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Braille Monitor

Vol. 56, No. 2 February 2013

Gary Wunder, Editor

Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive (see below) by

The National Federation of the Blind

Marc Maurer, President

National Office
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
telephone: (410) 659-9314
email address: [email protected]
website address: http://www.nfb.org
NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org
NFB-NEWSLINE^®information: (866) 504-7300

Letters to the president, address changes,
subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature
should be sent to the national office.
Articles for the Monitor and letters to the editor may also
be sent to the national office or may be emailed to [email protected].

Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year. Members are invited,
and nonmembers are requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to:

National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998

THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES

ISSN 0006-8829

Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick or USB flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a National Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots--the familiar book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and a second slot located on the right side near the headphone jack. This smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in one position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again. (Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive, the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges, when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.

You can transfer the recording of each issue from the thumb drive to your computer or preserve it on the thumb drive. However, because thumb drives can be used hundreds of times, we would appreciate their return in order to stretch our funding. Please use the return label enclosed with the drive when you return the device.

Orlando Site of 2013 NFB Convention
Listen Now (MP3)

Palm-lined drive leading to front entrance to Rosen Centre Hotel The 2013 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Orlando, Florida, July 1-6, at the Rosen Centre Hotel at 9840 International Drive, Orlando, Florida 32819. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Rosen Centre staff only. Call (800) 204-7234.

The 2013 room rates are singles, doubles, and twins, $79; and triples and quads, $85. In addition to the room rates there will be a tax, which at present is 13.5 percent. No charge will be made for children under seventeen in the room with parents as long as no extra bed is requested. The hotel is accepting reservations now. A $90-per-room deposit is required to make a reservation. Fifty percent of the deposit will be refunded if notice is given to the hotel of a reservation cancellation before May 28, 2013. The other 50 percent is not refundable.

Members attending the 2012 convention check out the sculptures outside the Gossip Bar Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2013, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotel will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon.

Guest-room amenities include cable television; in-room safe; coffeemaker; hairdryer; and, for a fee, high-speed Internet access. Guests can also enjoy a swimming pool, fitness center, and on-site spa. The Rosen Centre Hotel offers fine dining at Executive Chef Michael Rumplik’s award-winning Everglades Restaurant. In addition, there is an array of dining options from sushi to tapas to a 24-hour deli. The hotel has first-rate amenities and shuttle service to the Orlando airport.

The schedule for the 2013 convention is:

Monday, July 1            Seminar Day
Tuesday, July 2           Registration Day
Wednesday, July 3      Board Meeting and Division Day
Thursday, July 4           Opening Session
Friday, July 5                 Business Session
Saturday, July 6            Banquet Day and Adjournment

Vol. 56, No. 2 February 2013

Illustration: NFB Protest at
Amazon HeadquartersListen Now (MP3)

Information and the Right to Live in the World: The Challenge for
the Blind of the Twenty-First Century Listen Now (MP3)
by Gary Wunder

The Braille Symposium: Providing High-Quality Braille Instruction
to Blind Children and AdultsListen Now (MP3)
by Natalie Shaheen

My Love Affair with BrailleListen Now (MP3)
by Sandy Halverson

Code Master Methodology for
Teaching Braille to AdultsListen Now (MP3)
by Emily Wharton and Ryan Strunk

Beginning with Braille: Challenges and ChoicesListen Now (MP3)
by Anna M. Swenson

Teaching English to Blind
Immigrants and RefugeesListen Now (MP3)
by Sharon Monthei

Setting up Teachers for Success in Their University Braille Courses:
Creating and Maintaining High StandardsListen Now (MP3)
by Sheila Amato

Braille and TechnologyListen Now (MP3)
by Jennifer Dunnam

How Braille Saved a Blind ChemistListen Now (MP3)
by Henry Wedler

Braille and the IPA: Empowering Careers
in the Language SciencesListen Now (MP3)
by Robert Englebretson