Title: Creating Opportunities in Astronomy: Communication for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired by Noreen Grice
1Creating Opportunities in AstronomyCommunicatio
n for People who are Blind or Visually
Impairedby Noreen Grice
2Tactile Astronomy Books by Noreen Grice
3 According to the American Foundation for the
Blind and the National Federation of the Blind,
there are approximately 10 million blind and
visually impaired people in the United States.
4 In the United States, only 45 of students with
severe visual impairment or blindness complete
high school compared with 80 of their sighted
peers.
5 In the United States, approximately 32 of
legally blind working-age Americans are
employed.
6Ways teachers can make topics accessible to
students with visual impairments
7Ways teachers can make topics accessible to
students with visual impairments 1. Listening
8- Ways teachers can make topics accessible
- to students with visual impairments
- Listening
- Seeing (with eyes, hands, and mind)
9- Ways teachers can make topics accessible
- to students with visual impairments
- Listening
- Seeing (with eyes, hands, and mind)
- Doing
10- Ways teachers can make topics accessible
- to students with visual impairments
- Listening
- Seeing (with eyes, hands, and mind)
- Doing
- Discussing (speaking pictorially)
11- Ways teachers can make topics accessible
- to students with visual impairments
- Listening
- Seeing (with eyes, hands, and mind)
- Doing
- Discussing
- Touching (tactile graphics and models)
12Here are some strategies to make educational
materials accessible to people who are blind or
visually impaired
13Quick Draw Paper - American Printing House for
the Blind (water color markers on sponge-like
paper so the paper puffs)
14Brass fasteners on a piece of cardboard
15Use push pins and string to make graphs
16Use puff (fabric) paint to draw
pictures. (inexpensive but takes 1 - 2 days to
dry)
17Puff paint applied to a tent to make a tactile
planetarium
18Outline an image with clear glue to make it
tactile
19Foam stickers - inexpensive and quick
20Using foam to create a tactile planet surface
21Combine foam and fuzzy pipe cleaners to make a
3-dimensional picture
22Foam stickers - inexpensive and quick
23Use hands-on models when they are available
24Small model of a planetarium star projector.
25Yes - planetarium shows can be made accessible!
26Hands-on planetary habitat model
27Model of Saturn made with a styrofoam ball and CD
28Hula Hoop model helps explain when and
why eclipses occur.
29Tactile moon model - to explain phases of the
moon.
30Use sport balls to create a scaled solar system
model
31 These tactile processes require special
equipment
32Thermoform machines
33A hand-carved aluminum plate in a thermoform
machine
34Thermoform Jupiter illustration (from Touch the
Stars)
35Silk-screened thermoform picture (from Touch the
Sun)
36Talking Tactile Tablet (connected to PC) is an
audio haptic method (combining touch and sound)
for visually impaired learners to access maps,
charts and diagrams.
37 Rosemary Naylor in the UK has worked with
the Royal National College for the Blind
(RNC) to produce 20 overlays called Unseen
Universe for the Talking Tactile Tablet with
funding from the Science Technology Facilities
Council.
38If you would like learn more about the Unseen
Universe overlays for the Talking Tactile
Tablet, please see Paul Haley (Director of the
SHARE Initiative in the UK) and his poster paper
at this conference.
39Braille embosser - crude but inexpensive graphic
output
40Tactile Jupiter image made with a Braille embosser
41Embossed paper Ring Nebula image (from Touch the
Universe)
42With a Swell Form machine, you can make
tactile graphics by hand or computer
43Sample images made with a Swell Form machine
and Swell Form paper.
44Star party set-up Swell Form Machine, Laptop,
copier/printer
45M27 and satellite Swell Form image taken at Youth
Slam 2007
46National Federation of the Blind Circle of Life
Academy Star Party - 2006
47National Federation of the Blind 2007 Youth
Slam Astronomy Track
48We all have special needswhen you make materials
accessible for one group of people, you are
making materials accessible for many people with
different learning styles.
49(No Transcript)
50 www.youcandoastronomy.com
51(No Transcript)
52(No Transcript)