Atlanta students create device to help blind children learn Braille
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To use the Insta-Braille, a reader feels a Braille character, pushes the button, then hears the word of the alphabet it represents. (image: My Fox Atlanta)
In a world where the visually-impaired are increasingly relying on digital devices, only 10 percent of blind children are being taught Braille, meaning 9 out of 10 blind children cannot read. To help change that, a group of Atlanta middle school students have invented a device to help children learn, MyFoxAtlanta.com reported. Last week, their device, the Insta-Braille, was named a finalist for the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award.
The six students, part of a homeschool robotics team called “The Braille Boys and Annie”— because Annie Torre joined the team late— started by each taking apart a children’s sound book to see how it worked. They were then challenged to use that technology to create a device to teach Braille.
“The Insta-Braille is basically a child’s storybook. We remove the pages and put stickers on top of the dots on the pages,” Torre told My Fox Atlanta.
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To use the Insta-Braille, a reader feels a Braille character, pushes the button, then hears the word of the alphabet it represents.
Ashley Phillips, a teacher at the Atlanta Center for the Visually Impaired, grew up learning the language, a pattern of dots. Her students are using the Insta-Braille to learn to read.
Jasmine Robinson, 8, likes the Insta-Braille because she said it’s fun.
“And it teaches me the easiest way to do it,” she told the news channel.
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As one of three teams in the finals for the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award, the students will head to Washington, D.C. in June to vie for the $20,000 first prize.