Chris Clemens
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For preliminary pages in Duxbury go to your microsoft word templates. When you downloaded Duxbury you also downloaded the Bana Template. In the file menu choose NEW, then look under my templates, the BANA template should be there. Insert your preliminary pages into the Bana Template. The select the pages you want to be formatted as preliminary pages, select add-ins which will bring up the Duxbury formatting options. Next choose page set up and the preliminary pages. Good luck!
I can help you make a table or a chart. Yes you do need to type your words first and you need to insert your column heading lines. You need to use your F9 key to insert your tabs for columns. If you still have Megadots you can make the table in Megadots, save as a brf and reopen in Duxsbury. Please send an example and I will send it back to you. Then you can reopen and check the formatting in alt F3
SusanI would assume that is a subtitle. Is that what it shows on the front of the book as well as the title page?
I haven't heard of any correspondence courses for tactile graphics, but that's not to say that they aren't out there! If anyone else has heard of something, please feel free to add your comments.
I great place to start though would be to attend one of the NBA conferences. There are always some tactile graphics workshops to choose from.
BettySorry for the delay ...
Unfortunately, it is not advisable to use braille dots to try and make shapes -- particularly at this age level.
It would depend on what type of software you have and what type of embosser is available. There are some embossers (such as the Tiger) that can emboss outside of the normal braille cell configuration. Graphic software is used to draw an image which can then be embossed.
BANA is going to be posting the Guidelines and Standards for Tactile Graphics on their website (probably in April). While they are what is considered to be the best solution, sometimes when you don't have the equipment, or the student needs the material immediately, you just have to do the best that you can with what you have. I can only make suggestions. And it sounds as though, in your case, your spur wheel may become your best friend.
Good luck,
BettyYou are right this is not what I wanted to hear, but oh well you got to do what you got to do. 🙂
One more question please: When making these blocks is there a specific way? What I mean is do we do this by hand or produce within software with braille characters? I usually do this by hand but I am not in the location where the student is and I will be just sending this in a file for the transcriber to emboss. I would appreciate your opinion on this.
Thank you so much for your time.
TinaThe guidelines for producing counting blocks in braille are as follows:
1. For kindergarten through grade 3 counting blocks should be shown as a tactile graphic. Blocks should be no smaller than 3/8 inch square. Groups of blocks should be grouped the same as they are in print with 1/8 to 1/4 inch between individual blocks, and 3/4 inch between groups of blocks.
(When it is necessary to use more than one braille page to depict the counting blocks, a transcriber's note should be inserted before the start of the tactile graphic, telling the reader how many pages the tactile graphic involves.)2. For grades 4 and up counting items can be represented by using the letters "on" for one, "tn" for ten, "hn" for hundreds, "th" (uncontracted) for thousands. A transcriber's note must be added explaining the use of braille symbols as a representation of the print object.
Yes, they do require quite a bit of time to produce and space in the braille volume. This is perhaps not the answer you were hoping for, but it is considered the best practise for the grade 2 level.
Betty
I must apologize for the delay in answering you.
Thank you for attaching the print. It is very helpful.
I think you must use the combined signature, following print. Use the dots 346 plus-sign between the 3/8 and the 3/4, without spaces. It seems evident that the dotted bar line separates part-measure units, not whole measures. Where a dotted bar sign falls at the end of a braille line, I think that it serves to indicate that the measure is incomplete, and a music hyphen is not required. Your alignment of the dotted-bar signs and use of guide dots seem perfectly correct to me.
I hope I've been clear. If not, please feel free to ask again.
Cheers to you.
Larry SmithAPH has available an addendum to the Nemeth Code called "Ancient Numeration Systems", adopted by BANA 1988. Rule V deals with Egyptian Signs and Symbols. I don't know what your Egyptian numerals look like, but this might be the answer for you. Rule I of the Addendum explains the use and format of the symbols from Attic, Babylonian, Chinese-Japanese, Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew, and Mayan.
I also have 2nd grade math with a lot of counting blocks shown. I feel that if I were to do each one of these as a tactile that it would take up too much space and pages. In a math class that I had with Betsy McBride we did these with braille symbols which just seems to save more space and quicker solving for the students. Please advise I really want to do this correctly.
Jan,
If it is all presented as one word, I think I would single cap each S as follows: [braille],S,S,S,SPY. That would clearly show the braille reader that you are dealing with an abbreviation (13.2 Instruction Manual). What do you think?
Jana
Unfortunately, the .jpeg that you attached had no content. So, I have done up an example of a protrator where the student simply has to use the print graphic to tell the angles. They are not actually measuring them.
Protractors can provide an accurate angle measurement to within 5 degrees. The rays of an angle to be measured with a braille protractor must be at least 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) in length. There should be a 1-inch margin all around the tactile to allow for placement of the actual braille protractor.
If though, as I said, you are showing an illustration of a protractor, it still must be simplified considerably in order to fit the essential information and still have sufficient room (1/8 inch minimum) between lines and labels. Please see attached Word document for print and tactile examples. Allow me to ammend my earlier statement and say that you may also need to show 5 degree tick marks (shorter than the 10 degree tick marks). I have included an example of one that is TOO detailed and a better one that has been simplified. I hope this is helpful.Betty
Thank you. I have attached a copy. Let me make sure that I understood you correctly. I only need to show the 10 degree tick marks and label 30, 60, and 90 degrees.
You are correct that the numeric indicator is not required for measurement tools such as a ruler or protractor. You haven't said whether your graphic is just an image of what a protractor looks like, or whether there is also an actual angle measurement added to the illustration. Since these usually have to be enlarged to the full width of the braille page in order to have room for all the labels, and since you want the completed tactile graphic to be as uncluttered as possible, I would suggest that you do [u]not [/u]show the numbers for each 10 degree increment. This is a similar concept as simplifying a cartesian graph to show only increments of 5 or 10 along the axis lines with unlabeled tick marks inbetween. There is no need to show all of the tick marks either, as braille protractors cannot accurately measure very small increments. I would suggest making tick marks for every 10 degrees, and labelling the 30, 60, and 90, etc. measurements. I'm sorry that I do not have an example at home that I can attach for you to see.
Feel free to post either a scan or your page or request further clarification if necessary.Betty
