Mask #1 (half-blind). 10:30-11:30am. March 9, 2015. The first mask that I wore allowed me to see through only my left eye. My right eye was covered. At first, I felt dizzy while wearing the mask and only being able to see out of one eye. There were moments when I felt my left sting or dry. I had to blink a lot. I had to move my hair bangs out of my face more than ever. when I could see with both eyes, it didn't really bother me to have my hair in my face very much. However when I could see with only one eye, my hair nearly completely covered my good eye and it made it really hard for me to see. It's like I had one eye completely covered and the other eye was about 70% covered. When I could see with both eyes, everything was so clear and bright to me. When I could see with only one eye, I couldn't see anything in the other eye. It's kind of hard to describe but, it was like the darkness in my right eye was slowly moving its way to my left eye. I could still see with my right eye but it was kind of dark vision compared to when I could see with both eyes. I used to think that being half-blind would be a lot easier than being completely blind. I used to think that a half-blind person wouldn't need as much help as a completely blind person would. It's nice to be wrong sometimes. I had to use my good eye to focus more than ever on the things around me that I could see like people and the board in class. Even though I could still see from my left eye, my vision was really blurred.
Mask #2 (completely blind). 11:30-12:30. March 9, 2015. With this mask, both of my eyes were covered and I couldn't see anything. I couldn't see my teacher or my classmates. I would turn my head towards a voice when and wherever I heard it. I had to turn off all of my visual learning skills and pay attention by listening with my ears. It was kind of a hard learning switch. My teacher Brother Wilson was talking about a couple of new concepts for the class. I think that he did a PowerPoint slideshow or video about one of the concepts for the class. I couldn't write the concepts down because I couldn't see my own handwriting. One of my classmates was kind enough to write the two concepts down for me in my planner. I couldn't see the front cover of my notebook so I had to run my hand over the different pages and folders several times before I finally felt the cover of my notebook. I guess that I made another learning switch while I wore this mask. I learned something by touching and feeling it. When there were a lot of people talking, I didn't know which way to turn my head or which individual voice to listen to. If someone started talking during the lecture, it would really distract me from following and listening to the teacher's voice. During the video or the PowerPoint slideshow, I couldn't see the pictures or the words. One of my classmates was kind enough to describe the pictures to me and she read the words to me. It was really hard to listen to the video and her voice at the same time.
Mask #3 (both eyes covered with a small hole in them). 4:30-5:30. March 10, 2015. I thought that this mask was a lot like the first one that I wore. My vision was darker but, I could still see through the holes. I blinked a lot because it felt like my eyes were drying out fast. I had to keep my hair bangs out of my eyes or else they were like curtains over my eyes that made it harder for me to see. I wondered if having vision like this was like being cross-eyed. Though I could still see from both eyes, it was almost like the edges of the holes were slowly trying to close. It was like the darkness was trying to take over my vision. Looking through those two small holes was like looking through two straws. I was still able to see what I could write while I wore this mask but, I made a lot of mistakes. For example, I wrote "eyes" like "eyese." For a minute, I pressed my glasses against my eyes while I wore this mask and I could see a difference. I think that wearing glasses would be very beneficial to someone who had vision like this. The blurriness and darkness just disappeared when I looked through my glasses lenses. Now I think I know what it's like to struggle with seeing something that is close instead of far away. For example, I couldn't see or read the projector slides on the board while I sat at the front of the class without trying to focus really hard.
Mask #4 (both eyes covered, hole in right eye). 11:30-12:30. March 11, 2015. I couldn't see out of my left eye. I could see through a whole in the right eye of the mask. Seeing through my right eye was like looking through a straw. I was surprised that my vision wasn't really blurred in my right eye. I could still see more darkness around me that the little vision through the hole. I definitely couldn't see anything that was far away. Anything far away was very blurred to me. When I wore this last mask, I could see clearly out of my right eye that was close to me.
Doing the masks was really hard for me! I thought that it would be pretty easy at first and that I would be able to do homework and get quite a bit done in those 4 hours. However, I quickly realized that it would be an impossibility to really get much of anything done. It was hard to see anything at all, and I actually got quite a bad headache. Wearing these masks really made me understand a little bit more how hard it can be to be blind or to have a vision impairment, especially when it comes to doing school work. One of my roommates has eye problems and has told me that she had problems in school getting work done etc. There are times even now when she has to just lay in bed with her eyes closed because she can't do anything. I never really understood just how devastating eye problems can be until I did this project. There are so many things I want to do now in order to help students with visual impairments.
Mask #1 (half-blind). 10:30-11:30am. March 9, 2015.
ReplyDeleteThe first mask that I wore allowed me to see through only my left eye. My right eye was covered. At first, I felt dizzy while wearing the mask and only being able to see out of one eye. There were moments when I felt my left sting or dry. I had to blink a lot. I had to move my hair bangs out of my face more than ever. when I could see with both eyes, it didn't really bother me to have my hair in my face very much. However when I could see with only one eye, my hair nearly completely covered my good eye and it made it really hard for me to see. It's like I had one eye completely covered and the other eye was about 70% covered. When I could see with both eyes, everything was so clear and bright to me. When I could see with only one eye, I couldn't see anything in the other eye. It's kind of hard to describe but, it was like the darkness in my right eye was slowly moving its way to my left eye. I could still see with my right eye but it was kind of dark vision compared to when I could see with both eyes. I used to think that being half-blind would be a lot easier than being completely blind. I used to think that a half-blind person wouldn't need as much help as a completely blind person would. It's nice to be wrong sometimes. I had to use my good eye to focus more than ever on the things around me that I could see like people and the board in class. Even though I could still see from my left eye, my vision was really blurred.
Mask #2 (completely blind). 11:30-12:30. March 9, 2015.
ReplyDeleteWith this mask, both of my eyes were covered and I couldn't see anything. I couldn't see my teacher or my classmates. I would turn my head towards a voice when and wherever I heard it. I had to turn off all of my visual learning skills and pay attention by listening with my ears. It was kind of a hard learning switch. My teacher Brother Wilson was talking about a couple of new concepts for the class. I think that he did a PowerPoint slideshow or video about one of the concepts for the class. I couldn't write the concepts down because I couldn't see my own handwriting. One of my classmates was kind enough to write the two concepts down for me in my planner. I couldn't see the front cover of my notebook so I had to run my hand over the different pages and folders several times before I finally felt the cover of my notebook. I guess that I made another learning switch while I wore this mask. I learned something by touching and feeling it. When there were a lot of people talking, I didn't know which way to turn my head or which individual voice to listen to. If someone started talking during the lecture, it would really distract me from following and listening to the teacher's voice. During the video or the PowerPoint slideshow, I couldn't see the pictures or the words. One of my classmates was kind enough to describe the pictures to me and she read the words to me. It was really hard to listen to the video and her voice at the same time.
Mask #3 (both eyes covered with a small hole in them). 4:30-5:30. March 10, 2015.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this mask was a lot like the first one that I wore. My vision was darker but, I could still see through the holes. I blinked a lot because it felt like my eyes were drying out fast. I had to keep my hair bangs out of my eyes or else they were like curtains over my eyes that made it harder for me to see. I wondered if having vision like this was like being cross-eyed. Though I could still see from both eyes, it was almost like the edges of the holes were slowly trying to close. It was like the darkness was trying to take over my vision. Looking through those two small holes was like looking through two straws. I was still able to see what I could write while I wore this mask but, I made a lot of mistakes. For example, I wrote "eyes" like "eyese." For a minute, I pressed my glasses against my eyes while I wore this mask and I could see a difference. I think that wearing glasses would be very beneficial to someone who had vision like this. The blurriness and darkness just disappeared when I looked through my glasses lenses. Now I think I know what it's like to struggle with seeing something that is close instead of far away. For example, I couldn't see or read the projector slides on the board while I sat at the front of the class without trying to focus really hard.
Mask #4 (both eyes covered, hole in right eye). 11:30-12:30. March 11, 2015.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't see out of my left eye. I could see through a whole in the right eye of the mask. Seeing through my right eye was like looking through a straw. I was surprised that my vision wasn't really blurred in my right eye. I could still see more darkness around me that the little vision through the hole. I definitely couldn't see anything that was far away. Anything far away was very blurred to me. When I wore this last mask, I could see clearly out of my right eye that was close to me.
Doing the masks was really hard for me! I thought that it would be pretty easy at first and that I would be able to do homework and get quite a bit done in those 4 hours. However, I quickly realized that it would be an impossibility to really get much of anything done. It was hard to see anything at all, and I actually got quite a bad headache.
ReplyDeleteWearing these masks really made me understand a little bit more how hard it can be to be blind or to have a vision impairment, especially when it comes to doing school work. One of my roommates has eye problems and has told me that she had problems in school getting work done etc. There are times even now when she has to just lay in bed with her eyes closed because she can't do anything. I never really understood just how devastating eye problems can be until I did this project. There are so many things I want to do now in order to help students with visual impairments.
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