Co-author of the popular titles "Booktalking Bonanza" and "The Early Literacy Kit", Betsy Diamant-Cohen brings together 18 examples of successful outreach partnerships that children's librarians and administrators can adapt to their own situations. Contributors from the U.S and Canada explain how they partnered with schools,…

This article describes an unconventional method to teach un-contracted braille reading and writing skills to students who are blind and have additional disabilities. It includes a keyboarding curriculum that focuses on the whole language approach to literacy. A special feature is the keyboard that is adapted with braille symbols. Un-contracted…

The purpose of this study was to assess the level of competence needed for teachers of the visually impaired. The assessment was based on Professional Standard Competence developed by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) for special education teachers in 2001. The researchers used questionnaires to acquire information about 190 South Korean…

Telephone interviews with blind adults who had learned and used braille as their primary reading mode in public schools revealed that most Ss reported using braille for personal notes and memoranda but rely on readers and recordings for the majority of their reading and type most of their personal correspondence. (Author/CL)

An analysis of English braille as a written code from a linguistic viewpoint led to a regrouping and fresh description of the many elements of English braille, grade 2, with intention to facilitate both the teaching and the learning of reading braille. (Author/CL)

The future of braille is discussed including possible code changes, the development of direct print reading devices, the use of paperless braille, modifications in the production process, and the development of teaching materials. (PHR)

Tactile maps are an important means for the education and mobility of people who are visually impaired (that is, are blind or have low vision). Because of the importance of tactile maps, it is essential that they are accessible to people who are visually impaired and correctly interpreted. There has been considerable research on the design of…

This article tells the story of how Colby, a young boy who is congenitally deafblind, developed language and literacy. Narrative is coupled with video to illustrate how the following four instructional approaches and interventions supported his development: (1) daily schedule, (2) home-school journal, (3) experiential based literacy, and (4)…

Describes the insights into themselves and the reading process gained by eight sighted students who learned to read braille. (DD)

Eighty sighted male Ss participated in a study to determine the effect of the size of the braille cell on the rate of learning the names for braille symbols of letters of the alphabet (A-J and K-T). Study size (standard or large braille), test size (standard or large braille) and item set (A-J or K-T) were manipulated in a study-test procedure…

The bibliography of research on braille consists of approximately 130 entries consisting of journal articles, conference reports, books, doctoral dissertations, master's theses, German publications, Japanese publications, and unpublished reports. Publication dates range from 1907 to the present, with a fairly even distribution throughout that…

The study examined the ability to estimate the number of dots in Braille symbols by 21 legally blind and 21 sighted adults. Results indicated that this task was difficult for both blind and sighted subjects with little improvement over trials. Errors of underestimation exceeded errors of overestimation. (DB)

Advantages and disadvantages of means of access to microcomputers for blind persons are considered. Electronic braille, paper braille, OPTACON, synthesized speech, and enlarged print are discussed. Future improvements in access technology are projected. (CL)

Technical innovations, includng paperless braille, the Digicassette (a portable braille recorder), the Braillex (a more complicated version of the paperless braille system), VersaBraille (another paperless system), braille computer terminals, and new production methods in braille reading, writing, and production are summarized in the article. (PHR)

The article develops two contrasting themes: (1) the prime importance of braille as the medium of literacy available to blind persons; and (2) the widely perceived deemphasis of braille instruction in the United States. Resolutions of the American Council of the Blind encouraging increased and improved braille instruction are summarized.…