This is aslightly edited version of the text of the post appearing on AFB’s FamilyConnect blog on January 10, 2018, regarding BrailleBlaster.
Software fortranscribing braille has been available for many years, but due to cost, it hasbeen out of reach for most home users. The American Printing House for theBlind (APH) is changing that by offering the most powerful transcriptionsoftware available free-of-charge!Originally designed for braille transcribers, BrailleBlaster™ can be downloadedand used by everyone, including parents, teachers, and students. Download at http://brailleblaster.org/
Special Question and Answer Event onJanuary 17th!
More aboutBrailleBlaster in a moment, but first we want to invite you to an APH/AFBpartner event happening on the FamilyConnect blog. If you have questions about howBrailleBlaster software can make life easier for you and your child, please visitthat blog next week on Wednesday,January 17th. We will be answering questions in the Comments sectionstarting at 9am EST. Have a question? Post it in the comments in the originalpost on FamilyConnector send it to info@aph.org.
You Can Create High-Quality Braille atHomeWhat wouldyou braille for your child? Reminder notes, to-do lists, homework assignments, stories?Transcribe these and more into braille using BrailleBlaster software. As apublic service, APH is making its advanced transcribing software available freeof charge. Although it is powerful, creating basic braille documents inBrailleBlaster is easy and does not require an in-depth knowledge of braille.
After youdownload and install the software on your Windows® PC or Mac®, simply copy& paste text from any document into BrailleBlaster. Instantly, excellentquality simulated braille will appear on your screen. This braille can then beedited for formatting in a similar way you edit text in a word processor. Forexample, to center a heading, put your curser in front of the words you want centered,go to the toolbar, click on the headings button, select center, and the headingwill automatically center.
Have an olderstudent? BrailleBlaster is fully accessible and can be used by students tocreate their own braille!
Getting Braille Into Your Child’sHands
Now thatyou’ve created a braille document, there are two ways to get it into the handsof your braille reader: using a braille embosser or using a refreshable brailledisplay.
If you have abraille embosser, you can create hard copy braille by sending your braille-readyfile (.brf) from BrailleBlaster to the embosser.
If your childuses a refreshable braille display, you can save the file as a braille-readyfile and email it to them.Frequently Asked Questions aboutBrailleBlaster
Havequestions about using BrailleBlaster at home or at school? Findour BrailleBlaster FAQs here.You can also email questions to APH at info@aph.org.
Gaining Access to Braille Technology
Braille Embossers: Although prices have decreased, thecost of braille embossers remains high. Fortunately, there are now more options than ever! Hereis a list of possible resources for locating or obtaining an embosser. The list includes local places, such as libraries, that may have an embosser, a list oflower-cost embossers, and ideas on how to raise funds for buying assistivetechnology.
Refreshable Braille Displays: There are many good options forrefreshable braille displays. One device is APH’s upcoming OrbitReader 20™,which has a significantprice breakthrough.
How Will You Use BrailleBlaster?
We know BrailleBlasterwill be useful to you at home or to your child’s school. It’s free, so you candownload it an experiment all you like on as many devices as you like. Let usknow how you use BrailleBlaster, we’re sure users are going to find many usesfor it that we haven’t even imagined!
