>> Sue Mattson: [Slide start] Principles of Braille Formatting, New and Improved! The 2011 BANA Updates. [Slide end] Today we are providing a brief introduction to the 2011 BANA Updates. For those of you who were using the 1997 manual, you well remember the nightmare it was to find anything in that manual and no doubt, you have very happily moved on to the new. Just a couple of points before we get started. One. This presentation is primarily aimed at transcribers or TVIs who have limited experience in formatting. Those of you who have years of experience and have made the adjustments are encouraged to assist others who may not be as familiar as yourself. Two. For those working as transcribers who are not certified in literary braille, I encourage you to take that step forward. You are always welcome to contact me for more information or assistance in getting started. In the spring of 2012 the Braille Authority of North America released the 2011 updates. The manual is available, free of charge, on the BANA website or if you prefer, a hard copy is available through the American Print House for the Blind for a fee. [Slide start] Personally, I recommend downloading the PDF portfolio because it is much easier to use. Using the search feature in Adobe Acrobat means you can quickly find almost anything. [Slide end] Overall, the manual has better examples and includes a feature called the Braille Reader's Perspective which can help the teacher or transcriber to better understand the rationale behind each rule and why it helps the braille reader make sense of what they are reading. [Slide start] First we need to understand 'why' formatting is important and what it means to our Braille reading students. [Slide end] Let's begin by taking a look at what the absence of formatting looks like and its effect on us, the visual reader. [Slide start] Here is part of a short article in which we have removed all print formats. How would you describe this? How does it look to you? [Slide end] At first glance you would probably say it is just plain unappealing and uninteresting. But imagine if you are a student in class, and you are the only one with the unformatted article. You've just been called on by the teacher to read one of the discussion questions. There is going to be a long pause because it is going to take you a while to find them. You would have to read through most of the article to locate this section. Now, let's look at the same article formatted. [Slide start] Immediately we notice how much more structured this article is and that makes it more visually appealing. The structure provides organization making it easier to locate sections by headings. Now if you were asked to find the Discussion Questions you can quickly scan the page using the headings. Also notice that important points are indicated by use of the bullet. [Slide end] Now let's look at the same article unformatted in braille. [Slide start] As with the print, notice the lack of structure and organization. Just as with the visual reader, the Braille reader will need to read through the entire article to locate information being discussed in class. [Slide end] Braille readers usually read at speeds slower than print readers and are given one and a half to twice the amount of time to take tests. Unformatted material will slow them down even more. The Braille reader would not be able to scan down the page feeling for headings, indented paragraphs, or listed items. No formatting would mean they would need even more time to read this, leaving them further behind their classmates. It is possible that by the time they locate the Discussion Questions the rest of the class would have moved on to another point. [Slide start] Here is the same article formatted. Notice the headings, indented paragraph and the bulleted list. There is structure and organization to the page now providing the Braille reader with the opportunity to scan through the headings and easily locate particular sections of the article just as his or her classmates are doing in print. [Slide end] Obviously, because Braille takes more space we aren't showing as much of the article as we did in print. Having materials in Braille is only part of having equal access. Having it well formatted is also an important aspect of accessibility. Some of you may have looked at the size of the new manual and thought that there was no way with the amount of work and lack of time you have to become familiar with it and feel comfortable using it. Fortunately it is not as difficult as you may be thinking. First, let's consider our role as transcribers. [Slide start] As school-based transcribers we are primarily responsible for the day-to-day classroom handouts, worksheets, diagrams, maps and tests. It is important that the material we produce resembles the textbooks they are reading. Since January 2012 all textbooks are based on this updated formatting.