[nagdu] GPS Training

[Lisa belville]

Okay, I'll try to combine all of the Breeze questions into one hopefully not
so long missive.  I was in one of the several pilot classes the GDF 
conducted last year, so my info may be out of date due to their modifying 
the class.  Also, the Breeze has had several firmware updates over the past 
year, so they'll need to incorporate that into the current training.

Jenine Stanley works for the GDF and so can probably answer any questions 
more thoroughly.

First, the Breeze training at the GDF is only open to GDF grads.  Grads have 
to have been working with their dog for at least six months and have gelled 
as a team.

You fill out an application giving specifics about where you live, what 
kinds of environments you live in and if you live close to geographical 
features like mountains, large lakes, etc..  This might sound trivial, but 
features like this can cause the GPS to not work accurately or not at 
all,depending on the circumstance.

They also ask about your hearing and how fast you can walk because these can 
also affect working with a GPS.

The training is just over two days.  The class begins on a Monday evening 
and technically ends on a Wednesday evening, but most people didn't actually 
leave the foundation until the next morning.

We got the manual and other Breeze documentation Emailed a week or so before 
the class so we could read the manual and familiarize ourselves with 
concepts, terminology, etc.  This really didn't help me much as far as 
orientation to the keypad because I'm the kind of person who needs to feel 
what's being described as it's being described.

They give out the units the evening everyone arrives and spend time with 
orientation to the buttons and how to adjust the volume, voice rate and 
pitch, etc.  This is so you can reliably find buttons while walking with the 
dog or find a voice rate and volume that's comfortable for you so you won't 
have to fiddle with it during training.

There are two blind instructors and a sighted person to drive the van and 
give additional information about surroundings, etc..  One blind instructor 
walks with us and explains why the Breeze says what it does when it does. 
The other one hangs out in the van with the other Breeze students and does 
one on one demonstrations and explanations if anyone wants it.

The next day we start by doing different routes in different areas. 
Smithtown and the surrounding area is fairly diverse so people get a chance 
to see how it operates while walking down a busy sidewalk full of overhangs, 
trees and glass store fronts. We cross all kinds of intersections with very 
rounded curbs, diagonal crossings, T intersections, etc.  The Breeze might 
give some inaccurate information about what street you're on if the curb is 
really rounded, so that's why the various street crossings are included.

We go through the process of making landmarks, creating routes to landmarks, 
using routes in a vehicle or on foot, backtracking, making landmarks while 
using the Breeze when it's off the street grid and relying only on as the 
crow flies directions, and using those to find off the grid landmarks.

They also explain a bit of how the GPS works and how using GPS for someone 
with no vision who is walking is a bit different than how a GPS in a car 
operates.  IMO, this is one of the most important parts of the training 
because we learn the limitations of the GPS and how to compensate for not 
having the ability to glance around and take in surroundings to verify what 
the GPS is or isn't telling you.

Judging by some of the questions I've seen on the various technology list, 
not knowing how the GPS works, combined with not being familiar with the 
local area can be very frustrating for people, especially if they got the 
GPS under the impression it would guide them right to a door with step by 
step directions.  Yes, the Breeze is as accurate as a mainstream GPS, but 
mainstream GPSs don't get sighted people to the door of their houses, but 
can be several feet off even though the Breeze alerts them that they're at 
the landmark.  The Breeze uses the same maps and GPS features as mainstream 
products,; there are just more specific tools to help blind people.  For 
example, it will not always work if you're in a city with tall buildings 
because it was originally designed to work using a vehicle that was, 
presumably on a road with clear access to the sky.  The Buildings block the 
signal so you may not always get an accurate estimate of where you're going 
unless you move closer to the street.  It will not work reliably inside most 
buildings.  It can't get you precisely to a door, especially if that door is 
under a roof because the signal is blocked or if the signal is bouncing off 
reflective objects like windows or water.  This is why You need to know what 
the unit is telling you, along with the information you're getting from your 
dog and your own senses in order to know if you're getting the correct 
information from the GPS., they wanted us to know how the unit acted with 
these situations so we knew when to rely on the unit and when not to.  It 
was emphasized several times that the GPS, just like the dog, is another 
tool in the tool box and that all of them operate independently of each 
other.

It's like any other technology.  Some people are very tech savvy and can 
grasp new concepts and incorporate them into how they're already working 
while some can't.  Toni did a good job of explaining how the GPS and the dog 
work together and how this does take some practice.  Some people may not 
grasp this as quickly, or realize that if they stop long enough they could 
lose their current GPS fix.  Some people may only take the time to learn the 
basics of their equipment and either not feel comfortable or just put off 
using the advanced functions.

The GDF wants people to get the full benefit of the Breeze and how it can 
enhance the dog/human partnership.  They pack a lot into the two day 
training so that we can hit the ground running back home.

Lisa