«Writing for reading by applying braille on a pc with screen display.
Experiences from a development work«
Bente Corneliussen and Torill Skjærseth, senior advicers Statped
Nordic conference
8. og 9. juni
2017
Preetext
• 3 children, three to five years, taking part in this work
• This is based on creative writing with peers
• The equipment is a computer, software, screen
display, braille keyboard and a printer
• The printer printing black text and braille and tactile
images
• The software has sound support
• The sigthed child have its own keyboard
• We must say that we haven`t got much experience
yet, but we want to tell you some of the metodes we
apply and the theory basis
2
Writing is easier than reading
Writing for reading is a quite new method in Norvay
Trageton is the pioneer for this inovative method, in scool as well as in
kindergarden
Vygotsky, Piaget, Bruner, Bente Hagtvedt mf is Trageton`s teoretical
support
This knowlegde is widespreed in nordic contries
Bente Hagtvedt has been concerned about talking language, language
skills, language conciousness and terms
She has been aware of early writing language development (emergent
litteracy)
Hagtvedt had been infueced by Montessori who was a pedagog for the
blind and developed learning ekvipment. Many of this is not suiteable to
day, but in the thinking is something to concider
Cooperating with parents
Parental cooperating is essential
The children have got the learning equipment at scool and at home.
due to this the parents most learn to support the child
Parents are mostly interessted and they often ask for digital learning
for blind children
Parents are concerned that their blind children get opportunity to take
part in inovationes of the technology learning. Learning should be
uncomplicated as well for the blind child
They want their children to partcipate in the peer relations as much as
poosible
Our ambitiones or why do we think this is important
All blind children will meet the braille letters at once they start in
kindergarden
Kindergardens have braillebooks, Perkings brailler and legoboard with
braille letters
Time changes and even small sigthed children play and learn by
technology
Blind children must have the same opportunities
Orginally we considered that the children soud have one common
keyboard. Each and every key should be marked bay a pasted
transparent letter. This makes it possible for the children to rattlewrigt
with sounsupport.
Inclution and equallity aimes will be clouser with this way
5
Inclution and equallity
Braill will be more easily accessable for the blind, and even for the
sigted peers
Because the printer is printing both letters, black and braille, the
childrens writing will be interesting for both blind and sigted
In a community the children will support and motivating each other to
be activ and participating. They will wonder and find solutiones
together
In the preescool-group it will be easier to make common activities
when the blind child also writes on the computer
We belive that the blind child should stay with her friends also when
writing braille
Method
Arne Tragetons method is called Creative writing for reading. Learned
on a computer.
First the blind child must learn to know the equipment and become
certain about writing some letters and look for familar letters
Sigted children lie ahead, they are on keyboard imedlerty and they are
experienced
Children write letters a creative way
Then the paper is printed and the children start to look for familier
letters, for ex mama, letters for pets and friends and of course their
own letters
After several trials, they will be interested en what they will write
They write words. Words they are familiar with and can use in the
roleplay, sutch as mamma, their own name, office and surgery
Childrens own produced text gives mening and motivation
As they play with writing the children help eachother and can be
assited by an adult if they want
According to Trageton the writing is gradually improved by writing
messages, notes of frames, posters, letters and their own reading
books, sigted five year`s old children can learn to wrigt with this
method
The printer can print out tactile colourful images, in a way it can
support the writing. But not in the same way as for the sigted child.
Perhaps the tactile drawing equipment can be used
We will emphasize that this work must go hand in hand with playtime in
kindergarden and not be timetabled
The year before schoolstart, the writing will be part of the preeschool
group
Playing and language
Playing and language are central terms in kindergarden
Bente Hagtvedt`s consern is roleplay for the children`s language
develop and how this influeces the creative early writing
She asserts that roleplay helps children to improve their language
skills
Spoken language is essential for blind childrens understanding
When roleplaying children apply playreading and playwriting and in
this way of acting they prove them selves to exercice
Spoken language and writing develops knowlege and interests side by
side, and the child will profit from informal learning and from interaction
between speacing, writing and readindg from early age.
Playing and language continue
Early development of written language – emergent litteracy – is a
common term within the teory of children`s early writing
This philosofi has its basis on Maria Montessory`s emphasize on
writing and Lev Vygotsky`s view on role-play, drawing and play writing,
as a premise for alphabetic writing before starting to read
Emergent litteracy shows how children detect and construct written
language, when the enviorment is made for it
This also occurs blind children
Sigted children already practice this
Obviously, children learn language by applying. The beginning is
dialogue, then gradually they will start experimenting
Hagtvedt asserts that children`s playing with language can strengthen
their self-esteem and their identity
Blind children experiments with their oral language like sigted children,
but they lack the opportunity to experiment with their written language
in a new way
Bibliography
Arne Trageton www.arnetrageton.no
Trageton, A. (2011) Lærer og skrive og lese i barnehagen. Aftenposten
Trageton, A. (2007) Å skrive seg til lesing. Adlibris
http://www.arnetrageton.no//Tekstskaping/Barnehage/Artikler/Forste%20st
eg.doc
Trageton har videoer på hjemmesiden som viser godt hvordan barna
skriver seg til lesing
Hagtvedt, B. (2004) Språkstimulering. Tale og skrift i førskolealder.
Cappelen akademiske
Hagtvedt, B. (1988) Skriftspråkutvikling gjennom lek.
Universitetsforlaget
Åsen G., Språk og aktivitet hos barn og ungdom som er blinde (2015)
OiU
The equipment
Laptop PC Lenovo Thinkpad with windows 10 Pro, 8 GB 64 bit
Screenreader Dolpin Screenreader ver 15.05
Printer Emprint SpotDot, conversion program for punktprinter Tiger
Softvare Suite
Leselist Focus 40 Blue med braille keyboard