Slate and StylusWhen Louis Braille and his classmates at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris wrote braille, they used writing equipment similar in concept to the slate and stylus used today. For many years this was the only way individuals could write braille.
The slate and stylus are lightweight, inexpensive, do not need batteries or electricity to operate, and fit easily in a pocket, purse, or briefcase. Some people who are blind use a slate and stylus in much the same way sighted people use a pad of paper and a pencil. |
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You can order an inexpensive plastic slate and stylus similar to the one pictured above from Amazon. Each window-like opening is equivalent to one braille cell. Ours is a 28-cell slate because there are 28 cells in each row counting from left to right across the row.
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Slate
A slate is made of two plastic or metal parts hinged together so that a piece of paper can be put between them. The top part of the slate has rows of window-like openings. Each window is the same size as a braille cell. The bottom part of the slate has shallow depressions arranged in groups of six to represent the dots of a braille cell. Each group of depressions is directly under one of the windows in the top part of the slate. |
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Stylus A stylus is a pointed tool used to punch raised dots in the paper. Using the window-like openings in the slate as a guide, the writer presses the point of the stylus against the paper and into one of the depressions, thus making a raised dot into the paper. |
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Paper
You can use any paper that makes a nice clear raised dot. If the paper is too light, the dots won't hold up. If it is too heavy it will be difficult to punch. Index cards work well. Regular typing paper is fine for practice. |
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How to Use a Slate and Stylus
Place the slate in front of you with the window part of the slate up and the hinged side on your left. Open the slate. It opens from right to left, like a book. Don't force the slate to open backwards; it could break the hinges. There is a small peg sticking up in each corner of the right-hand side of the slate and a little hole in each corner on the left side. |
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Place a piece of paper over the right-hand part of the slate. The top of the paper should be even with the top of the slate. The left side should be next to the hinges. |
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Close the window part of the slate over the paper as if you were closing a book and push it down firmly. You will hear the four corner pegs poking through the paper into the corresponding holes to anchor the paper in place. The slate is now ready to use. |
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Writing in Reverse A person writing braille with a slate a stylus must write from right to left and must form the braille characters in reverse. The raised dots appear on the back side of the paper. When the paper is turned over, the dots face upward and can be felt with the fingers. Using the stylus, make the letter a. Start with the last window in the top row, punch a dot in the top right corner of the cell, the number 4 position. This will appear raised in the number 1 position when the paper is turned over. Now move left to the next window and make the letter b by punching dots 4 and 5. The letter c is easy. It is the top two dots of the cell. If you are brailling words, skip a cell to leave a blank space between each word. When you fill all the rows in your slate, open the slate slightly and move it down the paper to where there is no braille writing. Close the slate and begin writing again. You can see the back side of the dots that have been punched in the photo below. It is the braille alphabet but in reverse because the paper has not yet been turned over to read. |
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When you are through writing, open the slate, remove the paper, and turn it over to read the braille you wrote. The two larger holes on the left side are from the pins that hold the paper in place. Below is the alphabet written with a slate and stylus. |
Braille Alphabet Chart in Reverse for
Slate and Stylus Users
