[Pibe-division] Virtual teaching, Paras, et.al.

[Hyde, David W. (ESC)]

One of the problems with getting this list in digest form, is that I sometimes have to respond to messages en bloc. So here we go.

Many years ago, I read an SF short story entitled "And Madly Teach" authored by Lloyd Biggle. The premise was that schools being so expensive, students could just learn from home, watching TV, and the teachers would all work out of television studios. The point of the story was that it didn't work for everyone, and one of the students for whom it didn't work was a "little blind girl." (have you noticed that most blind children have all the attractiveness of ethereal beings, at least in literature?) Now the point of this is not to give obscure literary references, but to give this as a cautionary tale. The economy of scale argument has always been popular with educational administrators. I get this picture of one sessile virtual TVI with a screen and about thirty windows open on it. Each window has a child and a countdown timer, which begins with the amount of TVI time specified in the IEP. The theory is that as long as there is contact (or the possibility of contact) with the TVI, it counts toward the allotted time for vision services. As we discuss this, idea of virtual teaching (and although I am skeptical, I'm willing to be convinced) be careful. It could replace you. Oh yes, for those who tell me how impossible that would be, we here in Wisconsin will always have collective bargaining.

Blind teachers Teaching braille and keyboarding. I had a blind typing teacher. This was after Mike started kindergarten, so the typewriters had English letters, rather than hieroglyphs (fewer keys). As I remember, Effie went around and checked hand position and alignment. She could tell a lot about what we were doing by the typing rhythm. I used the same techniques when I taught keyboarding to adults in Colorado. I also know a lot of blind braille teachers. They too check position of hands and fingers. Yes, occasionally we use a non-blind person to check at random, since such can be done surreptitiously, but it doesn't require them to be there all the time.

Finally, Paras. I know I never had one, but they are around today. One of the problems we have, though is that the districts are sometimes willing to train teachers, but rarely the paras. They don't make enough to pay for their own training, but they definitely influence the child. Should we put together a virtual course for them?

Thank you for listening. I enjoy the ideas off of this list, and sometimes get some that


David Hyde, Professional Development Coordinator Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired 1700 W. State Street Janesville WI 53546
608-758-6152 (office)
608-751-0960 (cell)
608-758-6169 (fax)
866-284-1107 ext. 34 (toll free)
email
david.hyde at wcbvi.k12.wi.us<mailto:david.hyde at wcbvi.k12.wi.us>



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