Braille Mail - October 2008
- Pen Pal Wanted
- Braille Gives Blind Taxi Users a Fair Go
- Taxi information in brailleTaxi information in Braille
- Quantum Technology Braille Literacy Scholarship Program
- The Gillian Gale Award for Braille Literacy
- General announcement: Personal requests
- The NEW Next GenerationT Perkins Brailler® is here!
- Braille Music Goes Live!
Welcome to this issue of the Braille Mail. Thanks to all of you who have been in touch with me regarding your views concerning contracted versus uncontracted braille on signage. These views will be taken into account when the RNZFB signage guidelines are written. It’s still not too late to share your opinion regarding this important issue. The full details can be found in the August Braille Mail online or on TIS under the “previous braille mail” option. I’m also happy to send you a copy on request.
Pen Pal Wanted
I have had a request from a gentleman named Eddie in the UK for contact with braille readers in other countries. A short portion of his letter follows.
“I am 75 years old. When I was about 50 my diabetes began to affect my eyes with retinopathy which I was told would get worse even to loss of sight in spite of treatment which might slow down the deteriorative process. Being by nature a philosophical person I determined to learn braille in good time as my interest was learning from the printed word. (Twenty five years on though registered blind, I still have enough sight to read newspaper print). I attended weekly two hour sessions at Henshaws, a local charitable organisation which looks after the welfare of the visually-impaired. It took about 18 months before I was proficient in grade 2 braille, and the National Library for the Blind, which is nearby, provided an excellent postal service. For several years I made use of this facility (my interest is jazz) and I read biographies and compendia on the origins of that kind of music.”
Eddie has also mastered grade 3 braille through self study. If anybody would like his email address please get in touch with me and I will pass it on. Sounds like a very interesting person, and a great testament to the ability of adults to learn braille.
Braille Gives Blind Taxi Users a Fair Go
The Foundation welcomes new legislation which came into effect on 1 October, requiring all taxis to display important passenger information in braille. The Land Transport Operator Licensing Rule means that from 1 October, all taxis must have a braille sign with the name of the taxi company, the cab’s unique fleet number and the taxi company’s contact phone number for complaints.
For the first time, braille has some kind of legal standing which will be enforced. This sets a wonderful precedent for things to come in this country. Please keep a look out for this braille whenever you use a taxi, and share this news with other braille readers who do not receive this newsletter. If the braille is either difficult to read, completely absent, or not on the left passenger door to the rear of the centre line, please feel free to use the telephone numbers supplied by the New Zealand Transport Agency. Below is the information in full. It is included in the print and braille edition of this newsletter, and is available separately on the Telephone Information Service (TIS) at option 353.
Taxi information in brailleTaxi information in Braille
From 1 October 2008 information in Braille must be displayed inside all taxis.
Where will this information be displayed?
On the inside of the left front door of the taxi, below the window and just to the rear of the centre of the door.
What information is required to be displayed?
The information required will be in two lines.
The first line will contain the abbreviated name of the taxi company and the fleet number of the taxi.
The second line will contain the telephone number of the taxi company you should ring if you have a complaint to make. Please note this number may not be the same one that you would use to order a taxi.
What to do if you wish to make a complaint
You should contact the taxi company by ringing the number provided.
If the complaint is related to the driver or the vehicle you must be able to tell them the fleet number of the taxi. You will find this on the first line after the taxi company name. If you cannot give them the taxi number you will have to give them a description that can be used to identify the driver or the taxi.
The company has a legal responsibility to respond to your complaint.
What do I do if the taxi does not have the required information in Braille displayed or if the braille is difficult to read?
If you can identify the taxi company you can make a formal complaint directly with the company. If not you can contact the local office of the New Zealand Transport Agency. The contact details for these offices are listed below.
Auckland 09 368 2000
Hamilton 07 958 7840
Napier 06 835 1750
Wellington 04 931 8900
Christchurch 03 964 2866
Dunedin 03 477 8527
Quantum Technology Braille Literacy Scholarship Program
Every parent wants the best for their child and Braille Literacy is fundamental to a blind child's success. Starting blind children on the road to Literacy as early as they are able and choosing the right tools is key to their success.
By using modern and appropriate tools:
* Very young children can start scribbling with dots, having fun and beginning to learn through experimentation and play.
* Parents can become actively involved in their child's literacy development.
* Appropriate expectations for children can result from giving them independence to learn and explore.
The Gillian Gale Award for Braille Literacy
This award honours the remarkable contribution Gillian Gale has made to the education of blind students in Australia and internationally.
A Mountbatten Learning System and all associated software and accessories will be awarded to one child in both Australia and New Zealand.
The award is open to applications on behalf of children between the ages of 3 and 8 years, who are learning Braille or are assessed as a future Braille learner.
How to Enter
In one thousand words or less, tell us why you feel Braille literacy will be key to your child's success and describe the role you envisage the Mountbatten Learning System will play in their future.
The winners will receive a Mountbatten Learning System Educational pack containing: MB Learning System, Mimic display, a mini keyboard, Monty Braille Translator, Jot a Dot Pocket Brailler, MBComm PC to MB communication software.
Applications must be submitted with the signature of an Early Childhood or Early Intervention Professional and/or a parent. Parents/professionals are welcome to provide any supporting material/documentation to their application. The winner must be willing to participate in promotional events and to attend a public awards ceremony.
Details of all the Scholarships along with application forms can be obtained by contacting Quantum Technology or downloaded from our website at www.quantumtechnology.com.au
All applications close on the 11th of December 2008.
Good Luck to all.
Regards
Lexie Challis
Quantum Technology
National Dealer Manager
Phone: +61 2 8844 9834
Fax: +61 2 9684 4717
Email: lchallis@quantumtechnology.com.au
General announcement: Personal requests
The Foundation now provides a service where members can request personal and one-off items in an accessible format. These items will only be of interest to an individual member e.g. personal correspondence or small extracts from an instruction manual. Formats available are braille, large print or electronic text. Depending on demand there may be limits on how many items individual members can request. Demand will also affect turnaround times although the focus will be on keeping these to a minimum. To place your request, please contact the library in your usual way.
The NEW Next GenerationT Perkins Brailler® is here!
Our old friend has had a make-over! Please find below part of a communication from the Perkins School in the USA. We won’t have access to it here for a while, but I for one am curious about how this new version will perform.
“Less FORCE.
Less WEIGHT.
Less NOISE.
MORE POSSIBILITIES...
We are writing to you with some very exciting news. Today, 57 years after the launch of the original Perkins Brailler, we are introducing the NEW NextGenerationT Perkins Brailler®. Initially the Next Generation model will be for sale only in the United States and only through American Printing House for the Blind or Perkins Products.
The Next Generation Perkins Brailler retains all of the features that made the Classic Perkins Brailler the most widely used braille writer in the world, plus incorporates new features users have been asking for.
The Next Generation Perkins Brailler is:
More portable due to its lighter weight and smaller size
More comfortable to use with a shorter keystroke and less force required
Quieter
New features and improvements in the Next Generation Perkins Brailler
include:
Easy-Erase Button so you can correct mistakes while brailling
Reading Rest so you can proofread the page with ease
Front Panel Margin Guides so you don't have to reach around the back
Greener construction through the use of less oil and manufactured materials
Modern colors and a sleek, new design
We are planning the international launch of the Next Generation Perkins Brailler for early 2009. At that time we will make available a list of international resellers who will be selling the Next Generation Perkins Brailler.
We invite you to visit PerkinsBrailler.org to learn more about the new brailler and the enhancements we have made. Also, listen to and download the Next Generation song, written by Raul Midón for the Next Generation Perkins Brailler.
All of us at Perkins are truly committed to braille literacy and we are honored to support children and adults in learning and using braille in their daily lives. After working diligently on the reengineering of the Perkins Brailler for two years, we are excited to offer the Next Generation Perkins Brailler and look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Steven M. Rothstein
President, Perkins School for the Blind
Steven.Rothstein@Perkins.org
Braille Music Goes Live!
By Lisette Wesseling
This came true at the 5th annual Senior Music Emersion Course held at BLENNZ Homai Campus between 28 September and 3 October. 17 students aged 13 to 19, plus blind and sighted tutors spent the week making music in various ensembles including choir, bands, a capella and smaller groups of the students’ own creation. I was fortunate to be able to attend as choir director, assisted by section leaders Chantelle Griffiths, Mark Wilson and Ken Joblin. All students receive the choir music in braille or large print and are expected to read and use it to learn their music.
It is always such a thrill for me to work with the blind tutors, who are all talented musicians, and who all use braille to teach the music to the students. Another really important aspect of the course is working with sighted people, especially Wendy Richards the overall director. Braille allows blind and sighted students and staff to work together in a way that produced some fabulous choral and instrumental music. For the students, it’s a chance to be in an environment where braille is on an equal footing with print. The experience of having a blind teacher who is able to check their braille music instantly is something these students rarely experience in their mainstream environment. It is also a real tangible way for them to see braille music literally come alive, turning from dots on the page into song and sound.
That’s all for this edition of the Braille Mail. If you would like to change the format in which you receive it, please let me know. If you think someone might like to read this newsletter who currently doesn't, please let me know and I'll put them on the mailing list. The next issue will be published around the middle of December.
See you next time.
Lisette Wesseling
tel: (04) 3802139
Mobile: (021) 7 664
Email: lwesseling
Freda Siaosi
tel: (04) 380 2147
Mobile: 027 229 1018.
Email: fsiaosi