Latest News
- Braille Bar on Tuesday
Our popular Braille Bar returns this Tuesday at 7:30 PM. No question is too small, from kit to code – just ask and our experts will assist you!
Or, to join by phone, use these details:
- Phone number: 0131 460 1196
- Meeting ID: 880 3508 8878
- Passcode: 123456
- Simplifying Tactile Graphics with TactileView, Tuesday 13 May at 5:00 PM
Discover how easy creating tactile graphics can be with TactileView, the leading tactile design software—now included with HumanWare’s Romeo 60 and Juliet 120 embossers. Join Peter Tucic and Andrew Flatres as they guide you through key features and demonstrate how to produce high-quality tactile graphics with ease.
- RNIB makes Channel Islands stop on UK ‘Braille and Beyond’ library tour to celebrate two hundredth anniversary of braille, Wednesday 21 May, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Blind and partially sighted people are invited to gather at Jersey library to share how braille and other reading technology has impacted their lives.
Blind and partially sighted people will gather at Jersey Library in St Helier on May 21 to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the invention of braille.
The event which runs from 9am-3pm is being organised by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and is a stop on a year-long RNIB ‘Braille and Beyond’ UK tour of libraries to mark the landmark anniversary.
Staff from RNIB and EyeCan, Guide Dogs, Jersey Library Service, and LEGO will be present to discuss the importance of braille, share tips and technologies and connect blind and partially sighted people from the local community.
RNIB staff will talk about the history and development of braille and how its use is being transformed by modern technology. Eyecan staff will talk about their vital support services and there will be a chance to check our sets of groundbreaking LEGO braille bricks. There will also be a tactile art exhibition in the library to coincide with the event.
James Bowden, RNIB’s Braille Technical Officer who is blind and a lifelong braille user, said: “Braille is reading designed for our fingers just like print is designed for our eyes. It’s a vital tool that helps blind and partially sighted people lead fulfilled lives. Braille readers are more likely to be employed than blind people who don’t read braille and this highlights a critical need to expand braille education, ensuring that more children with vision impairment and adults with sight loss can benefit from this powerful tool.
“Supporting braille education and resources is a crucial step towards an inclusive society. We’re doing the RNIB Braille and Beyond tour to celebrate the story of braille so far and it will be up to blind and partially sighted people across the UK to write the next chapter.”
Mark Coxshall, Chief Executive Officer for EYECAN, said, “We are delighted that partners from the RNIB will be travelling to Jersey to celebrate this fantastic milestone for braille. The event provides an opportunity to showcase the strong joint working with national charities such as RNIB, but also more locally with government teams and the third sector. Promoting inclusive social environments for islanders living with sight loss remains a priority, alongside being able to share information and support regarding our services available on the island.”
Ed Jewell, Chief Librarian at Jersey Library, said: “We are pleased to be part of the RNIB’s 200th anniversary of the invention of Braille, as we seek to provide a library service that is accessible to everyone who lives in Jersey, including those with vision impairments. To that end, Jersey Library has large collections of audio books on CD and online, free to borrow or download with a Jersey Library card. We also have books available in large print in our libraries and ebooks with adjustable sized print available via gov.je/library. Aside from books to borrow, our libraries are key hubs for community information and events like this are a great opportunity for us to work with partners in the third sector, like EYECAN and the RNIB, to help ensure their invaluable services and support are as widely promoted and appreciated as possible.”
For any inquiries about the event please contact EYECAN on 01534 864689 or email – [email protected]
All media enquiries including interview requests to 0207 391 2223 or [email protected]. For urgent enquiries out-of-hours, please call 07968 482812.
For more information about the Braille and Beyond tour contact RNIB’s Library Liaison Officer, Lara Marshall on [email protected].
For more information about the braille courses and resources RNIB offers, please go online to www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/education-and-learning/braille-tactile-codes/learning-braille/#:~:text=RNIB%20braille%20resources%20can%20help%20anyone%20learn%20to%20read%20braille.
The Braille and Beyond events are made possible thanks to the support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, which supports RNIB through funds awarded by Postcode Care Trust.
About Braille 200
Louis Braille was in his teens in the mid-1820s when he began developing the six-dot tactile reading system that enables millions of blind and partially sighted people around the world to access the power of literacy. From September 2024, RNIB is leading a year of celebrations across the UK to recognise the bicentenary of the braille code; braille continues to unlock access to countless opportunities in education, employment and independent living.
Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, RNIB and its partners will highlight braille’s versatility for representing written language and technical subjects, enabling blind and partially sighted people to learn, work and play.
Despite its proven benefits, misconceptions about braille persist. Braille 200 affords us an opportunity to dispel some of those myths. Braille remains crucial in a world increasingly reliant on digital information. It complements audio technology and ensures independent and efficient access to detailed and personal information such as recipes, medication packaging and greetings cards. You do not have to be blind from birth nor super intelligent, braille can be empowering at any age.
About RNIB
We are the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Every six minutes, someone in the UK begins to lose their sight. RNIB is taking a stand against exclusion, inequality and isolation to create a world without barriers where people with sight loss can lead full lives. A different world where society values blind and partially sighted people not for the disabilities they’ve overcome, but for the people they are. RNIB. See differently.
Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk
- Braille and Beyond at Bath Library, Thursday 12 June, 10:00 AM-3:00 PM
Bath Library is partnering up with RNIB and the Braillists Foundation to celebrate 200 years since the invention of braille! We’d love to invite you to a special event where braille books, equipment and technology will be shown and talked about, the value of braille in day-to-day life and how it’s just as important now as it was 200 years ago. There will also be a chance to ask any questions about braille or sight loss.
- Learn Braille at Croydon Vision, Fridays, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Unlock the world of touch reading with our braille course! Whether you’re a beginner or looking to enhance your skills, this course will teach you the fundamentals of braille.
Every Friday 11am-1pm at Bedford Hall, 72-74 Wellesley Road, Croydon, CR0 2AR
Book by calling 02086882486/07395247699 or emailing [email protected]
- Braille and Me: from “The Documentary” on the BBC World Service
Personal stories from Braille users around the world and how this very simple invention of six little dots continues to transform lives.
Built around a game of Braille Scrabble, Emma Tracey presents a celebration of Braille, 200 years after it was invented. Emma, who’s been blind since birth, talks to others who love the six tiny dots: Geerat Vermeij, one of the world’s leading experts in molluscs; Yetnebersh Nigussie, an Ethiopian lawyer, who describes her blindness as ‘a lottery I won at the age of 5’; Sheri Wells-Jensen, a linguistics professor who’s been a linguistic consultant on Star Trek and is on the US advisory board for messaging extra-terrestrial intelligence; Japanese concert pianist, Nobuyuki Tsujii, who learnt to play using Braille music; and Emma’s friend and Scrabble partner, Ellie. And there’s a chance encounter with the most famous Braille user of them all, Stevie Wonder. But can Braille survive with the ever-increasing supply of tech that allows blind people to listen to, rather than feel, information?
- New experiences at their fingertips — Harvard Gazette
Our Chairman, Dave Williams, commends this article to you.
- Braille Experts – Invitation to participate in study
A message from Aasha Rose
Dear Colleague,
You are warmly invited to participate in a research study exploring the relationship between braille literacy and the quality of life for people with blindness or low vision. This study is being conducted by Aasha Rose, a PhD student at the University of Southern Queensland.
Purpose of the Study
The aim of this research is to understand how braille literacy influences key aspects of life, such as independence, social engagement, and personal well-being, for individuals who learned braille during their school years. Your insights will help us explore and refine tools for assessing braille literacy, contributing to the development of improved educational practices and outcomes.
Duration of Participation
There are 2 parts to this study. You can choose to be involved in one or both parts.
The online survey should take 15-30 minutes and can be accessed here: Online Survey. The survey asks for your expert opinion on the necessary components of an adult self-administered braille literacy assessment.
Participants are also required for a more in-depth interview. This interview should take 30-60 minutes. The purpose of the interview includes gathering your expert opinion on teacher led assessments of braille literacy.
Why Your Participation Matters
Your expertise and insights are invaluable to this research. By participating, you will contribute to advancing understanding and practices in braille literacy assessment, helping to improve educational opportunities and quality of life for people with blindness or low vision.
If you would like to participate in the interview or have any questions, please obtain a Participation Information Sheet and Consent form by emailing [email protected].
Thank you for considering this opportunity to contribute to meaningful research. Please feel free to share this advertisement with colleagues who may also be interested in participating.
Warm regards,
Aasha Rose (she/her)
PhD Candidate
University of Southern Queensland
[email protected]
0419 832 586
ORCID
University of Southern Queensland | Queensland | 4300 | Australia- Software Version 1.6 is now available for Orbit Speak
Greetings from Orbit Research!
We are pleased to announce the availability of a new software update, version 1.6 for the Orbit Speak notetaker. This update adds quite a few major new features and changes both for Orbit Speak Standard as well as for Orbit Speak Plus customers.
The update can be installed by using the automatic software update feature built into the Orbit Speak. Instructions on performing this process are provided below.
New features/changes
The following is a list of the new features and enhancements that are available in this update:
Podcast application for Plus customers
We are happy to introduce a long-awaited feature to the Orbit Speak, a podcast application.
This application allows you to subscribe, listen to, download, and manage podcasts in an easy and intuitive way.
It contains the following main features:
- The ability to search for podcasts using the iTunes podcast database.
- The ability to add a podcast from a URL.
- The ability to download episodes, as well as stream them. You can even select the preferred default method when activating an episode.
- The ability to navigate using various movement units, such as navigation by time.
- The ability to adjust playback speed, as well as volume.
- The ability to navigate by and choose podcast chapters.
- The ability to duck audio when listening to the speech announcements from the device.
- Various other features.
Please consult the updated user guide for a detailed walkthrough of the application.
Enhancements to the reader application for Plus customers
We have added major features and enhancements to the book reader application for our Plus customers:
- Online library access – we are introducing access to online libraries with this update. This allows you to connect, download, and read books from various online accessible book providers. For this first release, we support Project Gutenberg, Bookshare, and libraries in India. Additional libraries will be added in future updates. The new online services category will allow you to work with all the options regarding the various libraries and manage your content.
- Individual TTS voices – you can now select an independent reading voice in the book reader, different from the main system speech. This allows you to read books with a nicer voice, or different settings.
- We have added a new setting to control heading navigation behavior. You can now choose if you want to navigate only by headings of the currently selected level, or also by headings from higher levels.
- We have added a new setting to select a preferred reading mode for DAISY books that contain both text and audio.
- We have added a new setting to control if you want to automatically start reading a book after it opens.
- We have added commands to go directly to the beginning or end of a book.
- We have made various other enhancements and bugfixes as a result of feedback.
Please consult the updated user guide for a full list of the improvements as well as usage instructions.
Enhancements to the internet radio application for Plus customers
We have added several improvements and new features to the internet radio application. Here is a list of the main changes:
- Internet radio recording – you can now directly record audio from radio stations in the application. The recordings are saved to the internal storage or SD card, depending on the chosen setting.
- Improved playback dialog – the playback dialog now contains hotkeys similar to the podcasts application or media player for adjusting volume, etc.
Enhancements to the voice recorder for Plus customers
We have added several enhancements to the voice recorder application:
- Navigation during playback – we have re-designed the voice recording playback interface to allow navigation through the file, as requested by many customers.
- We have added a new microphone gain setting to adjust recording volume.
- We have addressed some issues which were causing recordings to get corrupted.
- We have added movement units for navigation, similar to the reader and podcast client, including the ability to select which movement units you want to see in settings.
- We have added new commands for moving by track, adjusting speed and volume, and activating various modes such as shuffle and repeat. The commands are similar to the podcast player and reader for consistency.
- We have added a setting to automatically speak the track title when changing tracks.
- We have redesigned the context menus to feel like most of our other applications.
- We have increased the speech rate option to allow the TTS to speak significantly faster.
- We have fixed some issues with the calendar and alarm that prevented correct scheduling of events.
- Various other stability and performance improvements have been made.
- From the home menu, locate the settings item and activate it with dot 8 or the select key. You can also press the letter s to enter settings directly.
- In the settings application, locate the Wi-Fi settings item and activate it with dot 8 or select. You can also press w to enter it directly.
- The device will scan for available networks and will show the network list. Locate your network and press the dot 8 or select key.
- A menu will pop up with an option to connect to the network. Activate this option with dot 8 or select.
- If the network is password protected, a dialog will pop up asking you to enter the password. Please enter the password in computer braille and press dot 8.
- The device will connect to the network and give you an indication that the connection has been successfully completed.
- You can now press space + dots 1-2-3-4-5-6 to go back to the home menu.
- From the main menu, navigate to the settings item and activate it with dot 8 or select.
- Locate the “software update” item inside of the settings list and activate it with dot 8 or select. You can also press the letter u to enter it directly.
- Locate the check for updates now button and press dot 8 or select to activate it.
- The device will tell you that there is a newer software version available and will ask you if you want to install it. Activate the yes button inside the dialog that will pop up.
- Wait until the device downloads, installs the update, and restarts. Progress indications will be given throughout the process.
The Braillists is a grass-roots community group offering high quality training and support to emerging and established braille users. We also work with family members, friends, colleagues and teachers of braille users, and connect braille users with braille technology developers and funders.
What Is Braille?
Braille is a simple code for representing written language. We believe braille has the potential to transform the life of any blind person who has the opportunity to learn it.
Discover more about braille on this page.
Learn Braille
We support hundreds of adults to read braille by touch in a few short weeks through our innovative and approachable Braille for Beginners course. Free of charge, it comprises hard copy resources through the post and a series of short pre-recorded lessons, supplemented by email and Zoom support from highly qualified and experienced tutors.
Find out more about Braille for Beginners and register here.
There are plenty of other courses available too, for both children and adults, reading by touch or by sight. We have made a list of these on our Learn Braille page.
Perkins Repairs and Other Braille Equipment
The Perkins Brailler is the most established braille writer in use today, and even machines from the 1950s can still be serviced and repaired. We have compiled information about Perkins repairs, places to purchase Perkins Braillers, and other types of braille equipment on our Braille Equipment page.
If you are looking for braille paper, you can find it on our Braille Consumables page.
Our Aims
- Promote the value of braille as a proven literacy tool that enriches the lives of blind people.
- Support efforts to make affordable braille and tactile reading technologies available to all blind people irrespective of education and employment status.
- Provide an open forum for the exchange of ideas about the development of future braille technology.
Find Out More
Join our announcements only mailing list to receive our weekly newsletter.
Join the conversation and meet other Braillists on our discussion forum.
Connect with us on Twitter (@Braillists) or like us on Facebook for up to the minute Braillists news.
Listen to some braille-related audio on Soundcloud (braillists).
Please see our Sponsors and Partners for information on organisations who are supporting us.
Get In Touch
Email [email protected] or call 020 3893 3392. Further details on our Contact Us page.