The TouchPad Pro Foundation

Our vision of the future starts with the children. An inclusive education. To make Science and Math accessible. To experience and create art. A fulfilling career. TouchPad Pro Foundation’s mission is to help ensure these rights for the blind, deaf-blind, and low-vision communities. The BrailleDoodle is an inexpensive, refreshable, two-sided tablet for learning Braille and creating tactile images on a surface that refreshes repeatedly. With Etch-a-Sketch-like technology, the BrailleDoodle will bring Braille literacy and accessibility with tactile Science, Math, and Art to blind people worldwide. The Crisis in the Blind Community Less than 10% of children who are blind or have low vision are learning Braille. (In India, that figure is less than 1%!) Yet, over 85% of those employed are Braille literate. Also, the joy of creating art should be available to every child. Graphs and diagrams are difficult to supply and impossible to manipulate. Making learning fun and putting children on the path to a successful education will substantially enhance their lives. The BrailleDoodle is unlike anything on the market in every respect. The front of The BrailleDoodle is a place for learning and practicing Braille. The top section contains examples and practice spaces for every letter, some symbols, and sight words. Considering the effective reading instruction methods, the lower area of the device has a place to write full words and sentences. The ‘Doodle Side’ of The BrailleDoodle has an array of hundreds of holes. Each hole contains a smooth metal ball that can be pulled to the surface with a magnetic stylus. The balls lock into place with just enough force. Unlike other instructional tools, this allows students to feel like they draw or write in real-time. The user erases by simply pushing the balls back down.