I completely agree with you. I’ve had the same experience. My TVI preparation covered braille, visual impairments, assessments, and assistive technology really well, but I didn’t feel like I received enough training on how to actually create effective tactile graphics. Most of what I’ve learned has been through trial and error, working with students, and talking with other TVIs.
Your point about sighted educators designing based on what looks good really resonated with me. It’s easy to forget that what seems simple visually can feel overwhelming when explored through touch. I’ve seen students become frustrated when a graphic has too much going on, and instead of helping them understand the concept, it becomes another barrier to learning.
I think this is an area where all of us as TVIs continue learning from one another. The more opportunities we have to collaborate and share what works, the better we can support our students.
I completely agree with your post. You made some excellent points, and I especially appreciated the link you included. As someone who is a visual and hands-on learner, having an example to look at really helps me understand the concepts much better. Thank you for taking the time to share that resource.
I also agree 100% with what you said. Designing effective tactile graphics takes so much more thought than most people realize. It’s not just about simplifying a picture—it’s about making sure the information is meaningful and accessible for the student. Posts like yours and shared resources from other TVIs are so valuable because we all continue learning from one another.
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?
I am currently working on a tactile book for Philly 250. The focus is 250 years of accessibility. I began with a lot of excitement and a lot less knowledge than I have now. Upon learning new things, I have redone multiple pages in my quest for close-to perfection! One of my biggest mistakes was creating representations of real things out of materials that didn’t make sense tactually to someone without sight.
For example, I made a really cool page for the Perkins brailler. I took those keyboard fidgets and replaced them with 3D printed keys that were shaped like brailler keys. I the made the body of the brailler out of green foam and had a piece of white felt with puffy paint braille coming out of the top. For a visual person, they could look at the page and go, “ok yeah, it looks like a Perkins Brailler”. But tactually, it was confusing!!! The brailler isn’t foam! It’s metal! Paper doesn’t feel like felt! Hand-writing braille in puffy paint is cute but not very consistent.
So, I went back to the drawing board and got rid of everything except the keys. The keys are my pride and joy. I took metallic paper and embossed it with a pebbly texture. I then embossed a message about the brailler with our Juliet, and placed that in the top slot. Finally, I took another metallic paper and hand-embossed the Perkins Brailler logo that is right above the keys. Now, not only does it look more like the real thing, it feels more similar to the real thing!
My worry now is that every page has a different layout because it features different things. So will it be confusing when they go from page to page and the information is in a different spot every time?
The information on every page is the year and name of the event or item invented, a simple description, and brief instructions on how to interact with the page. Now I’m overthinking things! It is about halfway finished and due in October.
Patricia, I’m not sure where you’re located but would having things to borrow from a library be helpful? At my library I have a lot of materials and encouragement to be creative and create literacy kits for patrons to borrow. Institutions that serve eligible patrons are also eligible for accounts. Since the resources are at hand, it wouldn’t be too much to create classroom kits for teachers to borrow. Every state has a network library for the NLS, and each state offers different things. I encourage you to look up what your state has to offer and see what they have on hand or resources they may be able to direct you to to help lessen your load!
I agree that it takes a lot of practice to find your stride in creating tactile graphics. I think it takes a lot of creativity and trial and error. Sometimes simply being sighted can be a road block for creating tactile graphics because we can take things for granted sometimes. I’m thinking back to the second week where we discussed concepts and the anecdotes of students only understanding a part of a whole. You mentioned good communication, and I think that could include feedback on points of view and what the student may and may not understand is very helpful.
Lacey, I love the saying you introduced in your reply. I am always beating myself up about not being “perfect” with lessons or work for the students. I need to say “perfect is the enemy of good” all the time. I dug out my old raised line board from my basement and I will have that with me to ready for the last minute worksheet that needs a tactile graphic. It is not perfect but it is good.
Ruth, I went to grad school to be a TVI way back in 1996 and we had an extensive class to prepare tactile graphics. I found the most important thing that helped me to weed out extra information was looking at how a braille text book prepared tactile graphics. Digital content has driven text books away and introduced Teacher Pay Teachers and other digitally created worksheets. I have found it helpful to go through cluttered worksheets with a gen ed teacher and point out what is too much for a sighted student. I asked them to boil it down to what is really the key to the lesson and that is what I will add to my tactile graphic. I’ve had teachers mad at me because I suggested they pare down the visuals for the sighted students because it is too much visual information.
Tactile graphics directly reflect student-centered design. Each tactile design/graphic must be created to meet the concept development of each student. For example, a totally blind student may be able to look at a generalized tactile graphic but require specific teaching to salient features to show how it helps to identify the item in a variety of settings. Being able to understand a graphic in a variety of settings is crucial and I feel that happens with exposure and direct instruction at first.
In the research presented in “Tactile Materials in Practice: Understanding the Experiences of Teachers of the Visually Impaired” (which I find to be a phenomenal study and plan to use as part of a tactile graphics training and is included below) they discussed the difficulty in being able to provide what is needed and what is provided. I thought it was a bit troubling but very true that the last item was the consideration for including movement, real objects and independence. It is so difficult to provide the best student centered tactile graphic due to time for material prep based on developmental level, pull-out time to pre-teach the concept and materials and then to incorporate it into the classroom discussion while maximizing the independence of our students. It also poses a challenge if the student has not had comprehensive instruction which may have splintered skills in various areas of concept development.
Gaps are often caused by price (very few schools have TVI budgets, in my experience), availability (I am constantly purchasing items which may be appropriate for a particular student in the future), and time (a tactile may be requested at the last minute). Also, especially with new students, if the FVLMA does not include preferences for learning styles and materials, we may need to begin a new year with that assessment. I do love the inclusion of movement in the learning process as well as involving the students’ involvement in creating the graphic.
4.2.5 Considerations for Different Tactile Material Types The largest decision-making factor for considering a tactile material was its prompt availability (24 entries, 37.1%). Materials were chosen because they were readily available or very easy to create, such as Olivia’s directional chart (Figure 4A-C), confirming findings from the Interview Study that creation time can be a large hindrance (Section 3.2.3). The second factor was high student engagement levels associated with the materials (16 entries, 22.8%). Participants frequently selected materials because their students would find them fun, interactive, or exciting. Another consideration (16 entries, 22.8%) was reusability, participants preferred materials that would serve the learning goals of multiple lessons and continue to challenge the student. Lastly, although not explicitly pronounced, participants gravitated towards materials that encouraged movement, involved real objects, and fostered independence.
I so agree about being sighted being a road block. That was something that we expressed in our UMASS O&M cohort a couple of summers ago. Leave your vision at the door when it comes to tactile graphics!!!
I agree with everything you said. I think most if not all of us TVI’s are in the same boat. I know that has to be a way around it, but time and equipment are the two biggest constraints. I know trying to frontload students are not always able to happen. This course has or will give me avenues to be better at this.
Not sure which state you live in but I know we here in Virginia have considered (through our statewide agency and AER) in creating a “treasure” document so that TVIs could post what they have and would be willing to share. Since our statewide testing is the same, the goal is the same in reaching graphics that translate to what they will see in testing. I know I have created many books and materials that were used with one student but may not be appropriate for any other students in my district or school and would to be able to share. I can’t say we have that created but I do think it would be helpful!!! just a thought! Please share more about Fire Bird!!! I saw that Lucia Hasty reviewed it, must be good!
Thank you for sharing. Helping each other is great. I think that getting general education teachers involved. It would help to know what could possibly be needed for the student as the school year progresses. I had an earth science teacher that we had go through the APH catalog to see if there was anything that would help or enhance the learning of the VI student.
I like the above statement. I agree about taking off formation that is not necessary will make it better for the students. I have noticed as I have taught students in upper grades that they get bogged down by that unnecessary information.
I couldn’t agree more Sheila. As a classroom teacher, I understand that we can’t always know exactly when something will be taught, however, we do know the general time frame and should be able to provide TVI’s the time to create materials with enough time for the student to learn the graphic ahead of time. This course really taught me the incredible importance of that concept!
The gaps in equity of materials and resources (time and staff included) for our students with VI are astounding. I truly believe the needs and understanding of teaching strategies, time, etc, needs to be brought to the fore front of admin! It’s frustrating that our students with VI may get a different quality of education and leave them less prepared because of resource availability!
Analyze the tension between time constraints and instructional quality in tactile material creation. How do these competing demands shape instructional decisions?
I fine that the time constraints greatly impact the quality of materials we provide students. Often time the classroom teachers make requests at the last minute often not providing enough time for the TVIt to create quality materials. this also impacts the time the student has to explore and learn the graphic before being expected to understand and use it. These competing demands for well rounded instruction, quality instructional material and time is beyond frustrating but a reality. I wish more people understood the need for time for the student to have the graphics in hand ahead of time. It’s on my list of things to educate others on as I move forward in supporting students.
Analyze the tension between time constraints and instructional quality in tactile material creation. How do these competing demands shape instructional decisions?
The tension between time constraints and instructional quality forces TSVI’s to make trade-offs between practical verses theoretical considerations to ensure that students have the materials simultaneously with their sighted peers.
To meet classroom deadlines TSVI’s may compromise high-quality of tactile materials instead trading off for a faster, low-tech alternative.
Opting for 2-D materials and verbal description instead of time involving 3-D creations (and are difficult to develop and modify quickly) that are more authentic to scale
Resorting to familiar, disposable handmade materials instead of utilizing, for example, embossers or 3-D printers.
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? When working with my students, I have come across different inconsistencies with formatting which has caused confusion during instruction and when they are in the class. I think that these inconsistencies create an increase in cognitive load for a student because not only do they already have to have the prerequisite knowledge of the content, but they have to be able to decipher a specific chart or graphic. Also, what could be provided to the student at one time in a text book, might look different in a different text book. The student would have to also have to understand the different types of symbols that are being used as well as differentiate them.
By adopting a standardized tactile layout it will cause a shift because the student will understand how to quickly read the material with more ease and not have to focus on learning the graphics. They will be able to quickly read a document when reading a document and navigate quickly through the graphic they are reading. The article by Patrick Van Geem states, “predictable layout on all documents can reduce time spent searching, retrieving, spelling and reviewing information. The student can spend more time learning the content.” This is important because the more time the student spends having to learn the graphic is making the student feel they are falling further behind. From what I have experienced, my students often struggling with feeling like they are falling behind so they spend more time trying to catch up. If there is a way to make a more standardized layout so that they can feel that they won’t fall behind to learn a graphic, they would be more willing to read and understand the graphic that is presented.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this week’s discussion. I agree that time greatly impacts the quality of materials that are presented to the students. Not only is it difficult when a request is made at the last minute due to various reasons, the TSVI may not be in the school on a daily basis if they provide services in multiple districts.
Thank you for reminding us of the power of collaboration. I agree that collaboration is a key on so many levels. I am looking forward to learning more about the Firebird program and it’s editing features. I appreciate your sharing about this tool in your post.