EN - Braille

For the very first time, I made Braille tapes!!

Wow, my horizon was expanded. Appreciation for my ability to see deepened. 

The reason why I made braille tapes was because I have a lady whom I've been assisting to learn how to use a computer, and she cannot see. When she comes to a private lesson, her son drives her. She is in her 60s and is originally from Japan. Her determination to obtain a new skill despite of her challenges has been touching me and inspiring me all along the way. 

When she initially contacted me, I had zero idea how to teach a person with blindness. I contacted as many specialists as I could think of, but no one seemed to have a clear answer, but my genius friend Miles had an idea. He mentioned Mac computer's VoiceOver feature, so I researched and learned about it (which comes with every Mac computer. You can turn it on by pushing the command and F5). 

I helped her to apply for fund to purchase a computer from an organization which helps people with blindness. We fortunately received the money and purchased one. Then I spent several hours familiarizing myself with the VoiceOver feature, so that I could teach her. This experience reminded me that knowing is not enough to be a good teacher. When I know the material thoroughly, and only when I can observe and retrieve my own learning process, then I can break down the process into manageable chunks of learning and ask myself, "At each step along the way, what made the light bulb above my head light up? How can I recreate the experience for my students? And how many ways can I do that?"

The challenge with her is that she cannot see. Yes, very obvious, but this apparent fact struck me over and over during the first couple of lessons. I thought, "Wow... How simpler and easier it would be if she could see what I'm doing here." When I learned how VoiceOver works, I realize that I need to help her "see" the structure in her mind. I asked her to bring the braille tape maker, so that I could make these sheets. These sheets show where things are and how they are structured. Each layer of the paper indicates different compartments. When you use VoiceOver, you do not use the mouse or trackpad at all. You navigate through the computer screen using the VO key (control and option keys) and the arrow keys. 

She put some textile sticker (like the fuzzy ones and bubbles) to help her distinguish the keys - a good idea! She already knew how to type before she came to me, so it was helpful.

Now she can use Contacts and Notes. She is currently learning how to use Calendar, and our next goal is to use Mail to exchange emails. How inspiring!

From the wonderful interactions with her, I was inspired to teach my students about Braille.

I passed them out the braille alphabet sheet and wrote them a "secret message" (which is projected on the white board in the photo below). I asked them, "What do you think I wrote?" They were eager to find out.

This says, "I love you."

Then they got the idea! They started to use the braille to send secret messages to one another. I received many and had to decode them, so I got pretty good at braille!

This girl was referring the braille sheet to read a letter.

Through learning about sign language, braille, and communication in general, my hope as a teacher has been that my students would develop compassion for people with various hardships and become great communicators with as diversified people as they could meet in this world because good communication skill could save us from unnecessary arguments, battles, and even wars.

Also, from working with the mighty lady who sees through her mind's eye, I was reminded of how much I have been taking my ability to see for granted in this life time. I sometimes don't seem to see well and listen well even with functioning eyes and ears. I want to use them to my best ability while activating my heart, so that what I perceive are sincerely seen and heard.