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BRL: Braille Through Remote Learning
<HTML> <!-- START Page HTML Specs. --> <HEAD><TITLE>BRL: Braille Through Remote Learning</TITLE> </HEAD><BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#5000E0" VLINK="#801070" ALINK="#FF0000"><br> <!-- BEGIN BODY HEADER SECTION --> <!-- START Page --> <!-- START Left side of table --> <CENTER> <TABLE BORDER=0 WIDTH=100% CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=3> <TR> <TD ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH="10%" VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR="#FFFE88"> <!-- START Side Menu --> <h4 align=center><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">BRL</FONT>: <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">B</FONT>raille through <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">R</FONT>emote <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">L</FONT>earning</h4> <HR ALIGN=CENTER SIZE=1 WIDTH=125> <center><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Courses</FONT></B></CENTER> <li><B><a href="intro/index.html">Introduction to Braille Course</a></B><BR> <li><B><a href="transcribers/index.html">Transcribers Course</a></B><BR> <li><B><a href="codes/index.html">Specialized Codes Course</a></B><BR> <HR ALIGN=CENTER SIZE=1 WIDTH=125> <!--#include virtual="/bana.txt"--> </TD></center> <!-- END Side Menu --> <!-- END Left side of table --> <TD VALIGN=TOP ALIGN=CENTER> <!-- START Right side of table --> <table> <!-- BEGIN MAIN BODY SECTION --> <tr><td><CENTER><img src="gifs/braille_head.gif" height="111" width="466" border="0" alt="BRL: Braille through Remote Learning"></center><h1 align=center>BRL: Braille Through Remote Learning </h1></td></tr> <tr><td> <h2>About SimBraille</h2> When the materials for this program were created, the braille that you see displayed were created by using a variety of computer tools (mostly Duxbury) to create "simulated braille", displayable on the computer screen. Once created, the BRL staff took "snapshots" of these simulated braille displays and created Web-ready graphics files. When you see some simulated braille on the screen, you are actually seeing a <b>picture</b> of the simulated braille. There are several <b>disadvantages</b> to the use of these graphics:<p> <ol> <li>the graphics require a large amount of storage space on various computers <li>the graphics require lengthy "load times", meaning you have to wait while the graphics are downloaded to your computer over a phone line or over a network <li>it is difficult for the BRL staff to fix errors when found by staff or students <li>the graphics are not accessible to those using adaptive technologies (refreshable braille displays, speech synthesizers, etc.) </ol><p> The technology now exists to deliver a simulated braille <b>font</b> to <b>your</b> computer. The BRL staff can then write the code for the BRL instructional pages in such a way as to use the font installed on <b>your</b> machine to display the simulated braille. The <b>advantages</b> of this method are the complete opposite of the <b>disadvantages</b> described above. There is only <b>one disadvantage</b> to the use of this method: <b>you, the user</b> must download and install the simulated braille font to your machine.<p> Fortunately, this is relatively simple. For <b>Macintosh</b> users, you can download the file, with an instruction file, by clicking on this link:<hr> <CENTER><a href="http://www.shodor.org/pub/simbraille.sit"> http://www.shodor.org/pub/simbraille.sit</a></CENTER><hr> The file is archived using the "StuffIt" program for the Macintosh. If you have your browser configured correctly, your file should automatically install. If not, you will need to "expand" it with the appropriate expander:<P> <UL><LI><a href="http://teaparty.terc.edu/tech/alice/software/mac/stufflst.html">StuffIt Expander for Macintosh</A> </UL><hr> For <b>Windows</b> users, the process is as follows. There is a <b>great</b> descriptive "how to" guide for installing fonts for Windows95 that you should <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/truetype/ttfinst/ttfinst.htm">read first</a>:<hr> <ol> <li><a href="http://www.shodor.org/pub/SIMBRL.TTF">Download the TrueType font</a> from the Shodor Education Foundation. When you download the file, it is best to save it to the Desktop (c:\Windows\Desktop). If you are having trouble with this download, try downloading it from <a href="http://duxburysystems.com/downloads/duxbrlf.exe">Duxbury Systems</a>. <li>From the Start menu, go to "Settings" <li>From "Settings", slide over to the "Control Panel" <li>From the Control Panel, double click on the folder "Fonts" <li>Under the menu bar labeled "File", click on "Install New Font" <li>Locate the SIMBRL.TTF file. It should be on your desktop. <li>Select the SIMBRL.TTF file by clicking on it once. Click on "OK" to install it. <li>Test your installation by reloading this page. The text at the bottom of the page should appear in simulated braille </ol><hr> We are in the process (January 2000) of working to remove <b>all</b> of the graphics-based simulated braille, replacing those graphics with font-based displays. This is a fairly time-consuming and tedious process, but we hope to have all of the graphics removed and replaced by late spring 2000. As files are complete, they will be placed onto the BRL Web server machine for immediate use. Once you have loaded your font, you should test it. The text below should appear in simulated braille. If it does not, you have not installed your font correctly. Contact us at <a href="mailto:rgotwals@shodor.org">BRL Tech Support</a>, and we will try to provide assistance:<P> <font face="SimBraille" size=5>This text is written in grade one simulated braille</font><p> <HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=95%> <center> </td></tr></table> </table> <!-- BEGIN BODY FOOTER SECTION --> <HR> <!--#include virtual="/footer.txt"--> <CENTER> <!-- END Page --> </BODY> </HTML>