Hi Begz – my questions and comments are in Green
1/
Nov.22, 2010
20 trainees, who had arrived to the Rehabilitation Training Center of the Blind for the 6-months Massage Training Courses from the provinces, were being taught how to use BookSense devices. What kind of Massage Training were they doing? I am interested!! Also, was it planned that the Massage Trainees would learn the Book Sense devices or were you taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the Rehabilitation Center?
The Rehabilitation Center is a sub organization of the Mongolian National Federation of the Blind. This center was established in 1998. The Massage Training started 2007 and is conducted annually. In the massage training, trainees learn Japanese massage during 6 months. Trainees are selected from Mongolian 21 provinces, they are blind and low vision persons.
Before our cooperation with the Training Center, massage trainees made notes on Braile when listening to the trainer’s lecture. Some trainees used large printed manuals.
Our project partner is the MNFB. We planned that the participants in the Massage Training Course should learn how to use a BookSense device through the DAISY project.
In the training period of 2010-2011, there are registered 20 participants. They are very lucky, because our DAISY Studio provides them DAISY Books and Book Sense devices to support in their learning. Trainees read DAISY titles like “Manual on Massaging” and “Human Body Anatomy and Physiology” in Mongolian on a BookSense Reader.
2/
Nov.22, 2010
10 persons were trained in morning and 10 persons - in evening hours. So, the morning courses on the use of DAISY books and BookSense devices were conducted between 11:30 to 12:30 and 4:30 to 5:30 respectively. Were the Daisy books and Book Sense training sessions during breaks in the Massage training? What is the difference between Daisy books and Book Sense training?
In the period of the 2010-2011 massage training, there are 20 participants from the provinces. They don’t know English and cannot understand English words by ear. It was very big reason to extend our Book Sense Training sessions. By our plan, totally 5 hours training for 1 group. But our training session extended 2 times, then BookSense device training continued till 10 hours for 1 group.
There is no big difference because the explanations of DAISY book's advantages and the training how to use Booksense devices go simultaneously.
3/
Nov.22-24, 2010
DAISY and BookSense classes were conducted earlier by request of 10 persons who had been trained at Massage Courses – from 11:30 instead of 4:30 because the streets fall in darkness quickly in winter.
4/
Classes were conducted by this schedule from November 25 through December 7, 2010
How many sessions does it take before a person is really well skilled in Daisy books and Book Sense?
The one session took 2 hours (conducted 1 time) for the blind and low vision students. 2 hours training were comparably easy to conduct because the students had some knowledge of English.
The training at the special school No 116, the Rehabilitation Center and to the persons arrived from the provinces was not easy and 12 sessions were provided by 1 hour each.
Massage trainees received 12 sessions by 1 hour each.
Advantages
People were much active and though the devices descriptions were in English they did their best to learn quickly. They were especially grateful that the books were listened to as if reading the real books – from any page they wish to start. Good! It works! Well done!
Difficulties
These are very new devices and all the participants were to be introduced to the button schemes. Knowledge of numbers and teaching of some English was needed to help the readers to learn the instructions. What other skills do the learners have? Have they completed any schooling or other training? Is it not possible to translate the instructions into Mongolian?
The trainees are of different educational background – there are people with higher education and also those who have never attended any schools. That's why we translated the instructions and sent it to 21 province libraries and all the places where the Booksense is going to be used. As regards the device, by now its speech engine program cannot recognize the Mongolian language.
5/
from december,8,through december,17,2010 When teaching how to use DAISY books and BookSense devices, the computer and English training was also conducted to 10 persons from 2:00 to 3:00, at the Rehabilitation Training Center of the Blind.
Advantages
When learning English and computers the readers were more enthusiastic in learning the new devices. Does this mean that the readers were not so enthusiastic about Daisy and Book Sense before? Are they really more interested in English and computer classes?
Sorry for my bad English in translation. The Federation conducts computer and English training classes. We provided training to 30 people who were attending the above classes. From 30, 10 were attending computer and English classes, and 20 – massage classes. 10 persons who were at computer and English classes learned Booksense very quickly. This training took 1 hour (2 times).
6/
Dec 8 to Dec 17, 2010
Started were classes on the use of DAISY books and BookSense devices at the Special Sekondary School No 116 of visually impaired children.
7/ 30 Children of 8 and 9 grades were taken part in the classes. 8 children attended the classes at one time.
Advantages
Children were especially grateful as the history textbook and some fiction literature, included in the school program, had been recorded. The teachers were also glad to know that these books had appeared in a digital format as in last 20 years only printed forms were available. This is really great!! Do you have any direct quotes from the teachers? Can we use the information about the training on our website?
Oh, yes! Would be great if it comes to your website. We will send direct video quotes from the teachers.
Difficulties
The main problem is the lack of elementary English which should be further taken into account. Hmmm. I’d love to talk to you about this.
7/
Dec 11, 2010
From 12:00 to 4:00 DAISY Expert Tsengel and librarian Oyunbayar addended classes organized by the Mongolian National Federation of the Blind on the management of event designated for the people with visadual disabilities.
8/
Dec 13, 2010
In the framework of the project, the DAISY Talking Book Center in cooperation with the Mongolian National Federation of the Blind started a Volunters Program on reading the books in DAISY format. The announcement on selecting the volunter readers was made from Dec 13 to 18, 2010, on Internet and through the FM run by the MNFB. Great! I’d love to know through what medium you get more response – the radio or the Internet?
Many people learned about our new services from the internet. There have come to us 13 persons wishing to serve as a sighted reader. 10 from them got information from the internet.
9/
Dec 18, 2010
13 persons have come to take part in the selection contest to become a volunteer reader. The exams were conducted from 11:00 to 5:00. They were to read and make 7 minute recording from 2 kinds of books.
10/
Dec 21, 2010
At noon 10 persons were selected and they were instructed how to continue in reading DAISY books. Are the volunteers ‘pure’ volunteers or do you maybe give them lunch, or transport money or anything like that?
The transport money was said to be given – from the Voluntary Program of the Federation which is supported by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), UK.
11/
Nov 29, 2010
- The 2nd volume of the Mongolian Classics and the historic epic “Jangar” were added to the 10 books and the total number of DAISY books has become 12.
- 12 books were copied to all 39 BookSense devices
- 1 BookSense is awaited for replacement (not yet received from the manufacturer)
12/
Nov 22, 2010
10 BookSense devices are used at the the Rehabilitation Training Center of the Blind to provide training to 20 Massage Training Course persons on the use of BookSense devices and for teaching English and computer programs to 10 persons
13/
Dec 3, 2010
In the morning, 4 Booksense devices and 12 books were handed over to the Project Team Coordinator Ch.Altantsetseg.
14/
Dec 3, 2010
7 BookSense devices are used in the educational process at the Special School 116 by organizing the Moving Library mechanism. Gosh! What is the Moving Library mechanism? How are the BookSense devices used at the Special School?
Officially 1 Booksense was handed over to the special school No 116. From 15 devices which are used in the Ulaanbaatar Public Library, 7 were brought to the school library for a one-month period. This kind of services stimulates greatly the use of Booksense, and we called it as Moving Library.
One BookSense device is used at the DAISY STUDIO.
15/
Dec 12, 2010
Preparation of the broken BookSense devices for delivery
16/
Dec 13, 2010
Delivering to the manufacturer in South Korea
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