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Megan Gagne
Director of Product for Braille Innovation at Perkins School for the Blind, leading product development for inclusive braille technologies including the Perkins Braille Bloom.
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Jun 17, 2026
AccessWorld #35 -- Checking Out the Perkins Braille Bloom
15:33
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6:48Megan GagneGUEST
So because we have such a solid install base around the world, we knew that there were users, and as you've discussed, where the Perkins Brailler is the staple device.
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6:58Megan GagneGUEST
It's either how they learn to write Braille or it's still how these users are writing Braille.
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7:03Megan GagneGUEST
And what we didn't want to do is put a burden of learning new technology on these users if the Perkins Brailler is still the primary device or put a financial burden.
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7:14Megan GagneGUEST
on the user to have to buy a new device that would connect them to the internet.
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7:17Megan GagneGUEST
And that was really the origin of how can we support our user base today who have been using the Perkins Brailler either from 1951 or just got their first Perkins Brailler at as low a cost as possible.
8 MINS LATER

Aaron PreeceHOST
How is it picking up the key presses and things like that? And does it pick up, say, the scroll wheels on the side? I'm just curious how all that works, if you can say.
NVDA Updates & Perkins Braille Bloom: Bringing the Classic Brailler Online
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31:57Steven ScottHOST
You know, how does pairing work? How quickly does brailled text appear on screen? A- and is there any setup beyond literally turning it on?
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32:05Megan GagneGUEST
So from a technical perspective, you, when you take your classic Perkins brailler, you remove the 11 screws on the bottom of the brailler.
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32:11Megan GagneGUEST
So you take off the cardboard bottom, and you put it aside, and then the, the Braille Bloom just clips onto the bottom.
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32:17Megan GagneGUEST
So there's four clips, two in the back of the Bloom, two in the front of the Bloom.
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32:21Megan GagneGUEST
Uh, and so then that you place a brailler on, on top of the Bloom, kind of push it forward, clips it down, and the Bloom now becomes your new bottom board for your classic brailler.
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32:34Megan GagneGUEST
Uh, from that point forward, you turn on the Bloom, and you can choose to either connect it over Bluetooth to your connected device, whether that is a computer, a tablet, or a phone, or you can choose to connect it over USB.
11 MINS LATER
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43:29Steven ScottHOST
L- let's talk about that a little bit, how that changes the dynamic in the classroom or perhaps even at the kitchen, kitchen table at home.