Go Lucy! That sounded great. Sounds like you and your son are definitely in a more advanced part of the country than I was. I got cardinal directions from my dad but never in school. Even a map reading come out we only learned that north is the top of the map. Perhaps, if it had been a tactile map, I might have learned more about how the rivers and highways run. Sent from my iPhone
On May 15, 2019, at 6:06 PM, Alexander, Lucy, CFB
wrote: Good afternoon,
I will preface my comments with I am not an NOMC; however, I do have an eight-year-old. What I recall from school is that I began learning how to read a map in kindergarten. By first grade, I was definitely able to follow multistep instructions to move my character on the simplistic map of a city that I was given. I believe we were taught map reading and moving from one point to another because we needed to understand how to follow directions, but I went to school many years ago. I do not see map reading taught as often as it was when I was in school. Understanding maps helped me to understand directions and distances. It also made solving word problems about train schedules and the like easier. I also noticed that my son was introduced to maps in school in kindergarten. He was introduced to mazes before kindergarten. I introduced him to cardinal directions at age three. I fully realize that understanding cardinal directions and special relationships is not the question here, but by learning to follow a well-drawn map, in this case tactile map, a student can learn to follow directions, begin to understand special relationships, begin to understand iconic and symbolic representation, and other concepts which can be invaluable later. In short, I think this is a somewhat age appropriate goal.
I also think this is a terrible goal as written. I would prefer to see a goal such as the following, but I was not in that child?s IEP meeting.
Jane Doe will understand basic elements of a tactile map including cardinal directions and iconic representation of objects in a known environment, her school, and be able to use a tactile map to follow directions from one point to another in three out of four trials with a minimum of twenty trials presented each grading period and measured by her educational assistant.
If I am reading between the lines correctly, the goal here is really for Jane to be able to get to ten needed places within her school environment. A tactile map is being used as an adaptive aid. If I am correct, these goals should be separated. Getting to places does not necessarily require a map, but map reading skills are also important.
And, those are my two cents. Thank you for the discussion. I have enjoyed reading others? comments.
Best, Lucy From: NOMC [mailto:nomc-bounces at lists.nbpcb.org] On Behalf Of Benjamin Vercellone Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 10:52 AM To: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu> Cc: NOMC at lists.nbpcb.org Subject: [EXT] Re: [Nomc] Question about IEP Goals
I agree with Michael. Also, like Justin, I have trouble with "90%". How is the scoring determined? In general, I am a proponent of tactile graphics to the umpteenth degree, but I know full well that this method does not work as well for some individuals as for others. Nearly any blind person can become decent or better with cane use, mental mapping, problem-solving, etc. with SDCT. But tactile maps are currently so under-developed, under-used, under-taught, and sometimes time/resource intensive that pushing this modality on a blind person may be quite problematic right now. Also, it may be undetermined at this point how high-quality and consistent production of and education with tactile graphics may benefit blind individuals. In other words, how many blind people could benefit if everything becomes available, good and consistent? Nevertheless, I think that tactile graphics need to be given more attention by more blindness professionals. There are a lot of developments I know of that would make any past or present Optacon user jump for joy. Some will probably succeed and some probably won't. The soonest development may come out in 2019, but we never should be too sure too soon. I have established communication with multiple organizations who are developing tactile technology for the blind. There are indeed other projects in addition to the Graphiti. Still, if anyone wants to know why I am so optimistic about tactile graphics technology, and if you are going to the NFB national convention this July, please do examine the Graphiti at the American Printing House for the Blind table if indeed they will be showing off their Graphiti prototype. I know of other organizations who are working on technology that is conceptually much more similar than different. Some of these projects are using different underlying hardware to raise the dots, and some of the techniques are much less expensive than others, even if some functionality is lost. Additionally, it was in a recent 2019 Braille Monitor article that tactile graphics were discussed at some length. This discussion was centered on the Tactile Graphics and Education and Careers Symposium that the NFB held in October of 2018. One of the tactile graphics technologies that was discussed was from an Italian organization whose research does focus largely on independent travel. One can read more about this in the said article. When in May of 2018 I told the Italian organization about the Symposium in October of that same year, the person who replied acted as if she did not know about the Symposium beforehand. Needless to say, I care a lot about tactile graphics and the next generation/s of haptic technology in general. I do think we are close to gaining the ability to more naturally fit tactile graphics and other haptic modalities into some O&M training. At that point, we can teach blind students with tactile graphics when appropriate. This can only occur if we have down-to-earth research and available and affordable technology. I think it's inconsistent with the NFB and NOMC philosophy to be perminently pecimistic about technology in independent travel. I am trying to be general rather than preachy. But these things are important to me and probably many others too.
Sincerely' Ben
On May 14, 2019, at 9:54 PM, Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu> wrote:
Aloha Colleagues,
I write to ask for you all to give me a little feedback on an IEP goal that I see for a student who is about 5 years old. It seems odd to me. One of the O&M goals says:
When given a tactile map, Jane Doe will use the map to complete 10 campus route with 90% accuracy 3 of 4 opportunities.
The 90 percent accuracy thing rubs me the wrong way, but I?m particularly unsure about whether someone should be training a young child to try to read a tactile map and implement it when this student is still working on basic cane technique. I don?t really ever teach people to use tactile maps, especially not to give them a map and expect them to follow it like it?s one of the treasure maps that my friends and I used to make for each other at recess when I was that age.
What do you guys think about this?
Mahalo,
Justin
Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB Honolulu Chapter National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii Phone: 808.797.8606 Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury
?Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.?
Cesar Chavez
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