Resources for Students with Visual Impairments
What are Visual Impairments?
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997, a visual impairment refers to “an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.” The fallowing terms are different types of visual impairments.
- Totally blind. This term usually implies little or no visual sensitivity to light at any level. This condition is rare, and people who are totally blind typically have severe physical damage to the eyes themselves or to the visual nerves.
- Legally blind. A legally blind person has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye, after correction. This means that what an individual with normal (20/20) vision sees at two hundred feet, the legally blind person cannot see until he or she is within twenty feet. In addition, a person can be classified as legally blind if she has a field of vision no greater than twenty degrees at the widest diameter.
- Low vision. People with low vision can read with the help of large-print reading materials and magnifying objects. They may also use Braille.
- Partially sighted. Partially sighted individuals have less severe loss of vision than people in the other three categories. A person with partial sight may be able to see objects up close or far away and with corrective lenses may be able to function at normal levels.
Read&Write 4 Gold for MacRead&Write 4 Gold for Mac is a program which can be used for Mac computers. You must buy a license, but the new Read&Write 4 Gold Mobile for Mac is saved on a flash drive so that one can transport and use the program on any computer. The program offers many features, such as the screenshot reader, screen masking, and the fact mapper. The screenshot reader is a text-to-speech program. It translates any text, whether online, in word documents, or pdf files, into audio for the person to listen to. The screen masking feature allows one to focus on specific parts of a website, by coloring in the parts of the site that one does not want to focus on. These colors can also be changed so that the screen is easier to look at. The fact mapper may also be beneficial by allowing one to organize his or her thoughts. A student who is visually impaired may need to organize their thoughts so it is easier to look at and understand.
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/blog/tools-and-resources/review-of-texthelp-read-write-v4-for-mac-os/ |
Voice RecorderA voice recorder is a helpful tool when having to recall what was said by others or to express your own ideas. Users can record lessons, lectures, speeches and so much more. This device takes the hassle out of trying to take notes on everything that was said at a meeting or in a classroom. It also removes the difficulty of having to focus both on what may be on a board or presentation in addition to listening to someone speak. Voice recorders also allow the user to get exact diction and inflection and they do not miss anything. In addition a recorder allows for repeated listening for better comprehension. There are a number of voice recorders that come in different shapes and sizes to meet users needs.
To find, use the search engine Google to discover one that fits your needs. |
SuperNova
Supernova is a program that allows users to view text on Windows in whatever way is best for them. This is a screen reader that has speech and Braille support as well. It helps users with low vision to blindness. Supernova can be used by individuals or entire school buildings. The program comes in a demo but users must eventually buy the software. With the program users can adjust border, change colors, and listen to a human voice. The magnifier is from 2x to 60x, there are 24 color schemes, and The cursor can be enlarged as well as a number of other features.
http://www.yourdolphin.com/productdetail.asp?id=1 |
NoSquint
This is a firefox add on that allows users to adjust text. The color and zoom settings of text can be changed. This can be done on a page-by-page basis or for all websites. NoSquint remembers all of the settings for zoom and color and automatically applies them when you return to the web. It helps uses view webpages in a way dismisses the irritation of trying to have to squint to see webpages. If a color of a website it too bright then the color can be turned down. This website makes text easier to read so that the text can be the users focus not the struggle with trying to see the text.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/nosquint/ |
Are you a teacher?
Here is how to implement these tools in your classroom!
These tools can be implemented into the classroom to enhance text, helping visually impaired students to see text more clearly or hear their text. Many of these tools have the capability for students to manipulate text in a way that will be most helpful to their visual needs. These tools are also easy for teachers to use to change text setting to allow students to meet the requirements of the assignment. In addition, tools like Read&Write 4 Gold for Mac can adapt any text of your lesson plans whether it is a word document, pdf, or internet page into an easy to read form of text. Portable Magnifiers are something that students can take around the class with them for any assignments, they do not limit the student to only the use of the computer to increase visual needs.
The article below is a study of all the studies ever done on AT and visual impairments in an education classroom. The article explores what works and what does not work in the classroom!
The article below is a study of all the studies ever done on AT and visual impairments in an education classroom. The article explores what works and what does not work in the classroom!
at_and_visual_impairments.pdf | |
File Size: | 2024 kb |
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