News

Recent developments in braille technology have shone a particular spotlight on NVDA, but what is its braille support really like? In this two-part series, we will explore the braille features available to NVDA users and how well they work in the real world.

Last week, in part 1, we introduced NVDA’s braille support, described NVDA’s braille settings, and discussed NVDA’s braille output.

This week, in part 2, we will concentrate on NVDA’s braille input, including:

• Entering text using the braille keyboard
• Correcting mistakes
• Navigating using the braille keyboard
• Strategies for quickly changing braille tables
• Controlling the computer using the braille keyboard

Register for NVDA and Braille

To join by phone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 811 6921 7374
• Passcode: 123456

Following demand from our August Back to School webinar, we’re taking a closer look at what happens when JAWS Split Braille is combined with a multiline Braille display.

You’ll learn how to:

• Read a Microsoft Word document while accessing comments, annotations and font attributes
• Display contracted and uncontracted Braille simultaneously
• Compare and organise information across multiple lines of Braille.

Whether you’re a Braille user, teacher, student or accessibility professional, join us to explore what JAWS Split Braille can do with room to spread out.

Register Now

The next Orbit Research Zoom call is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 29 September at 5:00 PM UK time (11:00 AM CDT).

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86353303519?pwd=cnUneQ7Rr1f8WHPmpo1uE0MtiQdof9.1

Meeting ID: 863 5330 3519

Passcode: 067913

Our next Blazie Technologies Training Session is coming up!

Join Ben Blatchford for a live, accessible, hands-on training session designed to help you get started with Mozilla Thunderbird and navigate your email with confidence on your BT device.

Whether you’re opening Thunderbird for the first time or want to improve your email skills, Ben will walk you through the essential features and commands you need to know.

During the session, you’ll learn:

• What Thunderbird Is — Get introduced to Thunderbird and the features available for managing your email.
• First-Time Account Setup — Learn how to set up your email account in Thunderbird and get ready to start sending and receiving messages.
• Navigating Your Inbox — Learn how to move through your inbox, locate messages, open and read emails, and navigate your messages efficiently.
• Email Navigation Commands — Discover useful keyboard commands and navigation techniques for working with email on your BT Speak and BT Braille.
• Ask Questions Live — Have questions as you follow along? You’ll have the opportunity to ask Ben during the live session.

This training is designed to provide practical techniques you can start using right away to make managing email on your BT device easier and more efficient.

Join Us Live: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81898316702?pwd=AJGvYEu2YkalB5NVb7CSHH9YF4uPbY.1

Meeting ID: 818 9831 6702

Passcode: 280318

The topic for the Tuesday, September 29, 2026, That All May eRead online program will be Effective Use of the NLS eReader Dictionary. In the remaining time, we will answer any questions you have about the NLS Braille eReader.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. eastern time and last for one hour. The meeting will be recorded.

To access the meeting, go to https://loc.zoomgov.com/j/1603971745?pwd=AAyByFXmbZ94WHMCroPt1Iw28Se5mU.1

Meeting ID:        160 397 1745

Passcode:          471174

If you choose to dial in to the call, use the telephone numbers provided below. The Zoom.gov ID will not work with standard Zoom.us.

• +1 669 254 5252 US (San Jose)
• +1 646 964 1167 US (US Spanish Line)
• +1 646 828 7666 US (New York)
• +1 669 216 1590 US (San Jose)
• +1 415 449 4000 US (US Spanish Line)
• +1 551 285 1373 US (New Jersey)
• International numbers

Remember that the meeting is recorded. Do not speak if you do not wish to be on the recording.

You can find recordings and transcripts of previous That All May eRead programs on the NLS website at www.loc.gov/nls/news-and-updates/that-all-may-eread.

For more information, please contact:
Tamara Rorie
Head, Patron Engagement Section
[email protected] or [email protected]

Dear braille displays users,

We are writing on behalf of the Braille Working Group of the European Blind Union (EBU).

Expert Table Talks are back – with a new name and a fresh format!

We are delighted to invite you to BBQ – Braille, Brands and Questions, a new series of informal online conversations with Braille display manufacturers.

Join us to discover their products, hear directly from knowledgeable representatives and developers, and ask the questions that matter to Braille users. We look forward to welcoming you back around our virtual table!

📅 The meetings are planned to take place on the last Wednesday of each month, of autumn 2026 and spring 2027 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm CET. We expect to organise at least six such sessions and will include interested manufacturers in the programme.

🎧 We plan to record each meeting and publish the recording on our YouTube channel, along with an episode of our podcast LivingBraille.eu and a text summary on livingbraille.eu. You can find the summaries and reports of our previous Table Talks on the livingbraille portal.

During the table talk, we would like to discuss with manufacturers about the following topics:

• braille displays and their main characteristics;
• how their products relate to our checklist on choosing a braille display;
• different features of braille displays and the needs of users in different use cases.
• Q&A session full of questions from our participants.

🗓️✍️ Reserve the time slot in your calendar for 30TH of September 2026 at 17:00 CEST (15:00 GMT). You are going to meet with HumanWare!

If you registered for our previous Expert Table Talks sessions, you do not need to register again.

If you did not register yet, we kindly request that you register for the table talk here: Registration form to the Expert Table Talks.

The Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants shortly before the meeting.

So come join us—and take your Braille display skill to the next level!

More information about EBU and our braille-related activities can be found here: livingbraille.eu

The Monarch 2.0 software update brings new possibilities for learning, access, collaboration, and independence—but what do those updates actually look like in practice? Join Greg Stilson and the APH team for this Passport to Innovation session as we move beyond a simple list of new features and explore practical ways the Monarch 2.0 software update can support students, educators, and other users in everyday situations. Throughout the session, we’ll connect each update to realistic scenarios—from exploring equations and graphs in math class, to accessing tactile graphics, completing assessments, and sharing files with teachers or classmates. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of not just what is new in the Monarch 2.0 software update, but how these new capabilities can be put to work to increase access, participation, and independence.

Register Here for Passport to Innovation: What’s New in Monarch 2.0

Introduction to Braille Music for Beginners, $499.00 USD

Introduction to Braille Music for Beginners is a new Dancing Dots online course designed to get you reading and writing braille music starting at the most basic level. You will join a small class of three or four individuals eager to master the basics of the music code for braille. This course is open to both sighted and blind students of all ages.

Description

Learn to read, sing, and play melodies written in braille music using the Lesson Exercises from An Introduction to Music for the Blind Student, Part I, by Richard Taesch. In this ten-hour online course, you will learn the concepts and signs presented in all four phases of Part I.

Learning Objectives

• Learn the differences between print and braille music notation and explore how Louis Braille designed his system for reading music.
• Learn braille music notation for the seven notes of the scale as eighth, quarter, half, and whole notes (quaver, crotchet, minim, and semibreve), along with related rests.
• Understand octave signs and the rules for using them.
• Recognize and use melodic intervals; solfeggio syllables, letters, and numbers for the seven scale degrees; key and time signatures; single, double, and backward-repeat bar lines; dotted notes and rests; measure numbers; repeat signs; piano fingering; major and minor tonality; accidentals; slurs; ties; pick-up measures; and full- and part-measure braille repeats.

Recommended Prerequisites

• Braille Readers: Proficiency in at least uncontracted literary braille.
• Sighted Students: A basic understanding of print music notation is helpful but not required. Exercises are presented in staff notation and corresponding braille font.

Students will need Zoom for class meetings. Ideally, students will also have a low- or high-tech way to write braille and access to a piano or musical keyboard, although these are not required.

Call us to discuss your training needs or to ask questions about the course.

Scheduling and Class Size

Courses are scheduled on a rolling basis, with a minimum of three students. Every effort will be made to accommodate students’ scheduling needs. Sessions are two hours each and projected to meet weekly.

Course tuition includes your choice of a print or braille version of Lesson Exercises, Part I.

Questions? Call us at [+1]610-783-6692 or email [email protected] to discuss your need for training and to ask anything about the course.

Over the past few months I have written a set of 6 lessons as a thorough overview of the basics of getting started with MuseScore using a screen reader.  The lessons assume basic general computer skills using a screen reader, but no previous knowledge of MuseScore.  They are designed for those who have found it hard to get started from the tutorial videos and info in the handbook.

The lessons give step by step instructions that you can work through using the supplied sample files to give you a thorough knowledge of how navigation works around the interface and in the score as well as basic note input and editing.  They are aimed at an introductory level, but if people find them very useful I could write some more on other topics as needed.

Download the files

If you are not already a member of the MuseScoreAccessibility group on groups.io, you can Find out more and subscribe here.

You will find there are 3 formats of the main Guided Lessons document (Word Doc, PDF and BRF).  In the introductory topic of that document it explains how to use the Sample files (MuseScore and BRF) and work through the lessons.

If you find any errors or things that are not clear in these lessons please let me know by e-mailing [email protected]

I’d also love some feedback from anyone who finds these useful.

New: Abacus

Plastic abacus with case: $12.00

This 15-digit soraban abacus features a 1:4 bead layout (one bead worth 5 on the top deck, and four beads each worth 1 on the bottom deck). The orange plastic beads are laid on top of a black velvet background, which holds them firmly in place. The abacus is 6⅜″×3⅝″, and comes with a white plastic case (7¾″×4″).

Also new: How to Use an Abacus

In braille or BRF: $10.00

An abacus is a deceptively simple calculating tool that has been used for thousands of years. This short booklet has instructions on how to use an abacus to count, add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers.