Online Braille Courses

These braille courses are for sighted family members and professionals who want to learn braille. They range from simple introductions to rigorous courses for aspiring certified braille transcribers.

Braille Certification Training Program: National Federation of the Blind
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Braille_Initiative.asp?SnID=2068514288
For those who want to become braille transcribers, NFB's Jernigan Institute administers the Braille Transcriber Certification Training Program for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Details about the program are at this site. 

BRL: Braille Through Remote Learning
http://www.brl.org/
BRL is "an online instructional program that provides teachers, parents, social workers, and current/future braille transcribers with … online courses in braille and braille transcribing."

Introduction to Braille, Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7917
"This online course is designed to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the uncontracted Braille code and the utility of Braille from the user's perspective."

Contracted Braille, Hadley School for the Blind
http://www.hadley-school.org/2_h_onlineCourses.asp
Aimed at parents and professionals who work with braille readers, "the goal of this course is to enable you to visually read and emboss contracted braille."

Introduction to Braille, Hadley School for the Blind
http://www.hadley-school.org/2_h_onlineCourses.asp
An introduction to uncontracted braille for parents and teachers; participants will learn to read visually and communicate in writing with students who read braille.

Online Braille Courses: The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.
http://brl.org/
The Shodor Foundation offers free courses in introductory braille, transcribing, and specialized codes. There are no instructors, so the coursework is self-paced and self-corrected.

Using Source Files: An AFB Online Course for Braille Transcribers, American Foundation for the Blind
http://www.afb.org/learn/course.asp?eid=1317&action=login
AFB offers this course, free of charge, "to braille transcribers who know how to use braille translation software and who are interested in working with publishers' source files."

Web-Based Organizations and Resources

National Braille Association
http://www.nationalbraille.org/
The mission of the National Braille Association is "to provide continuing education to those who prepare braille, and to provide braille materials to persons who are visually impaired."