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Innovations from NMSBVI
At the heart of good
education is innovation. In our efforts to meet the needs of blind &
visually impaired students, NMSBVI staff have developed some new tools.
We're very proud to share a few of our innovations with you... and hope
that you will find them useful in your efforts to make education an
exciting process for your own students.
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(SC)2:
Winner of the 2009 Louis Braille Touch of Genius Prize for
Innovation! The System for Conceptualizing Spatial Concepts or,
(SC)2, is an instructional tool developed within my
chemistry classes at the New Mexico School for the Blind. By
utilizing a system of beveled and magnetized blocks affixed to a
magnetic white board, (SC)2 allows students with visual
impairments to spatially arrange, manipulate, and calculate complex
mathematical and scientific formulae by simply inserting 3 x 5 cards
that students have brailled with values and labels of each term. It
provides individuals with visual impairments equal access and
participation in the classroom while encouraging higher order
thinking and greater scientific and mathematical literacy for blind
students.
Click here for more detailed
information about (SC)2.
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Touch Grids:
Honorable Mention for the 2010 Louis Braille Touch of Genius Prize for
Innovation!
Touch Grids is an instructional tool developed within the
physics classes at the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired. Touch Grids facilitate greater mathematic and graphical
literacy through the conceptualization of many graphical processes
that utilize quantitative data by using a series of connectable and
interchangeable grid panels, axes, and pegs. Possessing universal
design features, this educational tool allows students with visual
impairments the ability to bypass their visual deficiencies and gain
greater independence, success, and ultimately access to advanced
study or employment in STEM fields (acronym for Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics).
Click here for more detailed
information about Touch Grids.
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The 'Shroom:
The ‘Shroom is a device on which a student can translate subtle
movements, like a shift in weight or head turn, into a much more
dramatic movement. The ‘Shroom, in essence, is a super sized wobble
board onto which the entirety of the student’s body is placed. The
movements of the student cause the ‘Shroom to dip in any number of
angles and even rotate.
Click here for more detailed
information about The 'Shroom.
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Tall(er) Room:
The Tall(er) Room is an
offshoot of the Little Room. Some students, due to health reasons
(primarily congestion and swallow issues), can’t spend extended
periods of time supine on the floor or a resonance board. Others
don’t have the same range of motion when on the floor that they do
when supported in a chair. Still others would benefit from standing
(either in a stander or gait trainer) while hand/arm motions are
encouraged. Unlike a fixed height Little Room (either the standard
height or one with 4’ vertical posts), the Tall(er) Room allows the
teacher to raise or lower the roof to meet student need. It is tall
and can get taller.
Click here for more information about
Tall(er) Room.
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Instability Board:
The Instability Board is a simple device designed to help
students with multiple impairments begin to roll over without the
physical assistance of others.
Click here for more detailed
information about Instability Board.
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DIMC (Drive In
Media Center):
The
DIMC (Drive In Media Center) was designed to allow students with
positional issues to access a variety of media options. Computer
screens, for example, are generally presented upright &
perpendicular to the surface on which they are placed. While screens
can often be tilted a few degrees the possible angles traditionally
available don’t meet the needs of all students. It became clear that
the solution was to allow for a far greater range of viewing angles.
The DIMC was designed to allow a screen to be presented at several
different angles along a 90 degree arc from perpendicular to the
floor all the way to parallel to the floor.
Click here for more information about
DIMC.
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Orientation &
Mobility Inventory:
The NMSBVI Orientation & Mobility (O&M) Inventory was developed as a
means of quantifying student progress across the many areas that
make up O&M. The goal was to create a user friendly assessment tool
that quickly allowed an O&M to identify areas of need for individual
students. Further, there was a need to structure it in such a way as
to allow paperwork averse O&Ms to easily track student progress over
time. The Inventory aspires to meet these needs. The (M)Inventory is
designed for students with multiple impairments and the (B)Inventory
for students from birth through pre-school.
Click
here for more information about O&M Inventory.
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Winter/Summer Sun
Position Model:
O&Ms often use the position of the
sun as an integral part of cardinal directions. The sun rises in the
east, is overhead around noon and sets in the west. Unless it’s
winter at American/European latitudes.…then the sun rises kind of in
the southeast, is off to the south around noon and sets in the
southwest. The Winter/Summer Sun Position Model is a quick and easy
visual and tactual way of showing students why the sun appears to be
in different places in the winter and summer. As an added bonus,
science teachers can use it in conjunction with other solar models
and social studies teachers may find it helpful for explaining
latitude and longitude.
Click here for more
information about the Sun Position Model.
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T-Car
Students with multiple impairments sometimes are unable to control
and move each of their four limbs. This tends to lead to limitations
regarding independent mobility. A student with cerebral palsy, for
example, might not ever have the ability to walk. Such students tend
to be wheelchair bound. Standard wheelchairs, with rims that allow
for the operator to control the wheelchair, at times can’t be
controlled by the student due to limitations to range of motion in
the upper extremities. The T-Car, so named due to the T shaped
control handle, was devised to give students with limited control
over their limbs the opportunity to get from Point A to Point B
under their own steam. More information about T-Car coming soon.... |
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