Quick Resources for Those New to Braille

Those who are learning braille and trying hard to remember contractions and rules might find some of these online resources helpful. Even those of us who have been brailling for decades have those few choice words or contractions that cause us to stumble and reach for our (often paper) reference sheets.

The world is virtual! I have located a few places and apps that I wanted to share with others.

1. The Braille Translator is a site that generates Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille but has this disclaimer, “Please consider that a 100% correct braille translation can only be done by a human, as this requires an understanding of the text content. Some Grade 2 Contractions require a text understanding that a machine can’t have. For example, the combination wh can be replaced by one character in grade 2, but not when the word is combined of two words. So a(wh)ile is OK, but ra(wh)ide is not.” https://www.brailletranslator.org/
2. An App available on both iOS and Google Play is Braille Contraction Lookup by Jeff Bishop. It is currently not accessible to those using screen readers.
3. ABC Braille is new (started in November 2020) and offers a few choices on their page. The ability to select dots and then look up what brailled might be handy for parents or general education teachers. The text to braille I have found pretty accurate for quick words. One of my favorite parts of this page is the braille ASCII keyboard at the bottom of the Braille to Text page. The image to text was not very successful but you might have better results from your photos than I did. http://abcbraille.com/lookup
4. The BRL: Contraction Lookup Dictionary has not been updated since North America switched to UEB but there are many words that did not change. It still works but use this one with caution. http://www.brl.org/refdesk/conlookup.html

I cannot vouch for accessibility at these sites but wanted to share!

Happy brailling!!

Reward Box

Getting creative for our students is one of the fabulous facts of teachers of students with visual impairments. We think “out-of-the-box” as a matter of course. Here is one of my favorite creations.

Wooden box with ceramic hearts glued to it.

Open wooden box with rectangular, laminated strips of paper with print and braille.

When I worked a summer program classroom of elementary students with visual impairments one year, I wanted to create incentives for the students to complete their work. I had themed each of the four weeks so, of course, the reward tokens needed to match. The group of students ranged in age from kindergarten to fifth grade and a variety of sight loss. To keep it simple, each had colorful print and was laminated as well as had a tactile difference each week.

Rows of paper tokens with stickers on them.

Week 1

Rewards Make Sense! The theme was using your senses so the tokens each had a different scratch and sniff sticker!

Rows of reward tokens with leather strips at the top.

close view of the paper tokens to show the thin leather strip

Week 2

Rodeo Week! We had a field trip planned to the rodeo that week. The tokens said, “Round’n Up Points” and had a thin leather strip glued to the top.

Paper rewards with a small jingle bell glued to it at the bottom.

Close view of the reward papers with the jingle bell.

Week Three!

Independence Week as this had the 4th of July Holiday. The paper rewards said, “Ringing Rewards” and there was a small jingle bell glued to the bottom. The picture was of the Liberty Bell.

Reward tickets with the top edge cut with pinking shears

Week 4

Prehistoric Week! We talked all about dinosaurs and fossils. The reward tokens had “Prehistoric Points” written on them and the top edge was cut with scrapbook scissors which created teeth-like points.

I hope you enjoyed a little look at some ways to have creative reward tokens!

My Mission Statement

Around 2007 I decided to create my own mission statement for being a teacher of the visually impaired and orientation and mobility specialist in a small, rural county in Florida. I was the only one in the district and wanted to have high standards for myself. I wonder if anyone else has done something similar. Please share, if you have!

Abacus and the tip of a cane on top of an open braille book.

MISSION STATEMENT

My mission as a teacher of the visually impaired is to advance the independence, productivity, and full citizenship of students with visual impairments and other disabilities. by fulfilling the goals, methods, and services outlined in my students’ Individual Education Plans I help my students achieve academic success across the curriculum.

I will strive to inspire and lead environmental and curricular innovations that model exemplary pedagogical principles within an inclusive learning community. I will empower my students toward greater independence, self-reliance and personal fulfillment.

I keep this goal in mind in everything we do, from learning how to read the board with a monocular, to learning how to cross a street with a cane, and writing a chemistry assignment in braille. I, also, will continue to seek opportunities for self-growth in my personal and professional life to integrate my faith and stewardship within the entire community.

Leanne Grillot