[blindkid] Math and electronic notetaker

Richard Holloway rholloway at gopbc.org
Thu Oct 13 19:17:34 UTC 2011


With some BrailleNotes (Apex models) you can plug the unit into a standard VGA monitor and see what has been written if you cannot deal effectively with the Braille. There is a trick on mPowers to do the same to some degree with a null modem cable and a terminal program on a PC. (Better than nothing.)

We've been using a BrailleNote from school at home since first grade and we'd be far behind where we are now had we not had it going back-and-forth since then. We check one out over each summer as well. We started with a Braille'n Speak before that. I know we had it in use in kindergarten and I think pre-k as well, so we had some experience with them at school before they started coming home but that is probably less of an issue the older the child gets.

Bottom line is for best results, they probably need to make one available to you for best scholastic results, and asking to have the use of one is quite reasonable. 



Sent from my iPad

On Oct 13, 2011, at 1:31 PM, Trudy Pickrel <tlpickrel at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 
> Thank you all Just the support that We are not asking for some unrealistic request. Joy, we did have them print at school but that leaves out the process of a parent to proof read and help with homework.  I have been trying to remind them that homework is to reinforce a new concept but if he is doing all of it wrong we are reinforcing how to do it wrong.  I was having TVI go over the homework, but that takes from is only 1 hr Out of Class room time with TVI.
> 
> Trudy L. Pickrel
> President MD Parents of Blind Children
> 
>> 
>> Dear Trudy,
>> 
>> Our fourth grader carried her electronic notetaker back and forth to school.
>> Yes, it is an expensive machine, but why has someone spent the money on it?
>> To USE. I'm pretty sure a fourth grade student can understand to take good
>> care of a piece of equipment like that. Keep after that battle. If you have
>> a blind friend who uses one at work, see if he or she can attend an IEP
>> meeting and show it.
>> 
>> If you can't print homework at home, can you save it to the flash drive and
>> put the burden on the school/TVI to print it in the morning? Or even can the
>> teacher use the flash drive to open a file on his or her computer? We had a
>> journal writing assignment that happened every day at school--just skipped
>> the paper step entirely, and let the teacher open it on his computer. You
>> just have to save it as a .rtf, I think.
>> 
>> You really have to keep pushing for the abacus. It is a great way for blind
>> kids to do math, but it is DIFFERENT and may not be in the TVI's comfort
>> zone. Once you get something in the IEP paperwork, then you have to check up
>> and check up and check up again. But also the students need several ways to
>> do their math.
>> 
>> I look forward to other parents' and teachers' comments on how to do math
>> quickly.
>> 
>> Joy
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------
>> 
>> Message: 2
>> Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:06:33 -0700 (PDT)
>> From: Debby B <bwbddl at yahoo.com>




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