Technology has changed the way we used to live our lives, and it has an excellent effect on our education system too. EdTech or educational technology has been helping students, especially visually impaired children, all around the world since the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to it, the teachers are also beneficial and could make the most use of EdTech to provide new and exciting ways of learning and nurturing the classroom strengths.
The teachers of the visually impaired students are deeply passionate and committed individuals who dedicate themselves to shaping the fulfilling lives of both visually impaired and blind people.
Braille is as important as any other language script. Braille is a means of communication and education that enables visually impaired people to become literate and enhance their potential, independence, and employability like any common individual. However, the Braille script takes a great deal of patience and the attention of a dedicated individual. That’s why educational technology has been brought forward to help blind students get an exciting future in education. Here are the top points:
Access: EdTech provides blind learners access to the same study materials that sighted students get. They can read and experience the same textbooks in audio format for their literacy, independence, and enrichment.
Engagement: Technology has outrageously helped blind and partially visually impaired students to communicate with their teachers. It also helps students to engage more effectively in their studies and career.
Mobility: Due to the mobility and assistive technology in education, visually impaired students can continue their specialized education in a safe place.
BrailleNote Touch is one example of Education technology that features the above three points. This device is portable and operated using a Braille keyboard. This tablet provides access to Google Docs, Dropbox, and KeyMail to upload and save important documents or study materials. With the help of this device, visually impaired students can take notes, research their studies effectively, and connect with their teachers.
The cost of this technology-inbuilt device is too high and unaffordable for the guardians of blind children. However, some assistive technology comes in isolated device, whereas many tools have been developed that are infused into hardware that we often use in our daily life. With the proper guidance, the students can access those resources to move forward with their education. There are several devices available in the market that offers multi-line Braille reading. With the reduction in the cost of production of these innovations, the scripts can be accessible to more users.
Two examples of an audible keyboard are Voiceover and Talkback, available in IOS and Android smartphones. These two tools can be automatically installed and help in accessing apps, messages, phone calls, and more. Some applications have also been developed that you can download on your smartphone to give typing accessibility to your visually impaired children. The apps can easily translate any document into Braille accurately and within a few seconds.
The pedagogies engaged in teaching Braille to the visually impaired students are trained to provide face-to-face interaction in classroom settings. But with the help of assisting technology, educators can allow their students to experience several learning aids, tools, and technologies. The students can empower themselves with the advantage of multimodal, self-learning, interactive and gamified learning tools.
The blend of Braille fundamentals with technology provides different lessons on reading, writing, and typing in English or regional language. Tools like Brailler and slate enable young learners to experience an exciting and effective learning environment, and teachers can track the performance of each student, and change their pedagogies accordingly.
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