[blindkid] 4th Grade Math and introduction of technology

[Tene Gibson]

Thank you for your answer, but I was not refering to a calculator.  I was refering to easier methods of documentaion that would save time and paper, to eliminate some of the frustration.  Something that would have him more focused on the math problems and their answers.




________________________________
From: Andy & Sally Thomas <andysally at comcast.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 2, 2009 6:14:13 PM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] 4th Grade Math and introduction of technology

I don't think that there is one correct answer to this question.  There are kids who are a whiz at setting up problems on the Perkins.  Some kids prefer the Mountbatten Brailler or an abacus.  In my opinion (and it's just my opinion), a child needs to know how to do the problems for himself (or herself) before switching to a calculator.  The calculator should be introduced when the sighted kids use a calculator.  That said, I haven't gotten buy in on this from the teachers.  It's way easier to switch to a calculator and not teach the other techniques.  You have to do what is best for your child but don't short change him in learning math facts and techniques.

Sally Thomas
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tene Gibson" <g_tene305 at yahoo.com>
To: "BVI-parents" <bvi-parents at yahoogroups.com>; "(for parents of blind children) NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 2:36 PM
Subject: [blindkid] 4th Grade Math and introduction of technology


Thanks to NCLB, I am finding that my 9yo is getting caught up in the crunch to meet certain benchmarks with his sighted peers. Although I believe my child is an exceptionally bright child, I am sensing that he is stressed out by long division and multiplication (lining up problems on the Perkins being the main culprit). He is a type A personality so perfection is his goal and he gets caught up in the nuances of the problem set up instead of getting the answer. From a sighted perspective, I can understand his angst when having to go up, down, left, right, and sideways on a Perkins just for one problem alone and sometimes having to start all over if not lined up correctly. All we do with Math is erase with a pencil eraser.

My question I guess is when is the right to introduce technology into the classroom curriculum. He is one and half years shy of being in middle school. I have the Duxbury software, the screen reader, the notetaker, and the embosser. When can we put Perkins down for limited use.

Tene



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