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<a href="http://blindgeteducated.blogspot.com/2011/09/in-effort-to-become-braille-certified.html">In the Effort to Become Braille Certified</a>
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Oh so many years ago, leading up to my braille certification, I killed a
LOT of trees in the process. I would braille hours every night after
school and after work in order to learn that code. Using 11 x 11 paper
and a great deal of it.<br>
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Today, things have changed tremendously. I have everyone download <a href="http://www.duxburysystems.com/">Perky Duck</a>, which is free and is a minor program compared to its parent <a href="http://www.duxburysystems.com/">Duxbury</a>,
which is a very powerful and superb braille to print, print to braille
translation program, but cost money. I also use the Library of Congress
Braille Handbook and many supplements for my adult students to work
from. They six key in their work, then email it off to me for
correction. In this process, we save hundreds of trees. When there are
too many students, I have them sign up with the Library of Congress,
which the National Federation of the Blind has taken over in the
correction and helping mode. They too are set up to receive everything
through email and they respond using email also, with a grade and or
corrections that need to be made.<br>
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When taking the Braille certification test, you can use your reference
manuals. When I take them through the lessons, I have them mark the
sections and underline the areas they are struggling with, so when the
test comes and they are unsure, they can quickly turn to the answer in
their book. A great supplement to the classes is the <a href="http://www.scalarspublishing.com/">Braille Enthusiast's Dictionary</a>. It has every word and contraction you can think of that may be in text.<br>
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When my students are preparing for the test I have them braille it out
in Perky Duck or Duxbury to get an electronic copy. Then they move to
the brailler and braille another copy out. Next, they compare their hard
copy to the electronic copy. Proofreading your own work is one of the
hardest things for students. It was for me too, so it is great with
these new techniques to use to double check your work. If they are
really in doubt, they rebraille another copy on Perky Duck or Duxbury.
When they are practicing their proofreading or slate n stylus, once
again, they can use Perky Duck to braille out all the different options
they believe it to be. <br>
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I have had more people pass their braille certification quicker using
these methods versus not using them. Using everything at our disposal
gives us a better idea of how to help our students too. Many methods,
mean more success, for more people.<div> </div><div><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Brush Script MT';COLOR:black;FONT-SIZE:18pt;"><font color="#4040ff"> Denise </font></span></div><div><span style="FONT-FAMILY:'Brush Script MT';COLOR:black;FONT-SIZE:18pt;"></span> </div><div>Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D. <br>Teacher of the Blind & Visually Impaired<br>TechVision-Independent Contractor</div><div>Specialist in blind programming/teaching/training</div><div>509-674-1853 <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:deniserob@gmail.com"> deniserob@gmail.com</a></div><div> </div><div><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://blindgeteducated.blogspot.com/">http://blindgeteducated.blogspot.com/</a></div><div> </div></div></body></html>