By Constance Craig and Pierre Ferland
With the joint support of the CBA, CNIB and INLB, Constance Craig (CNIB) and Pierre Ferland (INLB) were sent to the International Cartographic Association's Conference on Representation and Blindness, held May 21-23 in San Marino, Italy. The objectives were twofold: first, to learn where research into haptic perception and tactile graphics is headed and what new concepts and ideas might be applicable to tactile design and production; second, to find a suitable researcher who would aid in the development and analysis of a test kit for Phase Three of the CBA's Tactile Graphics Research Project.The conference consisted of the opening symposium, four additional paper sessions, one poster session and two formal social gatherings. Over one hundred delegates and student observers from eighteen countries attended the meeting with delegates from twelve countries, including Canada, giving papers. Seventy percent of the speakers and over eighty percent of the delegates were psychologists. We were left slightly handicapped because the speakers frequently used technical terms for which we only partially understood the definitions.
The first symposium paper reviewed the two main theories on blindness and perception. The first view holds that touch can perceive many of the same aspects of space as vision and this has led to the whole field of tactile graphics. The opposing theory assumes that a lack of any visual experience may not influence the perceptual process but rather the memory and representation of the perception. This means that the tactual reader tends to exaggerate horizontal measurement over the vertical measurement while the visual reader does the reverse. Speaker Morton Heller also had a word of caution for the tactile producer when he stated that a 2-D environment is just as unnatural for the blind person as it is for the sighted person. He concluded with the promise that current research indicates that the blind person can, with practice, learn perspective.
Although a couple of papers such as Professor Turvey's "Dynamic Touch and Rotational Dynamics" have no direct application to tactile design for the blind, most papers had direct implications on the topic, or showed great promise of opening new pathways of understanding of how images and spatial relationships are processed and interpreted. The first open paper session focused on "Spatial Representation and Spatial Orientation" where relationships such as the difference between how blind and sighted people orient themselves were explored. The early blinded people orient objects and point back to themselves while late blinded and the sighted people tend to locate an array of points back to another point or home reference in the array.
The second session simply titled "Haptics" discussed issues such as whether tactile space is Euclidian. Test subjects were asked to rotate bars in such a way that they felt parallel to a stationary reference bar. The results indicated large systematic errors with the degree of deviation consistent for the individual user. Some people's standard deviation was over 65 degrees, while the lowest deviation studied was still more than 16 degrees. The authors concluded that haptic space is not Euclidian and that the concept of parallelism is not the same for the blind as it is for the sighted individual.
The third and fourth sessions had the greatest bearing on current tactile design and production practices. The session on "Graphics/Maps" foreshadowed where tactile graphics may be 20 years from now. The Japanese and Swedish papers showed reading print diagrams (using a 32-pin mouse) and Virtual Tactiles. Currently the inventions are prohibitively expensive with equipment costs ranging from $32,000 to $500,000 and high technology and programming requirements.
This session also contained the only paper given by a tactile producer. By creating over 400 pages of stereocopy showing molecules, this couple helped two Cambridge students gain a first and second class in Chemistry. The paper stressed the need for the producer to understand the subject matter being translated and the need to design to the purpose and the needs of the user not simply to the original print. The speakers also mentioned that verbally explaining simple diagrams instead of showing them tactually removes the learning base that may be necessary for proper comprehension of more advanced diagrams and subjects.
Our concerns with the papers covered both technical and research problems. Some of the technical difficulties with projectors resulted in little time for questions at the end of the paper or even a chance for casual discussion during breaks or lunches. Both of us still have serious concerns about many of the papers. First, many of the papers were obviously the first forays into research on tactile graphics and haptic perception and the results created more questions than findings and made some of the conclusions suspect. Second, many of the research studies used an extremely small population sample. In some cases, only two or three test subjects were used. Third, some papers separated their subjects into congenitally and adventitiously blind populations but used no other relevant factors to explain differences in test results, such as intelligence level, education, or existence of other disabilities. We both felt that, in some cases, these unconsidered factors might have been just as important, or even more important than the question of when the subject became blind.
In spite of these concerns and our inability to find anyone who might be interested or suitable as a researcher, the conference was important and worthwhile. Many of the top researchers from Europe, United States, Japan and Australia were there and the pure theoretical atmosphere was revitalizing to people caught up in situations of the day-to-day grind of production. It brought home to us that there really is a difference between the tactile processes and comprehension of those blinded before age one and those who lose their sight at a later age.
John Kennedy was one of several speakers who stressed that if you can get the blind people to draw/make their own tactiles, they can learn how to understand 2-D representations, spatial relationships and concepts. The increasing support for these findings may suggest powerful strategies for classroom and itinerant teachers.
Finally, the papers promised the introduction of virtual graphics sometime in the future and reinforced the belief that tactile graphics are the only way certain concepts can be taught or learned.
By Darleen Bogart
1997-98 was a year of learning to fly for the Executive of The Canadian Braille Authority. The three founding executive members retired from the Board of Directors at last year's annual meeting, leaving us to find our wings. I am happy to say that after some practice runs, we are airborne and on target.
In presenting this annual accounting of CBA activities during 1997-98, I will be consolidating and, in many cases, taking parts of the reports prepared by the Chairs of the Standing Committees for the Board of Directors. If there is any area about which you would like further clarification, please get in touch with me.
Research projects continue as our main focus. The second phase of the tactile graphics project which surveyed teachers is nearing completion. Funding from the Canadian Braille Literacy Foundation has been received to complete the project (Phase III). It will be a huge undertaking and we must ensure that a comprehensive plan is established in order to prepare an effective and efficient testing package of tactile graphics which is the major part of Phase III. The English Braille Standards Committee with assistance from the Braille Teaching and Learning Committee will be responsible for this project.
Two members of the Tactile Research Committee for Phase III attended the International Cartographic Association held in May in Italy. We are indebted to CNIB and INLB for their financial assistance for Constance Craig and Pierre Ferland.
Work on the Teacher Competencies Project is underway with Dr. Cay Holbrook, University of British Columbia, in charge of the research.
The Uniform Braille Code evaluation results indicate general support for the project and for most of the symbols. Specific comments from participants have been forward to the working committee chairs for them to use in conjunction with the official results of the initial investigation.
One of the major concerns of our Promotion and Access to Braille Committee, composed entirely of consumers, is the provision of quality braille instruction by qualified teachers to those students who cannot read print at a rate comparable to their sighted peers. Recommendations from CBA's report on Instructional Services to Children/Youth Who Use Braille stressed the needs for a model of pre- service and in-service training in braille for teachers. In response to these two related concerns, a successful grant application was made to the National Literacy Secretariat, Human Resources Development Canada to develop a set of braille teacher competencies for school age children in Canada. The project is to be completed over a two year span and will be guided by the Braille Teaching and Learning Committee.
The Canadian Braille Literacy Foundation is also funding the evaluation of the Unified Braille Code (UBC) in relationship to the reading, writing and learning of the new code for school age children and adults. We received permission to postpone this project to allow the completion of the first evaluation of UBC by educators, braille readers and transcribers.
CBA has been able to support the evaluation of new French braille contractions across the country being undertaken by the French Forum.
CBA has collaborated with The Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the Canadian Braille Literacy Foundation to produce a brochure for parents of young blind children. It is entitled "Braille = Equality" and will be available in English and French. It is estimated that one thousand of these brochures will be distributed by CNIB as part of a kit for English-speaking parents. This has been one of the priorities of the Promotion of and Access to Braille Committee. The brochure has gone to press. The launch of the kit is planned for the CNIB Braille Conference, October 23, 1998.
Some funds were generated for CBA through the sale of braille key chains and CBA publications. Both of these projects will be continued.
A project involving a huge amount of work was the preparation of the French print and braille editions of our three research reports. We owe a great debt of appreciation to Sande Thorley, a CNIB volunteer braille transcriber who undertook the task. Orders for CBA publications were received from as far away as Israel and Sweden. The Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness carried a list of CBA publications in its latest issue, thanks to Fred Poon, CBA's good friend and booster.
The Publications Committee continues to provide the membership with interesting and informative newsletters. Unfortunately, difficulties in completing the French translation delayed the distribution of the 1997 issue. Fortunately, two volunteers have come forward to assist in the French translation for the next year.
The Executive and Board members were put on listservs during the year - greatly improving timely communication. Work is progressing on the CBA Publication Guidelines which will ensure future publications have a standardized format.
Work is progressing on the CBA Publication Guidelines which will ensure future publications have a standardized format.
An ad hoc committee was struck to review our strategic plan document and recommend the priorities on which CBA should concentrate in the next year.
Reta Irwin, CNIB staff member, provides the administrative support for CBA and in effect runs the CBA "office". This has had a great stabilizing effect as CBA has a permanent address. Reta has handled all memberships, publication orders, braille newsletter embossing, as well as support to me. We are greatly appreciative of Reta's efficiency and willingness to help us and of CNIB's support of CBA in yet another way.
While much has been accomplished, much on the agenda requires action.
We were able to increase the total amounts we received in grants and to broaden the funding base. This trend must continue if we are to have the operating funds to become self-sufficient.
The membership base has not increased. We must improve our efforts to attract more corporate as well as general members. Special recruitment is required among French braille readers and educators.
Promotion of CBA at conferences and regional meetings has been started, but we should be visible at all such gatherings where braille is on the agenda.
We are struggling with the cost of French translation. We could not have afforded to fulfill our goal of making all our materials available in both English and French, print and braille without the support of CNIB, INLB (Institut Nazareth et Louis Braille) and several volunteers.
It is truly amazing how one member's contribution in six years can have a large impact. But that is entirely true in the case of the three board members retiring this year. Edie Mourre took on the chair of the English Braille Standards Committee and shepherded the first phase of the tactile graphics research project. Susan Graham researched fundraising possibilities and spearheaded our participation in exhibits at conferences. Francis Drake initiated the Technology Committee and introduced the CBA home page on the Web. We thank each of them.
Most of us have received support from family and employers to enable us to serve as CBA Board members. We acknowledge that support with gratitude. Some believe in CBA and commit resources to help us reach our goals. This year we are especially grateful to The Canadian National Institute for the Blind; National Literacy Secretariat, Human Resources Development Canada; Canadian Braille Literacy Foundation; Langara College; Institute Nazareth et Louis Braille; Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired; Manitoba Department of Education and Training; and our Auditor who donated his services. We could not have succeeded without their support.
to Mel Graham, retiring as chair of the Promotion of and Access to Braille Committee;
to Brian Henschel, retiring as Treasurer;
to all Board Members for their support of me;
to the Executive Committee;
and to all who took out CBA memberships this year.
I would like to conclude this year's account with the challenges we face in the future. Now that we have had several years of experience with the original by-laws, we need to review them. A review of our financial procedures is also necessary to ensure that proper controls are in place for accountability. And we must continue to seek funding for the projects that will enhance the promotion of braille as a primary medium for blind persons.
CBA now has an unmonitored open listserve to provide a forum for members to discuss issues on braille.
To subscribe, send a message to:
Listproc@langara.bc.ca
Type:
Subscribe cba [your email address]
Remove all subject and signature lines
We look forward to hearing from you on the listserve.
By Wendy Edey
It's three dimensional and that's cool. Now that I'm in my forties I don't do as many cool things as I used to, so I notice when I do something cool.
You can read it in the dark. This has many beneficial effects. Most of them are related to being able to stay up and read when other people think you're in bed.
Reading braille prevents car sickness. More specifically, it prevents the kind of car sickness you would get if you were the kind of person who could read print in a moving car and would likely get car sick if you tried to read print in a moving car.
It helps you meet people. Strangers approach you when you're reading braille on the bus. They ask you questions such as: "Is that braille?" Now, there's a real conversation starter.
It can get you a job--if you're blind. Statistics show that braille readers who are blind have a higher rate of employment than non-braille readers who are blind.
It can get you a job--if you're sighted. Just ask all the mothers, friends and teachers of blind people who are now working in the braille production industry.
It can amuse your friends. My office colleagues are currently enjoying a photograph--not yet developed, mind you--that was taken by my supervisor at a conference in Montreal. If cameras don't lie, it will show me lying in bed, reading a novel, with a sheet just barely covering parts of me which would have been better covered had I known I was about to be photographed.
It eliminates the need to have a note-taking assistant--if you're a blind student. It also relieves you of the boredom of having to listen to the tape of a lecture you already heard.
You can make it a better day for the waiters in restaurants which have braille menus. They love to get out the braille menus.
You can read braille to your kids--and anybody else's kids, for that matter. You can also read to adults. Adults love it when you read to them. This is also a good reason to read print. But then, nobody ever asks why anyone would bother to read print.
By Wendy Edey
After you get through that title, it is easy to understand why we have developed the habit of referring to it as "Mel's Committee". We expect to continue calling it Mel's Committee even though I have taken over the chair. Mel Graham will continue to help us out, offering us the wisdom and enthusiasm that got his committee this far. A number of other CBA board members are helping too.
Gradually, over the past four years, Mel's Committee has been raising interest in and awareness of braille right across Canada. It hasn't been easy or quick, but a number of meetings have now brought together interested people from various regions of Canada. Each has gone home to do something-- anything to raise awareness of braille.
This year the CNIB and CBA will collaborate on the release of a kit to introduce braille to very young blind children and their parents. This kit will provide kids with opportunities to play with braille, the way kids play with print.
We have begun to communicate with officials in departments of education across the country. We want them to know that braille is important--essential for blind students. We want them to put in place the human and financial resources which will make braille available.
We have also begun planning for a Braille Day--a day, perhaps in the year 2000, when Canadian communities will be asked to put on targeted projects which will enhance the promotion and availability of braille. These projects will have a public relations value, but we are hoping they will also provide something concrete--maybe a little training for people who need training, a few books for people who need books. We'll have more details later, and we will definitely need a lot of help. Some people are volunteering already.
If you are interested in helping with projects related to the promotion of and access to braille, please contact me. You won't have to be a committee member, or anything. We'll talk about what you could do to help.
For further information, contact:
Wendy Edey
3928 67 Street
Edmonton, AB
T6K 2N8
Tel: (403) 462 2847
Fax: (403) 492 9813
E-mail: wendy.edey@ualberta.ca
By Debbie Sitar
The Braille Teaching and Learning Committee of the CBA chaired by Debbie Sitar has received a grant from the National Literacy Secretariat in the sum of $88,200. This grant is for a project to develop standards to improve the levels of braille teaching competency for educators of persons who are blind or visually impaired.
The project will provide the following:
1. Provide Canada with a set of braille teacher competencies for school age children.
2. Ensure that all school age children have access to services of qualified braille teachers that meet national competency standards.
3. Provide employers with hiring criteria for braille teachers of school age children.
4. Provide better opportunities for children whose reading modality is braille to achieve literacy standards equal to their sighted peers.
The Braille Teaching and Learning Committee is grateful to the National Literacy Secretariat and is looking forward to the challenges ahead.
By Margaret Andrewes
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) Library for the Blind is pleased to announce that the Hamilton Public Library Resource Centre for Disabled Persons is the recipient of the 1998 Dr. Dayton M. Forman Memorial Award. Introduced in 1996, this annual award is offered in memory of Dayton Forman who was a humanitarian and longstanding CNIB volunteer leader. It recognizes outstanding leadership in the advancement of library and information services for blind and visually impaired Canadians.
In announcing the award, Nancy Campbell, Chair of the CNIB Library Board, noted, "Since 1981, when the Resource Centre for Disabled Persons was opened, the Hamilton Public Library has been an exceptional model in the provision of library and information services for blind and visually impaired Canadians. Citizens of Hamilton, who are blind, recognize the centre as "a leader in keeping the expanding information world available to them". Educators regard the centre as "an invaluable community partner in providing their blind and visually impaired students with the information resources essential for their learning."
The Resource Centre for Disabled Persons accomplishes its mandate through a variety of complementary services in partnership with many community organizations, including the Hamilton- Wentworth Community Information Service and Chedoke Hospital Rehabilitation Services. It has several distinct collections in accessible format, specialized equipment for users to access information, and staff dedicated to excellent customer service.
The 1998 Dr. Dayton M. Forman Memorial Award was presented to Peter Rogers, Chair of the Hamilton Public Library Board, on June 20 at the Canadian Library Association Conference in Victoria, British Columbia.
By Karen Taylor
The SNOW Web site (http://snow.utoronto.ca) is the product of a unique and dynamic partnership that offers a very special service to teachers of students with special needs. Hosted by the University of Toronto, the SNOW Web site features professional development resources on courses, classroom strategies, adaptive technology, and curriculum resources focusing on best practices. The partnerships with the University of Toronto includes the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Ontario Ministry of Education and Training, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Provincial and Demonstration Schools, Bloorview MacMillan Centre, Ryerson Polytechnic University Centre for Learning Technologies, and private companies such as Telebotics, Silicon Graphics Inc., and Bell Global Solutions.
Membership in the SNOW project has allowed the CNIB Library to offer resources to school teachers and family members of blind and visually impaired students. From across Canada, CNIB gets requests for more support for Grade One Braille. In partnership with the W. Ross Macdonald School in Brantford, Ontario, the CNIB has made One is Fun: Guidelines for Better Braille Literacy by
Marjorie Troughton available on the SNOW Web site. Darleen Bogart has written an informative introduction to this text.
The Grade One Braille Home Study courses offered by the CNIB is also in development and will be offered from the Web site. Family and friends of persons who are blind can use this course to achieve basic written communication in braille.
Teachers of blind and visually impaired students need access to tactile images. A listing of tactile maps (the images for which we receive the most requests from provincial educational resource centres) obtainable from the CNIB Library will soon be available. A teacher can select a map, fill out an online order form and send the request to the CNIB Library by electronic mail. We hope to be able to incorporate the lists of other tactile images in the future.
Often it is the material that is not on the prescribed curriculum that most engages students and stimulates creative thought. We are collaborating with the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum and TV Ontario to develop innovative and motivating curriculum resources. In May, we will be holding a workshop for blind students and their teachers at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Students will be able to touch sculptures by artists such as Henry Moore and Degas, and discuss concepts such as shape, texture, size, and mood and create their own art in the Gallery studio. The corresponding video of the workshop will help to train teachers working with students with visual impairments to teach visual arts.
The Royal Ontario Museum has agreed to share its "best practices" guidelines for exhibiting materials and developing learning programmes for students who are blind. Also, Discovery boxes are available for loan to Ontario schools. These Discovery boxes include artifacts from the museum that can be touched, smelled, and shaken.
The SNOW project has given the CNIB an opportunity to be a part of the new teaching and learning paradigm. We are confident that the momentum built by the SNOW partnership will lead to more sources of funding to continue this important work. We all have much to learn from each other.
TheCode of Braille Textbook Formats and Techniques, 1977 has been replaced by Braille Formats: Principles of Print to Braille Transcription, 1997. It is a publication of the Braille Authority of North America, BANA, and is available in print and braille from American Printing House for the Blind (APH).
Ordering information follows:
Braille Formats:Principles of Print to Braille Transcription, 1997, 7-09652-00 Print and 5-09652-00 Braille. Developed under the sponsorship of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA), the book is now in stock at the American Printing House for the Blind. The price in print and braille is $30.00 per copy shipped Free Matter for the Blind and Handicapped.
The print version is in 3 volumes which are 3-hole punched and unbound. Volume 1: Rules, Volume 2: Braille Examples in simulated braille, Volume 3: Print Examples.
The braille version is in 12 volumes plus Volume 3: Print Examples. The braille is 3-hole punched and 3-ring binders are provided. The braille copies will be made on order. Copies are in stock for orders received to date.
To place an order, please call 1-800-223-1839 and press 1 for Sales.
The report is the result of a national survey of provincial education departments that was conducted in the Fall of 1993. The report includes a literature review of research, the survey findings, and recommendations for improving services.
Price: $11.50
To CBA Members: $10.00
The report is the result of a national survey of tactile graphics producers across Canada that was conducted in 1994. The report includes a literature review of research, the survey findings and recommendations.
Price: $11.50
To CBA Members: $10.00
The report has been approved by the Canadian Braille Authority as the standard guidelines for tactile graphic production. It includes: diagram production, braille format and layout, quality control, cataloguing and samples of tactile techniques.
Price: $35.00
To CBA Members: $30.00
Prices are the same for print and braille editions and are available in English and French. All prices are given in Canadian dollars. ADD shipping and mailing costs, as follows: Canada $2.00; U.S.A. $2.50; Overseas $5.00
Make cheque or bank draft paybable to: The Canadian Braille Authority
Joy Charlton
Canadian Braille Authority
c/o CNIB Library for the Blind
1929 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M4G 3E8
CBA newsletter/Le Bulletin is published twice a year by the Canadian Braille Authority / L'Autorité canadienne du braille.
ISSN 1203-6781
Produced by Langara College
Address newsletter queries to:
Fred Poon
Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired
106-1750 W. 75th Ave
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6P 6G2
Co-editors:
Fred Poon
Tel: (604) 266-3699
Fax: (604) 261-0778
Email: fpoon@prcvi.org
Mary Anne Epp
Tel: (604) 323-5627
Fax: (604) 323-5577
Email: maepp@langara.bc.ca
The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and are not attributable to the Canadian Braille Authority
Copyright ©1999-2010 Canadian Braille Authority/L'Autorité canadienne du braille
For general CBA info, please contact: the Administrative Secretary (joy.charlton@cnib.ca)