[NOBE-L] #ReadAcrossAmerica #WithBraille

[Catherine Mendez]

Greetings all,

Please take note of the following, and participate if you are able. Just a heads up though, if he will be recording for this event in your classrooms, you either need parental consent to show students faces, or you need to be very sure that the video only shows things like hands, and backs of heads, if you choose to show students at all.  As an additional fun fact, March 2 is also Dr. Seuss‘s birthday, so bonus points if you can get a video of yourself reading a Dr. Seuss book and Braille!
Read Across America with Braille
 
National Read Across America Day is Monday, March 2. Although we celebrate year round the importance of Braille literacy, let’s make sure our voices are included on this national day. The goal of Read Across America is to help motivate kids to read, bring the joys of reading to students of all ages, and make all children feel valued and welcome. This must include blind and low vision children. Let’s promote reading with Braille.
 
Share Your Reading in a Video
Participate in our campaign to celebrate #ReadAcrossAmerica #WithBraille. Here is how:
·         Record a video of your child or you reading Braille from a book – one or two sentences will work.
·         Post the video on your social media accounts. Let us know what book you’re reading and include these hashtags: #ReadAcrossAmerica #WithBraille
·         If you aren’t on social media but want to share, send us your videos tocommunicationsteam at nfb.org. 
 
Tips for Making a Video on a Smart Phone
·         The person reading the book can be on one end of a couch while the person recording can be on the other end pointing the camera towards the reader.  For the recorder, have phone at around their own chin level, landscape mode (horizontally), and not in selfie mode. 
·         Another video option is to capture hands reading Braille close up. The recorder sits across from the reader at a table. Hold the phone standing landscape (horizontally) on the table with the camera lens in the upper left corner pointed toward the reader. 
·         Quick tips: the reader does not have to be exactly in the middle of the frame, try to be in a place with the most lighting if possible, check that the audio is clear before posting.
·         Have fun!


Cayte Mendez
President, National Organization of Blind Educators, A division of the National Federation of the Blind