The UEB is coming! If you want to stay up to date with how these changes will affect you, check out the following information which we have copied from the BANA website. The most comprehensive information will be found on the BANA website.
Resources for information about the UEB
On November 2, 2012, the United States members of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) voted to adopt Unified English Braille (UEB) to replace English Braille American Edition in the U.S. Based on extensive dialog and planning that involved more than 30 organizations as well as individual consumers, teachers, and transcribers, BANA established January 4, 2016, as the date by which the United States will implement UEB.
BANA is working toward implementation of UEB in four phases:
I. 2013: Information year—BANA developed and disseminated information about UEB and gathered input from constituents.
II. 2014: Infrastructure year—BANA and other organizations planned for procurement and production of braille materials in UEB and developed training materials.
III. 2015: Instructional year—Readers, producers, and educators will become proficient in UEB.
IV. 2016: Implementation year—All new transcriptions will be produced in UEB; educators will teach the code. Devices and software will fully and accurately incorporate UEB.
As of the implementation date in 2016, UEB, Nemeth, Music, and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) will be the official codes for use in the United States. BANA is providing guidance on how to incorporate the Nemeth Code into UEB context with the intent that the Nemeth Code will continue to be integral to braille in the United States. The document Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts is available as PDF and BRF files on the BANA website.
BANA recognizes that in order to make an effective transition to UEB, states and organizations will need to develop customized implementation plans. To maximize efficiency and impact, BANA encourages widespread collaboration and sharing of expertise, resources, and training.
BANA continues to post and update information and materials about UEB at www.brailleauthority.org.
Check out some other resources
- Hadley School for the Blind has developed courses for families, consumers and professionals on the UEB…
- The Perkins School – Resources on UEB…
- (2008) Unified English Braille Guidelines for Technical Material. PDF document available from the Braille Authority.
- Risjord, Constance (n.d.). The ABCs of UEB, A Guide for the Transition from English Braille American Edition (EBAE) to The Rules of Unified English Braille (UEB). PDF document available from from the Braille Authority.
- Simpson, Christine, editor (2013) The Rules of Unified English Braille. PDF document available from ICBE.
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