Hello families! We hope that things are going smoothly for you as you and your students get into the swing of distance learning! We know that for many of you, this means virtual school, and with that comes not only learning the school content, but also how to use the systems each school uses, on top of managing time and trying to create some sort of a schedule or normalcy! We want you to know that we are right there with you in this, and that we are here to support you!
With that in mind, I created some videos to help those of you with students who are using an iPad. These skills are specifically geared toward students using VoiceOver to access the iPad, but some of the videos about accessing Google Classroom can also be helpful in learning the basics of Google Classroom (just don't worry about the VoiceOver gestures!). If you have questions about any of these videos, or if there are additional technology skills your student is struggling with, please feel free to reach out to me ([email protected])! Accessing Google Classroom with VoiceOver-iPad Part 1 Accessing Google Classroom with VoiceOver-iPad Part 2 Accessing Google Classroom with VoiceOver-iPad Part 3 Accessing Google Classroom with VoiceOver-iPad Part 4 Setting Up the Onscreen Braille Keyboard-iPad Typing with the Onscreen Braille Keyboard-iPad
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Marcia has done a great tutorial on locating a dropped object as a blind or visually impaired person.
Locating a Dropped Object In these strange times, we’re all learning to do more with less and take advantage of the resources we have. One of the resources I have at my disposal is a toddler. So I thought it would be helpful to share some tips on supporting cane travel in early childhood students. This video shares some tips and very brief demonstrations of cane use. Remember when you work with your Early On or preschool aged student that cane use doesn’t have to be pretty. As long as your child is practicing the most basic cane skills, you’re on the right track. Please excuse the VERY shaky camera on my instruction demo clip. My 9 year-old does not have the most steady hand. -Rachel
Preschool Mobility At my house, I have one child that has always been interested in participating in the kitchen, and one that traditionally hasn't been interested. However since we've been home, both my kids are have been wanting to be in the kitchen more. I love the learning opportunities that this presents for functional life skills, and I love how much more independent and confident it makes them. This week I thought we'd move back to the kitchen to look at some more of those skills, so you guys can have your blind or visually impaired students develop more independence and confidence in the kitchen. We've done a few videos on introductory kitchen skills, and if you haven't had a chance to look at those, make sure you check them out.
Marking a microwave Introductory Microwave Skills Happy Friday everyone! A great way to increase your child's independence is have them choose their own outfits for the day. This is an area I gave my kids control over very early, and can be evidenced by the eclectic outfits my free spirited daughter chooses (plaid shirt with unicorn leggings just this week). While we're spending more time at home, this could be a great way to practice some of these skills. Here's some ideas on how you can organize your child's closet to help them be more independent. As always, there are a lot of ways to help your visually impaired or blind child organize their clothes, so if something else works for your family, do that. We'd love to hear how you guys are organizing your child's clothes, so we can get new ideas. Our families teach us so new ideas and techniques regularly. Bonus, Rachel Jones, one of our Teacher Consultants for the Visually Impaired and Orientation & Mobility Specialist, did a quick video on demonstrating Sock Locks for us. -Anne
Organizing Closet Sock Locks Welcome back families. I was talking to one of our parents today, and she let me know that our links don't work unless you have a Google account. I apologize; I'm still trying to figure this out. I'll go back and change them over the next few days. Today's links should work. As a continuation of our laundry unit, I wanted to post a few videos on folding shirts and pants as well as some ideas for clothing organization. If you missed out introduction to folding laundry, here's a link to it directly. Remember that all of these actives of daily living, including folding laundry, takes a lot of practice and encouragement. -Anne
Clothing Identification Introduction to Folding - Towels Intermediate Laundry Folding - Shirts and Pants Happy snowy Wednesday Families. If you saw my April 8th post, you know that I'm in a constant battle with laundry. It is endless. Now that we're all home together, it's worse. Seriously, we're washing our hands more, my daughter feels like she needs three wardrobe changes a day, my son is convince everything is dirty the second a drop of water touches it, so I recruited my kids to help me with laundry. I thought you guys might like a laundry "unit", and I'll post some ideas and tips over the next couple of days. Here are some ideas on organizing your laundry room, marking your in-home washer and dryer, and some teaching tips to help get your blind or visually impaired child involved. If you don't have an in-home set up, most laundromats are great about allowing a machine or two to be marked if you ask the management. Of course, this is once stay at home orders have been lifted and you're comfortable taking your kids out again. As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or if there's anything we can help you with. -Anne
Organizing the Laundry Room Marking In-Home Washer and Dryer Good afternoon families! It turns out that our beautiful warm weather was only temporary, and cooler temperatures are back. When things are cooler outside, it always seems like our family is baking something. I did a quick video on marking an oven and introducing it to your student, so you guys can get your visually impaired or blind child in the kitchen with you. There are a lot of different ways to mark an oven, and if something else works for your family, use that! When marking an appliance, it will hold up better if you clean it with a degreaser, rinse well, and dry completely before marking. Let us know what you guys are baking! - Anne
Introduction to the Oven For those of you with Android devices, there is an exciting new keyboard available that will allow you to type on your phone in braille without any additional devices connected! It works in conjunction with TalkBack, the Android screen reader, and, because it is a keyboard and not a separate app, can be used anywhere you can type! Post on Facebook by writing in braille, send a text message to a friend, or even write a nice email to your teacher, all in braille from your phone! Additional information and how to set it up can be found at the following link: www.blog.google/products/android/braille-keyboard/.
If you have an iPhone, this feature has been available since iOS 12. More information and how to set it up is at the following link: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/type-onscreen-braille-using-voiceover-iph10366cc30/ios. It works in much the same way, as it is a built-in keyboard, you can use it across the device anytime you would use a keyboard normally! Happy brailling! These simple tactile maps of specific areas/hallways of Haas Elementary, Armstrong Middle School and Southwestern Academy were created for the VI Classroom students.
Each map was created with the specific student and his/her skills in mind. The room names/numbers on the tactile maps (black boards) are Velcro. They may be removed and the student can be asked to put them in the correct order. These maps can allow for other items/rooms to be added when needed. -Marcia Haas Elementary Haas Elementary VI Wing Armstrong Middle School Southwestern Academy |
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December 2020
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