Author: Matthew Horspool

Do you struggle when controlling your iOS or Android smartphone? Is text entry slow and cumbersome using the touch screen? Or, are you tired of having to carry a large external device around with you just to use your phone?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes then you need to meet the Hable One. This tiny Bluetooth keyboard allows you to fully control your smartphone and enter text using contracted and uncontracted Unified English Braille.

What’s more, the device will fit in your pocket and has enough battery to last weeks!

Come along and find out why we are so excited about this great little gadget, and, if you like what you hear and see, you can avail of a 15% discount on the night!

Please register in advance: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5FMPSrraSkqKioP1LL-wLg

The Braillists Foundation is thrilled to announce that it is now accepting registrations for “Braille for Beginners On-Demand”, the most recent iteration of its highly acclaimed remote braille tuition. This innovative and accessible programme will equip blind and partially sighted adults with the skills to read and write braille letters, numbers and punctuation, promoting unparalleled levels of independence and raising their confidence and self-esteem.

Dave Williams, Chairman of the Braillists and himself blind since birth, said: “For me, there is no greater privilege than being able to read bedtime stories to my son. Without braille, I’m certain I would not be able to do this. I’m therefore delighted that we are able to mark National Braille Week at the Braillists by unlocking the world of reading by touch for so many people who have never had the opportunity before.”

The course will be delivered by highly qualified tutors with extensive experience of teaching braille to adults who are losing their sight, and is offered at no charge. Hard copy resources will be provided by post to anyone living in the UK, and peer support and 1:1 assistance from the tutors will be available by email and monthly support sessions on Zoom, with a telephone dial-in option for those with limited or no access to the internet.

Further details and the registration form can be found at www.braillists.org/beginners

Please join us this Tuesday (15 November) at 7:30PM UK time for what promises to be an incredibly informative panel discussion around writing software and working in the technology industry in general when using a braille display.

We’ll be hearing from people in a variety of different IT rolls about the techniques they use, when they use braille and when they use speech, along with leaving plenty of time for your questions.

You can register for the event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpcO-sqzktG9TvgYRqSttK4_cqV7zNAiby

To join by telephone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 824 7645 2710
• Passcode: 123456

Join us for our now traditional Braille and Beer event after Sight Village London, starting shortly after the event finishes (between 6:00 PM and 6:30 PM).

Address: Prince of Wales, 8 Kensington Church Street, London, W8 4EP

Call 020 3893 3392 for assistance on the day.

If you’re attending Sight Village London, why not also pop along to see us at the exhibition? Thanks to generous sponsorship from Bristol Braille Technology CIC, the Braillists Foundation will have its own stand where we will be promoting the work of the organisation. We would love to catch up with people who we’ve met virtually on Zoom over the past few years.

N.B. Braille and Beer replaces online events this Tuesday.

When: 10:30 AM-12:30 PM Monday mornings, term time

Where: Adult Learning Lewisham, to Brockley Rise, SE23

Further details: our class is very flexible, people come to learn the basics of braille and learn at their own pace. We encourage people to find ways that braille can help them in their lives, some of our learners want to read their medication, label things in their homes or play braille card games/board games and others go on to read novels. We have a section at the end of each lesson where we share experiences of sight loss and discuss assistive technology, audio description and other related topics. We are very supportive and if learners are unable to attend due to illness or travel issues we can do tuition over the phone instead. Many people qualify for the class with no fee depending on the type of benefits they receive and others pay a subsidised fee for the class.

Visit the website for more information.

Contact: Sarah Matthews, 07813 389250

Since 2020, the Braillists Foundation has helped over 250 people learn braille through its revolutionary Braille for Beginners programme. Taught remotely by expert braille tutors, it has increased the independence of dozens of blind and partially sighted adults by teaching them to read the entire braille alphabet, numbers and punctuation, and equipping them with the skills to develop their braille writing.

We are now ready to lift the lid on the next phase of this pioneering project, which will allow us to reach hundreds more blind and partially sighted people who wish to learn to read braille by touch. We will be holding a special launch event for this new course during National Braille Week, and we’d love to see you there!

At the event, you will hear first-hand from the people who put the course together, alongside past participants and established braille users. We will demonstrate the profound impact that braille has had on the lives of people who have learnt it and explain how this new incarnation of Braille for Beginners will work.

Join us on Zoom at 7:00 PM BST on Monday 10 October and help us change the lives of blind and partially sighted people.

https://is.gd/4E2SvF

There are two well-known braille keyboards on the market today, the Orbit Writer and the Hable One. What are the similarities? What are the differences? Which one would suit your needs best?

This Tuesday at 7:30 PM, we’ll be joined by a user of each keyboard. They will tell us more about how their preferred keyboard works and why they like it, and we will learn how they compare against each other.

You can register for the event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpcO-sqzktG9TvgYRqSttK4_cqV7zNAiby

To join by telephone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 824 7645 2710
• Passcode: 123456

In 1992, the Gardner’s Trust for the Blind established an annual competition, designed to encourage the use of Braille music amongst students up to the age of 19 in the UK. 30 years on, the tests have been revised and are now open to people of all ages.

RNIB administers the awards which test reading, understanding and performing from memory. There are five levels of Braille Music Literacy Award. All candidates receive a report and a certificate of entry and the best entrant reaching the required standard at each level is given a prize ranging from £10 to £50.

The tests offer music Braillists a chance to have their efforts rewarded, a chance to have their specialist skills assessed and a chance to show their musical independence.

Tests are to be held from October 2022 to February 2023 at a location to suit the candidate. Online tests are also possible.

Specimen tests, general regulations and requirements in Braille and print are available from the Music Advisory Service.

For further details or to request the information pack and application form, please contact [email protected].

The DAISY Consortium, in association with the American Printing House for the Blind, has established a working group for the development of the Enhanced Braille Ready Format (EBRF). For more information and to join the working group, visit the EBRF page on the DAISY website.

Braille Buddies
Our friendly Braille-learning Group

Calling parents of visually impaired children.

Come to this special session so that you can learn braille and teach your children.

Meeting Room 1 (first floor)
Dagenham Heathway Library

23rd September 2022
10:30 – 12:30

For more information, please contact:
Dean Apps
Visual Rehabilitation Worker
Sensory Team
Disability Service
Care and Support
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Room F01
Dagenham Library,
1 Church Elm Lane,
Dagenham,
Essex.
RM10 9QS
Phone: 07812 999648
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.barking-dagenham.gov.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/barkinganddagenham
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbbdcouncil