Steve Kelley
One hundred years ago, William Hadley revolutionized braille instruction by developing a correspondence course for learning braille. As a former high school teacher who lost his vision at the age of 55, Hadley taught himself braille as an older adult to continue his passion for reading. He recognized through his own experience that there was limited access to braille instruction, so he determined to change that by offering a mail correspondence course for learning braille. His first student, a woman from Kansas who also lost her vision later in life and wanted to return to reading, received regular lessons in the mail and encouraging notes from Mr. Hadley. Two years later, in 1922, Hadley and his neighbor, ophthalmologist Dr. E.V.L. Brown, founded the Hadley School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
A century later, with an approach to online braille instruction as novel as correspondence courses were in the 1920s, Hadley is again in the process of transforming braille instruction with the rollout of their redesigned website at Hadley.edu. Hadley introduced several series of interactive training workshops that can be taken right from the website to learn the fundamentals of braille. These workshops are available to anyone, at no cost, after completing a simple registration on the website. To make it simpler still, a new learner can always call Support Services at 800-323-4238 for assistance setting up a login to get started.
Tactile Braille Correspondence Workshops
Before exploring these new, online, "Braille by Sight" workshops, it’s worth noting that Hadley continues to offer more traditional correspondence courses through the mail using both audio and hard-copy braille. Audio is sent on a DAISY Talking Book (DTB) cartridge or flash drive. To locate these workshops from the website, select "Learn" from the Main Menu. And choose "Braille" from the category options. The print and audio workshops are listed within the "Braille" series. These workshops include the following six series:
- Tactile Readiness
- Braille Alphabet
- Reading and Writing Uncontracted Braille
- Contracted Braille
- Transitioning to UEB
- Everyday Reading
These workshops may be ordered online or by calling Hadley directly. There is no charge for courses and learners taking the course must verify that they have a visual impairment. Learners will also receive the name and contact information for one of Hadley’s braille instructors, called, "Learning Experts." Learners in these correspondence courses progress by completing and forwarding assignments to their instructors.
Braille by Sight Online Workshops
Earlier this year, Hadley expanded their braille offerings with several series of interactive workshops that can be taken directly from the website, including:
- Basic Braille by Sight: Reading Series
- Basic Braille by Sight: Writing Series
- Contracted Braille by Sight: Reading Series
- Contracted Braille by Sight: Writing Series
- Special Braille Symbols: Reading Series
- Special Braille Symbols: Writing Series
- Producing Braille Series
Braille by Sight converts the letters, numbers and symbols used for everyday print, into a system of raised dots that can be read with the fingertips. In a recent interview with "AT Banter", Hadley’s Director of Brand Development/Community Learning, Marc Arneson, explained braille by sight this way:
What we recognized was a large majority of sighted students were coming to Hadley to learn braille. Most of them were teachers who were teaching their students braille and wanting to learn themselves or brush up their skills a little bit. Also, we had a significant number of visually impaired individuals who had some sight and were anticipating further vision loss. So, they wanted to learn braille for everyday use. We heard all these stories about wanting to tell which bathroom you’re going into, which floor button you're pressing on the elevator—kind of enough braille to manage day-to-day but not necessarily for reading a novel or writing a novel, that kind of thing. But they currently had enough sight to manage online.
The redesigned Hadley website rolled out over the summer of 2020 and is very accessible, with many features that can be customized by the low vision user. The Braille by Sight workshops include interactive features that involve dragging objects on the screen with the mouse, clicking specific areas, like the dots on an animated braille cell, etc. These slides can be navigated with a screen reader, but the workshop content and navigation is designed for the user with sight.
Each Braille by Sight series of workshops includes a set of narrated slides that progresses through the workshop. Any given slide may present a bit of information, such as the location of dots for a specific letter or symbol in the alphabet. A slide might also include an interactive exercise in which the learner matches or selects the correct braille cells or letters before proceeding to the next slide.
A Closer Look at Braille by Sight
For a closer look, let’s open the "Basic Braille by Sight: Reading Series," located in the "Braille" content category. The first of four workshops in this series is "Braille Reading by Sight: Letters a-j." The workshop loads in the browser window with the first slide on the right two-thirds of the screen, with a menu column on the left. Below the slide window is a Resources tab and below this an Ask the Experts section, both of which will be described below.
The easiest way to go through the slides is by selecting the Right or Left Arrow buttons, which appear on most slides, or the "Submit" button, which appears on interactive slides where you are prompted to take some action before selecting the "Submit" button. If the selected action is incorrect, you are prompted to try again. Slides are narrated, and each has a printed caption. Making a correct submission results in an enthusiastic response, "Right!" "Yes!" or "Good!" with a "Yes!" and check mark on the slide that follows, or a "Try Again," with an X for an incorrect response. The menu to the left of the slides lists sections and activities within each workshop, so you can skip ahead to sections of interest, or review sections already completed.
Because the workshops are interactive and offer the opportunity for mistakes and corrections, the time it takes for workshops in these series will vary depending on the learner. I know braille and am not a regular braille reader, and the Braille Reading by Sight: Letters a-j," took nearly 12 minutes to complete. Some of the workshops in the "Special Braille Symbols: Reading Series," and "Contracted Braille by Sight: Reading Series took more time since I was less familiar with the content, running 30-40 minutes..
Resources Tab
Along with the workshops, there are additional training materials and exercises in the "Resources" tab below the workshop. In the "Letters a-j" workshop, for example, there are two downloadable PDF handouts, "Hints" and "Braille Alphabet." The first offers visual hints for the braille alphabet, and the second is a handy reference of the braille code for the alphabet. In addition, there are two more Hadley web-based practice activities, "Flashcard Fun: a-j" and "More Reading Practice." Both are designed like the workshop, using interactive activities to reinforce the material covered in the workshop.
Ask the Experts
Continuing the tradition that William Hadley began with his personal notes of encouragement to students, the "Ask the Experts" section invites current learners to contact an instructor by phone at 847-784-2816 or by email at braille@hadley.edu, for the braille workshop series. Below the contact information is a list of the names of the six braille learning experts and their pictures. If you call the number or email during weekday business hours, you can connect directly with a Learning Expert who can answer your questions about a braille topic related to the workshop.
What’s Next?
According to Danette Johnson, Learning Expert/Practice Leader, braille workshops continue to be added to the website. Most recently, a workshop on the "Braille Labeler" was added to the "Producing Braille Series," which contained a workshop on the "Perkins Brailler." Johnson also reported that a workshop on "Slate and Stylus" would be added to that series shortly. In addition, Johnson reported that the tactile braille offerings may get revised further during 2021.
Embracing Braille Discussion Group
Learning Experts Vileen Shah and Elyse Heinrich host a live weekly discussion group called Embracing Braille each Thursday at 11:30 AM Central. Topics change each week and each discussion group is recorded, so the archives are available on the website for registered users.
Filling the Gap
As a Vision Rehabilitation Therapist working primarily with older adults with an acquired vision loss later in life, Hadley is often the resource I used for braille training materials. Clients are often interested in just enough braille for labeling, and usually did have some functional vision. The Braille by Sight Series offers an accessible introduction to the basics of braille for this group of learners. It also makes a great resource for professionals or family members who want to learn, upgrade, or maintain their braille skills. As someone who does not use braille on a regular basis personally or with clients, these workshops are an opportunity to refresh and practice my own braille training.
Hadley’s Braille by Sight online workshops are a novel approach to learning and reviewing both contracted and uncontracted braille. These workshops are informative, fun, and can be taken whenever it's convenient to you, at no cost. Although these are not intended specifically as a remote learning tool for professionals, with the current need for remote training options, these offer great possibilities for accessible "assignments" professionals can use with their clients. Of course for those looking for tactile instruction, Hadley continues to offer comprehensive set of tactile workshops available by mail, just as they have for 100 years!
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
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