[NFBWATLK] Article: Friends make tactile Rubik's Cube for visually impaired, The Columbian, January 2, 2018

Sat Jan 6 18:37:33 UTC 2018

Yep, and I think APH put out one then, but not sure if I am remembering
correctly.  There were different textured paper stick-ons for each side of
the cubes.

Judy

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBWATLK [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaye Kipp
via NFBWATLK
Sent: Friday, January 5, 2018 2:42 PM
To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
Cc: Kaye Kipp
Subject: Re: [NFBWATLK] Article: Friends make tactile Rubik's Cube for
visually impaired, The Columbian, January 2, 2018

That's all well and good, but I saw a tactile Rubik's cube back in the early
80's when I was living in Palo Alto.

Kaye

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBWATLK [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Nightingale, Noel via NFBWATLK
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2018 10:24 AM
To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Nightingale, Noel
Subject: [NFBWATLK] Article: Friends make tactile Rubik's Cube for visually
impaired, The Columbian, January 2, 2018

https://www.columbian.com/news/2018/jan/02/friends-make-tactile-rubiks-cube-
for-visually-impaired/

Friends make tactile Rubik's Cube for visually impaired: Vancouver teens let
students at School for the Blind have a try

The Columbian

January 2, 2018

By Adam Littman

Sasha Thomas' family has textured dots and stickers placed around the house
to help identify various appliances, railings and other items.

His father placed them in their home so he can determine how to best help
his clients at the Vancouver Veteran Affairs campus, where he works as a
rehab outpatient specialist for the blind.

Thomas, 18, and his friend Carson Mowrer, 17, are both big fans of solving
Rubik's Cube, and had been talking for more than a year about ways to bring
the puzzle to people with visual impairments. They decided to borrow some of
the textured items from Thomas' father and place them on a Rubik's Cube.

"We wanted to share our hobby with people who couldn't play before," said
Mowrer, a senior at Skyview High School.

The two bought a generic cube puzzle, since it was looser and would slide
easier. They then placed different textured items on each side. One side was
left smooth and the other had plastic squares. Another side had scratchy
Velcro and the opposite had soft Velcro. The final two sides had squishy
craft dots and hard plastic dots. Mowrer said the textures are paired, since
it's important for players to know what is on the opposite side of the cube.

They cold-called the Washington State School for the Blind and asked if they
could bring their cube there to see how students reacted to it. They visited
the school twice in the fall, teaching about six students how to use it.

The students seemed excited by it, said Thomas, a senior at Vancouver iTech
Preparatory, adding that he and Mowrer had to be patient.

"How do you explain a Rubik's Cube to someone who has never seen a Rubik's
Cube?" he said. "It's such a visual puzzle."

They talked students through the puzzle, and the goal of solving it.

They tested the cube two ways. The first time, they placed the textures
directly on the original colored sides. The second time, they blacked out
all the colors before adding the textures. Some partially sighted students
said they preferred to have the colors showing to help them solve it.

Scott McCallum, superintendent at the school, said the tactile cube was a
great idea, and he was happy to see people thinking about accessibility for
those with visual impairments.

"If people start thinking about accessibility, it improves access for all,"
he said.

Sean McCormick, director of on-campus programs, said students having access
to something they normally couldn't use was huge for them, as was
interacting with peers who were passionate about the puzzle. He said it was
clear how genuine Thomas and Mowrer were in putting together their cube, and
how they made sure each side felt distinctive while also having a paired
side across from it.

"They really were peers who were helping and celebrating the process with
them," McCormick said. "They were just great to step in and accepted the
challenge of figuring out how to make something accessible. It was like
their own puzzle."

McCormick said his students were excited to try the puzzle, even if some
were a bit discouraged at the difficulty at first.

"Starting with something that seems almost impossible and see it come to
fruition is a pretty meaningful learning experience," he said.

"Without visual access and seeing things, whether it's your siblings playing
games during the holiday times or seeing games played on TV, you have to
learn through real experiences. This is one of those real experiences."

Thomas and Mowrer find the tactile cube they created harder to solve than
the traditional Rubik's Cube.

The two have been friends since they were in first grade. Thomas started a
Rubik's Cube Club in seventh grade at iTech, and Mowrer was one of the first
members.

In the club, they taught others how to solve it, as well as honed their
technique.

"There's no magical tips or tricks," Thomas said. "It's about learning
algorithms. There are certain patterns and series of moves you need to know
how to do on the cube to get everything to line up where you need it to."

Thomas's fastest time solving the cube is 13 seconds, while Mowrer, 18, has
a personal best of 10.83 seconds. The world record is 4.69 seconds, which
was set by a 15-year-old in September, according to Guinness World Records.

The two aren't sure what's next. They said they'd be open to going back to
the school to work more with students. At the moment, they're both applying
to colleges. Mowrer wants to be a structural engineer, and Thomas wants to
be a college math teacher.

"Doing this reinforced that patience is really important," Thomas said. "I
can see how much being passionate about something helps a teacher. When
you're patient with your students, and have a genuine passion for what
you're teaching, I think that goes a long way."

_______________________________________________
NFBWATLK mailing list
NFBWATLK at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
NFBWATLK:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/kkipp123%40gmail.com

_______________________________________________
NFBWATLK mailing list
NFBWATLK at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
NFBWATLK:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/sonshines59%40gmail.co
m