Learning Brick by Brick

AUTHOR: RACHEL FROST

Region 10 ESC Director of Communications

LIKE MANY SEVEN-YEAR-OLDS, Marcos Rodriguez and his twin brother love building with Legos. This year, they even celebrated their birthdays with a Lego-themed party. While the twins share most of their Lego sets, Marcos recently got a very special set of his own. They’re called LEGO® Braille Bricks, and they are uniquely designed to teach Braille to kids like Marcos, who are blind or visually impaired.

“Marcos was so ecstatic when he found out he was getting the Braille Legos - he could hardly contain his excitement,” shared his mom, Cathy Rodriguez. “He has so much fun playing with Legos, so this was the perfect learning tool for him.”

Since Marcos is legally blind with limited vision in one eye, he is learning to read both print and Braille as a Dual Medium student. Due to COVID this year, he is learning virtually and looks forward to his daily Zoom video calls with Mrs. Stacy Garner, a Coppell ISD Teacher for the Visually Impaired.

“These Legos are awesome because they look like traditional, colorful Legos, but on the top surface, the dots correspond with the letters and numbers in the Braille alphabet,” Mrs. Garner explained. “It has been a highly motivating tool for Marcos. I always save the Legos for the end of our lesson because it gives him something to look forward to and keeps him engaged.”

Region 10 Education Service Center had the good fortune to receive approximately 70 sets of the Lego Braille Bricks, which were distributed to school districts across the region for teachers who work with students with visual impairments.

Rodriguez explained that it can be a challenge finding reading materials and educational toys designed for her son. Thanks to Lego, she says her son now has access to a new educational tool that also makes learning fun.

“It’s such a cool thing that Lego did. The fact that they were thinking outside the box and thinking of visually impaired students means so much to me as a parent,” Rodriguez said.

While Marcos continues working on spelling words and forming contractions using his Lego Braille Bricks, Mrs. Garner is working to help her fellow educators.

“This has been a learning experience for us both,” Mrs. Garner explained. “We had to get creative with the camera setup we use, so that we can work through the lessons using the Lego Braille Bricks. It has worked really well, so now I have been sharing my setup with other educators who work with visually impaired students.”

Though this past year has presented a unique set of challenges, Rodriguez says the Lego Braille Bricks and working with Mrs. Garner have been welcome highlights for Marcos.

“Mrs. Garner has introduced us to so many great resources that have helped Marcos tremendously,” Rodriquez said. “He loves working with Mrs. Garner and he loves showing off his Legos. I can tell that he is really proud to be learning Braille.”