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

Kansas City Locations 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) 3

Ehresman’s Theory of Relativity “You are only as INDEPENDENT as your relatives ALLOW you to be.” Paul Ehresman 4

The Law Educating Blind and Visually Impaired Students Federal Register: June 8, Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities and Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities Federal Register: August 14,

Data > Opinion 6

Preparation for GPS Positional concepts Compass orientation Landmarks Context Clues Visual Maps Tactile maps – Wheatley – Tactile Town – Swell paper – Collage/Braillon 7

First GPS satellite was launched in 1978 Built to last about 10 years Weigh approximately 2,000 pounds 17 feet across with solar panels 8 G lobal P ositioning S ystem 101

Satellites orbit 12,000 miles above Earth 24 satellites constantly moving Two complete orbits in less than 24 hours Travelling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour 9 G lobal P ositioning S ystem 101

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Accuracy resolution +/- 50 feet Any weather conditions Anywhere in the world No subscription fees or setup charges to access GPS 24 hours a day 11 G lobal P ositioning S ystem 101

Signals travel by line of sight Can go through clouds, glass, and plastic Cannot go through most solid objects such as buildings and mountains 12 G lobal P ositioning S ystem 101

Three (3) satellites to calculate – a 2D position (latitude and longitude) and track movement Four (4) or more satellites to calculate – a 3D position (latitude, longitude, and altitude) and track movement 13 Triangulation

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Student Considerations Interest Perceived utility Maturity > Age Cognitive ability Dexterity Route concept Stamina 15 Techiness is useful, but not essential

Ten Essential Features Turn by turn, block by block route directions Announces position in space and direction of travel before and after each route segment Upcoming intersection type and roundabouts automatically announced 16

Ten Essential Features Pedestrian routes created for distance Motorized routes created for time Built in pedometer Off route detection and route correction within a city block 17

Ten Essential Features What’s Around *near 500 feet Automatically announces POIs, landmarks, and POIs in pedestrian mode Automatically announces landmarks and waypoints in motorized mode 18

Device Considerations “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… 19

Devices BrailleNote Apex Sendero Trekker Breeze Seeing Eye GPS™ App Garmin Oregon

BrailleNote Apex/Sendero 21

BrailleNote Apex/Sendero Primary and secondary voice Refreshable Braille display Bluetooth receiver Tom Tom maps Humanware/Sendero $

DISCONTINUED Trekker Maestro 23

Trekker Breeze 24

Trekker Breeze Large, distinctive buttons Built-in GPS receiver and speaker Secondary external speaker Navteq-Here maps Six hours of rechargeable battery life Humanware $699 25

Seeing Eye GPS™ App 26

Seeing Eye GPS™ App Buttons for POIs, location, and routes on lower portion of every screen Two choices for map data – Foursquare – Tom Tom 27

Seeing Eye GPS™ App Searches surrounding near area by pointing phone Sendero Thirty Day Subscription $9.99 Three Year Subscription $ One Year Subscription $

Garmin Oregon

Garmin Oregon 450 Color 3 inch diagonal touch screen WAAS-enabled receiver feet resolution Electronic compass Navteq - Here maps MicroSD™ card slot for additional maps Amazon-REI-Ebay $

Four Stages of Learning Unconsciously Incompetent Consciously Incompetent Consciously Competent Unconsciously Competent 31

Begin at the Beginning… Start with the component parts – Assemble/Disassemble Orient to the device Use the key describer mode Talk About GPS limits/parameters Movement versus static position 32

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? 33

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 34

Open AreaStreet Mapping 35

Ordered Grid Circular Numerical referents …East - West …North - South Odds - Evens Ascending - Descending POIs, Landmarks, and Waypoints Street Mapping 36

Open Area Amorphous +/- 50 feet from the street Directions by clockface “as the crow flies…” Parks, parking lots, playgrounds, beaches, campgrounds, college campuses Landmarks and waypoints Mapping 37

*Cannot connect unless a route has been created between the two areas. Open Area Street Mapping 38

Landmarks/Waypoints User created Multiple landmarks can be set at the same time/same spot. Know where you are Always set a landmark at the beginning of any journey. Always…. 39

Landmarks/Waypoints Pair with physical reference points Label noun first, then adjective – “Smith High School, east door” – “Fraser Hall, front stairs” Address entry results 40

Landmarks/Waypoints Nurture environmental literacy. Develop the gestalt of the area. Set waypoints before and after hazards, headaches, and irritations. Practice renaming, deleting, and unsetting as a destination. 41

Point of Interest = POI Point of Interest = Common locations Preset on Maps Use POI rich environments to begin instruction to demonstrate utility. 42

Where is the “spot?” Point of Interest = POI 43

The Virtual Open Doorway Incidental information results in incidental learning and control Part to whole scheme Environmental literacy 44

Routing Modes Pedestrian – Distance parameters Motorized – Time parameters 45

Routing Reliability 1.Self-created routes 2.Landmarks and Waypoints 3.POIs 4.Address Entry 46

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 47

Sources of GPS Error 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.” 48

Problem Solving Always warm up the device. Use the Resets … Position and Device Routing Hiccups “No GPS coverage” “Turn back” “Off route” 49

Wisdom “I have found over the years that the teaching of Orientation and Mobility is an art of accepting approximations.” Dr. William Penrod 50

Teaching Considerations GPS usage demands solid fundamental O & M skills for the final +/- 50 feet. Everything is relative. Context clues/concepts must be practiced. Understand organizational parameters 51

Teaching Considerations Time and distance Solicitation of aid Don’t tell…question. Preview routes for “blackholes.” Take a cheat sheet on lessons and use it. 52

Teaching Considerations Use multiple SD cards. Practice with the settings menu Earplugs and headphones are not recommended when traveling. Learn to think without vision to effectively teach those without vision. 53

Showing is far better than telling… it’s all about doing. Teaching Considerations 54

Teaching Considerations Encourage borrowing. Get lost on lessons. Teach motorized guidance. Have your student show you not tell you. In-service parents, relatives, teachers, and classmates. 55

Teaching Considerations 56

Curricular Integration Conceptual Development Literacy Physical Education Geography Mathematics Social Competency 57

Garrett’s Science Fair Project Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS58

My community familiarity, environmental access, social interaction, GPS lesson… she sets landmarks, creates and complete routes, enters addresses, and directs drivers. Brooke - 2 nd grade 59

The GPS Continuum “Outer space.” Age 5 “Mommy, we need to turn here” Age 7 “Directing a cab driver to my destination gave me control.” Adult 60

FYI… “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 40 61

Craig L. Phillips, MS Ed. COMS Craig Phillips Vision Services, LLC Summit #1700 Lenexa, KS

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, Leader Dogs for the Blind Trekker GPS Training 63