You will need to install and use Perky Duck software for Brailling on a standard computer keyboard. This software comes in Macintosh and Windows versions and can be downloaded free of charge from
http://www.duxburysystems.com/freeware.asp
Please be advised that Duxbury Systems, Inc. does not provide support for Macintosh users installing the Perky Duck software.
You will also need Internet access, e-mail, and the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser.
Finally, you will need a keyboard that responds to simultaneous six-key input, in other words, a keyboard that has been manufactured to the original IBM PC specification. If you''re talking to a computer tech, you will want to ask for an "IBM PC down/up encoded keyboard with n-key rollover."
Be aware that many newer computer keyboards are NOT suitable. To determine if your keyboard will work, start a new document in any word processing program. Then press the keys sdf jkl all at the same time. Note what appears on the screen. A properly configured keyboard will generate all six letters (sdfjkl) on the screen--but not necessarily in that order.
Each time you press all six keys at once, you should see all six of the letters you pressed on the screen. If this occurs, your keyboard will be perfectly acceptable for braille entry.
If your keyboard generates only three or four letters instead of six, it will not work for Braille entry. Your instructor will be able to suggest affordable replacement keyboards that will meet your needs.
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A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.
Lesson 1
Introduction to Braille
Lesson 2
Perky Duck Braille Software and Letters A-E
Lesson 3
Letters F-J and Capital Letters
Lesson 4
Numbers, Period, Comma, and Decimal Point
Lesson 5
Letters K-O, Hyphen, and Emphasizing Words
Lesson 6
Letters P-T and Money
Lesson 7
Letters U-Z, Question Mark, Exclamation Point, and Apostrophe
Lesson 8
Quotation Marks, Slash, Parentheses, Brackets, Colon, and Semicolon
Lesson 9
Accent Sign, Spacing, Paragraphing, and Alphabet Words
Lesson 10
Dash, Double Dash, and the Words 'And,' 'Of,' 'For,' 'The,' and 'With'
Lesson 11
Time, Dates, Telephone Numbers, Roman Numerals, and Additional Punctuation
Lesson 12
Mathematical Symbols, Measurement, Degrees, and Computer Braille Code
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