[blindkid] Fwd: [LCA] math question

Sun May 20 05:38:15 UTC 2012

Another point of view... I do like the BrailleNote for Math, Pre-algebra,
Algebra, Chemestry, Calculus...

My daughter Carolina is in high school. I believe that the Perkins Brailler
is a great tool to learn how to work out problems. Still as your kids move
over to middle school and high school I have found that the braillenote has
its advantages. Nemeth code is found in the textbooks in a less spaced out
way than in elementary, no longer is a full cell used to represent a blank.
Fractions are written in a single line form. The BrailleNote allows you to
write in the higher level one line format and you can insert as you solve
the problem. You can't do that in embossed paper. Our kids will need to pay
attention to special separators in this more compact format (Begin exponent,
end fraction, etc).

An apparent difficulty of the BrailleNote for math is that you can't see
what is written on screen or on print. This is because the Braillenote
interprets the Nemeth code as if it was Grade 2 Braille and it looks like
garbage. To that effect I found a work around. We embossed the Nemeth code
files from the BrailleNote via Bluetooth to a PC and then passed the files
to Braille 2000. The result is that you can actually print algebra or
fractions  (Nemeth code) and see it in black print algebraic notation (like
teachers write it) and you as the parent can see what mistakes your kid is
doing with the code as soon as he writes it. Not having to have an expert
transcriber check the code. 

I love the BrailleNote for Pre-algebra, chemistry, etc. (Nemeth code), for
it has many advantages. But for your little ones I always would recommend
for them to learn through elementary with the Perkins Brailler and don't
forget the abacus. They should be able to compute the same number of digits
and speed their sighted peers can do, that is add subtract, multiply, divide
with connected abacus for the additional digits and decimals.

Craige Snader
Anaheim, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindkid-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Richard Holloway
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 3:05 PM
To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Fwd: [LCA] math question

Similar situation here-- the brailler works best for our soon-to-be 4th
grader. Kendra is as skilled a BrailleNote user as you will find, especially
for her age. She's quite good with an abacus. We've used things like the
math window product. They all have their uses, but so far, when it comes to
math, the braillewriter gives the best access to the entire math problem at
once. It is just hard to deal with large problems with access to only one
line at a time, and yes, the math window does solve this and work really
well as a learning tool, but in practice there are so many "fiddly bits"
that it doesn't seem to be usable to solve problems in much quantity.

Richard

On May 19, 2012, at 5:50 PM, Bonnie Lucas wrote:

> My daughter, Aubrie, has used a Brailler since the beginning of math. When
I
> try to talk to her about other options, she refuses because she really
> believes that having multiple lines to do her work is the only way to go.
I
> taught her how to set up problems and work them when she was in about
third
> grade and she has been working them that way eversince. I've even asked
her
> if she feel embarrassed about having it in class and she says "no." She
> would never take the brailler to any other class, however. I've even tried
> to encourage her to write out the equasions on the BrailleNote. She also
> will use the abicus though I can't say exactly when or how she puts it to
> use. 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Arielle Silverman [mailto:arielle71 at gmail.com] 
> Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 7:52 PM
> To: Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)
> Subject: Re: [blindkid] Fwd: [LCA] math question
> 
> You can definitely write out math expressions, equations and solutions on
> the Braille Note but I don't know how you would perform the mathematical
> operations themselves (borrowing, carrying etc.) I'm sure it's possible, I
> just don't know how it is done. My intuition is the abacus would be easier
> than the Brailler, but I never gave the Brailler option much serious
effort
> so I don't know.
> I completed calculus in high school without the use of a graphing
> calculator; there are algebraic ways to solve nearly all the equations I
was
> taught. I'm not aware of an accessible graphinc calculator that provides
> tactile output. There are a few that provide audio output, which may or
may
> not work depending on what level of calculus you are in.
> Arielle
> 
> On 5/18/12, Susie <scooper1218 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> My son is in 5th grade & has had a braillenote for a year & he's had 
>> his share of struggles with math. He actually has to work out the math 
>> problems on the Braille writer & they have just recently got him the 
>> Math Window Tile Pallet to see if that would help him understand the 
>> steps that need to be taken. I haven't heard other wise but my 
>> understanding is that you can't do math problems on the braillenote.
>> Hope this helps.
>> 
>> Susie
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On May 18, 2012, at 6:33 PM, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi all,
>>> Once again, this question came to me from another parents' list. If 
>>> anyone has comments on math techniques using a Brailler or Braille 
>>> notetaker, please either respond to Greg directly or respond on-list 
>>> and I will forward. Thanks for your help!
>>> Arielle
>>> 
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: Greg Hardwig <ghardwig at comcast.net>
>>> Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 20:02:16 -0400
>>> Subject: [LCA] math question
>>> To: lca at yahoogroups.com
>>> 
>>> Sarah is in the process of finishing up third grade (hard to believe) 
>>> and she's spent a lot of time trying to learn the abacus, with 
>>> limited success. He's been doing "mental math" but we had an IEP 
>>> today and everyone is wondering if there's something else out there 
>>> besides the abacus. We also discussed getting her a BrailleNote or 
>>> something similar. So if anyone has any thoughts/experiences out 
>>> there they'd like to share ...
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> 
>>> Greg Hardwig
>>> Naples, FL
>>> Sarah (9- CEP 290)
>>> 
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>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
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