BRAILLE INSTRUCTION FOR SIGHTED PEOPLE/BRAILLE LITERACY
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind has created a "Grade One Braille Home Study Course" for sighted people; it covers using a brailler and slate and stylus, as well as the grade one letters, numbers and punctuation signs.
The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired has made two tutorials available for downloading. They are both designed for sighted people: Computerized Nemeth Code Tutor Computerized Braille Tutor for literary braille.
"Computer-Assisted Instruction for Learning the Code of Braille Mathematics" is a new Nemeth tutorial designed for sighted people. The software is available free from:
Research and Development Institute, Inc.Gaylen Kapperman, Director1732 RaintreeSycamore, IL 60178Phone: 815-895-3078Fax: 815-895-2448E-mail: gkapper@niu.edu
The National Library Service of the Library of Congress also offers a series of courses in braille transcription, leading to certification in braille transcribing and proofreading; they can be taken either in cooperation with a local transcribing agency (in Wisconsin, Volunteer Services for the Visually Handicapped or Volunteer Braillists and Tapists) or by correspondence.
The American Foundation for the Blind has created the Braille Bug, an interactive channel "created to teach sighted children [grades 3-6] about braille, and to encourage literacy among all children--sighted and visually impaired."
The Braille Trail: The American Foundation for the Blind has also created The Braille Trail, an information packet designed for sighted elementary schoolchildren who want to learn about braille reading, writing and mathematics. For more information, contact:
National Braille Literacy CenterAmerican Foundation for the Blind100 Peachtree Street, Suite 620Atlanta, GA 30303e-mail: literacy@afb.net
Braille Workbox: the Louis Braille Center has created the Braille Workbox, a four-part unit designed for sighted students in grades four to eight as an introduction to braille. It includes a biography of Louis Braille, an explanation of braille reading, braille writing materials and a complete short book in braille. The price is $25.00 plus $4.00 postage and handling. The Braille Box can be borrowed by registered users of the Wisconsin Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
The Louis Braille Center also sells "Signs and Rules of English Braille," a brief handbook to Grade 1 and 2 braille ($12.00).The Louis Braille Center320 Dayton St., Suite 125Edmonds, WA 98020-3590Phone: 425-776-4042Fax: 425-778-2384.
Teachers may want to combine the Braille Box with "Bits of Braille," a Braille study lesson plan for fourth through sixth grades that also deals with Helen Keller and American Sign Language.
BRL: Braille Through Remote Learning (Shodor Foundation): "A no-cost, on-line educational offering designed to provide braille training to educators, braillists, parents, and others who wish to become braille literate. Offering the RIGHT INSTRUCTION (all aspects of braille) at the RIGHT TIME (self-paced, ready when you are), at the RIGHT PLACE (work or home)." The courses are still available online, but instructor feedback is no longer provided [October 2002].
The American Foundation for the Blind has a broad array of resources for parent and teachers to promote braille literacy, including online issues of "Dots for Braille Literacy."
"Strategies and Resources for Teaching Braille to Adults," by Frances Mary D'Andrea is an excellent, compact collection of ideas for motivating students and helping them learn; it includes a carefully selected and annotated set of resources and textbooks. "Strategies" is available from the Information Center of the American Foundation for the Blind.Email: afbinfo@afb.org
"Beginning with Braille: Firsthand Experiences with a Balanced Approach to Literacy," by Anna M. Swenson is full of ideas and techniques for creating braille readers. New York: American Foundation for the Blind, 1998. 200 pp. ISBN: 0-89128-323-4 (Paperback). $27.95. The Foundation has a good list of braille literacy resources for parents.
"The Braille Connection: A Braille Reading and Writing Program for Former Print Users," produced by the American Printing House, is "designed to teach former adult and teenage print readers how to read braille, and how to adapt it to their lives."
"The Fast Track" is a combination braille, tape and print manual for learning braille ($39.95). Order from:Lois Wencil19 Parkview Dr.Milburn, NJ 07041.
Freedom Scientific offers a free downloadable tutorial in Nemeth Code, used for braille mathematics. The 18 self-study lessons are to be used with the Braille Lite.
The National Federation of the Blind also has a braille mentoring program to promote braille literacy.
National Braille Press publishes "A Braille Spelling Dictionary for Beginning Writers," which contains about 1,400 words, each one written in Grade 1 braille, Grade 2 braille and large print. It also contains a mini-thesaurus ($7.00).
The International Braille Research Center (IBRC) Resource Library is a collection of scholarly papers related to braille, many drawn from the "Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness." The papers will be more useful to teachers of braille than to learners.
The National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) has a new mailing list. To subscribe, send a message to listserv@nfb.org; leave the subject blank and in the body of the message put: subscribe napub-l. "The purpose of the list is twofold. First it is a means of communication between the members and supporters of NAPUB, to promote and discuss the activities of the Division. . . . Secondly, the list is intended to generally promote Braille, Braille literacy and the use of Braille generally."
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