Reading Braille on iOS

UK education collection users can also read their books in braille using an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod). Reading braille on an iOS device requires syncing a braille display to the device and then installing a UK education collection compatible application. UK education collection recommends either Voice Dream Reader or Read2Go, both available from the App store.  

You can navigate through UK education collection's applications on an iOS device using the built in VoiceOver braille display commands. While each braille display's functions may vary, some of the most common navigation commands are listed below.

Note: As of iOS 7 braille transcription will default to UEB, however translation settings can be changed within VoiceOver's braille settings.
Navigating to the next item
  • Press dot 4 with Space
  • Press right on the joystick if one is present
Navigating to the previous item
  • Press dot 1 with Space
  • Press left on the joystick if one is present
Selecting an item
  • Press dot 8 with Space
  • Press dots 3 and 6 with Space
  • Press down on the joystick if one is present

Braille and Voice Dream Reader

Logging in to UK education collection

Before downloading books in Voice Dream Reader, UK education collection needs to be enabled from the settings menu:

  1. Open Voice Dream Reader.
  2. Press dots 4, 5, and 6 with Space to find the final item on the screen.
  3. Navigate to the previous item to find settings.
  4. Select on settings to open the settings menu.
  5. Navigate to and select the UK education collection option.
  6. Type in your UK education collection username and password, then select the Okay button to sign in to your UK education collection account.

Downloading Books

After UK education collection is enabled it will appear as an option in the Add menu. Voice Dream Reader allows users to search by title or author; you can also browse our collection using categories. To search and download books:

  1. From the home screen, press dots 4, 5, and 6 with Space to find the final item on screen.
  2. Navigate to the previous items to find and select Add to open the Add Books menu.
  3. Navigate to and select UK education collection to open the UK education collection download screen.
  4. Type the title or author in the text field here and then press dots 1 and 5 with Space or your display's Enter key to start a search.
  5. Once you've started your search or selected an option to browse, use dots 4 with Space or your display's navigation keys to review your results.
  6. When you're ready to download a book, select the download button after the book's title.
  7. After your book has downloaded, Voice Dream Reader will announce "File Loaded." Once the book has downloaded, select Okay to return to the search results page.
  8. Press dots 1, 2, and 3 with Space to locate the top of the search results list.
  9. Navigate right to locate and select the Done button to close the search and return to the Home screen.

Reading Books

The home screen lists all books downloaded into Voice Dream Reader. Navigate through the next or previous items to review the list of books and select on the desired book to begin reading. Once the file is open press dots 1, 2, and 3 with Space to navigate to the top of the page, then navigate to the next items until you locate Next Item.

Once this is located the text can be accessed through the display, pressing the advance key or 5 and Space to pan through the text.  

If your display stops panning forward and you cannot read the next segment of text, press dots 1, 4, 5, 6 with Space to scroll to more text. There will be a delay until the content is loaded; while the book is loading the screen may display a percentage or be blank for a short period of time. Soon the next segment of text should appear on your display. You can press dots 3, 4, 5, and 6 with Space if you wish to scroll up and reread any previous text.

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Braille with Read2Go

In addition to the instructions below, a video demonstration of a slightly older version of Read2Go and a braille display is available on Youtube. (Transcript)

Logging in to UK education collection

Users log in to UK education collection in Read2Go through Read2Go's settings.

  1. After launching Read2Go, press dots 4, 5, and 6 with Space to navigate to the final item on screen, Help.
  2. Navigate to the previous item, Settings.
  3. Select Settings to open the menu.
  4. From the settings menu navigate through the next items to find Sign In.
  5. Select the option to sign in.
  6. Enter your UK education collection username or email and password to sign in.

Searching for Books

The built in function for Searching for UK education collection books in Read2Go is also available from the bottom of the home screen.  

  1. Press dots 4, 5 and 6 with Space to navigate to the final item on the screen, Help.
  2. Navigate to the previous item twice to find Search UK education collection.
  3. Select Search UK education collection to open the search options.
  4. Press dots 1, 2, and 3 with Space to navigate to the top of the search screen.
  5. Navigate to the next items to find search options and the search field.
  6. Select the search field to enter search terms.
  7. After typing in your search term, press dots 1 and 5 with Space or Enter to activate the search button.

Read2Go provides options to search by title, title and author, author, or ISBN, depending on the search criteria you have selected.

Download Books

After searching, a page of search results will be displayed.

  1. Press dots 1, 2, and 3 with Space to navigate to the top of the results page and then navigate forward to browse through the available books.
  2. After each title will be an option to download that title. Select download to add the book to your My Books list.

Reading Books

All downloaded books will appear on the My Books list.  To read previously downloaded books:

  1. Press dots 4, 5, and 6 with Space to find the final item on the screen, Help.
  2. Navigate through the previous items to My Books and select it.
Note: Due to a bug, titles on the My Books page may not read, and the Braille display may appear blank. Opening any book, closing it, and returning to the list may resolve this issue.
  1. While on the My Books list press dots 1, 2 and 3 with Space to navigate to the first item on the page, then navigate to the next items to browse through the list.
  2. Select on a desired book to open it for reading.

Settings

Before reading a book in Read2Go, two settings—Read2Go audio and Display by Page—must be disabled to allow the braille display to access the text:

  1. While in a book press dots 1, 2, and 3 with Space to navigate to the top of the screen.
  2. Navigate to and select Settings to open the settings menu.
  3. Navigate to and select Visual settings to open the visual settings menu.
  4. Navigate to the Display by Page option.
  5. Select on Display by Page to disable this option.
  6. Use the keystrokes above to navigate to the Audio options and disable the Read2Go audio option as well.

Navigating Books

Several options for navigating UK education collection books are available:

  • Use the Navigation button, second from the top, to navigate by heading, bookmark, and page (if available).
  • Use the braille display's navigation keys to move through the text.
  • Press dot 5 with Space to move forward through the text.
  • Press dot 2 with Space to move back through the text.

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