National Braille Association

Accessible innovation continues to reshape how blind and low vision individuals engage with the world — including sports. The American Council of the Blind’s new partnership with OneCourt introduces tactile sports broadcasts powered by haptic technology, allowing users to experience live NFL, NBA, and MLB games through touch in real time. As accessibility professionals, educators, transcribers, and advocates, we’re curious: • What role do you see tactile technology playing in the future of accessible media? • How can organizations continue pushing beyond compliance toward truly immersive inclusion? • What other industries could benefit from similar innovations? We invite the National Braille Association community to join the conversation and explore the article below: https://lnkd.in/eDYDb9Yf #Accessibility #Braille #AssistiveTechnology #InclusiveInnovation #Blindness #AccessibleMedia #UniversalDesign

The expansion of the Braille Challenge into Kenya marks an important moment for global braille literacy efforts. In its first official regional competition in Africa, the Braille Challenge will engage approximately 700 students across four schools in Kenya, helping foster literacy skills, educational opportunity, and community support for blind and visually impaired youth. This initiative reflects the power of international collaboration between organizations committed to accessibility, education, and innovation in braille instruction. At the National Braille Association, we know the work of transcribers, educators, and accessibility professionals plays a vital role in building equitable learning opportunities worldwide. We invite our community to join the conversation: How can the braille field continue strengthening access to high-quality literacy education across the globe? What lessons can we learn from international partnerships like this one? Read the full article from Braille Institute of America https://lnkd.in/g7r7RPaU

The National Braille Association is pleased to offer a new series of free professional development webinars this May. Designed for braille transcribers, educators, and accessibility professionals, these sessions are intentionally concise, typically featuring 15 minutes of focused instruction followed by time for questions, making it easy to integrate learning into your schedule. May 2026 Webinar Topics: • Tactile Graphics: Tactile Arrows (May 5) • Music Braille: Guitar Method Books (May 11) • UEB Technical: Fractions (May 26) • Creating Tactile Graphics for VI Students with Canva (May 27) No registration is required to attend live sessions. For those unable to join, recordings are available to NBA members through our training archive. We invite you to join us in continuing to advance accessible literacy and braille excellence. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/epCAepsp

Any of you Tactile Graphics artists looking for work? American Printing House for the Blind has just posted this available position for availability to work on their Monarch projects--and it's remote! https://lnkd.in/ezvbxKbY

Each year the National Braille Association gives out the Lifetime Achievement Award to one recipient nominated by our membership. The purpose is to celebrate the storied careers and influence of those in our midst who have made an exceptional impact on braille readers. This year in Cincinnati during our Professional Development Conference we handed the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award to Karen Gearreald. Karen first learned braille in 1950 to be admitted as an experimental student in the public schools of Virginia. In the time since she has gone to earn a PhD in English from Harvard and a law degree from Duke University. Karen would later become the the sole instructor and grader for the National Library Service's Music Braille Certification course. She was the lead author on the third edition of what is considered the premiere music braille transcription textbook, and has mentored many through the process of becoming certified in Music Braille transcription. Two of her mentees now sit both on our Music Braille Transcription Committees and are Officers on our Board of Directors. Both Kathleen Cantrell and Patrick Janson had the honors of speaking about Karen's impact on them and also the realm of braille music transcription. We'd like to take a quick moment to interrupt your day and share the news of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award winner and to congratulate our well-deserving colleague! [Two photos are attached, the first of which is a photo of Karen Gearreald receiving a plaque from Kathleen Cantrell. The second is of Karen Gearreald speaking at the podium.]

Did you know there are dozens of prisons around the United States where incarcerated individuals are learning to transcribe braille? These programs offer an opportunity to learn new skills, give back to those are in need of services, and develop professionally. This new piece from the Prison Journalism Project explores the story of a transcriber working from within a prison program in Wisconsin and how their personal mission has been impacted by becoming a transcriber. We love to see stories like this! https://lnkd.in/gKBcGzmd