The View from Where I Sit

Tag: world braille day

  • Braille vs Morse Code


    Braille is a tactile reading and writing system for the visually impaired, while Morse Code is a signaling system using dots and dashes for transmitting messages over distances.


    Origins and Purpose
    Braille was developed by Louis Braille in the early 19th century to enable blind individuals to read and write through touch. It converts letters, numbers, and symbols into patterns of raised dots arranged in a 3×2 grid, allowing tactile recognition and literacy for the visually impaired.


    Morse Code, created by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail in the 1830s, is a method of transmitting text using sequences of short and long signals (dots and dashes) via sound, light, or clicks. It was designed for rapid long-distance communication, particularly over telegraph lines.

    Mechanisms
    Braille: Each character is represented by a combination of raised dots within a six-dot cell, allowing 64 possible permutations. Advanced systems use contractions to increase reading speed and efficiency.


    Morse Code: Each letter, number, or punctuation mark is represented by a unique sequence of dots (short signals) and dashes (long signals). Timing between signals distinguishes letters, words, and sentences.


    Sensory Modality
    Braille is primarily tactile, read by fingertips, making it ideal for blind or low-vision individuals.

    Morse Code is auditory or visual, transmitted via sound, light, or mechanical signals, and can be used by both sighted and hearing individuals for long-distance communication.


    Applications
    Braille: Reading books, writing, mathematics, labeling, and everyday literacy for the visually impaired.


    Morse Code: Telegraphy, radio communication, maritime signaling, emergency communication, and amateur radio.

    Summary
    While both Braille and Morse Code are coding systems, they serve distinct purposes. Braille provides a tactile literacy system for the blind, enabling reading, writing, and education. Morse Code is a signaling system optimized for transmitting messages over distances, historically crucial for telegraphy and radio communication. Each system reflects the needs of its users and the technological context of its invention.

    For millions of people who are Blind or have Low Vision, braille is one of those tools.

    Even in a digital age, Braille remains essential for building literacy, opening doors to education, and creating lifelong opportunities. Here’s how it works:

    Braille is read by gliding your fingertips over embossed dots.
    It’s a code, not a language. Each letter, number, or symbol has its own braille character.


    People can also write in braille using tools like the Perkins Brailler.

  • Using Braille as an Accessibility Tool

    Did you know that braille can be used as an accessibility tool? I used to think that braille was only used to help the visually impaired.

    World Braille Day: Raising Awareness for an Important Communication Tool

    Since 2019, World Braille Day has been celebrated to create awareness of the importance of Braille; an access and communication tool that has played a key role in the realization of human rights for blind and partially sighted people.

    Its roots trace back to the 19th century, when in 1829, its blind inventor; Louis Braille created a tactile alphabet in order to be able to read and write, and eventually gain access to education, the news of this increasingly important tool receiving its own international day of recognition could not have arrived at a more relevant moment, as in its third year of celebration (2021). World Braille Day was reinvented by the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Braille is the system of raised dots used for reading and writing by people who are blind or severely visually impaired. It is read with the fingertips, although with practice, people with sight can read it with their eyes. Letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and numerous other symbols can be written with Braille. Although not technically its own language, Braille is a form of code and can be learned by just about anyone.

    On World Braille Day 2022, Direct Access encouraged businesses to facilitate accessible formats as a means of communication as it is the right thing to do for customers and potentially valuable employees who might also be disabled people. Since our post-COVID world has forced much of society to utilise digital media and formats to facilitate communication, shopping, entertainment, and business; digital accessibility is now necessary to ensure the digital inclusion of all people. Braille is essential in the context of education, freedom of expression and opinion, as well as social inclusion, as reflected in article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

    Using the latest Index Embossers, Direct Access can produce Braille in A4 and A3 formats ranging from healthcare or financial letters to legal documents and company brochures. We also provide state-of-the-art tactile map boards that incorporate a multitude of formats including braille, BSL sign language video, and audio descriptions. They are bound according to preference and checked by our proof-readers. This is usually helpful for tactile learners.

    For more information regarding their access and communication services feel free to contact them. 

    Tactile Braille Map Boards – Direct Access (directaccessgp.com)

    https://www.biography.com/scholar/louis-braille