[Trainer-Talk] Teaching curriculum questions/intro

Mon Jul 25 16:17:55 UTC 2016

Thanks everyone for your responses. 

I think the list of tech skills needed for employment would be very helpful for me as I pull resources together and make sure I am covering the essentials. I would be glad to collaborate with Scott and Mindy to build that kind of list. 

Has anyone used the new textbooks from ATI, "An Immersion into Windows 10 with JAWS" or the Outlook or Word 2016 textbooks? I have never used their texts before but the table of contents looks pretty comprehensive. I would be interested in hearing people's opinions. 

Best,

Greg Aikens
Senior Assistive Technology Instructor 
Center for the Visually Impaired
739 West Peachtree Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30308
404-875-9011 ext. 4285

 CVI empowers those with vision loss to live with independence and dignity.

-----Original Message-----
From: Trainer-Talk [mailto:trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Scott Davert via Trainer-Talk
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2016 4:45 PM
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Scott Davert <scott.davert at hknc.org>
Subject: Re: [Trainer-Talk] Teaching curriculum questions/intro

Hi Greg and welcome to the AT field.
I echo much of  what Misty said. Tech is a rather complex field and we serve a wide diversity of people. I have, in rough form somewhere, a few different lists of skill sets and what I found to be a logical order in which to teach them based on the device/S being used. For example, I have different methods for teaching a braille user on a Mac than I do for teaching a  speech only user. The same could be said for teaching someone to use a touch screen only on an iDevice versus using a bluetooth keyboard. Some clients also wish to use the hybrid approach, which is great as well, but also brings about an entirely different set of contexts altogether.
As for a checklist for employability, I I have a list running for that as well, though since my job no longer involves getting others jobs directly, I've neglected to finish that one. I think the most challenging thing with a project such as this is that the technology changes so rapidly, that such a curriculum need to be updated very regularly to reflect changes in software/hardware. All that said, I'm happy to collaborate with others on developing something so that we can at least have a foundation of sorts.
I've found that teaching group classes can be a challenge. Even when you have 3 individuals working on the same thing, they may have different learning styles, different ways of accessing the technology, etc. It can be done in some situations, and very successfully so. For example, a couple years back I had 2 students who were about equal in their ability to effectively use JAWS. One was a much faster learner than the other, but both had the aptitude. The faster learner became a good peer teacher for the student who was a bit slower in picking up the material, and it worked well. I also agree with giving homework assignments, as it's important to practice concepts covered in class. The assignment you give would depend greatly on the subject area covered.

Have a good weekend!
Scott

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 22, 2016, at 3:35 PM, misty LH via Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Greg,
> 
> What great questions! I am pretty new to the field also (a little over a year), but I will try to help you. 
> 
> We use (and update) existing exercises from other instructors,  as well as creating our own lessons. I personally like using the JAWS surf's up training for the beginning of Internet training, though others do not. But for the most part, our lessons were gleaned from various places and tweaked as needed.
> 
> I would also love to have access to a list of core tech competencies for employability, so if no one else is able to assist (us) with this, I will be happy to collaborate with you to form a list.  I am having trouble understanding our typing requirement of 25wpm for my class, when average job descriptions (in our area) requiring the use of a computer require closer to 45 wpm. However, a great number of people explained that I would probably never have an adult complete typing class in order to get into the AT class if I set the bar that high... I'm still considering changing the requirement on a case by case basis...
> 
> I teach VR classes in small groups- 3 students max. However, I believe if you have the time and resources for one-on-one instruction, that would be ideal. Everyone learns at a different pace and has individual needs that may not be met in a group setting. If you are teaching older adults- especially with no recent computer experience- one on one (in my opinion) is really the only way to provide meaningful instruction as a majority of older adults have additional challenges as well, such as memory or hearing impairments, or even physical impairments which would reduce their ability to attend a class. 
> 
> Final word of advice- find a way to assign homework, even after class ends. I email my older clients between our visits to help them exercise their tech muscles. I'll send e-cards. I send job links to previous VR clients. The point is to encourage continuing to use AT skills after class has completed because if they don't use it, they lose it. 
> 
> I hope this helps you. :) Have a great day! 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Jul 22, 2016, at 2:22 PM, Greg Aikens via Trainer-Talk <trainer-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello all,
>> I'm brand new to the list and brand new to my job as an assistive tech instructor at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta. My background is working as a TVI teaching blindness skills to K-12 students who are blind and visually impaired. I have taught a lot of tech to children but the center-based setting with adults looks a lot different and I have a few questions.
>> 
>> We have a computer curriculum developed here at the Center that is in desperate need of updating/replacing. As I am gathering info on existing resources, I wanted to ask what other trainers are using to teach Jaws/Magic and MS Office. Are you writing your own stuff? Using the training bundle from FS? Pulling from a variety of sources? Any suggestions are appreciated.
>> 
>> Also, to guide the curriculum process, I'm looking for a list of job related tech competencies that clients will need, preferably from an established source. I'm not necessarily looking for something specific to blindness but a list of tech skills that all job seekers ought to have. The list of objectives from our current curriculum misses a lot of the relevant skills today related to internet use, cloud-based collaboration, mobile computing, etc. Does anyone know of such a list or where I might look for one?
>> 
>> Finally, is anyone teaching tech in group classes? Our model has been for each student to work at his or her own pace and work individually. I would like to work in some of the benefits of collaborating and group interaction into the classroom and would be interested in hearing if others have had success with group classes.
>> 
>> Thanks for any and all advice. I look forward to learning and collaborating on this list.
>> 
>> Best,
>> 
>> Greg Aikens
>> Senior Assistive Technology Instructor Center for the Visually 
>> Impaired<http://www.cviga.org/>
>> 739 West Peachtree Street NW
>> Atlanta, GA 30308
>> 404-875-9011 ext. 4285
>> 
>> [Title: CVI Logo - Description: CVI Logo]<http://www.cviga.org/>
>> 
>> CVI<http://www.cviga.org/> empowers those with vision loss to live with independence and dignity.
>> 
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