[blindkid] Technology and Little Kid

Carrie Gilmer carrie.gilmer at gmail.com
Thu Feb 18 20:18:05 UTC 2010


If you look at handwriting samples of lots of sighted  kindergarteners and
first graders you will see a variety of skill...by third grade they all pull
closer, some-a few- never get totally easily legible.  My sighted youngest
could write her name in print at age three and a half, legibly. My oldest
had ADD and hardly sat down until kindergarten, he hated coloring and
writing. 

 

You can always expect to have variety in the blind population as well. I am
very glad Eric found Ramona's speech with Kim's experience and put the link
up. I think her point (Kim's) that she did it because she did not know
better is very important to think of. Nearly all our children's educational
gaps and lacking-s come from speculated and presumed "they can't, it is too
hard". And because she thought they could and encouraged and gave them the
opportunity and practice well, yeah they did actually do it. She did not
have some group from another planet. It just has not been tried enough-all
the naysayers say it from pure speculation. It is a fact that years ago
nearly all blind children at 5 and 6 started off with slate and stylus.
These children had no more trouble than the average sighted child in
starting. It is a fact that practically virtually every sighted child that
enters kindergarten has thousands of times, hundreds and hundreds of hours,
controlling and practicing with a hand held writing instrument. If they had
trouble well they often had to practice MORE not less. In school they did it
all day long. 

 

We get good at what we spend the most time at. I think the very fine skill
of placing the stylus in the slate cell is some of the most excellent fine
motor coordination practice kids could get, never mind the benefits of
learning to write this way efficiently. Who needs to use their hands and get
good at identifying and manuipulating with fine skill and in detail more
than our kids?

 

As in early handwriting with pen, you don't expect actual letter formation
maybe even the first YEAR or TWO. With the slate one dot obviously could
appear to be an "A", but a child can practice and get finger strength within
the cell just trying making dots, or with no slate. The stylus can also
scribble and press raised lines on Braille  paper with a giving under
cardboard or strong foam like a mouse pad that has some give. The practice
time is often not even within a galaxy that they need before parents and
teachers claim it is hard or their child can not do it, in my experience.

 

I think the bad wrap the slate/stylus has acquired and the dismissed
opportunity and lack of understanding in its total benefits is ONE of the
greatest mistakes in the education of our children in the last 50 years.

Carrie

 

 

 

 

 -----Original Message-----
From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Richard Holloway
Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 1:39 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Technology and Little Kid

 

My main basis for that is that our daughter still struggles with the  

slate and stylus even with a good deal of exposure while she excels  

with the brailler, PacMate, Braillenote, etc., and will soon (I  

suspect) begin to master the qwerty options as well She seems to have  

trouble with precise placement of the stylus to hit the right dot. I  

do suspect if it were her only option, she's be better at it, but at  

the same time, she can pretty well braille as fast as she might  

dictate a letter. I cannot imagine a first grader (or anyone for that  

matter) who can do that with a slate.

 

Again, I'm working with direct history from a sample of one child.   

(Your mileage may vary!)

 

I can say this with some certainty though-- my pens & pencils will  

always be second class citizens to my laptop and the reality is that  

I'm, probably 10 or 20 times more productive with a laptop than a pen  

and paper so I have no problem with that. Do any of us these days work  

better without a computer? For myself, I draw the line at not having  

the pen & paper / slate & stylus option available at all; that is  

dangerous.

 

 

Richard

 

 

 

 

On Feb 18, 2010, at 1:13 PM, David Andrews wrote:

 

> Richard:

> 

> Thanks for the ideas.  Not to be argumentative but I don't  

> necessarily agree with your placement of slate.  Most kids today are  

> not good slate and stylus users because it is downplayed by  

> professionals, and they get the Braille Writer first.  I started  

> with slate first, at six and didn't get a Braille Writer until 2nd  

> or 3rd grade, so I am very good with slate.  To do it the other way  

> around guarantees that the slate will always be a second class  

> citizen.

> 

> Dave

 

 

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