I-M-able by Wormsley Diane P.;

Author:Wormsley, Diane P.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: American Foundation for the Blind Press

Credit: Courtesy of American Printing House for the Blind

Caption: The APH light-touch Perkins Brailler.

Credit: Courtesy of American Printing House for the Blind

Caption: The APH SMART Brailler by Perkins.

Credit: Courtesy of HumanWare

Caption: The Mountbatten brailler.

TEACHING CORRECT FINGERING

Teachers who begin teaching students how to use the keys of the brailler for the first time are at an advantage because they can teach correct fingering right from the beginning. The six keys of the Perkins Brailler permit the use of the index, middle, and ring fingers on each hand to create various braille letters and symbols. The keys are positioned three on each side of the space bar. The index fingers press down the keys closest to the space bar, which correspond to dot 1 (left index finger) and dot 4 (right index finger). The middle fingers press down keys corresponding to dot 2 (left) and dot 5 (right), and the ring fingers dot 3 (left) and dot 6 (right). When teaching a student to create a braille symbol, it is important to make sure he or she uses correct fingering on that symbol, and reinforce it with the student every time he or she brailles that symbol.

Students who are already brailling need to be assessed for how they use their fingers in producing braille on the Perkins Brailler. They may have developed all sorts of inefficient habits, such as using more than one finger to press down a key, or removing their fingers from the keys in between brailling one letter and the next, or simply not paying attention to which finger is correct and using any combination of fingers that they feel like. In order for students to become efficient braillers capable of accurately producing braille characters, they need to use the correct fingers on keys at all times. Those students who have not practiced correct fingering in the past may balk at having to relearn how to braille. Those who have not yet learned are ripe for beginning with the proper technique.

One of the best ways to teach the mechanics of writing is for the teacher to incorporate it into every lesson, if even for just a few moments. Involving another teacher or paraprofessional from the student’s classroom in working on the mechanics of using the brailler can be helpful. Practice on the brailler can take place any time there is a lull in instruction, so having others able to reinforce what the student is learning permits the student much more practice with the braillewriter.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.