PHOTOCOPYING & MAKING ENLARGED COPIES

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
revised September 4, 2018

It is common for teachers out of good intention to automatically enlarge all printed materials presented to the student with a visual impairment  and in the process, they may over-enlarged materials. Keep in mind that the goal is to provide the least amount of magnification for the student to access information. For accessing reading materials, it is ideal for the student to use low vision devices to view printed materials. This empowers the student to make their own adaptations and allows the student to access ALL printed materials, and not just those that have been enlarged. Math worksheets and maps that need labeling can present more challenges for students and these worksheets frequently need to be enlarged to provide the student with enough space to write and allow the student to see the details. 

It can be a challenge to make quality copies and enlargements on the copier. Copying print, maps and charts on a copy machine can frequently create fuzzy and hard to read/discriminate copies. Additionally, the information can't always fit on one page. The following tips can help you produce quality copies that are legible and also make enlarged copies that fit on one page.
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Tips for Making Quality Copies

When you need to copy maps, charts and diagrams, it is critical to have good contrast. If colored materials turn to shades of gray, it can be difficult if not impossible to distinguish the different areas and sections.  

Tips for Making Good Quality Photocopies or Scans

• Make sure the copier’s glass surface is clean
• If possible, use a copier with fresh toner (This may be a challenge in some schools!)
• Apply pressure to the book’s spine to reduce center margin problem.
• If possible, select the copier’s photo setting for best detail.
• If the item to be copied is small, place a white sheet of paper behind the item to avoid using excess ink or getting gray or black shadows on copies.
• When copying pages from a book, insert a piece of blank white paper between the pages. Make sure it is placed straight up and down, parallel to the edge of the book’s cover.
• Adjust the paper so it lines up with the 8 ½ x 11” mark to ensure the paper is at the edge of where the copier will copy. The goal is for the copier to see the blank paper instead of the open space below the book cover’s edge. This will prevent the black border from showing up ont the edges. 

Tips for Making Enlarged Copies

​It is ideal to obtain a copy of the worksheets and handouts in a word document as you can easily adjust the font size, but in many cases, these sheets are not available on the computer. When you must enlarge using a copier, be sure the copier provides sharp, clean copies. I have found the following steps to be helpful when creating enlarged copies. Your copier may be different, so modify accordingly.

1. Obtain 11x17 paper. (This will allow the enlarged copy to fit on one page.)
2. Open the side of the copier to manually load the paper.
3. Place paper on the tray.
4. Place the original paper horizontally and face down on the copy bed.
5. Select "Reduce/Enlarge"
6. Select "bypass" for paper size
7. Enter 135% (you can select "number keys" to manually enter or use up/down arrows
8. Press "OK"
9. Check to ensure the page copied correctly.
10. Be kind and reset the copier for the next user! 

How to Make Enlarged Copies Picture Tutorial

Visit the Printables page to download and print this free step by step pictorial directions for creating enlarged copies on a copier. Post a copy by copiers for quick reference to making quality enlargements.

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    Photocopy enlarging should depend on the abilities, ages, and preferences of students. Large print should be the last choice when enlargement is effective, since it restricts the reader to only enlarged texts and takes time and money to produce. 
-Low Vision: A Resource Guide with Adaptations for Students with Visual Impairments. TSBVI.p.91

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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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