Multi-Line Braille in the Classroom (Episode 52)

The braille community is buzzing about the next generation of braille display: multi-line devices which can show anything from tables to tactile graphics at the press of a button are now a reality, and enthusiastic early adopters around the world are putting the technology through its paces. These multi-line braille displays will, sooner or later, undoubtedly disrupt all our experiences of refreshable braille in many places, but perhaps most notably in education. What does this mean for teachers, and what does this mean for students in the classroom, doing their homework and progressing to further and higher education? We'll be digging into the detail in two parts: Firstly, we will hear from HumanWare, Bristol Braille Technology CIC, Dot Inc and Orbit Research, all of whom are developing multi-line braille displays, and each of whom will give a ten minute presentation on how they see their products working in the classroom. Secondly, we'll hear from a panel of education professionals. They will share their reactions to the presentations, discuss how current practice might evolve to take advantage of emerging braille technologies, and engage with the manufacturers to find answers to some of their most pressing questions. This episode is presented in collaboration with the Professional Association for the Vision Impairment Education Workforce (VIEW). Manufacturers, their Products and Representatives HumanWare, promoting the Monarch: Andrew Flatres, Braille Product Manager, and Peter Tucic, Director of Strategic Partnerships Bristol Braille Technology CIC, promoting Canute 360 (£2495.00) and Canute Console (£3995 or £1650 for existing Canute 360 owners): Ed Rogers, Managing Director Dot Inc, promoting the Dot Pad (£11995): Mazi Zarrehparvar Orbit Research, promoting the Orbit Slate 520 ($3495 USD) and the Orbit Slate 340 ($3995 USD): Venkatesh Chari, CEO Panellists Jane Sharp, Education Specialist QTVI at RNIB and Chair of the Visual Impairment Education Workforce (VIEW) Jonathan Fogg, Strategic Lead for IT at New College Worcester Jackie Brown, Technology For Life Co-Ordinator for Northern Ireland at RNIB The event was hosted by Dave Williams and produced by Matthew Horspool. Extracts from the Chat What are the dimentions of the Dot Pad please? Participant: 273.2 mm × 228.1 mm Mazi: 20 braille cells per line and 10 lines on the large screen. 20 cells on single line below graphics area. Dot Pad pricing is not fixed but our goals is to make the Dotpad economically accessible. Can you send information from the dot pad back to an iPad? Mazi: We are working on two way interaction between the Dot Pad and connected devices. At this time, the Dot Pad is a printer. It receives content from the iPad, iPhone, PC, or Mac. It is interactive in the sense that you can scroll up and down pages and make selections. You can also scroll across icons showing on your iPhone or iPad. If you would like more information, please be comfortable contacting me. We are rapidly innovating and all ideas and advice is welcome. Do the graphical devices allow a tactile diagram and a braille label on the same page? Ed: Yes. You can mix them up. We typically use a lot of Braille to make sense of the diagrams. For the Canute Console, that was. Andrew: For Monarch, Yes, it can display both graphics and braille on the same array. I'd be very interested to know if manufacturers were intending to (or have) produce progression charts/teaching ideas for supporting student development of skills in using these products? We can't afford to have one for us to learn on as well as one for the student, so any help on how to use them effectively and to think about skills progression is really helpful! Andrew: HumanWare appreciates there is a lot to learn when it comes to these types of new technology, therefore before Monarch will be released we will be conducting in-person teachers training ac