Soaring Across the Globe: Teacher Trainings Take Monarch to Canada and the UK

Soaring across the globe, the Monarch renders braille and tactile graphics on the same surface, allowing students to have access to more tactile materials than ever before. APH conducted a series of teacher trainings in North America, and now, our partner, HumanWare, is doing the same with their international demonstrations.

Peter Tucic, Director of Strategic Partnerships at HumanWare, was the lead presenter at the trainings in Canada while Andrew Flatres, HumanWare’s Braille Product Manager, conducted trainings in over 14 different locations in the UK. “In these daylong sessions, the morning was dedicated to product overview slides, menu navigation, file management, exploration of the braille editor, and an in-depth look at the new eBraille file standard. The afternoon included exploring tactile graphics, using the math equation editor, and working with the graphing calculator,” said Peter. Andrew added, “We wanted to ensure teachers went away with a better understanding and awareness of how both Monarch and eBraille will change their workload and students’ access to digital braille and tactile graphics.”

Andrew noted the ease with which he saw teachers using the Monarch. “What made things easier was the connected LCD screens that allowed attendees to see what was on the Monarch’s display and the fact that it has KeySoft, which many teachers and students are familiar with. In addition, they knew where their best friend button was, the context button, which made learning and using such a device simple.”

Participants were excited about the Monarch’s many features. “In that there are very few options for those using UEB math to go between braille and print, the work that we have done with the equation editor and supporting Math ML within the KeyWord application had a lot of resonance throughout Canada,” said Peter. “The ability for a teacher to create content in MS Word and for that content to turn into proper UEB braille was beyond appreciated by teachers everywhere we went,” said Andrew. “The one application that got people talking was being able to display tactile graphics and braille on the same tactile array. Exploring the onboard Tactile Graphic Image Library (TGIL) certainly got them all excited.”

The Monarch’s flight across the world has generated a great deal of positive feedback. “The feeling that we are doing something that will change the way we interact with the world around us as braille users is definitely felt by all who attended the Canadian trainings,” said Peter. A student that had participated in field testing and attended a training session in Canada was beyond happy with the progress that was made between the field-testing period and where we currently stand. “She told everyone in attendance that she really needed this yesterday,” said Peter. “This underscores that we are on the right track and that the device cannot come soon enough for so many blind people.” Andrew also met up with a blind student who was one of the field testers. “Upon showing the workflow of how the eBraille would work using the Monarch, his face lit up with a smile,” said Andrew. “Being able to click on a link and directly open the tactile graphic was so seamless.” Another participant in the training said, “I thought yesterday’s training was fantastic. It makes such a difference to get hands-on with a device, and the activities were very relevant to the types of things we’d be doing in school. The Monarch is a joy to use as well, and its potential is enormous – exciting times!”

What’s next for Monarch? “We are currently in the process of undertaking Australian teacher trainings in conjunction with Vision Australia and will continue to work with partners everywhere to provide trainings around the world as we look to add localizations,” said Peter.

Hitting shelves in September 2024, stay tuned to our website, APH News, and your email inbox to learn when you can purchase this ground-breaking device.