Braillecast

Dec 24 2024 144 ep. 51 mins 32

Braillecast Podcast artwork

Celebrating braille and keeping braillists informed with exclusive interviews, independent reviews, comprehensive demonstrations, clear presentations, thought-provoking commentary and up-to-the-minute braille news.

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Games Galore: Braille and Tactile Games for All the Family (Extra 81)

Dec 24 2024 55 mins

You’re invited to pull up a chair at the Braillists’ Christmas party, where a friendly cast of characters discuss the games they play after Christmas dinner. Card games, board games, dice games and everything in between, we’ve got you covered. We discuss where to buy specially adapted games and how to adapt your own. And because it’s Christmas, the whole cast is in th

Introducing BUOC: Braille, User-Oriented Code (Extra 80)

Nov 24 2024 55 mins

The latest in our occasional series showcasing historical braille shorthand codes which you might still find useful today: Braille, User-Oriented Code (BUOC) was a code written by the late Australian, Rebecca Maxwell, with the support of Australian Braille Literacy Action (ABLA), formerly the Australian Guild of Business and Professional Blind. It was last revised in 1998 and in

Untangling the Wires: Why Connecting and Charging your Braille Display with USB Doesn’t Always Work (Extra 79)

Nov 03 2024 89 mins

USB, or Universal Serial Bus, has been a feature of braille displays for over twenty years. Originally a standard for connectivity, it has evolved over time to also provide power and charging capabilities. However, if USB is supposed to be Universal, why are some chargers faster than others, and why won’t some chargers and cables work at all? On Tuesday 29 October 2024, we unr

Read Aloud With Confidence (Extra 78)

Oct 20 2024 72 mins

Reading aloud is a skill that is both terrifying and liberating. Adding braille to the mix presents unique challenges that can often get in the way of recognising significant progress. Along with reading speed and fluency, the one question we hear most often is: “How can I improve my ability to read aloud?” Building on the topics from her popular masterclass, Revitalise Your

Braille On Display Launch Event (Episode 63)

Oct 16 2024 69 mins

We are excited to announce the launch of a new eBook! Whether you’re new to braille or you’ve been using braille technology for decades, choosing your braille display can be daunting. They’re so expensive, there’s so much to consider, and just when you thought you’d investigated all your options, you come across another one you hadn’t heard of before! Braille On D

Braille Screen Input: What’s New in iOS and iPad OS 18? (Extra 77)

Sep 22 2024 71 mins

Braille Screen Input has been overhauled! iOS and iPad OS 18, released on Monday 16 September, include the biggest refresh of Braille Screen Input since the feature was first introduced in iOS 8. Although you can, for the most part, still use Braille Screen Input as you always have done, the new functionality in Apple's latest flagship operating systems is a source of much excit

The Tactile and Technology Literacy Centre (TTLC), the Aotearoa Braille Music Initiative (ABMI) and Braille Music for Us (BMU) (Episode 62)

Aug 25 2024 42 mins

The Braillists Foundation prides itself on being a grass roots organisation; led by braille users, for braille users and, by extension, by blind people, for blind people. The Tactile and Technology Literacy Centre, based in Auckland, New Zealand, has a similar mission to the Braillists, and we find out more about them in this episode.

The Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust and the BANZAT Braille Transcription Course (Episode 61)

Aug 18 2024 51 mins

We start this episode in conversation with Maria Stevens, Chair of the Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust. We find out more about the work of BANZAT, the standards it has created and how it is helping to promote braille across New Zealand. We also discover more about the relationship between BANZAT and the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabil

Ari Hazelman on Braille in Samoa (Episode 60)

Aug 11 2024 36 mins

Last time on Braillecast, we heard from Ben Clare about the challenges facing Pacific Island countries in terms of access to braille, and Ben's experiences of visiting those countries to deliver training. One of the larger Pacific Island countries is Samoa, and thanks to a substantial fundraising effort, the Samoa Blind Persons Association were able to send three observers to th

Ben Clare on Braille in the Pacific Islands (Episode 59)

Aug 04 2024 41 mins

Australia and New Zealand are the two most well-known countries in the Pacific Region, the area between Australia and Hawaii. The region also includes many other countries including Fiji and Samoa. Many of these countries are on small, remote islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are difficult and expensive to reach, with total populations often of 100,000 or fewer, and ensuring acces