Braille is Everywhere
January is Braille Awareness Month in honor of Louis Braille’s Birthday, January 4, 1809.
Thanks, in large part, to companies like Apple, who made a serious commitment to accessibility years ago as they developed the iOS products, braille is everywhere! Dig into the accessibility features on your iPhone, Android phone or tablet, Windows 10 computer, or even a Kindle Fire HD, and you will find support for braille displays. On the iPhone and iPad, braille input is even available on the screen. Instead of using the keyboard, users may choose to input text using the 6 finger system used with many braille input devices,
Because braille is not a seperate language, once braille input is turned on, touching the screen in the dot patterns used for braille characters types in the letters the user wants. This works with typical text editing apps, like Notepad. Once text is input it can be shared or edited as usual. If braille input is turned off, the usual keyboard becomes available again.
If you are carrying around a smartphone or tablet, chances are you have a braille device handy!
Learn braille yourself: Hadley has several ways to learn braille—the Braille by Touch workshop series, and the Braille by Sight series. Registration is free. Call Hadley Help Desk at 800-323-4238 for more info.
#31DaysofBraille. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions about #31DaysofBraille? Send an email to lowvisiontech at gmail.com, tweet to @lowvisiontech, or leave a comment on the LowVisionTech Facebook Page.