Article
Layla’s Tech Journey
Follow Layla's tech journey and view budding best practices for BLV technology skills!
We fell in love with adorable 4-year-old Layla and now are in awe of the confident, funny 7th grade Layla. After watching Layla’s 7th grade video in the Then and now post, many educators – including myself – have wondered about Layla’s tech journey. We know that she quickly picked up on VoiceOver on the iPad as a preschooler. When and how did she learn JAWS? Does her school have 1:1 devices? How integrated is tech into her gen ed classrooms? How can I support my student to be independent and efficient with tech too?
Rachel Harris, Layla’s dynamic TSVI, has answered these questions!
Layla’s School
Layla’s school does have 1:1 devices, they use Google Classroom software and all students do the majority of their work digitally. The students have Chromebooks, but Layla has a DELL laptop. Layla predominantly uses JAWS, but when there are technology glitches, she sometimes switches between JAWS and NVDA (although she does not like NVDA). Layla has learned a handful of additional problem-solving skills so that she can successfully use her technology to complete assignments. While she does use Google Calendar, Docs, Classroom, and Slides, she prefers PowerPoint presentations; Layla downloads Slides as PowerPoints and knows how to upload PowerPoints as Slides.
Virtual tech instruction
Starting in 4th grade, Layla received 1:1 virtual instruction 3 times a week for an hour each lesson from a blind adult. Her virtual tech instructor, Kelly Harrison, lives in another state. In 5th grade, she received virtual tech instruction 1-2 times a week. In 6th grade, her virtual tech instruction was on an “as needed basis” when problems arose. Through elementary school Layla was also learning typing skills on the iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard and the Talking Typer App from APH. In the middle of 5th grade Layla was typing at a speed of 40 words per minute with 98% accuracy, so that once she transitioned to completing most of her work digitally, she was already proficient in typing skills.
In 4th grade, Layla was learning JAWS thru virtual instruction when the Pandemic struck, and schools closed. Luckily, Layla was already independent with Zoom meetings and did not skip a beat during the lock down. Layla affirmed that her JAWS skills improved tremendously during the lock down!
Layla also has a BrailleNote Touch that she uses for her textbooks, but she uses her laptop for everything else. Rachel shared that she believes the BrailleNote Touch will likely “. . .go by the wayside and she will just use her laptop to download books and connect a braille display.”
What’s next?
Layla’s virtual tech instructor does not teach digital math, so Rachel has taken over the responsibility of teaching digital math skills. Now in 7th grade, Rachel is focusing on sonification and digital math, including in-depth use of Desmos and using the SAS Graphics Accelerator extension for charts, graphs and maps, instead of relying so heavily on tactile graphics.
Rachel’s thoughts
Rachel strongly believes, “That if the school district is or is in the process of switching to online, the student who is blind needs to have learned those skills BEFORE that transition. If they haven’t learned the tech skills and suddenly are required to submit work online, then it’s too late and they’re already behind. They need to learn the tech skills early so that they are ready at the same time as their peers. I think the pandemic really exposed this, as sighted kids transitioned to using computers to log on to virtual instruction with minimal instruction…and our blind students who didn’t have prior instruction couldn’t even log on to a Google Meet or Zoom session without someone doing it for them. Thank goodness this was not the case for Layla!”
Summary (Applying to YOUR student)
How does Layla’s tech journey apply to your student? What takeaways follow the budding “best practices” for technology skills for BLV students in 2023?
- Systematic introduction to tech in preschool
- Entering Kindergarten with independence, efficiency, and confidence with tech – same as his/her peers!
- Learn and use multiple devices
- Learn and use multiple applications (Example: JAWS, VoiceOver, and NVDA; Microsoft and Google apps: Zoom and Google Meets, etc.)
- Know which application works best for different tasks
- Learn and use a myriad of keyboard shortcuts
- Begin transitioning to a laptop with a screen reader in elementary school; be efficient with laptop in the beginning of middle school
- Use an “expert” instructor to teach access technology (virtual sessions work well!)
- Dedicate significant time to learning tech – this is a high priority, as the student will use technology to ACCESS and complete all online/digital assignments and assessments!
- Learn the AT skill/app before needing to apply that skill in the gen ed classroom
- Learn to problem-solve early!
- Learn digital math applications
Resources
More posts about Layla:
- Getting Administration On Board with Virtual Tech Instruction (includes how to fit virtual tech instruction into the student’s class schedule)
- Layla’s virtual tech instruction (from the virtual tech instructor’s perspective)
- Benefits of Mastering Tech Early: Layla, Then and Now
- Layla: 4 year old learning VoiceOver and braille video
- Getting Started on the iPad in Preschool
- Layla’s Three Preschool Apps Video
- Interactive Stories
- Simple Tactile Representations of iPad Features
- Refreshable Braille Display Commands for the Emerging B braille Read R Chord and P chord
- More Braille Display Chords for the Young Student: Layla
- Assuming Responsibility
By Diane Brauner
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