[nagdu] GPS Training

[d m gina]

I can see something being done for this while you are not at a school 
getting a dog.
It is stressful enough to go across the country just to fight with a 
school and keep up training.
The bottom line is I will go home with a dog, and that is what matters to me.

Original message:
> Hello everyone,

>     These GPS systems are great but they can foster an over dependence on
> technology if one is not careful. As for using them during training getting
> accustomed to working with a new dog should be job one. GPS training can
> come later. I find it interesting that some would want the opportunity to
> use a GPS device during training but are unwilling to demand that their
> guide dog school give them the opportunity to travel unaccompanied with
> their dog prior to training completion.

> Peter Donahue

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "d m gina" <dmgina at samobile.net>
> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 10:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] GPS Training


> I hope the folks catch on as well as I did, learning how to put in
> addresses.
> Now will instructors let folks who have the breeze use it in training?
> Especially getting a new dog?
> I think that would be so cool if they did. I know it would be.
> I know I would ask.

> Original message:
>> 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
> every sinner has a future

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

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