[Art_beyond_sight_theory_and_research] Learn and Teach Tactile Map Reading Skills with our New Training Guides

[Lisa Yayla]

Tactile Maps Training Book Now Available from the LightHouse Adaptations Store

At LightHouse for the Blind in San Francisco, we are a leading provider of tactile maps – taking visual or graphical information and conveying it through raised line and textural media, making it possible to access the same information as others, without your eyes.

To fully benefit from these maps, though, one must understand “mental mapping.” The ability to create mental maps in your head comes to many naturally, but like most valuable pursuits, requires practice and teaching. To that end we’ve developed the Tactile Maps Training Book, built on best practices and tailored around our maps, which serves as a teaching aid to help teachers unlock their student’s potential.

Start in the Classroom and Move to the Real World
Through hands-on exercises and activities, students will use these books to learn strategies for reading tactile graphics and understanding our incredibly informative maps. We provide an orientation to tactile map symbols, symbol recognition exercises and a variety of exercises around transit, campus and floor plan maps.

Also available, the Tactile Maps Training Book: Audio Supplement. Intended for use with any of the Audio-Tactile Maps created by the LightHouse, this guide introduces readers to the Smartpen – how it works and how to use it, followed by a series of map exercises.

Tactile Maps Training Book
Large print and braille, 53 pages: $50.00

Tactile Maps Training Book: Audio Supplement
Large print and braille (Smartpen enabled), 14 pages: $25.00

Order our training books from Adaptations, the LightHouse store. Adaptations is located at 214 Van Ness in San Francisco, open Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call us at (415) 694-7301 or email us at adaptations at lighthouse-sf.org with any questions.

If you are interested in tactile maps or graphics, please contact Access to Information Services today at AIS at lighthouse-sf.org.


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