Source: American Printing House’s “Meet Monarch” article
A revolutionary device for blind and low vision students is coming soon from APH!
Description from APH: “APH is proud to introduce the Monarch, a revolutionary multiline braille display poised to transform the educational landscape for blind and low vision students. With its innovative design, the Monarch isn’t just a device; it’s a beacon of inclusivity, empowering students to thrive in classrooms where barriers once stood tall. Imagine the joy of exploring over 2000 searchable tactile graphics, igniting curiosity and fostering creativity like never before.”
“For the first time in history, students can harness the power of a built-in graphing calculator to craft intricate tactile graphs, empowering students to grasp complex mathematical concepts with confidence. But the Monarch isn’t just about academic prowess – it’s about equality and independence. By dramatically reducing the time it takes to gain access to braille textbooks, it ensures that no student is left behind. With the Monarch, blind and low vision students are leaders in their own educational journey. It’s more than a device; it’s a key to unlocking a world of possibilities and paving the path to a future filled with limitless potential. Join us in championing inclusivity with Monarch.”
The Monarch’s Features
- Under five pounds and roughly the size of a 15-inch gaming laptop.
- Features an 8-dot Perkins braille keyboard, pan up/down buttons, direction pads, Android navigation keys, and a 10-line by 32-cell refreshable braille display, which can render lines of braille and tactile graphics simultaneously with 3,840 equidistant pins.
- Gesture recognition and the capability to connect to a visual display for collaboration with sighted teachers and peers. The cutting-edge visual braille output with finger-tracking technology provides opportunities for remote braille instruction that have never existed before the Monarch.
- This technology will bridge the educational gap for students along with the development of a new dynamic file type that will bring braille, tactile graphics, and navigation capabilities together in a single braille file.
Applications
Applications powered by HumanWare’s KeySoft Accessibility suite will be loaded onto the Monarch when you receive your device.
A few of the apps included are:
- KeyWord, a Word processor supporting MATH ML and .docx files
- KeyMath, a graphing calculator created in partnership with Desmos that allows students to graph tactile functions on demand for the first time ever
- Tactile Viewer, a tactile graphic viewing app which connects via WiFi to APH’s Tactile Graphics Image Library
- Victor Reader, which connects users to hundreds of literary titles.
Check out what’s happening with APH’s training events at their blog – Mastering the Monarch.
