employer’s point of view. Share and learn about assistive technology Sign up for individual informational and/or mock interviews. In this interview, Jeff Thompson caught up with Jennifer Dunnam: Jennifer Dunnam Manager of Braille Programs, National Federation of the Blind Jennifer Dunnam coordinates the national program leading to certification by the Library of Congress for braille transcribers and proofreaders. She is the chair of the Braille Authority of North America and serves as the treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. She enjoys traveling, politics and history, collecting vinyl records, and exploring the walking trails around the Metro area. If you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. To find your State Services in your State you can go to www.AFB.org and search the directory for your agency. Contact: Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, the Job Insights Support Groupand the Assistive Technology Community for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

This podcast is an overview of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA). Sandy Ruconich, Vice-chair of BANA, is interviewed so you can learn a little about our organization: who we are, what we do, and how long we've been around. BANA is the standard-setting body with regard to braille codes and formatting guidelines for both literary and technical material. It makes the rules for how braille is written and formatted in the U.S. and Canada.

1549 The New Unified English Braille (Dec. 2, 2015) Show Notes Readers of Braille have probably heard of the new UEB or Unified English Braille code by now. This week hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey talk with Jennifer Dunnam, Chairperson of the Braille Authority of North America, about what prompted these changes to the Braille … Continue reading 1549 The New Unified English Braille (Dec. 2, 2015) →