[accessibleimage] Re: kids and touch tablet technology

Having spent 30+ years in the field of educating students with visual 
impairments,  I would like to speak for the kids! 
Interpreting tactile graphics has long been- and still remains- a monumental 
challenge to many students who read braille. And, as Kaye mentioned, a 
significant portion of the content in today's textbooks is presented in 
graphics only- no further explanation in the text. As implied in Don Parkes' 
term "graphicacy", braille readers are no longer completely literate if they 
cannot read graphics. We need to do something about that!

We sighted folk- teachers, transcribers and producers of tactile graphics- 
often look at a print graphic and busily set about making that print image into 
a tactile version by simply reproducing the visual image in tactile form (not 
the best of procedures) or we develop a set of our own symbols that represent 
the information presented in the print graphic. In the best situations, we also 
include a key in hopes that the reader can decode our secret set of symbols 
into something meaningful. Meanwhile, for a whole pile of reasons, the student 
is sometimes/often unable to make sense of the symbols we used, even after the 
long hours we spent producing the graphic, with whatever production method we 
used. (Kaye wondered how many graphics are actually read. How many students are 
taught to read them?) 

What a phenomenal gift to students to have the graphic presented with its own 
built-in interpreter! Whether the student is in her special classroom, or 
sprawled out on his bedroom floor at home, or with other students in a regular 
classroom, a graphic and touch tablet can hold volumes of information that are 
actually accessible. The graphic and the voiced content work together to 
provide a complete set of information on whatever the topic. Once familiar with 
the equipment, the student can function independently and not have to depend on 
the "intervention" of an adult. Our goal as educators and producers of 
educational materials should be to teach children to learn, to explore, and to 
gather the information they need to participate in an academic program, at any 
level.

When the Nomad came to the US through APH, I was its strongest proponent. As a 
TVI, I believed that every teacher and every student should have one. I got 
busy and learned how to program it, how to produce tactile graphics for it, and 
wanted to teach it to every student. Alas, the time required to produce 
appropriate materials to match the student's current curriculum topic was 
overwhelming. Why didn't "someone" make sets of materials to use with the Nomad?

The same scenario accompanied the TGD, TGD Pro and Audio-Pix series. There was 
the World Atlas and the Map Reading Kit- both well done, but my students needed 
basic anatomy diagrams at the time, or geometry drawings, or earth science. 

That "whole pile of reasons" mentioned earlier includes lack of solid teaching 
materials to teach students to interpret graphics, lack of time with students 
for TVIs to teach the skills, and inconsistency in the "secret codes" used to 
produce graphics that are included in textbooks. As the technology grows, and 
materials are developed to accompany the technology, kids will have more 
opportunities to develop the skills they need to compete for college entrance, 
scholarships, and other training programs. As the technology becomes simpler to 
use, teachers and transcribers will be able to produce more materials for kids.

In the world of grown-ups, there are always issues of who owns what, who gets 
paid, who can sell the most of their product. In the world of kids, access to 
information is their most important issue.

Thank you, APH, for working on the development of teaching materials for kids 
to learn to interpret graphics. 
Thank you, BANA and CBA for working on guidelines for production of quality, 
readable graphics.
Thank you, Don Parkes and Co. for pioneering a technology so that students can 
access graphic materials and content.
Thank you, Sally Mangold, Steve Landau, John Gardner, and all of the other 
people who are working to further develop technologies for kids to access 
graphics and content at the same time. 
Thank all of you who spend the many hours producing graphics so that blind kids 
can achieve literacy!

Lucia Hasty

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