OPTICAL DEVICES FOR DISTANCE

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
Updated November 8, 2015

Low vision devices for distance viewing will allow students with low vision to access information in the distance. This can be helpful in the classroom as well as in the community. Portable distance devices will allow students to view street signs, building signs, fast food signs, and score boards just to name a few.  

Students can be taught to use their prescribed distance optical devices to complete short-term distance tasks such as viewing directories in office buildings, menus in fast food restaurants, signs in grocery store aisles, information presented on the class board, information on smart boards, and classroom charts. They can also be used during O&M lessons to view house numbers and street signs. A low vision specialist will prescribe these to students who can benefit from their use and take into account the student’s unique visual needs.

Hand Held Monocular

A monocular is a small telescope that is great for spotting information at a distance. Hand Held Monoculars provide power up to 14x. They are hand-held, but there are also models that can be mounted to a pair of glasses. They are small in size and can fit into a pocket or purse. They are helpful in spotting information such as information on the board, demonstrations, bus numbers, street signs, fast food restaurant menus, and scoreboards but they do restrict the visual field and limit the student to just one free hand. They are helpful in recreational settings to view theater and sporting events. The best use of telescopes and monoculars is to view information and presentations and not for note taking as copying while using the monocular is very exhausting. Students should be encouraged to take the monocular to other school events (e.g. assemblies, film presentations, games, field trips, etc.). When a student is using a telescope to read the chalkboard, they will need to sit at a specific distance based on the power and quality of the device. This distance along with the specifications of the use of the device, would be included in the report from the Low Vision Specialist. Keep in mind that it is difficult to copy work from the board as the student would need to continuously shift their gaze and scan to locate information.

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Binoculars

Binoculars are used for short term distance viewing when students have vision in both eyes and can fuse an image. They can provide a larger field and make it easier to find targets, but are larger and heavier than monoculars and much more conspicuous.

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​Spectacle Mounted Telescopes

Telescopes of up to 8x magnification can be fitted into spectacle frames or clipped onto the users own spectacles. These are not intended to be used when traveling as they have a very restricted field of view. They are intended to help users read sheet music, watch TV, and view other information when in a seated position. 

BiOptic Telescopes

These telescopes differ than the above as they allow the user to walk and otherwise travel safely when using them. The top has an “auto focus” so that objects viewed will automatically come into focus regardless of the distance. 

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TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
The TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC is a digital pdf available for download. It is designed specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), and consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level. In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community-based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.


In addition to the book, the following two supplements are included:
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Concept Checklist
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Activities Checklist


For complete product details and additional images, visit the TVI's Guide product page.


TVI's Guide to the ECC Product details
·      Digital pdf download: 346 pages (11 pt font)
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements
The Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets is a Grab and Go supplement to the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.  


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Product Page.


Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 210 pages
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement
The Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Grab and Go ECC worksheet packet is a print on demand workbook that contains worksheets in print and simulated braille to use for data collection. Present the student with a hard braille copy and use the worksheets to document accuracy and fluency in reading braille. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. These word lists and sentences will help the student refine their keyboarding or braille reading skills while bridging ECC concepts presented in the thematic units. Although the lists and passages can be produced using a manual braillewriter, you may also copy and paste the passages into any braille translation software for quick production on an embosser. They may also be entered into a typing program such as APH’s Talking Typer to build keyboarding fluency.


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency & Maintenance Product Page


Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 338-page print and simulated braille worksheets
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement
The Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Grab and Go ECC supplement is a 446 page pdf downloadable print on demand workbook that includes 2940 vocabulary card on 3 1/2" x 2" templates divided by each of the 32 Thematic Units along with a checklist of each unit words in print and simulated braille. As a companion to the TVI's Guide to the ECC, the vocabulary cards correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. 


Additional Use:
Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments can have a extremely varied caseloads. It is possible to go several years without having a student on your caseload who requires braille instruction. Like other skills, if you do not practice your braille regularly, it is easy to lose those skills. Use these checklists and cards to maintain your braille skills. Fold the checklist along the line dividing the print from the braille. Choose to either read the print and produce the word in braille using a braillewriter or read the simulated braille and decode it. Finally, these vocabulary cards and checklists may be used with family members or peers who are interested in learning and practicing the braille code.


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Vocabulary Cards & Checklists Product Page


Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 446-page print on demand resource
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


BONUS!
Lotto Cards
The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC.


On My Way File Folder Cards
Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27.

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