Leisure Through Technology
Perkins eLearning – Perkins School for the Blind
[HOST] Welcome to Perkins eLearning's webinar series. My name is Robin
Sitten. Welcoming you to today's presentation, "Leisure Through Technology."
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Today’s presentation by Lindsey Lush and Jessica Erlich will focus on the
Recreation and Leisure area of the Expanded Core Curriculum through the use of
common technology and assistive devices.
We are recording this in June of 2015 on the Perkins Campus. When viewing this
recorded presentation, you will find that headphones/earbuds or external
speakers give the best sound.
Lindsey Lush is a teacher and Assistive Technology Liaison for Perkins Lower
School & Early Learning Center, and a member of the Educational Programs
Advisory Committee.
Jessica Erlich has worked as an itinerant TVI for Perkins Community Programs
since 2007, and was recently appointed Assistant Education Director of
Community Programs.
And we are so pleased that they were able to spend time with us today.
Let me introduce you to Jessica, and we'll get started.
[Jessica] Good Morning! The primary focus of our presentation will be on
covering access methods, computer software, iPad apps, and different iPad
adaptations.
We need to first review the difference between Core Curriculum and Expanded
Core Curriculum.
Core Curriculum is everything a student needs to know before graduating high
school. It's always pertaining to academics.
When we think about Expanded Core Curriculum, these are skills that are
required for instruction for students that are visually impaired and blind.
These skills are required to be taught explicitly through instruction --
that the student's peers are more likely going to learn with incidental
learning.
Incidental learning is a form of indirect, additional, or unplanned learning
within an formal or an informal setting.
I like to think about when I was younger, driving down the street, passing the
McDonald's. I recognized that that big "M" meant "McDonald's." This is
something that visually impaired and blind students aren't going to pick up
on.
Explicit Learning is direct planned teaching.
This type of instruction is needed because students with visual impairments do
not develop skills just by observation.
Once I had a student who thought laundry came out of the dryer folded already!
We have to explicitly teach our students so they understand what they're
supposed to be learning.
Technology and leisure skills are required to have direct instruction.
These skills are just as important as the Core Curriculum.
I think of another time when I had a student who I had to explicitly teach how
to plug in headphones. This might be something that's very important to put on
the IEP.
A student with vision can do it with ease, but a student without vision needs
explicit instruction.
Let's review the 9 areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum.
We have Technology, which we'll be talking about today
Career Education
Compensatory Skills
Independent Living
Orientation and Mobility
Recreation and Leisure
Self Determination
Sensory Efficiency and
Social Interaction Skills
All important skills for students with visual impairments and blindness.
And all need to be explicitly taught.
[Lindsey] Let's talk now about some options for students with multiple
disabilities.
We will review access methods: Monitors, displays, and touch screens
Different switches (Bluetooth/wireless/hardwire)
Auto scanning vs. step scanning
And then we'll review some different types of software that we use here on
campus: Boardmaker, Switch Skills-Scanning, and Big Bang Pictures.
First, we're going to review some different types of viewing screen.
Screen size is very important.
SMART Boards are wonderful. They have a very large display, and sometimes
people think bigger is better. This is not always true. We have to remember
that sometimes a screen could be just too big for our students.
However, a Smart Board touch-screen capabilities, which is great for some
students.
On the far right, there is the Tap-It, which is really great for students who
are in wheelchairs. There is a little bit of a space at the bottom of the
Tap-It machine that fits a wheelchair, and the Tap-It screen has a lot of
different flexible positions, so that you can get very close for a student who
has limited range of motion, and/or needs a specific angle for viewing.
On campus, we also use ELOs, which are a very standard monitor display, with a
touch screen. These are good for students with pretty good vision; however,
the display can be a little bit muddled, and it's important to decide if
that's too muddled for your student.
On campus we also use just very large displays.
On the bottom, that ASUS screen is about a 26-inch monitor, and it has a very
bright screen -- very sharp display -- which is great for some students who
maybe do not need a touch screen.
Next, let's review switches.
Switches come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. They really depend on
what you need for your student's specific needs.
Bluetooth work great with laptops and iPads. They used to be the only switch
that worked with an iPad; however, recently, a company called Origin has made
a Tapio switch interface, which now you can use a hardwire switch.
But we tend to use the Bluetooth switches. This is a Bluetooth. It works as a
switch itself, or also a switch interface, which is really nice. It gives you
the capability to be portable, but if your student requires certain switches,
you can plug into and use the switches they are most familiar with.
On the far right, is a wireless switch, and a transponder. You plug in the
transponder to a desktop computer with a switch interface, and then you have
the capability of walking all around the room. Your student could be on one
side of the room working, and you could be activating the computer on the
other side.
Hardwire switches come in a huge variety.
We have the Gooshy Switch, which is shaped like a half-moon. It can vibrate,
light up, and has a very jelly-like texture. This is really great if a student
needs a lot of bells and whistles to reach out and press the switch. However,
it can be way too much.
Typically, when we're doing a scanning activity, where we begin using 2
switches, we'll have maybe a Gooshy switch for the step switch, and a more
simple switch for the other one, because we really want to emphasize the
different texture.
The Gumball switch, Jelly bean, and Buddy Buttons are all very similar;
however, they do have some slight differences.
Gumball and Jelly bean switches have the capability to change the color of the
caps. So if you're an itinerant teacher, you need a little bit more "bang for
your buck," this is a great option for you, because you have students that
have different color preferences. You have the capability of changing the
caps.
However, because of that, the switches do tend to rattle a little bit. I
prefer to use Buddy Buttons -- they don't have interchangeable colors, so we
typically buy red or yellow. But they don't have any rattle, which is really
nice for my students.
[Jessica] There's definitely some students that have some sound sensitivity.
When that rattles, it will really throw them off.
[Lindsey] Absolutely...playing with it.
And I just want to emphasize that your switch will not work if you do not have
a switch interface.
So make sure you buy them
In this screen, we're showing one from Don Johnston that's the one we
typically purchase. They last a very long time and they're pretty resilient.
And they work with a variety of different switches.
Now, let's review Auto-Scanning.
Auto-Scanning is a type of scanning utilizes one switch.
The program that you will be using will be set up automatically to scan
through predetermined options or choices.
The user activates one switch to make a specific choice.
This type of scanning allows complex learners to interact with choice making
technology, or different games.
In this video, you'll see a student using Boardmaker, and we've created a
Simon Says type game. He's going to use one switch to start the scan, and then
he'll use that same switch to make a selection for the teacher to do.
[SWITCH VOICE] Stomp your feet. Please jump. Clap for Nicholas. Shut the door.
Stomp your feet. [SWITCH CLICK] I want you to stomp your feet.
[LOUD FOOT STOMPS FROM TEACHER]
[TEACHER] You want to do it again? Press your switch!
[STUDENT VOCALIZES "ALL DONE"]
[TEACHER] Finished. Guess what? We're doing it again.
[SWITCH VOICE] Stomp your feet. Please jump. Clap for Nicholas. Shut the door.
Stomp your feet. [SWITCH CLICK] I want you to stomp your feet.
[LOUD FOOT STOMPS FROM TEACHER]
[LINDSEY] Next, let's talk about Step Scanning.
Step scanning is a type of scanning that utilizes two switches.
The program we will use is set so that the student can use one switch to
move through predetermined options, and the second switch will make the
selection.
In this video, you'll see a student using a Bluetooth switch. There is a
switch on the left that has a smooth texture and a switch on the right that
has a little bit of fuzzy Velcro to help him differentiate the texture.
He uses the switch on the left to move through the pre-determined options, and
the switch on the right to make his selection.
And if you notice in the video, the switch is actually turned a little bit on
a diagonal. For this student, placement is really important, and it helped him
to have one switch a little bit higher than the other.
So that's something to consider when you're doing any kind of switch activity,
is making sure that the placement works for your students.
[SWITCH VOICE] Put on Bingo. Sing. Count to Ten. Jump.
[2ND SWITCH VOICE] I want you to jump.
[LINDSEY] ok... are you ready? [LOUD JUMPS]
[SWITCH VOICE] Stomp your feet.
[2ND TEACHER] And you might want to Velcro it.
[2ND SWITCH VOICE] I want you to stomp your feet.
[RAPID STOMPING] [STUDENT LAUGHS]
[LINDSEY] Whoever's behind us is gonna...
[SWITCH VOICE] Put on Bingo. Sing. Count to Ten. Jump.
[STUDENT LAUGHING] [2ND SWITCH VOICE] I want you to jump.
[LINDSEY] All right. Get ready.... [JUMPS WHILE STUDENT LAUGHS. CLASS CHIME]
[LINDSEY] You may have also noticed in the video that he has a little dot on
the left side of his switch. It's just another texture to help him
differentiate between the two switches.
Now we're going to review some different types of software we use here on
campus.
Switch Skills-Scanning is a program by Inclusive Technology. and it offers a
large variety of engaging switch activities.
It utilizes musical and visual options to facilitate choice making, and it
works really well with students with vision and without vision.
It provides a natural progression to choice making.
There is a level that we consider to be "errorless." The student will get a
reaction no matter what they choose. Or... to more sophisticated types of
scanning, whereas they have a more sophisticated type of target that they need
to hit to get a reward.
In this video, you'll see this student using a yellow and red switch on the
left, and it has a Gooshy texture, with a smaller red switch on the right that
has a soft Velcro on it. He requires different textures.
This is the Switch Skills-Scanning program and it is set to errorless.
In the video, you can see there are 3 different boxes, which represent 3
musical and visual choices. This student is totally blind, and it's engaging
enough for him. He really enjoys using it. You'll see he uses the switch on
the left to move through the different choices, and then when he goes to make
a choice, he's activating it with the switch on the right.
[VIDEO SOUND: SWITCH CLICKING]
[TEACHER] Aidan, do it the right way... [VIDEO SQUEAKS] Good job!
[LINDSEY] Next, let's talk about Boardmaker Speaking Dynamically Pro by
Mayer-Johnson.
using this software, we have been able to develop different types of games for
students, where in the past we only used it for making pictures, or symbols.
We've developed an action game, which is similar to Simon Says.
We've decided to make a "Name that tune" game, where you can play a song in
the background with a list of songs, and the student can scroll through and
pick.
And we've developed some different sound effect games, which work really well
with both auto scanning and step scanning.
The last piece of software we'll talk about today is Big Bang Pictures by
Inclusive Technologies.
It's a one-switch application, and it's great for students working on cause
and effect.
It offers a wide range options, including color, pictures, complexity, action
duration, and music.
And the real nice thing about this program is that for a student who is a
little bit older, but might function at a lower level, you can use age-
appropriate music during the activity.
[JESSICA] We're going to roll it over into a different topic right now.
We're going to talk about applications.
On a weekly basis, I get questions: Where am I going to find good apps?
Well let me tell you, you need to do your research.
If it doesn't have a YouTube video about it, it's probably not a really good
app, and I wouldn't spend your money on it.
Here at Perkins School for the Blind, we have a Trial iPad, where we can try
out really expensive applications and see if they're going to work for our
students before making multiple choices.
I like app called "Apps Gone Free." It's a free app... and it has apps that
are free!
Usually they put them on for a week or two. They're not always educationally
appropriate, but it's a good resource for free information.
iBlink Radio is another great app. It has Podcasts about technology for
students with visual impairments.
And "ViA," by the Braille Institute, is a fully-accessible app, and it's
useful for adults and children who are visually impaired and blind to give
them information -- especially for people with additional disabilities.
One of my favorite websites is WonderBaby.org.
WonderBaby is a great resource for parents that are just coming into this
experience of having a baby with a visual impairment or blindness.
A lot of times, WonderBaby will do reviews of applications, so you know what
you're getting into before you fork over the money.
Moms With Apps is a really nice website, created by Moms. It reviews different
applications, and it has them filed into different categories. So if you're
looking for a specific app, for a specific age group, you'll be able to locate
it easily on this website.
So, Lindsey, I think one of my most favorite websites is Apple Vis.
[LINDSEY] That's great.
[JESSICA] It is! I always am telling friend and colleagues to go check it out.
Apple Vis is a website that reviews different apps for students with visual
impairments.
So, if you want to try out an app, you should check out Apple Vis first.
They'll do a nice job reviewing it.
When I explain different applications for leisure, to other Teachers of the
Visually Impaired, I like to break it down by different categories.
Let's think about Early learners and Cause and Effect applications
As Lindsey talked about software before that was produced by Inclusive Technologies, they also have a few apps that are absolutely excellent!
Big Bang Patterns, and Big Bang Pictures are a little pricey, but well worth your money. Both of those are great Cause and Effect apps for very basic learners, and they are excellent for kids that are in Phase I CVI.
Peeping Musicians is a great application created also by Inclusive Technologies. It has these little musicians, that peep out from side to side, on a real black surface, so you're going to be able to see if you have a student who's scanning from left to right.
Baby View, Baby Finger, Infant Stimulation, and Baby Vision are all real basic cause and effect apps that kind of have a "grow with me" feature.