Striped Lands and Dotted Seas: Editing Tactile Graphics Michael Sell, Accessible Test Editor American Printing House for the Blind AER International Conference: July 25, 2008

Why is it important to know how tactile graphics (tg) are edited for high-stakes tests? Universal Design considerations mean the braille format is more likely to be equivalent to print. Is the validity of the item kept? Expectation is for tactile readability, not necessarily an embossed clone of the print version. Science is now tested under NCLB, so more tgs are needed than before.

Terminology Lines: paths for boundary lines, grid lines, etc. e.g. solid, dotted, dashed, etc. Point symbols: typically used to represent significant landmarks. e.g. circle outline, solid large dot, square, etc. Areal / texture patterns: textured patterns used to represent…water on a map, layers of soil, bars on a graph, etc. e.g. dotted, striped, etc. Lead lines: lines that connect a feature on the graphic with a braille label…use as a last resort. Labels: identify all important features on the graphic. *from Tactile Graphic Terminology by Karen Poppe

Further Background Adaptations and terminology Test Layout: 1. Braille pages are numbered consecutively in the bottom right hand corner. 2. Print pages are numbered in the top right hand corner. 1, a1, b1, c1, etc., if one print page takes up multiple braille pages. 3. Multiple print pages may fit on one braille page.

Theory & Perspective 1)Jerome Bruners 3 modes of information processing: Enactivedirect, real objects Iconicmodel, relief renderings Symboliccoding, higher level of abstraction

2) Christina Hvitfeldts work: Does it correlate to blind or visually impaired (BVI) children progressing through modes? Adults from traditional preliterate societies often perceive and interpret drawings, pictures, and symbols differently from individuals socialized into modern literate societies. Learning to interpret symbolic pictures is…analogous to interpreting written language and, in some cases, involves as high a degree of abstraction. pictures can depict relational concepts such as above, below, inside, and outside, but cues of depth, including overlap, perspective, and relative size, must often be provided. *from Picture Perception and Interpretation among Preliterate Adults, Passage magazine, Vol. 1, Num. 1, Winter/Spring 1985

3) John M. Kennedys work: What does drawing by BVI children tell us? Drawing by congenitally blind children may indicate how they would generally read and discern tactile graphics. Pictures are simply conventions, no more related to what they represent than alphabetic writing. Pictures are simply similar to what they represent. *from A Psychology of Picture Perception

Means of tactile / haptic learning: Follow Bruners 3 modes. Let child choose object, make a model, and then make an embossed picture. Products: Setting the Stage for Tactile Instruction, Talking Tactile Tablet (provides tg background for child who doesnt know braille), Squid magazine, Stack-Ups (3-d cubes), etc.

Considerations & Caveats Test Editor Grade level / Alternate-Assessment? / Background Output type Less may be more / reduce clutter Role is not to reconstruct test Keep essential / relevant attributes Requests / substitution if problematic

More Test Editor Changed spatial language Typical art concepts may be meaningless Consideration of braille page size Location of tg in relation to stem / q&a Merely pictorial pictures Work with test publisher in order to maintain validity

Test Publisher & Dept. of Education Almost anything can be brailled, but will it have value? Titles for graphs, tables, figures, etc. Back-to-back graphics and fatigue Rigorous content does not necessarily require rigorously constructed test Components per item Orientation / contextual devices

More Test Publisher & Dept. of Education Graphic-related cues in stem / question Item bank for substitutions, etc. Problem graphics for braille 3-d Cross-sections Rotations / flips

Editing Techniques & Strategies Additional key only if necessary Avoid occlusion (overlap) Item content ideally on one braille page Braille boxes /arrows / etc. may be options Description / labels rather than tg or just retain labels Crop unessential portion for space

A few more techniques & strategies Enlarge / simplify picture Omit / dont use lead lines, if possible Provide labels for clarification Use different line textures Changed directions

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Resources Accessible images mailing list (join through tactilegraphics.org resource page) John M. Kennedys website: APH website (Tactile Graphic Image Library & tg tutorials by Karen Poppe/Fred Otto): Tactile Graphics by Polly Edman

Please direct further observations and comments to: