Mobile+Technology+to+Assist+the+Visually+Impaired

= Mobile Technology to Assist the Visually Impaired =

Teaching students with Visual impairments requires many modifications to teaching practices. Visually impaired or blind students need adaptations to printed information that often includes reducing visual clutter so that they can clearly see what is vital to their success educationally. The increase of technology used in the classroom has helped break down visual impairment barriers.

One approach to adapting instruction is by breaking tasks into parts for the student. There is a difficulty in taking notes for the visually impaired or blind. While teachers can certainly provide copies of notes, this approach does not help the student take ownership over the note-taking. Many learners benefit from the ownership in note-taking.

Mobile technology is one useful tool that helps the visually impaired. Smartphones are not just a common accessory to the average student but also students with disabilities. Software App developers have taken notice to the need for programs that assist the visually impaired and created some helpful applications.

[|List Recorder] is an application that allows the user to create lists of items that can be in text or audio format. Information can be recorded from face to face conversation or directly by the user. Information can be copied from a website and notes can be added by recording your voice. If a teacher is giving a lecture, the student can record it and add text notes. The student can create checklists of tasks that are recurring to help maintain ownership over responsibilities. The text or audio information can also be emailed to another student allowing for collaboration with peers or group projects.

An additional feature to this application is the ability to integrate with the IOS feature of [|VoiceOver]. This application reads aloud text, icons, and other visual information the visually impaired might not be able to see. The cursor in VoiceOver will not lose your place as you navigate through the lists created in List Recorder. List Recorder allows the information to be viewed as a list of items. Each item can then be viewed separately and modified as an individual item so that accidental deletion of the entire list does not occur. If the user gets lost, you can easily tilt the iPhone to the left and it brings you back to your main list. You can also rotate the iPhone counter-clockwise until you hear the auditory feedback.

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