ERIC Number: ED408812
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1983
Pages: 380
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Research on Multimedia Access to Microcomputers for Visually Impaired Youth.
Ashcroft, S. C.
This final report discusses the outcomes of a federally funded project that studied visual, auditory, and tactual methods designed to give youth with visual impairments access to microcomputers for curricular, prevocational, and avocational purposes. The objectives of the project were: (1) to research microcomputer systems that could be made accessible to youth with blindness through print, voice, and touch; (2) to develop and evaluate instructional programs for teaching youth with visual impairments to use microcomputer systems through multimedia access; (3) to develop and evaluate instructional packages for these multimedia microcomputer systems for the inservice and preservice training of special education and other personnel who work with youth with visual impairments; (4) to evaluate selected, adapted, or specially development computer-assisted instructional programs for curricula, prevocational, and avocational purposes; and (5) to disseminate the results and products of the research project through usual dissemination channels. The report identifies the advantages and limitations of cassette Braille devices, OPTACON (Optical-to-Tactile Converter), speech synthesis, digitized speech, and large print. Appendices include procedures for interfacing the IBM PC with the VersaBraille instructional modules for beginning microcomputer and access technology skills for students with visual impairments, and a Braille-edit student instructional module. (Contains 55 references.) (CR)
Descriptors: Accessibility (for Disabled), Assistive Devices (for Disabled), Braille, Computer Assisted Instruction, Educational Strategies, Elementary Secondary Education, Instructional Material Evaluation, Large Type Materials, Learning Modules, Microcomputers, Speech Synthesizers, Teacher Education Programs, Visual Impairments
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: George Peabody Coll. for Teachers, Nashville, TN. Dept. of Special Education.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A