Mobility lessons are continuing via Google Hangouts or Meet with each lesson individually planned for each student.

Online lessons involve a combination of:

• Discussing the routes the student has been learning and asking them to mental map and talk through the route. Asking questions such as:
  • What landmarks do you use?
  • What order are they in?
  • What direction is traffic moving in on your left or right?
  • What other environmental sounds are there?
  • How many drive ways do you pass etc?
• Working on coin recognition skills such as looking at sizes and differences in shapes and texture and change calculation.
• Completing forward planning with students looking at what routes that they could do next. This might involve providing a list of shops in the town centre and asking them to choose where they would like to go, then talking them through the route from the bus stop and between shops. With younger students this is extended to what products the shops sell.
• Working with students using technology such as the App, Seeing AI, to read information and identify products. Some younger students have enjoyed using this App to see what is around them in the park and then recounting during lessons.
• Setting challenges such as to walk a simple route with an adult to the park or a block route, and discuss in the lesson the landmarks that were passed and the sequence. Using Google Street View means that teachers can also view the route remotely.
• If a student is unable to leave their home, work involves directional auditory skills – such opening the window to focus on sounds. What can you hear? What direction is it? Some students have enjoyed identifying different bird sounds and teachers have sent YouTube recordings of bird sounds to help identification.
• Some students are enjoying exploring their environment with pedestrian navigation Apps such as  Microsoft soundscape. We recommend using bone conducting ear phones if they are travelling without an adult so that they can still use their auditory skills.
• Working with students to help them understand some of the theory behind their cane skills e.g. how wide should your arc width be and why is it that wide? How should you hold the cane? Why should your hand be in the middle? Why should you walk in step?
• Older students have been learning about train travel and planning routes using the internet and Apps and learning about how Rail Assist works.