Braille. Who needs it? In the age of technology, where audio renderings of text are available at the click of a mouse, surely there’s no place left in education for a reading system that relies on fingertips?
Well, not only is Braille making a comeback, but a new digital device called Canute has solved the challenge of expensive readers that only produced one line of Braille at a time.
Moreover, recent studies have shown people who learn Braille grow smarter than those who don’t. It’s all to do with the fact more of the brain is engaged while actively reading raised dots through the fingertips rather than passively listening to text.
This also gives Braille readers enhanced career prospects.
Of course, if you’re one of the many teachers who harnesses the power of s1jobs when you want to make a move, this may not come as a huge surprise.
In recent years many classroom methods have been turned on their heads.
For example, instead of sitting all day at desks, children are encouraged to ‘break out’: jump, sing and dance their way through particular lessons.
It’s a fun and reliable method of getting information into young heads by lighting up as many neural pathways as possible.
But it isn’t only Braille and ‘active lessons’ that help teachers train the brain.
Shorthand writing, once an essential skill for secretaries and journalists, is being actively encouraged among students of many disciplines.
Catherine MacDonald first learned shorthand at college before she became a reporter and, as those around her gave up scribbling in notepads and began to rely on digital recorders, she stuck fast to Pitmans.
“Pitmans is tricky to learn – much harder than T-line, which is what is taught to most reporters – but it’s much faster. On a good day I can do 140 words per minute, but it isn’t just the speed that’s the advantage.
“While I’m writing down quotes my brain is processing them too, so that when the time comes to write the story I already have all my facts in order and it pretty much writes itself.”
“It was first devised by Marcus Tullius Tiro, secretary to the great Roman consul, Cicero born in 106 BC. It’s survived this long for a very good reason and I don’t think it will die out now.”
It just goes to show that in education we’re always learning from the past!
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