[blindkid] The Relationship Between a Visually Impaired Childand the iPad 2

Brandy W branlw at sbcglobal.net
Tue Nov 8 20:29:02 UTC 2011


If this child needs 2 lines on an Ipad than this child reads Braille. I'm 
about 95% sure that  A Braille reader given as much attention to reading as 
this child has received would be reading far beyond this child. It saddens 
me that the same things aren't being used but with a Braille display 
attached instead of enlarging the print.


"When we treat children's play as seriously as it deserves, we are helping 
them feel the joy that's to be found in the creative spirit. It's the things 
we play with and the people who help us play that make a great difference in 
our lives."
- Fred Rogers

Brandy Wojcik
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Penny Duffy" <pennyduffy at gmail.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2011 1:28 PM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] The Relationship Between a Visually Impaired 
Childand the iPad 2


> So much focus is put on work arounds to teaching braille. As if learning
> braille is a bad thing. It still the most powerful tool for the blind.
> Technology is a wonderful thing. It doesn't equalize a blind child with
> their sight peers. What happens when the electricity is out and the
> batteries are dead? A braille book doesn't need those things. Enlargement
> may be the better tool for some children but sometimes it is used too much
> also. Braille also is flexable and can be used with technology including 
> an
> iPad. Its also just a great thing.
> On Nov 8, 2011 1:19 PM, "Deborah Kent Stein" <dkent5817 at att.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Agreed.  I feel some apprehension that schools and many families will opt
>> for the iPad for low-vision kids in lieu of Braille.  Because it's a 
>> print
>> medium it will be much easier for classroom teachers, and kids may like 
>> it
>> because it's cool to have an iPad in class; but it remains to be seen
>> whether kids using the iPad will be as efficient as good Braille readers.
>> Perhaps the iPad will prove to be the best option for a lot of kids.  The
>> verdict isn't in, and I hope there will be good research to help us get
>> answers.
>>
>> Debbie
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bonnie Lucas" 
>> <lucas.bonnie at gmail.com>
>> To: "'NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)'" <
>> blindkid at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 7:20 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blindkid] The Relationship Between a Visually Impaired
>> Childand the iPad 2
>>
>>
>>  I truly think it is wonderful that the iPad works so well for Zoe. I 
>> hope
>>> that as she reads with it, that she is reading at the same speed as do 
>>> her
>>> peers. As long as her vision does not continue to deteriorate, perhaps,
>>> using this equipment will be just what she needs. However, if the time
>>> comes
>>> that her vision gets worse, not knowing Braille is likely to void the
>>> gains
>>> made by using this technology. I'm sure that the staff and parents will
>>> take
>>> all of this into consideration. Of course, as I'm sure that others have
>>> mentioned that as children grow into adults, it become so much harder to
>>> learn Braille. I know from personal experience with members of my 
>>> family.
>>> Very best of luck!
>>>
>>> Bonnie Lucas.
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Hai Nguyen Ly 
>>> [mailto:gymnastdave at sbcglobal.**net<gymnastdave at sbcglobal.net>
>>> ]
>>> Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 8:38 AM
>>> To: (for parents of blind children) NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List
>>> Subject: [blindkid] The Relationship Between a Visually Impaired Child 
>>> and
>>> the iPad 2
>>>
>>>
>>> http://liaison.com/blog/blank-**blog-page/liaison-blog/2011/**
>>> 10/13/the-relation<http://liaison.com/blog/blank-blog-page/liaison-blog/2011/10/13/the-relation>
>>> ship-between-a-visually-**impaired-child-and-the-ipad-2
>>>
>>> The Relationship Between a Visually Impaired Child and the iPad 2
>>>
>>> Zoey's right eye works some. The left eye not at all. She walks with a
>>> cane
>>> at school. Her teachers enlarge worksheets so the text is 16-point font,
>>> and
>>> she has large print editions of some other books. She uses the iPad 2 
>>> for
>>> everything else at school.
>>>
>>> At the start of the school year, there was very little information
>>> available
>>> about how a child like Zoey can succeed with the iPad 2 as her primary
>>> adaptive technology at school. This note attempts to fill that gap.
>>>
>>> Zoey's Condition: She is legally blind. She was a "24-week micro 
>>> preemie",
>>> meaning she was born too early and too small. She has never seen well. 
>>> Her
>>> one working eye has a blind spot, its acuity varies so her glasses 
>>> cannot
>>> keep up, and her eye has other problems as well. For what she cannot 
>>> see,
>>> she wants to hear and touch.
>>>
>>> She also has perfect pitch. She says that without her piano, she would
>>> die.
>>>
>>> Other Adaptive Technology: Zoey has several magnifying lenses of 
>>> different
>>> strengths and weights. To read a book, she often put a wedge into her 
>>> lap,
>>> held the magnifier close to her eye and slowly read. To read music, 
>>> until
>>> she got her iPad, she would put music on the piano, put the magnifier
>>> close
>>> to her face and lean towards the music until she could see it. This
>>> approach
>>> let her read most notes, but she was unable to tell the difference
>>> between a
>>> natural and a sharp, read dynamics markings, etc.
>>>
>>> She also used a 3.2 megapixel AVerVision document camera attached to a
>>> 32-inch HDTV on her desk at home. The two together work as a CCTV. They
>>> allow her to read print books, maps, worksheets, etc. It allows her to 
>>> see
>>> bugs and other small items. In first grade she carried the document 
>>> camera
>>> to school each day and had a monitor on her desk. Starting in second
>>> grade,
>>> she found other approaches worked better because the technology was too
>>> cumbersome.
>>>
>>> Her iPad arrived the week before school started. She glommed on almost
>>> instantly, wanting to learn everything about using it. Her first use was
>>> taking pictures of everything in sight - every stuffed animal in the
>>> house,
>>> her sisters dressed in costumes, all her friends, everything which
>>> mattered
>>> to her. This is the first time that the screen of a camera was large
>>> enough
>>> for her to use (as others have noted in numerous blogs and articles). I
>>> also
>>> suspect that she also could see things for the first time - they stood
>>> still
>>> enough, and were large enough, for her to study them.
>>>
>>> A Typical Day with the iPad 2: Each morning before school, Zoey unplugs
>>> her
>>> iPad from the charger and puts it into the carrying case she chose. The
>>> carrying case is colorful, and its bright colors contrast with the 
>>> school
>>> dress code, allowing her to easily locate the case. She also carries a
>>> hand-held telescope in the case.
>>>
>>> In english, science and other subjects, her textbooks are in different
>>> apps
>>> on the iPad. She uses a DAISY reader (DAISY is an audio book format 
>>> which
>>> can also display words in large font sizes), iBooks and Kindle. Her
>>> teachers
>>> email information sheets and other materials directly from the school's
>>> photocopier or from a computer, and the iPad receives the documents via
>>> the
>>> 3G connection, so that Zoey has the materials in class.
>>>
>>> She has difficulty keeping up while taking handwritten notes in class.
>>> Thus,
>>> she now practices typing most days. She has a fold-up bluetooth 
>>> keyboard.
>>> I
>>> use (and am writing this note using) the Apple wireless keyboard. 
>>> However,
>>> that keyboard was not designed to be carried along with the iPad (for
>>> instance, if the keys are pressed, the iPad turns on if the iPad has
>>> bluetooth enabled). She has a smaller keyboard which folds in half. The
>>> key
>>> spacing is not standard, and the keys have to be pressed harder. Once 
>>> her
>>> typing speed is good enough, we will try keyboards until we have a
>>> workable
>>> situation.
>>>
>>> For piano music, I use a notebook application (Notebooks, but others 
>>> would
>>> probably work too) to take pictures of the music two lines at a time. We
>>> make a book for each piece of music, and number the pictures by measure
>>> number. She sets the iPad sideways on the piano, flips between photos 
>>> like
>>> with a swipe similar to how other pianists turn a page of music. She, of
>>> necessity, memorizes all her music. She is far more physically 
>>> comfortable
>>> learning music this way than with hand-held lenses, and she is able to
>>> expand the image enough that she can even read the fingering hints.
>>>
>>> Also, when watching piano instructional materials in the web, or working
>>> on
>>> lab exercises over the web, Zoey is able to expand the screen size and
>>> navigate the sites. When she plays music samples, the iPad speaker is
>>> sufficient for simple lab exercises, but she uses an Apple AirPort wired
>>> to
>>> a stereo system when she needs to hear the music more clearly (the iPad
>>> lets
>>> you send audio to the AirPort instead of to its own speaker).
>>>
>>> Collaborating with the School: The school staff at Archway Veritas, a
>>> charter school in Phoenix, AZ, has been fantastic. The school located
>>> electronic copies or large print copies of most books used in the
>>> classroom,
>>> and has either acquired or made large print copies of most workbooks.
>>> Zoey's
>>> email address has been entered into the school photocopier so teachers 
>>> can
>>> easily scan materials during the day if needed so she can have them in 
>>> the
>>> classroom. There is much more we could say.
>>>
>>> How It's Working: Parents want to see their children succeed. Zoey has
>>> options and flexibility we never thought she would have. The teachers 
>>> and
>>> staff at Archway Veritas, with some support from the Phoenix-based
>>> Foundation for Blind Children, have given Zoey the chance to succeed
>>> there.
>>> Zoey's piano teacher, at Music Works Academy in Phoenix, has adapted to
>>> Zoey's needs and capabilities. We are deeply grateful.
>>>
>>> When asked about the iPad, she said "It is much better than it was 
>>> before,
>>> that's for sure."
>>>
>>> Other parents have warned us that the iPad is a superb source of
>>> entertainment. It can be addictive. Thus Zoey has no games on her iPad.
>>>
>>> As Marc Andreessen recently wrote, software is taking over the world. A
>>> single general-purpose software-controlled tool has now become the 
>>> primary
>>> adaptive technology for a blind child, providing her options that no
>>> previously existing set of tools could provide.
>>>
>>> That is amazing.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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