[nagdu] GPS Training

Mon Feb 7 06:55:28 UTC 2011

Dar,

Who knows?  Maybe one of these upgrades, the GPS will tell you where the ice
is, so you can go around.  Ha!

I wonder if I could learn how to translate what the GPS is telling me when I
don't always listen to what my dog is telling me.  I had a heck of a time
convicing her to guide me down what I was convinced was a nice wide alleyway
as a shortcut and gave her all sorts of grief for not turning right, then
for not wanting to go forward, then for going forward so slowly and was just
kinda nagging and whining and insisting.  So she finally gave in and geared
up into poodle speed and I clicked away happily and gushed over how good she
was, then yiped when she stopped dead in the middle of the "block" and would
not move at all.  I carped and whined and threatened and made her do push
ups and felt with my foot for a curb or steps or something in case she
wasn't just being obnoxious for no reason.  Then I finally inched forward
with my feet, feeling in front of me...

Which is how I found the brick wall she was rebelliously not running me
into.  Poor dog.  I think in her place, I would have thrown me into the
stupid thing headfirst and snuck off to find a quiet life in the country.

Thing about Mitzi.  That dog can say "I told you so" for days.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of d m gina
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 8:47 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] GPS Training

Because I have my own breeze they won't let me come up giggle.
So much more I could learn I'm sure.
Now if the ice would melt.
Gee

Original message:
> Jeanine,

> Will the foundation be considering refresher courses or webinars with the
> new upgrades?

> Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
> Founder
> My Blind Spot, Inc.
> 90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
> New York, New York  10004
> www.myblindspot.org
> PH: 917-553-0347
> Fax: 212-858-5759
> "The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
> doing it."

> Visit us on Facebook LinkedIn

> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Jenine Stanley
> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 7:49 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] GPS Training

> Lisa,

> That was a great explanation of our Trekker Breeze training. We've
modified
> it slightly for the recent upgrades and now will include evening lectures
on
> how to put in addresses from the device and your computer.

> We work in Port Jefferson, Long Island for much of the training now and
have
> one fun exercise that really does show you where your trust should lie.

> There is a very nice pier you can walk along that juts out into the sound.
> We have you create a landmark on shore then walk out on the pier. The
> walkway takes a couple bends though. Then we have you use the Breeze to
> navigate back to that landmark. Well, since you are in an open area off
the
> street grid, the Breeze gives you directions by clock face angles. If you
> were to follow them, you'd be very wet, very quickly. <grin>

> Our motto during the training is Dog, Gut, Trekker, to describe the order
in
> which you should trust incoming info as you travel.

> When we set up the training, we decided to use other blind people to do
the
> teaching of the classroom and some street work with guide dog instructors
> and volunteers assisting on the streets to observe dog behavior and safety
> issues.

> I can't wait to get our next series of classes going in April. I love
> training folks with the device.

> Jenine Stanley

> jeninems at wowway.com

> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Lisa belville
> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 7:28 PM
> To: national guide dog
> Subject: [nagdu] GPS Training

> 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

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-- 
--Dar
skype: dmgina23
  FB: dmgina
www.twitter.com/dmgina
every saint has a past
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