[blindkid] Tactile Graphics

Thu Jul 18 15:29:37 UTC 2013

Hi All,

I wanted to say thank you to Richard and Darcirae for your perspectives on tactile graphics. I admit you brought up some good points that made me rethink my opinion about tactile graphics somewhat.

Just for context, I'm a congenitally blind adult who had some usable sight when I was young. I personally find most tactile graphics to be completely unhelpful and superfluous. I've participated in several recent research studies done by major universities where I've tested tactile graphics.  I've found that most of the stuff that these schools are testing is absolute junk. I feel like the people who are usually most concerned about tactile graphics are sighted people who assume such concepts are important because graphics are extremely important to their own understanding of the world. I think that those of us who are congenitally blind don't find graphics all that helpful because pictures are simply not a factor in how we understand the world. Simply raising the lines on a printed image does not make much sense to us because we've never experienced that image visually. I liken it to translating a foreign language. Spanish is not simply a transcribed version of English, it's its own unique language.  So to translate a printed image into a meaningful tactile representation does not usually work because the experience of seeing the image is entirely different than feeling it.  

When I was a preschooler I could see enough to use coloring books if I held them close. As an adult I had the chance to feel a basic tactile coloring book created for children. I don't remember exactly where it came from, but it was a reputable Braille producer who was selling the books across the US. The experience of touching the tactile pictures was absolutely nothing like looking at the pictures of the coloring books I used when I was small. The lines were basically meaningless jumbles. My guess is that this was because they were simply raised lined versions of printed pictures. I'm not sure if today's tactile preschoolers are enjoying such coloring books, but I suspect I wouldn't have. I think that's because for congenitally blind people, some of the context is missing. The experience of feeling a raised line version of a picture is just inherently different from seeing it visually. Maybe... these are just my unproven theories based on experience.

In the grand scheme of things, I recognize that coloring books, tactile or otherwise, aren't particularly important.  I just used that as an example to demonstrate my opinions about tactile graphics and how we may all need to rethink how we're conveying visual info to blind kids. 

But while coloring books may not be important, charts and diagrams on standardized tests are certainly important because they can impact a child's academic performance. That's why I said that Richard's and Darcirae's comments lead me to rethink my stance on tactile graphics. While I find most tactile graphics basically useless, I agree that our kids need to know how to use them because they may be tested on them someday. So then the question facing all of us becomes... how can we make meaningful tactile graphics? I know that several universities are currently researching this, especially for STEM related concepts, but the studies I've participated in recently have shown me that we're not at all where we need to be yet. We're still missing the mark.

So, everyone, what do you all think makes a tactile graphic a meaningful one? Parents, ask your kids which tactile graphics genuinely help them. You may find that they find most of them unhelpful, but if they do have some that they like, please tell us about those.  Be careful when asking your kids about graphics that you've created for them yourselves because they know you worked hard on the graphics and they probably love you enough to filter their feedback. Teachers, have similar conversations with your students. Ask them for honest feedback about which graphics do and do not work for them. And blind adults, have you had any tactile graphics that you've found beneficial? If so, what was it about them that made them meaningful for you? I'll be curious to read everyone's responses because I think it's only through genuine dialogues like this that include material producers and blind adults/kids that we're able to come to the most productive conclusions. 

Great topic. Thanks Arielle and others for posting it.

Allison

On 7/17/13, Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org> wrote:>>> Every time a see a quiz or test come home with "omit" written where 
>>> someone thought a question was "too visual", this is the exact sort 
>>> of concern I have. It is much like the "is your child 
>>> age-appropriate" concept from other discussions we have all had many 
>>> times.
>>>
>>> In this case, is what is being taught through graphics age/stage 
>>> appropriate. But the question isn't if our KIDS are ready, rather it 
>>> asks if the TRANSCRIBING is ready. If not now, when? What is going 
>>> to happen so that our kids all have the same shot to get the same 
>>> score on the same standardized tests?...
>>>
>>> Delaying access to these graphics makes things harder for our kids 
>>> down the road, and why would I believe that suddenly "next year" 
>>> they are all going to suddenly be adapted? I'm not buying it...
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Jul 17, 2013, at 1:53 PM, Darcirae Hooks <draehooks at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I was just thinking, that Caiden still has to pass National and 
>>>> state exams to demonstrate learning. Many of those tests have 
>>>> graphs and diagrams. So although he may not feel they benefit his 
>>>> learning bc he can pick the details out of text, he still has to 
>>>> master the same skills his peers are measured by.
>>>> So it may not be beneficial to him but the national standards don't 
>>>> adapt for VI kids.
>>>>
>>>> Darci
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>> On Jul 17, 2013, at 12:57, Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I just asked my 10-year-old daughter-- she says tactile diagrams 
>>>>> aren't very useful to her, but I have seen some of the diagrams 
>>>>> they produce for her at school. They are crude, sloppy things most 
>>>>> of the time. I have made some better diagrams for her when 
>>>>> producing a sort of "twin vision"
>>>>> charts for presentations of hers-- things she will show to the 
>>>>> class, so she needs to be able to identify what the rest of the 
>>>>> kids will observe visually. She says mine are a bit better than 
>>>>> from school, but the reason is I spend a LOT of time making them-- 
>>>>> too much time to be reasonable for casual graphics from 
>>>>> day-to-day.
>>>>>
>>>>> Again, I don't have a great solution to offer. Kendra does 
>>>>> underscore that she wants the same charts and graphics available 
>>>>> as the rest of the kids have though, and I agree. So again, a 
>>>>> notetaker textbook solution would need some sort of embossed 
>>>>> "tactile addendum" to accomplish that on any level.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Jul 16, 2013, at 11:43 PM, Arielle Silverman wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Agreed, if page numbers are missing and the instruction is to 
>>>>>> read specific pages or paragraphs that are numbered, this is a problem.
>>>>>> although it can also be a problem with hard-copy Braille books if 
>>>>>> the page numbers given are print page numbers and such numbers 
>>>>>> aren't contained in the Braille book.
>>>>>> I also agree about open-book quizzes, but maintain that for 
>>>>>> homework assignments and other "practice" work prior to a test, 
>>>>>> reading the whole chapter is, in my experience, a more effective 
>>>>>> learning method than merely skimming. Full reading takes a little 
>>>>>> more time on the front end, but requires less studying and 
>>>>>> re-reading later. I advise sighted students against skimming and 
>>>>>> highlighting in favor of fully reading all the content presented 
>>>>>> to them. In fact, I credit my inability to skim as a contributing factor to my academic success.
>>>>>> Regarding tactile diagrams, this may be a controversial 
>>>>>> statement, but I personally have found almost all tactile 
>>>>>> diagrams to be either superfluous or useless, and would have 
>>>>>> preferred they be either omitted entirely or verbally described. 
>>>>>> It is very difficult to get the required degree of detail into a 
>>>>>> tactile diagram that you can get into a print one. Again this is 
>>>>>> just my opinion, and I am genuinely interested to know if other 
>>>>>> blind people find tactile diagrams to be worth the trouble of 
>>>>>> making them. It could also be different for folks who have had 
>>>>>> useful sight at one point in their lives (I never did).
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> also think there are a few times when tactile diagrams are 
>>>>>> beneficial,
>>>
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