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

Zephyr twilight2 at kconline.com
Wed Sep 21 19:29:00 UTC 2011


I agree whole heartedly and should have specified that I am seeing it being used more for teacher workshops to connect teachers around the state to eliminate the hours of driving, room and accommodation, etc.

Just trying to share what's out there. Not being negative in any way.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dr. Denise M. Robinson 
  To: Professionals in Blindness Education Division List 
  Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 3:20 PM
  Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] Virtual teaching, Paras, et.al.


  Lori
  Online or virtual teaching is not necessarily a cheaper way...it is comparable and sometimes can be more expensive.

         Denise 

  Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D. 
  Teacher of the Blind & Visually Impaired
  TechVision-Independent Contractor
  Specialist in blind programming/teaching/training
  509-674-1853     deniserob at gmail.com

  http://blindgeteducated.blogspot.com/




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From: Zephyr <twilight2 at kconline.com>
    To: Professionals in Blindness Education Division List <pibe-division at nfbnet.org>
    Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 12:11 PM
    Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] Virtual teaching, Paras, et.al.


     
    What has to be monitored is that schools and states are looking for ways to save money and this aproach is very appealing to adopt to the hilt. I am not opposed to it for certain situations, but I do not believe it should be the norm or standard.  Some are adopting the use of SecondLife to deliver workshipshops and trainings. Anyone had any experience with Second Life and accessibility?

    Lori

      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Dr. Denise M. Robinson 
      To: Professionals in Blindness Education Division List 
      Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 2:57 PM
      Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] Virtual teaching, Paras, et.al.


      Yes David


      We do not want to go to extremes. Virtual teaching is just another method that is being explored to access so many more children.

             Denise 

      Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D. 
      Teacher of the Blind & Visually Impaired
      TechVision-Independent Contractor
      Specialist in blind programming/teaching/training
      509-674-1853     deniserob at gmail.com

      http://blindgeteducated.blogspot.com/




------------------------------------------------------------------------
        From: "Hyde, David W. (ESC)" <david.hyde at wcbvi.k12.wi.us>
        To: "'pibe-division at nfbnet.org'" <pibe-division at nfbnet.org>
        Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 11:05 AM
        Subject: [Pibe-division] Virtual teaching, Paras, et.al.


        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




        _______________________________________________
        Pibe-division mailing list
        Pibe-division at nfbnet.org
        http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/pibe-division_nfbnet.org
        To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Pibe-division:
        http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/pibe-division_nfbnet.org/dmehlenbacher%40yahoo.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------------
      _______________________________________________
      Pibe-division mailing list
      Pibe-division at nfbnet.org
      http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/pibe-division_nfbnet.org
      To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Pibe-division:
      http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/pibe-division_nfbnet.org/twilight2%40kconline.com 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

      No virus found in this message.
      Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
      Version: 10.0.1410 / Virus Database: 1520/3910 - Release Date: 09/21/11

    _______________________________________________
    Pibe-division mailing list
    Pibe-division at nfbnet.org
    http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/pibe-division_nfbnet.org
    To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Pibe-division:
    http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/pibe-division_nfbnet.org/dmehlenbacher%40yahoo.com




------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  _______________________________________________
  Pibe-division mailing list
  Pibe-division at nfbnet.org
  http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/pibe-division_nfbnet.org
  To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Pibe-division:
  http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/pibe-division_nfbnet.org/twilight2%40kconline.com


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  No virus found in this message.
  Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
  Version: 10.0.1410 / Virus Database: 1520/3910 - Release Date: 09/21/11
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/pibe-division_nfbnet.org/attachments/20110921/5481bd75/attachment.html>


More information about the PIBE-Division mailing list