Once you have registered for the Literary Transcribing course, you may download your lessons and begin working on them.
Required materials are as follows:
- Instruction Manual for Braille Transcribing, Unified English Braille Edition (20 lessons)
- Drills Reproduced in Braille (Supplement to Instruction Manual for Braille Transcribing, Unified English Braille Edition)
Note that The Rules of Unified English Braille, 2013 Edition, is the official code book that serves as the basis for this course. However, all of the information you will need for completing the early course lessons is contained in the instruction manual and drills supplement. Should you wish to download the rulebook, it is available in PDF format at the above-mentioned Web address. There is also a PDF version with links and cross references at http://www.iceb.org/ueb.html.
If you are unable to download the lessons, please contact us, and we will work with you to ensure you receive them in a format that is usable for you.
For students taking the course via correspondence with the National Federation of the Blind Braille Certification Training Program, the first assignment is to study the manual’s introductory material and Lessons One and Two, and to submit a transcription of Lesson Two's exercise to the National Federation of the Blind at [email protected] (or to the mailing address below if necessary). Please do not submit Lesson One. When we receive your transcription of Lesson Two, we will assign you to work with an instructor, who will evaluate your lesson and will be your point of contact for the rest of the lessons. Send all lessons beginning with lesson three to your instructor. Wait to send further lessons until you receive feedback on the current lesson. Once you do receive feedback, please submit your next assignment within ninety days.
It is important to study Lesson One carefully, practicing the drills and completing the exercise even though it will not be submitted for grading.
On your transcription of Lesson Two, please be sure to use a 40 cell line and begin each new sentence in cell 3. All lessons must be based on a 40-cell line and 25 lines per page and must comply with all other instructions set forth in the instruction manual for the preparation of lessons. Include your name in braille at the end of the lesson, and include your entire name in the body of the email message.
Software for preparing your lessons via computer, called Perky Duck, is available from Duxbury Systems online. Another Option is BrailleZephyr at https://www.brailleblaster.org/braillezephyr.php. If you need assistance with the software, please contact us.
The trial manuscript is submitted after all other lessons and any associated reading exercises have been completed. When you have completed the trial manuscript (lesson twenty), please send it by mail to the National Federation of the Blind for grading. We cannot accept the trial manuscript in electronic format. If you do not have access to a method of embossing braille onto paper, we can assist you with finding a source for embossing.
Mail to:
National Federation of the Blind
Braille Certification Training Program
200 East Wells Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
We wish you every success with the course.
Email [email protected] or call (410) 659-9314 extension 2510 with further questions.