TENNESSEE REGIONAL

BRAILLE CHALLENGE

February 23, 2012

 2012 Regional Braille Challenge Application

The Braille Challenge™ is a two-stage academic contest, sponsored by Braille Institute, designed to motivate school-age braille readers to excel in this vital medium. Teachers of the visually impaired from across the nation and Canada are encouraged to have their students participate. 

Students from across the state of Tennessee and the surrounding area are invited to participate in the sixth regional contest hosted at the Tennessee School for the Blind on February 23, 2012, with an inclement weather date of March 1, 2012.

The contest is divided into five academic levels. All students are encouraged to participate: however, students must be at or near grade level to be eligible for the National Finals in June, held in California.

For more information on the Braille Challenge go to www.brailleinstitute.org/braille_challenge or for information on the Tennessee regional event, contact Julia Hedrick at julia.hedrick@tnschoolfortheblind.org or go to the Tennessee School for the Blind website under the vision info tab.

Special Notes

SPEED AND ACCURACY – In the past students listened to a passage on cassette tape and brailled exactly what was on the tape.  Last year for the first time Braille Institute and the Braille Challenge went digital!  Again this year the files will only be available as an MP3 audio file on an SD card.  Students may only use the VictorReader Stream (manufactured by Humanware) or the Bookport Plus (distributed by the American Printing House for the Blind) for this portion of the test.  If students do not have one of these available, we will try to provide enough devices for every student, but we will need an accurate registration to make sure we have enough available.  Also, we may need to make arrangements for students to have time to become familiar with the navigation of these devices.

****New for 2012****  BRAILLE WRITERS –

Since more students are learning to braille using different models of braillewriters, this year Braille Institute is allowing students to choose their preference, and use their own equipment. Options include the classic Perkins Brailler, the APH/Perkins Next Generation Brailler and the new APH Light Touch Perkins Brailler. All contests, including Speed and Accuracy, will be formatted for the smaller 8.5 X 11 paper size to accommodate a shorter line length.  Classis Perkins braillers will be available for use at TSB.  Students wishing to use a different brailler will need to bring their own.

Applications will be available on our website by Nov. 1, 2011

Thanks go to our generous 2012 sponsors!

Regional: Thanks to B’nai B’rith Maimonides Lodge #46 for their generous financial sponsorship of this event!

National:  Presenting Sponsor: The Braille Institute Auxiliary

Sponsors offering prizes at Preliminary Regional Events: Humanware, Seedlings Braille Books for Children, National Braille Press and Perkins Products

(For a complete list of all of our Braille Challenge Sponsors for 2011 and 2012, please visit our Challenge Sponsors page.)

                                                      All rights reserved Copyright ® 2010 Tennessee School for the Blind