Global Positioning Systems and the Traveler with a Visual Impairment: "Who?" "What?" "Where?" "Why?" and "How?" Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS December

Global Positioning Systems and the Traveler with a Visual Impairment:

"Who?" "What?" "Where?" "Why?" and "How?"

Craig L. Phi l l ips, MS Ed. COMS

D e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 3

Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS 2

Berthold Lowenfeld

Blindness imposes the following limitations:

In the range and variety of experiences

In the ability to get about

In the control of the environment and the self in relation to it. (1948)

December 13, 2013


Ehresman’s Theory of Relati vity

“You are only as I N D E P E N D E N T

as your relati ves ALLOWyou to be.”

Paul EhresmanDecember 13, 2013

The Law

• Educating Blind and Visually Impaired Students

Federal Register: June 8, 2000.

• Assistance to States for the Education of

Children With Disabilities and Preschool Grants

for Children With Disabilities

Federal Register: August 14, 2006. Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS

4December 13, 2013


Preparati on for GPS

• Positional concepts• Compass

orientation• Landmarks/Clues• Visual Maps

• Tactile maps

–Wheatley

–Tactile Town

–Swell paper

–Collage/BraillonDecember 13, 2013

• F i rst GPS sate l l i te was launched in 1978

• Bui l t to last about 10 years

• Weigh approx imate ly 2 ,000 pounds

• 17 feet across with so lar panels

December 13, 2013 6Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS

GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM 101

• Sate l l i tes orb i t 12 ,000 mi les above Earth

• 24 sate l l i tes constant ly moving

• Two complete orb i ts in less than 24 hours

• Trave l l ing at speeds of roughly 7 ,000 mi les an hour



• Accuracy reso luti on +/- 50 feet

• Any weather conditi ons

• Anywhere in the wor ld

• No subscr ipti on fees or setup charges to

access GPS

• 24 hours a day



Signals travel by l ine of sight

– Can go through c louds , g lass , and p lasti c

– Cannot go through most so l id objects such as bui ld ings and mounta ins



Three (3) sate l l i tes to ca lcu late– a 2D pos iti on ( lati tude and long i tude)

– and t rack movement

Four (4) or more sate l l i tes to ca lcu late– a 3D pos iti on ( lati tude, long i tude, and

a lti tude)• and t rack movement


TRIANGULATION


Device Considerati ons

“The difficulty or simplicity of learning how

to use a system must work for the

student first and the teacher second.”

Mike May

It’s not about you… It’s not about you…

It’s not about you…December 13, 2013


Student Considerati ons

• Interest

• Perceived utility

• Maturity > Age

• Cognitive ability

• Dexterity

• Route concept

• Stamina

• Techiness is useful,

but not essential.December 13, 2013


Devices

• Sendero Apex/BrailleNote

• Trekker Maestro and

Trekker

• Trekker Breeze

• Garmin Oregon 450

December 13, 2013


Sendero/BrailleNote

December 13, 2013


Sendero/BrailleNote-Apex

December 13, 2013

• Calculates the distance

and direction to a target

• Hundreds of Points of

Interest-TeleAtlas

• Creates routes for either

walking or riding in a

vehicle

• Provides speed, direction,

and altitude.

• Humanware/Sendero

• $1800 GPS

• BrailleNote (Apex &

MPower)

Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS 16December 13, 2013

Trekker Breeze


Trekker Breeze

December 13, 2013

• Single-hand operation with large, distinctive buttons

• Direct buttons to functions and intuitive interface

• Quick volume adjustment with volume wheel

• Built-in highly sensitive GPS• Built-in speaker

• Secondary external speaker

• Built-in human sounding text-to-speech

• Six hours of battery life• Integrated help• Size: 5x2x1 inches• Weight: 7 ounces

Garmin Oregon 450D

ecember 13, 2013

18

Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. CO

MS


Garmin Oregon 450

December 13, 2013

• Sunlight readable

• Color 3 inch diagonal

touch screen

• Settings customization

• WAAS-enabled GPS

receiver

• Barometric altimeter

• 3-axis electronic

compass

• MicroSD™ card slot

• Waterproof


Data > Opinion

December 13, 2013


Four Stages of Learning

• Unconsciously Incompetent

• Consciously Incompetent

• Consciously Competent

• Unconsciously Competent

December 13, 2013


Begin at the Beginning…

• Start with the component parts

– Assemble/Disassemble

• Orient to the device

• Follow with the key describer mode

• Talk About GPS limits/parameters

• Movement versus static position

December 13, 2013


Begin at the Beginning…

• Start with the familiar

• Then walk, listen, and reference

– Learn the language

– Repeat the message

– What is the information…

– Where is it provided…

December 13, 2013


I Say Tomato…

What it is…• Minnesota• Olathe• Lenexa• Belleview• Panera• Chipotle• Rosehill• Belinder• Pflumm

What it sounds like…• Minneysotaa• Ahlith• Leneexaah• Believeyou • Pannerra • Chipitil• Rossahill • Beelinedeer• P F L U M M

December 13, 2013


Mapping

Street Open Area

December 13, 2013


Landmarks/Waypoints

• Street and Open Area Mapping

– Know where you are

– Multiple landmarks can be set at the same

time/same spot.

– Always set a landmark at the beginning of a route.

Always set a landmark at the beginning of a route.

Always…

December 13, 2013


Landmarks/Waypoints

• Pair with physical reference points

• Label noun first, then adjective

– “Smith High School, East Door…”

• Address entry results

December 13, 2013


Landmarks/Waypoints

• Nurture environmental literacy.• Fill in the gaps to develop the gestalt of

the area.• Set before and after hazards, headaches,

and irritations.• Practice renaming, deleting, and

unsetting as a destination.

December 13, 2013


Point of Interest = POI

• Point of Interest

• Preset on Maps

–TeleAtlas

–NAVTEQ

• Use POI rich environments to begin

instruction December 13, 2013

Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS

The Virtual Open Doorway

• Incidental information results in

incidental learning

and control

• Nurture environmental literacy

• Part to whole scheme


Point of Interest = POI

Where is the “spot?”

December 13, 2013


Routi ng Modes

• Pedestrian

–Distance parameters

• Motorized

–Time parametersDecember 13, 2013


Routi ng Reliability

• Self-created routes

• Landmarks and Waypoints

• POIs

• Address EntryDecember 13, 2013


Sources of GPS Error

• Signal slows as it passes through the atmosphere

• Number of satellites visible, terrain, electronic

interference, or sometimes even dense foliage can

block signal reception

• Signal multipath occurs when the GPS signal is reflected

off objects such as tall buildings or large rock surfaces

before it reaches the receiver, i. e. “the Canyon Effect.”

December 13, 2013


Problem Solving• Always warm up the device.

• Reset…• Routing Hiccups–No GPS coverage–Turn back–Off route–Silence

December 13, 2013


Teaching Considerati ons

• GPS usage demands solid fundamentalO & M skills for the final +/- 50 feet.

• Everything is relative. • Context clues/concepts must be practiced.

–Organizational parameters – Time and distance– Solicitation of aid–Don’t tell…question.

December 13, 2013


A GPS device is a where and when tool...

December 13, 2013


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=825895&id=1584588048


Teaching Considerati onsMuch better…

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=825895&id=1584588048



• Preview routes for “blackholes.”• Take a cheat sheet on lessons and use it.

• Use multiple SD cards.• Practice with the settings menu• Earplugs and headphones are not

recommended when traveling.• Assume nothing and be open to learning.

December 13, 2013


Showing is better than telling…it’s about doing.




• Have your student show you and others, especially relatives.

• Inservice parents, teachers, and classmates.

• Encourage borrowing.• Get lost on lessons.• Motorized guidance

December 13, 2013


Monitor

glare

interference



Dual lesson with

Trekker Breeze

and Garmin

Oregon 450

December 13, 2013



Cooperati ve Learning

December 13, 2013


Curricular Integrati on

• Conceptual Development

• Literacy

• Physical Education

• Geography

• Mathematics

• Social CompetencyDecember 13, 2013


The Conti nuum

• “Outer space.” Age 5

• “Mommy, we need to turn here” Age 7

• “Directing a cab driver to my destination gave me control.” Adult

December 13, 2013


My weekly lunch,

community

awareness, social

interaction,

environmental

access, GPS lesson…

Audrey


Josh’s Excellent Adventure

December 13, 2013




The carrot…









Matt ’s Pre-trip Errand

December 13, 2013








F Y I …“I feel like I'm "cheating" somehow, when

I don't have to keep track of what street is what, where it's located, what direction I'm

heading, etc... it frees my mind up to concentrate on other aspects of

orientation...and then, listening to the GPS as I'm riding in a car, realizing the breadth of this

world that is outside my car window I have heretofore never gotten to interact with…

amazing, simply amazing.” KM age 39 December 13, 2013


Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS

• Kansas State School for the Blind• 1100 State Avenue• Kansas City, KS 66102

• Office: 913.281.3308 X335• Cell: 913.645.8262• [email protected] • [email protected]

December 13, 2013

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Sources

• Phillips, C. L. (2011). Getting From Here to There

and Knowing Where: Teaching GPS to Children who are

Visually Impaired. Journal of Visual Impairment and

Blindness, 105, 675-680.

• www.garmin.com

• www.humanware.com

• www.sendero.com

• Leader Dogs for the Blind Trekker GPS TrainingDecember 13, 2013

http://www.garmin.com/

http://www.humanware.com/

http://www.sendero.com/

Documents

Global Positioning Systems and the Traveler with a Visual Impairment: "Who?" "What?" "Where?" "Why?" and "How?" Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS December