10 Different Types of Braille Slates

[@mschilepepper10]

I am in my 60's completely blind in one eye and almost blind in my second eye therefore, I have decided to start teaching myself braille and your videos are truly a blessing making my new journey in life not only possible but also fun to learn. I would like to Thank You

[@brailleadventures]

I'm happy to help. Have you had a chance to try out using a slate? If so, what was it like? What books or online resources are you using to teach yourself braille? I could recommend a couple if that would be helpful. Thank you for leaving a comment! It is wonderful having you apart of this community!

[@theblindfiddler]

One of my VI teachers had a similar left-to-right slate a long time ago and another problem we noticed was that, because of the pegs underneath the paper, when the stylus is pressed down to form one dot, quite often other nearby dots are caused to make unintentional impressions in the paper as well. We called them "ghost dots" because they weren't fully raised and they made reading the braille you intended to write really annoying. If anything, that slate is a good example of why braille is written by hand the way it is. I do like the idea of the versaslate though, and have not heard of it before. I will get one.

[@Braillechickenwhisperer]

I love the color contrasts that assures it can be easily seen! Good job! The book is a good one, one year as gifts for all of my family I bought them all inexpensive slates, styli, and that book.

[@brailleadventures]

Giving a slate and stylus and the intro to braille book makes a great gift. Good thinking Tonya! And I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@Braillechickenwhisperer]

@@brailleadventures Definitely!

[@susangreen9314]

Good idea in gifts for family

[@susangreen9314]

I enjoyed your video learning Braille with hadley

[@sahirkhan3163]

Can u help me in braille

[@christinav.3623]

I'm fascinated by the notion of a sighted person deciding to learn Braille! How very neat! Well done explanations, btw. I've seen two of your videos, now, and I look forward to more. I'm a lifelong braille reader. I would so love to have pen pals! I did that as a kid, and miss it. Even in this day of instant communication, it's peaceful to sit and write on paper, and who wouldn't want to receive letters in the mail? I have always place the hinge on the right side of the page, and was astonished to see it mentioned the other way. If you're writing in a spiral notebook, you'd need the hinge on the right, just as one example. But use braille and its tools in any way that works. I'm curious to learn how other people manage these things, too. And on that note, I want to assure people new to this that yes, you certainly can use any kind of paper you wish, of any thickness and quality. You do not need special braille paper! What's called "braille paper" is simply sheets of heavy weight cardstock, overpriced because it's labeled as braille paper. I use standard looseleaf paper, and only rarely use thick paper for something I plan to keep permanently, like recipes, maybe. Regular paper is less tiring to write on, and fine for notes you may not keep forever. 5x8 notepads or spirals are great for everyday notes. If you put the slate on the page sideways, parallel to the spiral, you can get quite a lot of braille on those pages. I like to carry this size notebook in my purse, with slate permanently attached to a blank page. My stylus preference is the standard wooden knob kind, and you can get them with a flat side, too. This is what I use. I have a small zipper pouch to keep it in, which makes it easy to find in a bag, or keeps it from rolling off my desk into the wild blue yonder. Haha I prefer metal slates. The pocket slate, 4-lines, 28-cell, pins up is what I use for everything, from full pages to label-making. There's a steel version to be found in a few places, and I will never be without it! (Sadly, it's out of stock, at the moment, from the Lighthouse store where I bought mine.) Otherwise, I'd recommend buying a metal slate from places like APH or Perkins school. Just avoid the very cheap, and cheaply made ones you find on Amazon. Anything that says 27 cells is to be avoided. Please, take my word for it. The pins aren't tall or sharp enough to hold a page in place sufficiently, and you will have a frustrating experience and probably give up using a slate! On groups.io I have a group called BrailleTalk. If anyone is interested, please come join. It's meant for discussion of all things braille, paper, electronic, personal musings. Anything. Most other groups are specifically for technology, and I wanted a place where other braille talk could freely happen. Btw, because it came up in the comments, my two cents on this change in code causes massive confusion for new braille learners! I'm not happy about it, to say the least. I will save my harsh rant, though, and say I only use EBAE (English Braille grade 2). It's more efficient and takes less space on paper. I have no need, personally, for the new UEB, so won't bother with it. However, I'm in support of using any version of braille that a person finds useful. Knowing braille is so crucial for any blind person! I've lately been thinking that I should learn a bit about the new UEB code, in order to be helpful to those just learning braille, so hell must be thawing. Haha

[@brailleadventures]

Thank you for sharing suggestions! You are a wealth of knowledge. I hadn’t thought of keeping a slate in a 5x8 notebook- brilliant! Thanks again for leaving a comment!

[@moonistew]

All new to me and this topic of Braille slates was fascinating; wow, never imagined there were even slates.

[@brailleadventures]

I love writing with a slate- that’s what I learned on. I am a bit clunky when using a Perkins Brailler (a braille typewriter).

[@KonjikiKonjiki]

Thanks for your very thorough and in depth video on this topic! I'm going to start learning Braille and had it locked in my head I just need a single slate and a single stylus, now I know better and it's ok if I wind up not using a certain style out of preference. I am newly visually imapired and the pancemic really interfered with my ability to access resources at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, videos like yours more than fill the gap. :)

[@brailleadventures]

That makes me so excited that you're learning braille. It is challenging, but super rewarding. I am so glad I could help. My slate collection keeps growing, because I like to try out the different types. It's like camping gear and art supplies. It's great to try out different things to find out what you prefer. Please let me know if you have any questions!

[@NonTwinBrothers]

I'm sighted but studying to become a stenographer (court reporter), and to me braille shorthand is super fascinating. There are many parallels 😮

[@brailleadventures]

I find codes fascinating and I want to learn stenography at some point.

[@NonTwinBrothers]

​@@brailleadventures It's very doable. My first machine was about $100 (The Uni)

[@debbiebacon2972]

Thanks for this interesting video. I learned a little extra as I didn’t know some of the cells can wear out on some slates. Paperless slates??? Cool, that’s new to me! Deb

[@brailleadventures]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you learned something new. I love my paperless slate! It's really fun. I like to write a sentence and then practice reading it by touch. It makes it more like a game instead of homework.

[@samzoom7805]

The left to right slate NO: #9 at 12:20 , i really wanna know some reviews about it because i'm really interested to build one with positive pins, i think it would be so much easier to write. thanks in advance

[@brailleadventures]

I love the concept of the positive pin slate!! Improvements for a new version: offer two models that holds either A4 or 8.5" x 11" paper (currently it only comes in A4), sturdy pins that don't break off (a friend has one and the pins broke on hers, making those braille cells unusable), can hold pieces of paper smaller than A4 or 8.5" x 11" (currently they feed in crocked and typically I braille random sizes of paper), and a more affordable price (currently these are about $70 USD).

[@chilenoencuiaba]

Hello 👋 Very good vídeo. Please, where can I buy the #9 in the USA? 🇺🇸 Kisses from Brazil 🇧🇷

[@nancyirwin3150]

Never seen a single line slate before will be getting one for sure!

[@MrsDetroit622]

This video is so cool and informative. Thank you!

[@abijahdixon2771]

Sighted here, I'm learning mostly as a hobby and for a friend, ive seen a couple online, but this helps a lot in knowing when it comes to ordering. I tried to do my own punch letters last night, but the spacing was off haha!

[@brailleadventures]

That’s awesome that you’re learning braille to encourage your friend! Who knows where your new braille skills will take you? I’ve met so many wonderful people thanks to braille.

[@bangitoutdesigns1559]

Great video - I'm interested in stamping on metal and trying to find the best slate for the job. I liked the larger one - will have to watch again to see where to get that but curious if you think thin-ish metal will fit in it so i can mark it up and then stamp it using s punch of sorts?

[@brailleadventures]

Hello. I haven't experimented with adding braille to thin sheets of metal, so I don't know what to look for. I would guess that you could fit a thin sheet of metal between a standard plastic or metal slate, but I am not positive. My guess is that a metal slate would last longer than a plastic one since you're going to be punching metal. If you end up finding one that works, do you mind please leaving a comment? Good luck!

[@bangitoutdesigns1559]

@@brailleadventures I wouldn’t actually be punching it using the slate - I would just be marking up the metal I think… It’s been so long since I asked you the question I actually forget how it works lol but my show is on Saturday and I wasn’t able to pull this together.

[@pinkmagicali]

You can buy the plastic ones on Ali express. I have no reason but I really want one. I find Braille so fascinating for some reason. Would it be bad for me to buy one?

[@brailleadventures]

Why not? You might end up loving it. And you could use it for the holiday braille card swap that I’m hosting. Check out our community page for details.

[@gabrieltrb]

First, congrats! excelent video, in other hand, do you know how to do braille stickers? I was asked to do some of these stickers to indicates floors, rooms, wc and others but the owner have a small budget. so, nothing from 3d printers etc. pls help?

[@brailleadventures]

Jump to 1:16 in the video where I talk about how to add braille to labels. Some slates have slots where you can feed the labels through to braille them. For the labels I recommend using Reizen brand labels and the links are in the video description. Have fun!

[@milicamilic7433]

Hi, thank you for your video. I just bought the slate with the clipboard and i’m having some issues with punching through the paper. It feels as though I have to push really hard into the paper and it doesn’t make that satisfying punch sound. I’m trying to hold my slate directly vertically and holding the stylus frame down to minimize travel. I’m not sure if it’s the slate or me since I don’t use it often. Do you have any recommendations of how to accurately punch the dots that I need and to be sure that they are punched all the way through? Thank you very much.

[@brailleadventures]

Hello. That’s exciting you got a slate! I am not sure why it’s not working correctly. Can you tell me more about where you got it? It would probably be easier to troubleshoot over email.

[@Kala-ka-rAastha]

Can we use normal paper for making Braille books?

[@brailleadventures]

You can if you’re sight reading the braille, but I’ve been told that it’s too thin for the braille to be read by touch. Braille paper is a heavier paper than like, printer paper, so the dots are going to last longer and be the correct height.

[@VanessaLeLe1879]

Great video. Very concise and informative. I’ve just got an Overflow versa slate. It’s great.

[@sahirkhan3163]

Can u help me in braille?

[@brailleadventures]

How do you like the Versa Slate? What have you been using it for? Taking notes? Practicing reading?

[@vamothvam4614]

Hi, i bought the green one, online. Should I punch in the braille reversely? Thank you!

[@brailleadventures]

Yes. Write the mirror image of the braille signs. Have fun and let me know if you have any other questions.

[@rheajolley4699]

Regarding the labels...do you use embossing labels or regular printer lables

[@brailleadventures]

I use labels by Reizen. Link is in the video description. The labels come in different colors, which can be helpful for people who are low vision.

[@amandaroque5221]

I have a question what is the best way to learn how to write Braille I think it is something intresting and I want to learn but not sure where to start

[@amandaroque5221]

I asked too soon lol I just saw the book for beginners 😂

[@brailleadventures]

Let me know if you have any more questions. Also, check out our Google Drive of free braille study material. Link is in video description.

[@바코네제이크]

Wonderful Video. Thank you for making this amazing video on KZbin!!

[@brailleadventures]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@arafathasan1763]

Thank you very much for this wonderful video, As a matter of fact I work in a Center Specialized in education of blind students in Yemen, but we suffer from the lack of these braille materials,and I was wondering if you could you help us in this problem?

[@brailleadventures]

Hello Arafat. That is wonderful that you work in education. I, unfortunately, don't know where you can get funding for your nonprofit. Best of luck!

[@pinkmagicali]

I’m not sure if you know this already but you can get the plastic slates pretty cheap on Ali Express. I’m aware that’s still a purchase but they are pretty cheap.

[@nortibynature]

Hi and thanks for this video i just baught my 1st braille slate and did my first lines today... what happens to all my sheets of paper is, that the "punshing" slightly perforates the paper no matter how thin or thick the paper is. could you give me an advice: is this due to the paper or is this due to the quality of the slate? (i baught the big A4 frame from Amazon) Thank you very much in advance!

[@brailleadventures]

Hello! Sorry, I am just now seeing your comment. You might have figured out a solution by now. I haven't experienced the paper preforating except when I use the "up slate" (that is the red slate in the video). What kind of stylus are you using?

[@nortibynature]

@@brailleadventures Hi and thank you for taking time to respond. there came two styluses with slate ...with both the same issue. i wonder if the cavities may be to large/deep, too?! However if you don't think it could be an issue with the paper, i will just try different slate products : -) I'll post update here . thanks again !!!

[@brailleadventures]

That’s a good idea. I am not sure. I’ve never heard of that issue before. Have you tried contacting the seller?

[@rrr00bb1]

I 3D printed an 8-dot slate that I think was Jumbo braille; so dots were all in strange places; I think it required a jumbo stylus, as the slate was 10% oversized. So I tried many different things for stylus. It's really important that the stylus matches the slate. If the diameter isn too small, then the holes move around to wrong places. If the tip isn't rounded to fit the indentations for the dots, then you puncture the paper.

[@susangreen9314]

Braille For the Sighted is available at Amzon

[@brailleadventures]

I am glad you found the book. The link to "Braille for the Sighted" is in the video description too.

[@oseukkwon8057]

Thank you very much! This video! It is good understand slate...

[@brailleadventures]

You are welcome. I am glad you liked the video.

[@rrr00bb1]

i got a black large slate. it drives me nuts that there are no guides for the holes, so when i punch middle holes, i am never doing it confidently. for 6-dot this is kind of ok. But i also made a 3-D print of an APH model for an 8-dot slate. i need to reduce that by 10% before 3D printing it for it to match the standard stylus; or else holes are misplaced. I really wish 8-dot slates where common enough to buy. I 3D printed two of them for myself though.

[@brailleadventures]

I haven’t seen a slate that didn’t have a guide. Where did you get your slate? How did the 3D printed slates turn out? Do you like the quality of braille it makes?

[@rrr00bb1]

The 3D print 8-dot slate was a 3D model from APH. I used it to learn how to use a 3D printer that we have at work (they cost about $300, and will take about 12 hours to print a braille slate). The first prints didn't work, because the braille was illegible, with dots in same cell farther apart than adjacent cells. I eventually figured out that the model works great with my stylus if it's printed 10% smaller to be the same size as my 4-line green stylus like the one you have. The only problem I had with it is that the pins to hold the paper, one broke off, because their model uses cylinder shapes rather than cone shapes. I am not good at making model modifications. But overall, a 3D printed 8-dot slate works just fine once you size the print; and print it slowly. 3D printers give better results when you do things like print at 75% speed. These are impossible to buy, so I imagine that somebody with a basic 3D printer could be the only one selling them on Amazon. It's frustrating to be unable to write exactly on paper what I can write on my display.

[@rrr00bb1]

@@brailleadventures The slate without a guide is a large-size black slate sold on Amazon. Some people prefer it apparently. But it drives me nuts when punching dots 2 and 5.

[@SpeakTruth-zi9nx]

Which plate has good finish on paper

[@brailleadventures]

All of the slates work great for me except for the red slate that has the up-pins.

[@ilovemyservicedog8862]

Try going to a Canadian site and also if you look up the British a blind organization I forget the name you can buy field to buy paper from them I’ve been trying to get a hold of them to order special magazines for people that are newly blind that they have in England so might be of interest.

[@brailleadventures]

Thank you so much for the tip! I really appreciate it. I have been meaning to pick up some A4 paper.

[@englishrider91]

The Janus slate absolutely is an interpoint slate, not double-spaced. I'm blind and have been using one for years. They're great! I wish I could still find plastic 3x5 index cards for it. :)

[@cameoshadowness7757]

THis makes me want to learn braille so much!

[@brailleadventures]

This is the best comment ever. Thank you! Why not learn braille? It is really fun and it's a great way of connecting with people. I recommend getting the full page slate to get started.

[@cameoshadowness7757]

@@brailleadventures I don't think I have enough sensitivity in my fingers and don't know any training exercises. I will be checking out that book though

[@tamarapaquette5204]

Great video!

[@emilyhird2332]

Fab video thank you - Louise and Emily ❤️

[@brailleadventures]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@k-2-8]

I find it very confusing to have to write mirrored and backwards!

[@pablomanc]

Exactly what I was thinking! I’m learning braille & that’s hard enough, so to write it mirrored & backwards would be very confusing!

[@shahidurrahmankhan3375]

Very nice

[@brailleadventures]

Thanks

[@PrakharPi]

People have to write mirror images to read it later?

[@brailleadventures]

When you use a slate to write braille, you write the mirror image of the letters. That is because you are punching the dots on the backside of the paper. When you flip the paper over so that the dots are now raised, the letters will be facing the correct way. That means, when you read the braille, it isn't backwards. It makes more sense when you start playing with a slate. They are really fun! I recommend trying it if you haven't already.

[@AustinHollingerOfficial]

@@brailleadventures this could be really useful if I didn't want to have to take my iphone everywhere. But riding backwards? That is straight up confusing as someone who has never dealt with this and only has every day experience with the classic Perkins Brailer's

[@ZodiacTilahun]

Show me how to punch or from where hole you start If you want to write latter Z

[@brailleadventures]

Check out the playlist called Slate and Stylus. I demo how to write braille using a slate. “Slate and Stylus 101” is a good video to start with.

[@yamlau-gx7nx]

Thank you

[@brailleadventures]

You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@ilovemyservicedog8862]

I am going blind I’m really confused on the new way for writing braille in the old way for writing braille I just don’t understand what the difference is. I think I’m gonna get this book because I can still see some so it might help me I found on learning disabled as well and I oddly enough found that I can write on a braille keyboard really well but I can’t write on a quarry keyboard so I found it really interesting/. If there are people on here that do read braille can you please explain the new part of braille and what the difference is is? Also one big problem I’m having is when I’m reading the braille letters I’m having trouble figuring out how to put them together in a word and I think that’s my learning disability oddly enough I can read but I can’t spell so I can read the letters but I’m having trouble putting them together in a word I think if I can eventually learn great to braille it would be easier because whole words are written by symbols basically but I’m having a really issue with this. So I have old braille training books and books that I bought in grade one braille by the way the only place I’ve ever found that Prince grade one books is called the braille book store in Canada. But should I throw all of these books out and start from scratch or what should I do because I basically just know most of the alphabet and stuff so I don’t know if it’ll be easier for me to start from the beginning and get rid of anything that is old school Braille please let me know. Also does anyone know if there is such thing as like penpals for people that are learning braille?

[@brailleadventures]

We have a Facebook group and that would be a great place to post if you're looking for a penpal! I know several people in the group send letters in braille to each other. And every year during the holidays, the UEB Study Group hosts a braille card swap, which you are welcome to join! Here is the link to our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/uebstudygroup

[@brailleadventures]

The broad overview of how braille has changed in the USA is that as of 2017, the United States switched from English Braille American Edition (EBAE) to Unified English Braille (UEB). Some of the braille signs were retired, others now have completely different dot arrangements and some of the formatting rules have changed. The reason for this, is so that we are unified with other English speaking countries, so that now you can get a book in braille from South Africa or Australia and be able to read it. For a more in depth comparison of what has changed, check out brailleauthority.org/ueb.html#resources. Search the page for "Overview of Changes from Current Literary Braille to UEB". The document is available for instant download as either a PDF or as a BRF (Braille Ready File).

[@sahirkhan3163]

I want learn advance braille plzz Help me.

[@brailleadventures]

UEB Study Group offers free study material in our online library: tinyurl.com/uebstudygroup

[@sahirkhan3163]

@@brailleadventures But I Want Learn Online On Daily Base. I want Learn Braille Software and Advance Braille

[@brailleadventures]

@@sahirkhan3163 Check out UEBonline.org

[@desielousalvejo2275]

I a biggener to write a 6 dots

[@sunilsharma-mp4kx]

The correct way of installing the paper for Braille upwriter device is from below, not from the upper side. Like in this video.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYbRY3mpfMiXgNE

[@brailleadventures]

Thanks. I will give that a try.

[@susangreen9314]

Give us the name of book an author

[@brailleadventures]

The name of the book is called "Braille for the Sighted" by Stan Collins. The link to purchase the book is in the video description. I love the book! I hope you like it too!

[@susangreen9314]

Library of Congress does not have the book

[@brailleadventures]

Good to know. The book is available on Amazon if you want to own it. It's a wonderful resource. I keep giving my copy away- it's that good!

[@julieannlewisshoeman9348]

I watched the entire video and you never stated which one is your favorite. I’d love to know. :-)

[@brailleadventures]

Oops. I must have accidentally edited that part out. My favorite slate is the full page slate (that’s slate #5). It is the most versatile: it’s easy to add braille to a letter sized piece of paper or to business cards or to vinyl labels. Thanks for asking! Do you own a slate? Do you have a favorite it?

[@polishflowerdotcom]

Now this is interesting! I was looking for such tools five years ago. I had a blind student and I wanted to help him out but I did not know about this tools 😢

[@brailleadventures]

That’s a big reason I make videos- there isn’t a lot out there on this topic. Please tell your friends about my channel so they know it’s here.