Judy Dixon
The mission of the Braillists Foundation is only two words, but they are powerful and resonate with braille readers everywhere. Those two words are "More Braille."
A Word about the Word "Braillist"
In the United Kingdom, a braillist is typically a blind person who reads braille by touch. In the United States, a braillist is typically a sighted person who transcribes print material into braille. In this article, the word "braillist" is used in the U.K. sense and refers to blind readers of braille.
What is the Braillists Foundation?
The Braillists Foundation is a U.K. charitable organization with three primary goals:
Promote the value of braille as a proven literacy tool that enriches the lives of blind people.
Support efforts to make affordable braille and tactile reading technologies available to all blind people irrespective of education and employment status. and
Provide an open forum for the exchange of ideas about the development of future braille technology.
With these three goals, a small group of dedicated braille advocates has grown the organization into a very impressive endeavor that is providing braille instruction and informational seminars to hundreds of braillists in the U.K., as well as many others outside the country.
The idea for the Braillists Foundation grew out of a focus group for Bristol Braille Technology, makers of the Canute 360, a nine-line braille e-reader. As the members of this focus group were discussing braille, they became aware of the challenges around the need for braille training for blind adults, locating braille writer repair services, finding reading material in braille, and so much more. They realized there was a need for an organization to help with these things.
In January 2020, the Braillists Foundation was officially incorporated as a small, nonprofit organization. Now, just two years later, they are a full-fledged powerhouse with a Board of Trustees, a massive website, and a packed calendar of events.
According to Dave Williams, the chair of the Braillists Foundation, their original plan was to hold in-person classes, and other meetings, but the pandemic that began a short two months after formation changed all that. Being the incredibly resourceful organization that they have shown themselves to be, they immediately pivoted to offering Lockdown Lessons from the Braillists via Zoom. At first, these consisted of community calls but by September 2020, they had evolved into courses for beginning braillists, and various informational and practice sessions. Barely two years later, they are now offering a whole spectrum of events that is reaching thousands. All courses and events are free of charge and open to interested persons from the United States. Donations to the Braillists Foundation to assist them with their work are, of course, welcome.
Braille for Beginners
Beginning in January 2022, the third Braille for Beginners course was begun with over 100 adult learners. Students are expected to study independently, but are supported by an experienced instructor on Zoom for an hour per week, by physical course material that is sent through the mail, and by peer support on an email forum.
During the sessions, the instructor guides the students through pre-braille skills and activities, provides detailed descriptions of the physical course materials, shares tips for memorizing dot patterns, talks through word and sentence examples, offers advice on finger and hand position and reading technique, and leads quizzes to test student knowledge. There's also time within the live sessions for students to ask questions and raise any issues they may be having.
In previous courses, they used Fingerprints, a multi-volume self-study braille course for adults produced by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Now, the Braillists Foundation has developed its own 16-page set of learning materials designed to teach tracking skills, the alphabet, numbers, and some punctuation.
Students who register for this course are invited to join a Google group where they can ask questions, and discuss their progress. As issues are raised, other members of the group are quick to provide helpful advice and encouragement to their fellow students. After each lesson, a summary of material covered is mailed to the group, and a recording of each lesson is made available so course participants can review the material at their leisure.
There is not a formal assessment nor certification. But anecdotally they have received feedback that this kind of model provides motivation, reduces isolation, offers kinship, and delivers a pathway through all the different offerings from the Braillists Foundation. These include the Braillists Book Club, Braille Bar and Master Classes that keep people going with braille beyond the beginners course, when other courses pretty much leave students on their own once they have finished. These events will be described in detail later in this article.
The response to this course has been overwhelming. Here's a quote from an enthusiastic course participant after two sessions: "it's great, I can't believe how quick I'm picking it up, I came down stairs after the session and read out the words and sentence at the bottom of the page, I have an image in my head of all the letters we've learnt so far, I didn't expect to be able to remember them so easily, thank you so much."
Braille Bar
Held on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:30 PM British time, the Braille Bar is an informal question-and-answer session on all things braille. With several braillists on hand who are knowledgeable about strategies, resources, and materials for those interested in braille, this is a great opportunity for those taking the Braille for Beginners course as well as anyone with a burning question on a braille-related matter. Frequent topics include: using a braille display, where to obtain books in braille, labeling materials and strategies, using braille with an iPhone or iPad, questions about specific braille contractions, and many more.
Braille Book Club
Every Thursday at 6:00 P.M. British time, the Braillists Foundation holds a Braille Book Club. This is not an actual book club in the traditional sense, but more like a reading group. It consists of one-hour reading practice sessions held via Zoom.
As participants arrive in the Zoom waiting room, if they are new to the group they are invited to a brief discussion with the leaders to determine their current braille reading level. This is primarily a matter of their knowledge of and comfort with contracted braille.
Using Zoom breakout rooms, three groups read simultaneously, each with their own helpful, encouraging group leader. The beginners read predominantly uncontracted braille while the intermediate and advanced groups both read contracted braille. Each braillist reads aloud for a few minutes and the group leader provides assistance as needed. Each week, the group members pick up reading their group's book where they left off last week. Some readers use electronic braille displays and others read from hardcopy braille. As readers become more proficient, they are promoted to the next reading level.
All participants are invited to join a Google group. Through this group, they learn of the next book chosen for their group in time to obtain a copy in their preferred medium. This is also a venue for group members to provide support and encouragement to one another.
The Braille Book Club is another great opportunity for braille readers of all levels to practice reading with others. It provides a way for those who have completed the Braille for Beginners course to continue practicing their new braille skills in a supportive environment with knowledgeable assistance.
Master Classes
Held on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 PM British time, Master Classes is a series of one-hour, informative presentations on a wide variety of braille-related topics. Recent sessions have included: Choosing and Setting Up a Braille Embosser, Leisure Reading with Refreshable Braille, and Improving Reading Speed and Building Braille Mastery. The master Classes range from very technical topics such as What is a BRF and Why would you Want one? to very practical ones such as Braille in the Kitchen.
Recordings of Master Classes are available in the Media section of the Braillists Foundation website, and every session is aired on the BrailleBits podcast.
Participation in Master Classes requires registration but this is a one-time process that is simple and straightforward and only takes a few minutes.
The Braillists Foundation Website
The website, www.braillists.org, of the Braillists Foundation is a rich resource of information about braille. In addition to a basic description of braille which includes links to several classic BBC radio episodes and other podcasts about braille, there are also listings of braille equipment, braille consumables, and braille communities that includes email lists and Facebook groups. All upcoming events are listed on the Events page, and recordings of past events are listed on the Media page.
The organization has many ways for interested persons to stay abreast of its happenings. You can
subscribe to the Braillists Newsletter;
Listen to the Braillecast Podcast; an;
Subscribe to the Google groups discussion forum by sending a blank email message to braillists+subscribe@googlegroups.com.
Conclusion
The sheer volume of the available classes, presentations, and resources from the Braillists Foundation is nothing short of amazing. Much of the success of their efforts can be attributed to the logical progression of their offerings-from learning braille followed by opportunities to practice, get help and questions answered, and then additional opportunities to learn more.
Furthermore, the role of peer support and encouragement cannot be underestimated. This keeps people motivated and engaged. At a time when many people are feeling discouraged because of dwindling eyesight, an opportunity to learn a skill like braille that is so rewarding in itself because of the transformative power it brings to its users can be a huge benefit for many people.
But the Braillists Foundation has ambitious plans for the future. They are hoping to offer an on-demand version of Braille for Beginners so people will not be tied to a specific class schedule. They are also planning to enhance their braille learning classes to include contracted braille, and perhaps even a braille math course.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
