Hi Kristi!
This is an amazing question and I am really glad you asked. A child needs a lot of concept development, tactile experience, braille background, and understanding of symbolic representation before tactile graphics on the Monarch will make sense. A good path is to start with real objects and experiences, then move to manipulatives that represent real objects and experiences, then representative graphics created with collage methods and raised line drawings, then machine-created graphics (embossed, thermoform, swell-form, etc.), then dynamic tactile displays like the Monarch. We have four wonderful webinars that we hope will help you:
Building an Early Tactile Foundation for Graphics Understanding
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFXsQK4t8yc
Teaching Touch and Exploratory Skills to Prepare for Tactile Graphics Learning
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sBc4GZDrtg
Strategies and Resources for the Instruction and Evaluation of Tactile Graphicacy Skills
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVZx3ptoroU
The Monarch: Tactile Access to Digital Learning
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFQPetnYBo
It would be awesome if others who are on this discussion board would contribute their thoughts and suggestions for helping a young student to build an early tactile and conceptual foundation that can eventually be transferred to successful Monarch graphics learning.
Hi again Krystal!
I asked for a little more information about KeyWord multi-line behavior, and there is additional testing being completed now to resolve a bug. Temporarily, it can be resolved by restarting the Monarch, but hopefully you will see a significant improvement before long. It would be great if you would continue to keep us updated on what you are finding and noticing.
This is excellent! Thanks for sharing 
Hi Arianne! Thank you so much for getting this conversation started. Here is a draft checklist/set of prerequisites for successful use of the Monarch (not necessarily for receiving one). Its purpose is to communicate that the Monarch is an advanced device, and also to provide a roadmap and encouragement for preparing students well.
Prerequisite Skills for Successful Monarch Use.pdf (192.0 KB)
If anyone has feedback or recommendations for this list, we would love to hear them.
1 Like
Hi there-- a student I service is participating in the pilot program and I am tasked with teaching her math!
I have been busy exploring the Monarchâs graphing calculator. I could use some tips and tricks to help my student efficiently graph functions of different kinds.
One issue I have encountered appears in the graph settings menu. When I attempt to adjust the boundaries of the graph, particularly the left and bottom boundaries, I am unable to input a negative number. Inputting dots 3,6 for a negative symbol, entering an integer value, and pressing enter causes the device to request a numerical value. I believe the issue is that the Monarch is interpreting the minus symbol as the old contraction for âcom,â as evidenced by the reformatted output in the boundary edit box. I have entering negative numbers in computer braille as well as prefacing my negative integer with a grade 1 indicator, to no avail. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Has anyone found a work-around to input negative numbers?
If this is not the appropriate discussion board, please let me know where I should post. Thanks so much in advance!
Good afternoon!
Thank you for this great question. Right now, the settings for boundaries in KeyMath donât correspond strictly to braille code rules. For negative 5, for example, KeyMath will accept a minus sign, number sign, and dots 1-5; or a minus sign, number sign, dots 1-5, dots 2-5-6, and dots 2-4-5; but not anything that looks quite like a correct UEB or Nemeth number.
I hope this resolves your issue with the boundary numbers. Itâs unclear why it was done this way, but it works. Someday it might change.
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
Thank you so much for your help! The negative sign is not being accepted-- every time I use dots 3-6 as a minus sign, or even dot 5 then dots 3-6, KeyMath interprets it as a literary contraction and rejects my input. Any suggestions on how to type the minus sign?
Thanks again,
Calyx
I do - could you tell me which math code your Monarch is set to right now?
Also, do you have any files on the Monarch right now that you donât want to lose? And is it fully updated?
Math code is UEB. I believe it is fully updated and there are no important files on the device!
I would like to recommend a factory reset. This should not affect any of your updates, and does not at all harm the Monarch, but it often resolves issues like this. it does erase files and settings and sort of âstart overâ with everything, so you would want to move any files you had saved on the Monarch and need to keep to a flash drive before doing it.
- Press Enter + Q to go to the Quick Settings menu
- Press S until you locate âSystem,â then press Enter
- Press R to find âReset Options,â then press Enter
- Navigate to âErase all data (factory reset)â and press Enter
- Navigate to âErase all data buttonâ and press Enter
- Continue to press Enter on âErase all dataâ until the Monarch shuts down
- Restart the Monarch
- Follow prompts to complete the initial setup process
- As soon as that process is complete and you arrive at to the home menu, press Space + O to go to the Options Menu
- Press Enter on âConfigure Language Profilesâ
- Set up your primary language profile with the braille and voice settings that you want (and any other language profiles that you might have created for your students before the factor reset)
- Use a USB drive to resave any files to your Documents that you removed before the factory reset
- Go to the Home Menu and press A to locate âAll Settings,â then press Enter
- Locate âKeyUpdaterâ and press Enter
- If there are any updates to make, follow the prompts to complete the updates
Then, go into KeyMath and its settings to see if you are able to type the minus sign properly when creating graph boundaries.
If this doesnât work, please let me know!
Jenny