Author: Matthew Horspool

Sometimes, you just need a BRF file with no fuss, even though you know it might have the occasional error or won’t be formatted quite as you’d like.

RoboBraille is one solution to this problem. It works with a large variety of file formats including PDF, Microsoft Word and plain text, and converts them to braille within a matter of minutes. Best of all, it’s entirely online, so you don’t need to install anything. You can use it on computers even if you don’t have admin rights, smartphones, tablets and even braille notetakers.

Join us on Tuesday 30 January at 7:30 PM to find out:

• When is fully automated translation appropriate (and when is it not)?
• Translating files through the robobraille.org website
• Translating files by emailing RoboBraille
• How to evaluate the output
• Where to find help

Register for the Masterclass here.

To join by phone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 814 6621 6993
• Passcode: 123456

Looking for something fun to do? Get creative with braille art and enter VICTA’s competition!

Open to young people with a vision impairment aged 0 to 29 years, there’s a competition category for everyone, and amazing prizes up-for-grabs.

Children aged 0 to 9 years are invited to send us their name created in braille in an imaginative way, for the chance to win a £40 Hobbycraft voucher. Young people aged 10 to 29 years are set with the challenge of creating a ‘time’ themed braille work of art, also for the chance to win a £40 Hobbycraft voucher! With runners-up prizes and extra prizes for schools and organisations, it’s well worth taking part.

Our entries will be judged by VICTA Patron and Blind Braille Artist, Clarke Reynolds and shared on our online gallery to inspire other budding VI artists.

The competition closes on 31 January, so make sure you get your entries in soon. We can’t wait to see what you create!

Find out more & enter!

If you were disappointed trying to watch Mike Townsend’s service on Youtube, it has now been edited to overcome the streaming problems that happened after the first 30 minutes. The new link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFIdLEPDMR0

Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is inviting submissions from children with vision impairment for a piece of creative writing (prose or poetry in any form or style is welcome), centred around the theme of “Adventure”.

Taking the lead from RNIB’s motto, ‘See differently’, we want to celebrate different ways of seeing, beholding, and sensing an adventure that you’ve been on or one that you can imagine.

No previous experience of creative writing is required – we are keen to receive submissions from as wide a field as possible. Applicants from traditionally marginalised groups are particularly welcome.

Rules

The competition is open to any child or young person between the ages of 5-12 years with a vision impairment in the UK.
The competition runs from 9am on 1 January 2024, to midnight 18 February 2024.
Send in an original piece of writing up to 500 words in a Word document, MP3 audio or MP4 video, via email. Or hard copy braille posted to RNIB, The Grimaldi Building, 154a Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JE.
The piece of writing must be based on the theme “Adventure”.
Submissions must be in English.
The use of AI, such as ChatGPT is not permitted.
One submission per author: this will be the first entry emailed to us.
Email all entries with the subject of “WBD competition” to [email protected]. Or if you are posting please address the entry to Lara Marshall.
The top three entries will be sent to award-winning author Michael Morpurgo for him to choose the final winner.
All entries submitted will be read and shortlisted by the RNIB library team.

Prizes

The winner will receive a signed set of ten of Michael Morpurgo’s books, in their preferred format.

Some suggestions to inspire you, but please feel free to come up with your own ideas too:

• Travelling somewhere new on holiday.
• Having a crazy dream.
• Encountering a strange individual.
• Finding an interesting artefact. Going on a quest to find mysterious treasure.
• Finding yourself lost in a place you’ve never been before.
• Having to save a friend in peril.

We can’t wait to read your submission and wish you the very best of luck!

More information can be found on the RNIB website – World Book Day page.

I’m trying to start a scheme at Coventry Resource Centre for the Blind to give our braille learners a real-world application for their braille. To this end, I’m writing to ask if anyone would like to be a penfriend to one (or more if you like) of our learners. I’m not 100% sure what this scheme will look like, other than that people will be matched based on their answers to the below questions, and there’s probably going to be a letter sent once a month or whatever. We’re not looking to create an environmental disaster or nations braille paper shortage here. Once matched, I’ll ask people for a postal address so that an initial letter can be sent. I’m more than happy for people to be individuals or another organisation who teach braille.

We don’t have a huge number of braillists, so there’s a possibility that this message will generate more responses than we have learners. If that happens, I’ll email people to let them know.

If you are interested, please send an email to [email protected] answering the following questions:

• Name:
• Age bracket (18-30, 31-50, 51-70, 71+):
• Interests E.G.: Music, cooking, fishing, films:
• Any other information you’d like us to know:
• I understand that CRCB will hold this information (probably in a spread sheet or word document) for the purposes of matching me to a suitable penfriend (Y/N):
• I understand that any future communications with that penfriend may be monitored (directly or indirectly), and I am free to terminate the communication whenever I like and am under no obligation to give a reason (Y/N):
• I understand that any problems I have with the scheme or the person I’m pen-friending should be directed to Chris Norman on [email protected] (Y/N):

Following a Trustee review of our policies, we would like to draw your attention to the recently updated moderation policy published on the Braillists foundation website.

In particular, we have added a paragraph covering expected behaviour in the chat facility during live events.

You can find the policy at braillists.org/events/moderation

2024 marks the 200th anniversary of braille. To celebrate, Vispero is holding a special event to commemorate the major milestones that make up the history of braille. Join them and some very special guests as they discuss how braille is used at home, in school, and in the workplace. They will also share stories and ideas that illustrate the crucial role braille continues to play in all facets of our daily lives.

Register for Braille Today, Two Centuries and Counting!

Join Elizabeth Whitaker and Rachel Buchanan from Vispero along with Andrew Flatres and Peter Tucic from HumanWare for a webinar that will delve into the all-new Split Braille feature offered in JAWS 2024.

Participants will learn how this enhancement offers the ability for a braille display user to view and control content in two screens simultaneously, greatly increasing productivity through multitasking. Ranging from analyzing font attributes alongside text in Microsoft Word documents to simultaneously viewing PowerPoint slide content and speaker notes, Split Braille can vastly improve workflows in any setting. Time will also be allotted for participant questions.

Register in advance for Divide and Conquer – Exploring the Split Braille Feature on Brailliant BI X and Mantis with JAWS

If you have a new braille display and you’re struggling to connect it to your computer, iPhone or iPad, or you have a new computer, iPhone or iPad and you’re struggling to connect it to your braille display, this session is for you.

We will cover:

• The pros and cons of Bluetooth and USB
• Pairing and unpairing your braille display via Bluetooth
• Drivers and how to install them
• Screen reader setup
• Using braille without speech

The session will be presented by Matthew Horspool.

Register for the Masterclass here.

To join by phone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 875 0022 0533
• Passcode: 123456

Celebrate US National Braille Literacy Month with Vispero as they take a deep dive into the Split Braille feature in JAWS 2024. They will take an extensive look at the new functionality it provides, plus discuss ways it can help boost productivity. Learn about practical scenarios for using it in views such as: Buffered Text
Annotations
Attribute Indicators
Speech History
Translation Split
JAWS Cursor
Window Text
Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams application-specific views

Freedom Scientific Presenters: Elizabeth Whitaker, Rachel Buchanan, and Ron Miller

ACVREP credits will be available for those who attend the live webinar.

Register for Divide and Conquer: Overcome Challenges with Split Braille and JAWS