News

Date: 27th September 2023

Introduction

The International Council on English Braille (ICEB) is holding its Eighth General Assembly from Saturday, 25 May 2024 to Thursday, 30 May 2024 at The Grand Millennium hotel in Auckland, New Zealand. We are delighted to invite friends of braille to submit papers (either full presentations or shorter posters) for delivery at the event.

The theme for the week will be “Two Centuries of Braille”. Between the ages of 13 and 16, Louis Braille worked on perfecting the basis of the braille system. Join us as we celebrate achievements in the world of braille and look forward to the exciting innovations and developments ahead. The following list gives some ideas for topics; however, it is not exhaustive. If you have something exciting you would like to share please get in touch:

• Electronic reading of braille across different devices.
• Research, education and teaching of braille to children.
• Technological developments in braille production.
• Research and Teaching of braille to blind adults, including issues related to computer-assisted environments.
• Tactile graphics: research into readability and cost-effective production techniques.
• Methods and issues surrounding braille writing.
• UEB research and results of UEB implementation.
• Challenges facing developing countries in the production and teaching of braille.
• The future of braille code monitoring and maintenance.

For further inspiration please see the papers presented at the last General Assembly held online in 2020.

Process for submission

There will be two categories of papers, either a presentation or a poster session. If your paper is about a product, it will be categorised as a poster session.

Abstracts

Closing date for submission of Abstracts of up to 400 words is Saturday, November 18th, 2023. Late abstracts will only be considered if there are insufficient suitable abstracts received by the due date. Please provide the abstracts as Microsoft Word or text (.txt) attachments to [email protected].

Abstracts will be assessed and selected by the Papers Subcommittee of the ICEB, who will advise submitters of the acceptance (or non-acceptance) of their papers by Friday, December 8th, 2023.

What to include in your abstract: To assist the Committee in assessing your proposal, please ensure that you address the following points as part of your abstract of up to 400 words:

• Title of paper;
• Is the paper for inclusion as a presentation or poster session;
• Name(s) of author(s), including organisational or corporate affiliations;
• Contact details of author(s) (address, telephone and email);
• Key objectives of paper – up to five key points;
• Outline of paper;
• Name and contact details of presenter of the paper (if different from above).

Papers (posters or presentations)

Completed papers are due by February 29th, 2024 as both a Microsoft Word file and a braille file (brf/dxb). The brf files should be 25 lines by 30 cells, suitable for embossing on A4 or 8.5 by 11-inch paper. Note – If you are unable to produce a braille file, we can give you guidelines on how to do this.

The papers should be sent to Natalie Martiniello [email protected].

Presentations should be a maximum of 3,500 words in length, exclusive of abstract, footnotes and appendices. Posters should be no longer than 1,350 words.

Papers may be written by two or more co-authors, or by an individual. Authors or co-authors need not be delegates to the General Assembly.

All accepted papers will be emailed to ICEB member countries by March 29th, 2024. This deadline is so that delegates may read and discuss the contents with others prior to their attending the General Assembly.

Delivery of Papers

Delivery of full presentations: As delegates are expected to have read the paper, each presenter will be asked to give a summary of their paper in up to 25 minutes, allowing time for questions and discussion to follow. A presenter is not required to be a paper’s author/co-author nor to be a delegate to the Assembly.

Delivery of poster sessions: Each presenter will have 10 minutes to explain and demonstrate their item. Delegates will then be able to explore the products further in an exhibition area. Poster speakers should ensure that their posters are accessible to blind attendees.

Please note that papers and posters are to be presented in person. Due to the full schedule, time limits will be maintained. All accepted papers will be published in the proceedings of the General Assembly and will be posted on the ICEB website after the Assembly. Presenters will be expected to register and pay for attendance at the General Assembly. If you have any further questions, please write to [email protected]

Summary of due dates:

November 18th, 2023: Abstracts due.

December 8th, 2023: Abstracts selected and submitters contacted via email

February 29th, 2024: Completed papers due.

March 29th, 2024: Accepted papers distributed to ICEB delegations via email

Join this webinar to discover how instruction in concept and tactile skills contributes to the development of braille and graphics literacy skills for students with visual impairments.

This webinar is part 1 of Tactile Graphics Literacy for Students with Visual Impairments: 4 Part Series.

Register Here for Building an Early Tactile Foundation for Graphics Understanding

Have you ever downloaded a book from Bookshare or Reading Services, but struggled to extract the zip file? Have you ever had a BRF file emailed to you, but not been able to copy it to your braille display? Does your braille display only support text or BRF files, but you want to read Word or PDF files on it?

If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, our Masterclass on Tuesday is for you!

Matthew Horspool will be in the presenter’s chair and he will take us step by step through extracting zip files, converting files from one format to another, and copying files from your computer to your braille display. Demonstrations using a screen reader will form an integral part of the presentation, and as ever there will be plenty of time for your questions at the end.

N.B. most of the demos will be carried out on Windows, but the concepts discussed should apply equally to other operating systems.

Register for the Masterclass here.

To join by phone, please use these details:

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

The topic for the September 14, 2023, Many Faces of BARD program will be Using Your Braille Display to Read Braille BARD Books on Your iPhone. The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. eastern time and last for one hour. This program will be recorded.

For this session, Judy Dixon will demonstrate how to access BARD braille books located on your iPhone and read them with your braille display. Note that information in this session will apply to any braille display including the NLS Braille eReader. After the demonstration, Judy and the rest of the NLS staff will take questions about the demonstration or anything else relating to BARD.

For further information, please visit Many Faces of BARD.

Online delivery – £50 for all three or £20 each

Road Trip Through Rules of UEB

5 September 2023, 3.30-4.30pm (Collaborate)

Let’s visit the landmarks of UEB! We can float in the sea of Letters Written Individually, cross the UEB Bridge, and take a short walk through the newly landscaped Garden of Shortforms. Come along on this fascinating road trip! Kyle will look at writing letters individually, bridging, new shortforms plus common errors.

Target Audience: (Q)TVIs, Support Assistants, Transcribers. Some knowledge of braille required.

Presenter Kyle de Jute, APH

https://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/vi&multi/vsep23.html

Hike the UEB Maths Trail

26 September 2023, 3.30-4.30pm (Collaborate)

We will “pack our bags” with references and practice material for an exploration of rules of UEB that are particularly important to mathematics and science. On this particular “hike,” we will focus on Algebra and Geometry (high-school maths). Kyle will explore updates to Unified English Braille Guidelines for Technical Material, braille grouping indicators, fractions, specific symbols and common errors.

Target Audience: (Q)TVIs, Support Assistants, Transcribers. Some knowledge of braille required.

Presenter Kyle de Jute, APH

https://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/vi&multi/vsep23a.html

Find a Path from PDF to BRF

31 October 2023, 3.30-4.30pm (Collaborate)

What are some ways to get from point P (a print document) to point B (a braille file)? We will discuss some of the available paths and how they differ. We will also point out some “shortcuts” that might speed up the process of going from PDF to BRF. Lastly, we will practice using the braille transcription software Duxbury Braille Translator. If you can, please have Duxbury Braille Translator open and ready for you to use in this session.

Target Audience: (Q)TVIs, Support Assistants, Transcribers. Some knowledge of braille required

Presenter Kyle de Jute, APH

https://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/vi&multi/voct23.html

Ahead of World Blind Awareness Month this October and in response to global demand, the LEGO Group announces LEGO® braille bricks are available to purchase for the first time through LEGO.com.

The new product – LEGO® Braille Bricks – Play with Braille – is aimed at kids aged 6+ and has been designed so that anyone who is curious about braille, be they blind, partially-sighted or sighted, can have fun getting to know the braille system at home with their family members in a playful, inclusive way.

LEGO Braille Bricks – Play with Braille includes 287 bricks in five colours: white, yellow, green, red and blue. All bricks are fully compatible with other LEGO products and the studs on each brick are arranged to correspond to the numbers and letters in the braille system, with the printed version of the symbol or letter situated below the studs.

The set also includes two baseplates to build on and comes in packaging with braille embossing. To enhance the play experience and support pre-braille skill development, a series of supporting play starters are available on LEGO.com and will teach players how to orient, attach and stack the bricks through well-loved games such as Rock, Paper, Scissors, which all members of the family can take part in.

With its ongoing commitment to make its play experiences more inclusive, the LEGO Group has also partnered with the free mobile app Be My Eyes. The popular app connects blind and partially sighted people with companies to help with everyday tasks through a live video call. As part of the partnership, LEGO Customer Service colleagues will provide confidential, live visual assistance through the app covering support from a wide range of topics from unboxing, to general product support.

The LEGO Group is also pleased to announce that LEGO® Audio & Braille Building Instructions will now become a permanent offering. Inspired and co-developed by entrepreneur Matthew Shifrin who is blind, this experience gives builders the option of having select LEGO building instructions available as audio or text for braille readers.

The full press statement is available online.

You can purchase the braille bricks for £79.99.

A braille reading device creator has been given a £60,000 prize in a surprise presentation by cricketer Stuart Broad MBE.

England bowler Broad, who retired in July, visited Bristol Braille Technology (BBT) after the firm won the Sage Small Business XI competition.

The not-for-profit company create Canutes, e-readers that help those with visual impairments enjoy sport.

Read the full article

Thank you very much for publicising the braille labelling on food products message.

If braillist foundation members do not wish to participate in the Disability Equality Scotland poll, would they kindly consider signing and sharing, as widely as possible, the on line Scottish Parliamentary petition

With sincere thanks,

Marie Harrower.

Movement For Good are running prize draws of £1,000, and the Braillists Foundation is eligible to enter! We need as many nominations as possible from the community to maximise our chances of winning, so we would really appreciate it if you could take 30 seconds to fill in the form at this link:

Nominate the Braillists for a £1,000 Prize Draw

If successful, we will use the funds to help promote our services to people who do not have access to the internet, by delivering resources on SD cards and USB sticks.

Thank you for your help!

The Braillists Foundation will be closed between Thursday 27 July and Tuesday 5 September 2023. We will answer all enquiries on our return.