Important and favorable health effects of physical activity have been well documented. Unfortunately, school-aged individuals who are visually impaired tend to be less physically active than their peers without visual impairments. Although students with visual impairments learn skills to participate in physical activities during their PE classes,…

This paper summarizes my experience with teaching a first-year, General Chemistry course to a visually impaired student. This includes accommodations and modifications for both the lecture material and the laboratory. Included are also examples of formats and syntax for txt-based quizzes, tests, and laboratory reports, as well as other general…

In 2011, a collaborative effort began between the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) and Austin Classical Guitar (ACG), a local 501(c) nonprofit music organization. The idea behind this collaboration was to start a small guitar program that would provide TSBVI students with quality classroom guitar instruction. At that time,…

Instructors of postsecondary classes in statistics rely heavily on visuals in their teaching, both within the classroom and in resources like textbooks, handouts, and software, but this information is often inaccessible to students who are blind or visually impaired (BVI). The unique challenges involved in adapting both pedagogy and course…

The purpose of this brief is to help families and educators understand the right of students with disabilities who need accessible educational materials to receive these materials in a timely manner. This right is based on provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as in the disability civil rights statutes…

Despite the availability of assistive technology frameworks as a tool to aid in the process of decision making, teachers of students with visual impairments in Singapore have had little awareness of or experience in using such frameworks to guide them when making choices about assistive technology. Much of the selection had previously been made…

This chapter outlines the progression in the development of educational settings and services for students with visual impairments over the past several hundred years. Information is provided that explains how the education systems have advanced to the present state for students who are blind or have low vision. An explanation of the professionals…

Questions often arise about how accessible educational materials (AEM) might be included in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). The two purposes of this article are to (1) help families and educators understand the importance of including AEM in the IEPs of students who require them, and (2) to discuss locations in the IEP where it may be…

US Agency for International Development (USAID) believes that education is a foundational driver of development and fundamental to achieving self-reliance. When children and youth attend school and build skills they can use in the workforce and to navigate life, they are able to build more hopeful and prosperous futures for themselves, their…

This keynote address was delivered by Dr. Cary A. Supalo at the 2015 Training Workforce and Development and diversity conference which is one of the divisions that is part of NIH's general medical sciences. This conference was attended by over 500 program directors from all of the T32 sponsored projects in 2015. This presentation discussed the…

Various levels of assistive technology can be used in the art classroom to provide a fulfilling artmaking experience for all levels of learners. The purpose of this article is to add to the body of knowledge by providing ideas generated from collaboration between the fields of special education and art education that the authors feel will benefit…

The use of inclusive teaching materials that motivate and encourage the development of executive functions has been neglected by the mathematic teaching, in which intelligence is valued, but no efforts are made to stimulate it. There are numerous reasons for that, among which are teachers' and students' unawareness that mathematics involves higher…

Collection development is the core of every school library, and successful school librarians know that meeting all learner needs can contribute to their success. When curating their collections school librarians must consider learners with visual, hearing, physical, and cognitive impairments. The school librarian should work with a team (other…

Interlocking toy building blocks (e.g., Lego) as chemistry learning modules for blind and visually impaired (BVI) students in high school and undergraduate introductory or general chemistry courses are presented. Building blocks were assembled on a baseplate to depict the relative changes in the periodic properties of elements. Modules depicting…

This work discusses the construction and evaluation of a digital thermometer especially designed to be operated by people with visual disabilities. The accessibility thermometer can be used as an educational tool in practical activities in classes for sighted and visually impaired students, with the aim of helping those with special needs gain…