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Announcing the 2018 Professional Development Conference

By Chris Clemens | April 30, 2018
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We are very excited to announce that registration for the 2018 NBA Professional Development Conference is live!!! For this year’s annual conference, we’ll be hosted by the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan on October 24, 25, and 26. The Conference For those unfamiliar with our annual conferences, we pack three days with a wide selection of workshops specifically tailored to braille transcribers and teachers of the visually impaired. Our lineup of experts is well underway in their preparation of creating workshop materials intended to help you gain a better understanding of the latest transcription codes, and how best…

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How to Braille the Number 6

By Chris Clemens | April 24, 2018
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Here in the office at the National Braille Association we often get questions via email. Sometimes those questions are from transcribers seeking support, and sometimes they’re from the general public. Recently, we got an interesting question from someone who isn’t a braille transcriber. Luke S. writes and asks: I am looking to get the number 6 tattooed on me, because it has a very significant meaning to me. However, I am getting a few different results for what that is in Braille. What exactly is the correct way to say 6 in Braille and if so what are different options…

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Spring News

By Chris Clemens | April 3, 2018
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This season has been a busy one, and we’ve made a lot of announcements recently. We wanted to take an opportunity and touch base this week to provide an update on everything that is happening with NBA!   Braille Formats Last month we published the 2018 Braille Formats Study Guide. Though the study guide is not a required purchase before taking the Formats Exam, many find that using the publication is a great way to prep for getting certified. It’s available in our website store in print and ebook for $50.00 for either edition. We still aren’t ready to make the…

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April 2018 Webinars

By Chris Clemens | March 29, 2018
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During the month of April, we’ll be continuing to offer three short-length webinars at no cost to the public. As always, we’ll have our Braille Formats webinar on the first Friday of the month, a Music Braille webinar, and our rotating topic. This month we’ll also be conducting a four-hour length webinar called Using UEB in Technical Materials. If you missed our post with information on that, you can find it here. The webinars last on average about fifteen minutes and are intended to touch on an area of instruction that allows an attendee to learn a new skill (or…

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Introducing Two New Publications!

By Chris Clemens | March 13, 2018
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This month we are introducing two new publications to our library. Both have been widely anticipated, so we’re excited to make them available! The Braille Formats Study Guide With the adoption of Unified English Braille, the Braille Formats code required a substantial update. Since BANA’s release of Braille Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, 2016, our committee of experts have been re-writing educational materials to incorporate these changes. While a certification in Braille Formats doesn’t require the purchase of the Study Guide, many who are seeking certification find that the simple outline of the Study Guide is a great way to learn the…

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Using UEB in Technical Materials Webinar

By Chris Clemens | March 5, 2018
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As we continue to offer more and more web-based learning opportunities for transcribers and teachers of the visually impaired, we’ve begun considering some of the more popular topics from previous conferences to offer as webinars. Based on feedback received from attendees in the Using UEB in Technical Materials workshops, we’ve chosen that topic to be the subject of our next online training! This webinar will be slightly different from previous ones we’ve presented, in that it will be broken up into four, one-hour length sections presented once weekly. This webinar will be presented by Wendy Benckhuysen who has written and…

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March 2018 Webinars

By Chris Clemens | February 22, 2018
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During the month of March, we’ll be continuing to offer three short-length webinars at no cost to the public. As always, we’ll have our Braille Formats webinar on the first Friday of the month, a Music Braille webinar, and our rotating topic for this month will be Math and Science Braille. The webinars last on average about fifteen minutes and are intended to touch on an area of instruction that allows an attendee to learn a new skill (or update an old one) without needing to commit an extended amount of time. Anyone with an internet connection is invited to…

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February 2018 Webinars

By Chris Clemens | January 29, 2018
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During the month of February, we’ll be continuing to offer three short-length webinars at no cost to the public. As always, we’ll have our Braille Formats webinar on the first Friday of the month, a Music Braille webinar, and our rotating topic for this month will be Unified English Braille. The webinars last on average about fifteen minutes and are intended to touch on an area of instruction that allows an attendee to learn a new skill (or update an old one) without needing to commit an extended amount of time during their day. Anyone with an internet connection is…

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BULLETIN: No. 53, No. 4 – Winter 2017-18

By Chris Clemens | January 15, 2018
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The Winter 2017-18 NBA Bulletin (Vol. 53, No. 4) is now available for current NBA Members to download right from the Member’s Section of our website. Once you’re logged in, navigate to the Member’s Section using the link at the very top of your screen. Both PDF and BRF files are available to download right now! For those who receive the braille, print, and disc editions of the Bulletin, you should be receiving those editions within coming weeks. Remember: even if you receive any hardcopy form of the Bulletin, as a current member, you still have access to the digital edition.…

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January 2018 Webinars

By Chris Clemens | December 27, 2017
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Looking to start off the New Year learning a few new tricks? Our three webinars this January are sure to get you engaged and on track for 2018! Though only current NBA members have full access to the archive of recorded webinars, we invite anyone to join us at no cost as they happen live. To attend one of the webinars, use the link within the descriptions below. Formats Friday – Tables Presenter: Cindi Laurent Friday, January 5, 2017 at 1:00p ET Description: This webinar will review the guidelines in Section 11.  We will look at different methods and formats for…

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