[Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] Braille Challange, app

[Lisa Yayla]

Braille users compete 
<http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x2029122552/Braille-users-compete>
OSB meet tests comprehension of language for visually impaired
Hailey Baskeyfield ran her fingers across the schedule for the Oklahoma 
Braille Challenge.

She ran her fingers down, felt a paper butterfly and exclaimed, "Ooh, 
what's this?"...
More than 20 visually handicapped youths from across Oklahoma competed 
in the Challenge, which tests proficiency in Braille reading and 
comprehension as well as speed, accuracy, spelling, proofreading and 
tactile graphics. Oklahoma's Challenge is one of 37 such competitions in 
the United States.
http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x2029122552/Braille-users-compete

http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x1284932116/State-Braille-competition-scheduled-today-at-OSB



Exhibitions: Chicago's 81-Year-Old Enfant Terrible
.... His elegant drawings of such seminal projects as the Illinois 
Regional Library for the Blind and the Physically Handicapped reveal how 
he broke free from the Miesian grid and neutral palette, introducing 
curves, colors and a tactile dimension that helped blind users navigate 
the space.

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2012/03/Tigerman-Exhibitions.asp

Android App to Help Blind People Study Math
Studying math while blind is a difficult proposition because many 
concepts are visually represented using charts, graphs, and other 
methods. To help address this problem, Engineers at Vanderbilt 
University have developed an Android app for touchscreen tablets that 
essentially turns visual objects into tactile ones. When the user 
touches a line or other object on the screen, the program activates the 
built-in vibrator so that the object can be felt.
http://www.medgadget.com/2012/03/android-app-to-help-blind-people-study-math.html

Fifth-grader to compete in Braille Challenge
The Braille Challenge, which is celebrating its 12th anniversary, was 
developed by the Braille Institute of America in Los Angeles in 2001.
The challenge is a national event, with 40 regionals and more than 800 
students participating throughout the United States and Canada.
On Saturday, students from grades one through 12 will test their skills 
in reading comprehension, Braille speed and accuracy, proofreading, 
spelling and reading tactile charts and graphs.
Sixty-five of the top-scoring students from across the country will be 
invited to the National Braille Challenge two-day final competition in 
Los Angeles in June.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/topstories/x1170539444/Fifth-grader-to-compete-in-Braille-Challenge

ViewPlus gets a nod from Microsoft
A Corvallis assistive technology company is getting some public 
relations mileage out of a promotional road trip by software titan 
Microsoft.
ViewPlus Technologies, which makes embossing computer printers that 
produce tactile graphics and Braille text for the blind, partners with 
Microsoft to design systems that work with the company's ubiquitous 
Windows operating system.
On Tuesday, two members of Microsoft's accessible computing group swung 
by ViewPlus on their way from their Seattle office to San Diego for the 
International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, the 
industry's biggest showcase. Known as CSUN after conference organizer 
California State University-Northridge, the four-day event starts next week.
http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/viewplus-gets-a-nod-from-microsoft/article_dfe80dea-5dcc-11e1-b79a-001871e3ce6c.html