Week 4: July 6-10

Cohorts and Events 2026 Hive Summer Cohort
, ,
102

Question #5. How well do current preparation and training systems equip educators to make informed decisions about tactile graphic design? What gaps do you see, and how do they impact students?

Current personnel preparation programs and professional development provide some foundation for tactile graphic design. Still, I do not believe they consistently equip educators with the depth of knowledge and hands-on experience needed to make fully informed decisions. In my TVI teacher preparation program many years ago, one of the most valuable learning experiences was creating a tactile storybook adaptation of Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. Designing the book required me to think critically about which visual elements were essential to the story, how to represent those elements tactually, and how to ensure that the tactile graphics supported concept development and literacy rather than overwhelming the reader. This project moved beyond theory and helped me understand the complex decision-making involved in creating meaningful tactile materials.

I have included a photo of my tactile book because it represents how experiential learning can strengthen educators’ graphicacy skills. Through the creation process, I learned that effective tactile graphics require intentional choices related to texture, spacing, labeling, simplification, and the tactile reading abilities of the individual student. While coursework introduced these concepts, it was actually designing and evaluating a real tactile book that developed my confidence and competence.

One gap I see in current personnel preparation programs is the limited amount of dedicated instruction and practice related to tactile literacy and tactile graphic design. Many educators receive only brief exposure to tactile graphics and may have few opportunities to create, test, and revise materials. As a result, educators may rely on trial and error or commercially produced graphics that do not meet the specific learning needs of their students. This gap can impact students by limiting access to high-quality tactile representations that support concept development, independent learning, and meaningful participation in academic content.

Recognizing this need for additional training, I hosted a professional development session focused on tactile book creation and tactile literacy for educators. The goal was to provide teachers with practical strategies and hands-on opportunities to create tactile materials that could be immediately applied in their classrooms. Through this experience, I saw that many educators were eager to learn but had not previously received sufficient training in tactile graphic design. Their questions and discussions highlighted a need for ongoing professional development that bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical implementation.

Here is the link for my blog post on the Paths to Literacy website: Hosting a Tactile Book-Making Professional Development Session for Teachers – Paths to Literacy

Ultimately, I believe personnel preparation programs should provide more opportunities for authentic tactile design experiences, collaboration with experienced TVIs, and ongoing professional development related to tactile literacy. When educators are better prepared to make informed decisions about tactile graphics, students benefit from materials that are more accessible, meaningful, and supportive of both literacy and concept development. This not only improves access to information but also promotes greater independence and engagement in learning.

Image Description: Photo of tactile adaptation of Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.

image
image1920×1920 733 KB

2 Likes
103
  1. Analyze the tension between time constraints and instructional quality in tactile material creation. How do these competing demands shape instructional decisions?

One of the biggest issues I see is the the struggle to get general education teachers to understand the need for pre-planning in order to make sure materials are ready for students with visual impairments to access. The number of times I am handed materials in the hall for that day (despite repetitively communicating need) contributes to the need for quick, simple tactile graphics to help support instruction for the student. When I have had conscientious teachers that are able to plan a couple of weeks out for larger instructional concepts, the quality of the graphics and materials increases. However, for me the norm seems to be that teachers plan at the last minute and expect me to adapt. Most of the time that lesson will not be continued or revisited. So I carry around my bag of tricks and do the best I can in the time given. When necessary and if there is time, I try to revisit the concept with the student 1-1 to increase understanding.

104

Yes! I worked for a while at places without transcriptionists! It is so nice when one is available especially when caseload are high. I am thanks to be working now for a state agency that employs transcriptionists. We frequently get to work hand and hand to meet the needs of shared students. I’m always impressed with teachers that serve individual districts or small areas.

105

I see this as a problem for new programs as well. The new teachers that I work with seem to have very little instruction in the use of tactile materials. We have a program that allows for more experienced teachers to mentor new teachers to help fill in some of the gaps. An additional problem I see is high caseloads, long travel times, and being the only teacher who does what we do in a district, leads to isolation and minimal time for training. Especially on new technology!

106

I’ve heard that too! Or they say, “Our teachers are encouraged to change instruction daily.” Making it more difficult for our academic students.

107

5. How well do current preparation and training systems equip educators to make informed decisions about tactile graphic design? What gaps do you see, and how do they impact students?

Most TVI preparation programs focus heavily on braille literacy, medical aspects of visual impairment, functional vision assessments, and assistive technology. However, tactile graphic design is rarely treated as its own comprehensive discipline. Instead, it is often treated as a sub-topic or a single module within a broader course. Teachers are taught why tactile graphics matter, but they are seldom equipped with the technical design skills on how to execute and completed the tactile graphic.

Training programs rarely teach educators how to systematically deconstruct a visual image and filter out visual clutter (like decorative backgrounds, complex perspectives, or overlapping lines). Sighted educators naturally default to -what looks good on a screen- but failing to realize that what is visually clean can feel like absolute chaos to a finger. When a student encounters too many competing lines, textures, or poorly spaced features, cognitive fatigue sets in. Poorly designed, cluttered graphics cause students to lose interest and withdraw from learning the concepts entirely.

108

5. How well do current preparation and training systems equip educators to make informed decisions about tactile graphic design? Clarify specific gaps in these programs, such as a lack of decision-making guidance, to help stakeholders understand where improvements are needed and how these gaps impact students.

The teachers I have the opportunity to work with have completed training and preparation programs that provide educators with a basic understanding of tactile literacy and the cognitive load it places on students when reading. The programs often do not prepare teachers to make informed decisions about when, how, and why to use specific tactile graphic designs. In my experience, many educators rely on on-the-job experience rather than formal instruction. Promoting ongoing professional development can encourage continuous growth and commitment to using tactile graphics effectively, helping educators enhance their skills and build confidence.

A significant gap exists in the consistent training to evaluate and adapt tactile graphics for individual students. Educators have limited opportunities to collaborate with TVI, O&M Specialists, and/or Braille production specialists when selecting or creating materials for BLV students they work directly with. It would be beneficial if educators were provided with access to high-quality tactile graphic production tools, a simple craft toolkit for creating graphics, and ongoing professional development that helps educators feel supported and motivated to enhance their skills and adapt to students’ needs.

When tactile graphics are poorly designed, they can cause frustration for students and hinder comprehension, whereas well-designed, reduced-clutter graphics aligned with their abilities can enhance understanding and confidence. Therefore, improving educator training through direct experience and ongoing professional development can empower educators, promoting a sense of purpose and confidence in their ability to create effective tactile graphics.

109

Element Arrangement on a Tactile Graphic Document

  1. When you consider your current practice, where might inconsistencies in formatting unintentionally increase cognitive load for students? How would adopting a standardized tactile layout shift not just access, but the way students engage with content?
  2. How well do current preparation and training systems equip educators to make informed decisions about tactile graphic design? What gaps do you see, and how do they impact students?

4. Inconsistencies in tactile documents can increase cognitive load for students because they spend more time than their peers searching and skimming the document in order to find the information they need. This leads to less time spent actually learning content.

When looking at my own practice, I try to keep headings and titles consistent and predictable for the student. I find that inconsistencies are more likely to develop when I am unsure of the content that the document, like for a high school student, or am not clear in how the classroom teacher will be utilizing the document. Good communication with the classroom teacher is helpful in determining what content needs to included in the tactile graphic. I think adopting a standardized tactile layout allows the student to spend more time engaging with the document in order to focus on learning content rather than trying to decipher the graphic. It also better prepares them for interpreting graphics during testing.

5. BANA’s guidelines for tactile graphics is very helpful and provides a lot of explicit information for helping with the decision making process when creating tactile graphics; however, it is overwhelming and requires a lot of practice to follow appropriately that I feel current teacher prep systems do not provide. I feel like we are given these strict guidelines for producing tactile graphics but are not taught well how to actually produce them. There are old fashioned “on the fly” tools to create simple graphics or state of the art technology that we are not taught to use. I think this gap leads to a gap in student access.

110

Yes, classroom teachers consistently providing late materials that cannot be adapted in time. This is the core of the problem in my opinion and is one of the most stressful things. I have been in very supportive school environments with great teachers who love the challenge of having a student who is blind in their class, yet they consistently provide late materials all school year long. It’s very frustrating, but at least a new school year brings new teachers and renews my hope lol

111

I also primarily work as a COMS. One of the videos shared an idea for creating a tactile map using candy- twizzlers for the road, etc. I think it’s a fun idea using candy for younger students to introduce the concept of a tactile map, understand how a key works, and review a simple route.

112

Question 3: I currently have no supports for building tactile literacy skills. My materials budget was taken away during COVID because there was a “Why bother when they are on the other side of the computer” attitude. I am writing a request to get some funding back to purchase materials to build a tactile library. I also do not have access to a PIAF machine or thermoform. Back in the day, I had a thermoform machine and I was able to produce high quality graphics to go with instruction. I also had lots of 1:1 time with students to carefully and thoughtfully provide instruction in the manner described in the videos. All of my students knew the “organized search pattern” that was my first go when exploring a new tactile.

Another large barrier is standardized state testing. I have a student who has low vision and can take the state test on an ipad with enlarged print and good contrast. However, he would greatly benefit from tactile graphics to accompany the digital version. That is not allowed as I have to pick either braille with tactile graphics or digital with only visuals. This is a 3rd grade student who just started learning braille due to a degenerative eye condition and does not know the code well enough to take the test in braille. He is a fluent large print reader and enthusiastic braille learner. He loves exploring tactile graphics and learning organized ways to gather information. I went to a PD in RI and I heard Erin Weaver and Jeff Scwartz speak about the Foundations of Literacy Exploration tool. This PD supported my decades long approach to teaching tactile graphics. However, current practices mean that I do not have the time to fully work on the skills. When I had my own classroom at Perkins, I had a block a day to work on reading tactile graphics. The graphics spanned everything from maps, charts to X/Y plots for math. I believe that my students who graduated in the 90’s-early 00’s had excellent skills to go to college and apply for jobs. Now, I am balancing time to teach braille and tactile graphics with state standards and digital tests. I am in a tough spot and it is a huge disadvantage to my student. I wanted to be a part of this cohort to revitalize my tactile graphics instruction and figure out how to add more to a day.

113

I have had the same experience throughout my years as a TVI. I work with wonderful people but I get work late and I do not have time to adapt the way it should be done. The other issue I have found is the lack of text books. I use to get braille text books with tactile maps or everything for math included. Now, text books are digital or pieced together by the gen ed teachers and I have to create all tactiles and it is an impossible job.

114

Hi Amy, I really relate to your point that “something is better than nothing” often becomes the reality when creating tactile materials. The challenge is that TVIs are constantly balancing limited time, large caseloads, and last-minute requests while still trying to provide meaningful access to instruction. I think this creates a difficult tradeoff because high-quality tactile materials require thoughtful planning, testing, and adaptation to ensure they are actually useful and not overly complex. When time is short, instructional decisions often shift from creating the best tactile experience to creating the most essential one that can be completed before the lesson.

I also appreciate your observation that delays from classroom teachers can have a significant impact on the quality of materials. It highlights how accessibility is a shared responsibility, not just the responsibility of the TVI. In those situations, prioritizing key concepts and learning objectives may be the most practical approach, even if the final product is not ideal. While that can feel frustrating, it also demonstrates the creativity and problem-solving skills TVIs use every day to ensure students have access to learning opportunities despite ongoing constraints.

In this regard, TVIs are rockstars.

Lacey

115

Ensuring that your student has the appropriate tactile materials is a difficult task that we face as TVIs. In the modules, it mentions the gaps that are already in the students’ learning and tactile skills. In the article Tactile materials in Practice, it mentions how “Teachers have stressed the challenges involved in designing meaningful tactile graphics that are simple, straightforward, and represent information in a sequential way, similar to how one processes visual information”. One of the tough things that we have to decide is the important information that should go on the tactile graphic, so that the image isn’t sensory overload. These competing demands shape instructional decisions by prioritzing the information that is presented on tactile graphics. Collaboration is key because teachers could build libraries, to avoid having to recreate visuals. For example, I made a touch book for a student in a developmental class. This book could be reused, especially since it is a common topic that the class does each year. Technology does help with time constraints and quality of the tactile materials. Teachers can use programs that make images (like Firebird), 3D printers, or even pair images with a detail recording. Currently, I have experience with “Fire Bird” which is a program that can create simple images using a braille printer. I love the idea of using a 3D printer to be able to fade some concepts on to paper also. I have a coworker who uses recorder buttons to add detail to concepts that she is teaching via book.

Choosing appropriate information is also very key to improve quality in tactile material. In the reading, when presenting a math graphing sheet, our students don’t need to see so much on the page. It suggests taking off the headers, name/date and then divide the sheet as: content, notes if needed, and graphic.

116

Hi Laura, I really appreciate your point that time is often the biggest barrier to creating meaningful tactile graphics. Your examples highlight how the supports that exist—such as technology, resources, and the expertise of other TVIs—do not always align with the realities of fast-paced classroom environments. Even when teachers have access to tools and are skilled at adapting materials, those supports are only effective if lesson materials are shared with enough lead time. The frequent last-minute changes you describe create a constant challenge and can make it difficult for students to access information at the same time as their peers.

Your post also made me think of the saying, “perfect is the enemy of good.” While we all want tactile graphics to be carefully designed, relevant, and available for every lesson, waiting for the perfect graphic is often unrealistic in busy classrooms. Teachers sometimes have to balance creating a “good enough” tactile representation that provides timely access with the desire to create the ideal learning experience. The greatest gap seems to be a lack of understanding among general education staff about the time and collaboration required to produce effective tactile materials. Increasing awareness and strengthening collaborative planning processes could help reduce these barriers and make existing supports more practical and sustainable in everyday classroom practice. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Lacey

1 Like
117

This is so true. Collaboration is key on so many levels and educator training as well. I didn’t even know much about tactile graphics besides making things touch. I learned about using the Firebird program which is a great tool to be able to print simple images for students. It is a more timely task too and easy to do. I like that you’re able to add/remove things as well.

118

I completely agree with you and having to complete things “on the fly”. It is a method that I end up having to do too but I don’t think it gives quality most of the time because I am slapping things together. As an itinerant, I travel between buildings and also find it hard to make time not only to make the materials, but to collaborate with others. I am usually left out of whatever the next topic is and the teachers don’t clue me in until the student is having difficulties on something. As I gain more experience, I am learning to keep to a library of items and recognizing to ask teachers about certain content areas so that I can be prepared.

I have never heard of Tactile View, I usually use Firebird. I will definitely check that out.

119

Yes…The classic ‘supportive but late’ paradox. You hit the nail on the head—it is hands-down one of the most exhausting, burnout-inducing parts of being a TVI.

It’s wild how a classroom teacher can be 100% on board, absolutely adore the student, welcome you into their room with open arms, and still email you a PDF worksheet at 7:55 AM for an 8:00 AM class. It really proves that the issue usually isn’t a lack of heart; it’s a systemic workflow clash. Gen-ed classrooms are built on a ‘just-in-time’ production model, but high-quality tactile adaptation requires a ‘weeks-in-advance’ timeline. Trying to bridge that gap makes you feel like an underqualified firefighter constantly triaging emergencies

120

This is such an excellent analysis of the daily balancing act we face. You’ve perfectly captured the invisible tug-of-war between the clock and our professional standards.The reality is that high-quality tactile design requires meticulous planning, but the fast-paced gen-ed curriculum demands immediate turnaround. I love that you highlighted how you adapt by focusing on the most important features and cutting out the visual noise.

121

From my experience as a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI), current preparation programs provide a basic understanding of tactile graphics, but they do not fully prepare educators to make informed decisions about designing or adapting them for individual students. One of the biggest challenges is that many TVIs may work in isolation (smaller districts), with few or no experienced colleagues to learn from. In many areas, resources are also very limited, making it difficult to access examples of effective tactile graphics or receive ongoing guidance. Until now, I had not known of Tiger Designer or Tactile View.

I have found that much of what we learn comes through collaboration with other TVIs and hands-on experience with students rather than through formal training. Sharing ideas, discussing what works, and learning from one another are invaluable because every student has unique tactile needs and abilities. Unfortunately, not all educators have access to these collaborative opportunities.

These gaps can have a direct impact on students. If tactile graphics are too complex, lack meaningful detail, or are introduced before a student has developed the necessary tactile skills, they can cause confusion and frustration instead of supporting learning. Students may miss important concepts simply because the materials are not designed with their individual needs in mind. Expanding opportunities for mentorship, collaboration among TVIs, and access to high-quality professional development and resources would better equip educators to create effective tactile graphics that promote concept development, independence, and meaningful access to the curriculum.

1 Like