Noise in the Classroom
Your braille-readings student most likely uses a braille writer. Elementary braille writers, such as the Perkins or MountBatten Brailler, make some noise that may initially be distracting to you and the students in your classroom. It is important to remember that these noises give your braille-reading student specific information about what their writing, such as when they have approach the end of a line on their braille writer or how much battery life is left on the brailler. More advanced braille notetakers, such as the PacMate or Braillenote that are mostly used by older elementary and high school students, are not as distracting as the elementary braille writers.
Although the noise from the MountBatten and Perkins Braillers may be initially disturbing for you and the students in your class, in most cases the students do get used to the rhythmic sounds of this writing tool. However, there are few ways in which you can reduce the noise levels of the MountBatten and Perkins Braillers.
- Put a rubber pad under the braille writers to reduce vibration and buffer the noise.
- Use regular weight print paper in the brailler so that you can reduce the embossing power, and thus reduce the noise.
- Have the student use earphones to access the voice output of the MountBatten Brailler.