EDTC 300 was a spring class and in this class, I had to take up a learning project that required me to learn something new or something I have an interest in. Along with picking up a new skill, I also learned how to blog and where to look for online resources and what kinds of materials work best for me. During this learning project, I discovered that videos were the most helpful resources because they gave me the ability to not only listen but visually see what I am learning. I could also pause and repeat this process as often as I wanted.
This is the summary of my Learning project. For my learning project, I decided to learn Braille. It was not an easy journey at all, I have had challenges learning Braille, I have failed several levels on the Braille Academy app and challenges and despite all these, Yay! I have been able to learn and master all the alphabets, numbers, Capitalization, and punctuation. Though it is still a long journey to writing, reading, translating/ transcribing Braille but It was a fulfilling journey for me. During this journey, I have found so many great resources, videos, apps, games, and websites that I can continue to use to perfect my Braille lessons as I move past EDTC 300.
WEEK 1
The first week post was basically talking about what I will focus on during the 6 weeks spring class and I laid out reasons why I am motivated to learn Braille and why educators like me should be interested in learning Braille.
WEEK 2
For the 2nd week, I talked about definition of Braille and also shared the video of me practicing the six key input. I used my laptop keyboard to practice the dots . Letters s ,d, f as 3, 2, 1 and j, k ,l as 4, 5, 6 .
WEEK 3
This is the week I tried to familiarize myself with the basics of Braille. The alphabets, braille cells, and the raised dots and how the dots form each alphabet.
WEEK 4
In week 4 , i thought I would be able to practice alphabets and numbers but unfortunately , it was a bit of a challenge mastering the alphabets so i couldnt get to the numbers. This week I was able to use various resources to learn and practice my alphabets. I used YouTube videos and i also discovered the The Braille App . its the best thing i have used to practice so far. I listen and watch videos but been able to practice on phone anywhere and everywhere i go is the best thing . I love the app.
WEEK 5
I focused on the alphabet K to T, and it was not an easy week as well because even though I practiced every day I still had difficulty mastering some of the alphabets.
I bought a braille mat that I can touch and feel the dots and this also helped me practice on my bed before I sleep instead of using my phone because I always try to avoid the screen at least 2 hours before bedtime.
WEEK 6
This is one of the easiest learning weeks for me. I learned the alphabet U to Z and Braille numbers, punctuation, and capitalization. It seemed like a lot during this week, but I was able to learn quickly.
https://edusites.uregina.ca/olawanle/2024/06/14/learning-braille-basics-in-5-weeks/
I also took the test your knowledge with our braille alphabet fun quiz! on How the braille alphabet works – Perkins School for the Blind and i scored 23/26. I don’t think its too bad for a beginner like me.
During this week I also tried translating from braille to words and it included everything I have learned from alphabets to numbers, punctuation and capital letters and I also passed my first exercise. Please find below the pictures of my exercise and a congratulations message on it.
Extra Resources
UEB Online | UEB Literacy & Mathematics Braille Training
Braille for Beginners Lessons – The Braillists Foundation
Hi Ola, you did it!! Congratulations on achieving your goal! I’m sure you’ve learned a lot during your journey, and it must be really satisfying to see what you’ve accomplished. If I decide to learn Braille, I’ll definitely look at the resources you’ve shared. Great job! 🙂
Thank you Marria! Its been a journey