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Room with a View: Map-Reading Concepts and Skills is an interactive kit that helps students who are blind or low vision build foundational map-reading skills by connecting 3D room models with 2D tactile maps in combination with actual indoor surroundings.
Room with a View: Map-Reading Concepts and Skills is designed to help students who are blind or low vision develop important map-reading skills and spatial concepts through hands-on exploration. By combining three-dimensional models with two-dimensional tactile maps, this kit offers an interactive platform for constructing and understanding a variety of common interior room layouts, such as classrooms, kitchens, offices, bedrooms, and grocery stores. Learners can build physical representations of rooms using the included foam walls, ceiling, and roof components, and then connect these models to corresponding tactile graphics and displays. This progression from concrete 3D representations to abstract 2D maps fosters a deeper understanding of spatial relationships and layout concepts.
Students are given opportunities to practice using and interpreting tactile maps while gaining familiarity with different spatial perspectives, including top, side, and front views. The kit serves as a tool for practicing and demonstrating basic spatial vocabulary and concepts such as “next to,” “between,” “near,” “behind,” and “through.” In addition to guided exploration, learners can independently construct their own tactile room layouts.
Although specifically designed for beginning map readers, Room with a View is also suitable for older students and adults who may benefit from additional experience with tactile displays or who enjoy hands-on construction and spatial reasoning activities.
Room with a View (RWAV) provides an interactive “room” with an assortment of realistic 3D models that are used in combination with 2D tactile maps. A variety of interior layouts can be represented and constructed with the included materials. The kit’s primary purpose is to support the development of map-reading skills and spatial concepts by students who are blind or low vision. Specifically, RWAV provides students with the following:
an interactive platform for mapping common indoor environment
exposure to tactile graphic displays within a purposeful context
opportunities to transition from three-dimensional, concrete representations to two-dimensional, abstract tactile maps and displays
familiarity with various perspectives (e.g., top view, side view, front view)
a tool for practicing and demonstrating knowledge of many basic spatial concepts (e.g., next to, between, near, behind, through)
opportunities to independently construct tactile maps
Although intended for beginning map readers, RWAV can be enjoyed and used by older students and adults who may need experience reading and interpreting tactile maps, or who may just enjoy constructing their own room layouts.
Linkable Blue Foam Walls Sets (long and short in various configurations--windows, doors, etc.)
RWAV 3D Model Set (e.g., school desks, bookshelves, grocery carts, refrigerator, sinks, sofas, tables, chairs, etc.)
Set of Yellow 3D persons/models
Set of Red 3D persons/models
12” x 12” Sheet Low-Profile Hook
RWAV Print Activity Booklet
A more hands-on way of moving between object and symbolic representation with items.
It was really helpful to have the actual objects to work on orientation and relationships between things. Just the shapes we have used before from the Wheatley (kit) or created on our own do not have the same effect.
It was a great tool to have 2D and 3D at the same time—this saves lots of setup/homemade stuff. All of the provided materials were awesome and I love the ability to produce more—3D printing is very exciting to my students.
Quick and easy to use.
The objects and walls were more interesting than just textures to students and heightened their interest.
