TACK-TILES® Word Processor Cursor Movement
demonstration.
Materials needed: TACK-TILES® Braille
Systems any Braille code version.
Skills targeted: Shortcut to understanding
the action of a cursor on a screen of text.
Setup: Use a TACK-TILES® large support
slate as it comes out of the box, covered with TACK-TILES®,
or construct a paragraph of your own using TACK-TILES® on
a blank support slate. Using a palm size slate assemble a small
group of TACK-TILES® at random or place words, if this is
preferable.
Procedure: Choose a TACK-TILE® other
than one of those on your support slate to be a cursor. Recommendation:
a blank TACK-TILE®.
TACK-TILES® attach as readily to other
TACK-TILES® as they do to support slate. Using hand over hand
or hand under method for a youngster, or any appropriate method,
move the "cursor" TACK-TILES® across the field of
Braille letters just as slowly, methodically, then also just as
quickly and randomly as a cursor on a computer screen. Choose
a TACK-TILE® to land upon, then stack the "cursor"
on that TACK- TILE®. That lower TACK-TILE® represents
the character to the immediate right of the blinking cursor on
the visual screen.
Explain by moving the "cursor"
how its action reflects the push of each arrow key. That is he
cursor simply moves to be stacked on an adjacent letter/TACK-TILE®.
Still focusing on the large TACK-TILES®
support slate, yet turning to the palm slate for the demonstrations
of opening, closing, and breaking lines, the palm slate with it's
fewer TACK-TILES® will convey insight into massive rearrangements
of lines of text that computers routinely effect. When the backspace
key is pushed the explanation must include the removal of a letter
to the left of the one the cursor resides upon; a delete key depression
has the same effect to the letter to the immediate right then
ranks close. Depression of a character key inserts a letter and
the line expands to accommodate it. Explain the effect on the
text when the return key is pushed.
This process should substantially reduce
the time needed to convey a concept of the these crucial two-dimensional
visual phenomena to the understanding of a visually impaired learner.