[blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 99, Issue 9

Thu Jul 12 21:17:58 UTC 2012

I strongly believe that my strong understanding of math concepts, and my
ability to calculate math in my head is because from day 1 I was made to do
all the math on my Brailler that my sighted peers did on paper. In the third
grade they let me do so many problems on the Brailler, and the rest on the
abacus. The abacus is great for understanding concepts as well, but the one
and only drawback is you can't look at the work you showed to figure out if
you are missing a concept or just calculated wrong. I had a horrible problem
where for whatever reason I would sometimes write a 4 when I meant 0 and the
other way around. We eventually figured this out because I showed my work,
and it was discovered that my fingers jump when I Braille meaning that my
fingers don't stay on the keys and I don't use the same finger for each key.
It is much better now, but if my pointer wasn't being used for dot 4, but I
was writing a letter that used dot 5 it jumped over to do that work. My
teacher figured this out because I did the math perfect on the abacus and in
my head, and because I showed my work. I still use the abacus today for so
many things and can't really imagine doing things differently. I keep score
when I play games such as scrabble, I jot down quick phone numbers, I bring
it to the store when I'm on a strict budget, and so so so much more!

Bran

"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is
a spark." 
- Victor Hugo 

Brandy Wojcik  Discovery Toys Educational Consultant and Team leader
(512) 689-5045
www.playtoachieve.com
Follow me on Face Book at
http://www.facebook.com/PlayToAchieve.DiscoveryToys 

Read my new blog at www.playtoachieveballstobooks.wordpress.com

Looking forward to helping you with your educational toy needs!

-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Denise Mackenstadt
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2012 3:03 PM
To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [blindkid] blindkid Digest, Vol 99, Issue 9

I would say that the abacus is a great tool.  However, I also teach my
students to show their work on the Brailler.  This skill is required for
most state wide tests and in most curriculums.  Showing work on a Brailler
also reinforces good use of Nemeth formatting and use of Nemeth notation.
For math success all of these tools need to be used effectively. I would be
interested in the opinion of blind math students or professionals.
Denise Mackenstadt, NOMC
cane.travel at gmail.com
(206)419-9555

On Jul 12, 2012, at 10:00 AM, blindkid-request at nfbnet.org wrote:

> Send blindkid mailing list submissions to
> 	blindkid at nfbnet.org
> 
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> 	http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> 	blindkid-request at nfbnet.org
> 
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> 	blindkid-owner at nfbnet.org
> 
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific 
> than "Re: Contents of blindkid digest..."
> 
> 
> Today's Topics:
> 
>   1. Re: paper compatible abacus (Wagner, Gail Katona Y)
>   2. Re: paper compatible abacus (Sally Thomas)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2012 19:15:40 +0000
> From: "Wagner, Gail Katona Y" <wagner_g at aps.edu>
> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List,	(for parents of blind children)"
> 	<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] paper compatible abacus
> Message-ID:
> 	<BF54740283AD1C499D85223D45B547C663F2C6C1 at APSMAIL3A.aps.edu.actd>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> I am a TVI and it's the only method I have used. It makes sense!!
> Gail
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] on 
> behalf of Joy Orton [ortonsmom at gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, July 09, 2012 8:08 PM
> To: NFB Blindkid list
> Subject: [blindkid] paper compatible abacus
> 
> Dear friends,
> 
> My daughter and I are working on learning to use the abacus for math.
> It seems to be much faster than the Perkins brailler, especially for 
> multiplying and dividing with multiple digits.
> 
> I just found out that there is a "paper compatible" abacus method, 
> described by Doris Willoughby in "Handbook for Itinerant and Resource 
> Teachers of Blind and VI Students." Wow! I think this method needs 
> more publicity. So, I'd like to know, how many of you have heard of 
> this method, and how many are using it?
> 
> Thanks!
> Joy
> 
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
blindkid:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/wagner_g%40aps.e
> du
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:34:24 -0400
> From: Sally Thomas <seacknit at gmail.com>
> To: "Blind Kid Mailing List,	(for parents of blind children)"
> 	<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] paper compatible abacus
> Message-ID:
> 	<CABwegD4R=RGhPgUA2i_HeSCMkR+xXNnRgimbMMg59W4nYrsgng at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> The paper compatible method makes sense to sighted users but I like 
> the method Annie (I cannot remember her last name) teaches.  I think 
> it is faster and more intuitive.  You work from left to right instead 
> of right to left.
> 
> David abandoned the abacus for various reasons but I think it is very 
> useful.  I wish more kids learned it as I think understanding the 
> mechanics of math is important.
> 
> Sally Thomas
> 
> On Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 10:08 PM, Joy Orton <ortonsmom at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Dear friends,
>> 
>> My daughter and I are working on learning to use the abacus for math.
>> It seems to be much faster than the Perkins brailler, especially for 
>> multiplying and dividing with multiple digits.
>> 
>> I just found out that there is a "paper compatible" abacus method, 
>> described by Doris Willoughby in "Handbook for Itinerant and Resource 
>> Teachers of Blind and VI Students." Wow! I think this method needs 
>> more publicity. So, I'd like to know, how many of you have heard of 
>> this method, and how many are using it?
>> 
>> Thanks!
>> Joy
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindkid mailing list
>> blindkid at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> blindkid:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/seacknit%40gmai
>> l.com
>> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> 
> 
> End of blindkid Digest, Vol 99, Issue 9
> ***************************************

_______________________________________________
blindkid mailing list
blindkid at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
blindkid:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/ballstobooks%40gmail.c
om