Rehabilitation professionals working with students with disabilities and the families of those students face unique challenges in providing inclusive services to special education student populations. There needs to be a focus on adaptive teaching methods that provide quality experience for students with varying disabilities to promote student…

Instructors of the visually impaired need efficient braille-training methods. This study conducted a preliminary evaluation of a computer-based program intended to teach the relation between braille characters and English letters using a matching-to-sample format with 4 sighted college students. Each participant mastered matching visual depictions…

This paper updates the efforts to educate blind students in higher education in the digital age and describes how to support the development of mental models in learning through tactile learning and 3D-printing technology. It cites research documenting a drop in Braille literacy along with the growth in use of digital technologies by blind…

University instructors were surveyed to determine the requirements for their literary braille courses. Twenty-one instructors provided information on the textbooks they used; how they determined errors; reading proficiency requirements; and other pertinent information, such as methods of assessing mastery of the production of braille using a…

The pilot research project reported on here was conducted between October 2005 and March 2006 on one campus of one of Ontario's 24 colleges. The college is located in an urban centre in southern Ontario. The main focus of this pilot study was the exploration of issues of accessibility and accommodation for students with disabilities as they engage…

This article analyzes the braille spelling errors of 16 Greek students who are blind. More specifically, it explores the types of spelling errors, the students' attitudes toward spelling, and the relationship between spelling and reading strategies.

The paper describes the use of VersaBraille, a machine that stores braille information on audio cassettes on which information can be automatically retrieved by title or page number. A demonstration project has shown the feasibility of the machine with high school and college students for such tasks as note taking, preparation of assignments, and…

Describes several ways in which microcomputers have been adapted to needs of the handicapped. One system consists of a Dynatyper (solenoid driven array of plastic plungers sitting above typewriter keyboard), Braillewriter, and Apple II microcomputer which produces hard-copy braille. (JN)

Braille printouts create textbooks and help train blind programmers at the University of Manitoba. (Author)

Introduces programs that assist blind students such as Tactile Access to Education for Visually Impaired Students (TAEVIS). Reports on two blind students who successfully completed physics courses and their learning strategies. Discusses the accessibility of visual aids. (YDS)

The study involving three blind elementary school, six blind high school, and four blind college students was designed to establish oral reading rates and oral reading error rates for Ss reading conventional braille volumes and brailled materials with the Digi-cassette, an electronic braille reading and writing machine. Data suggested several…

This resource paper is intended for students who are blind or visually impaired, and who wish to pursue education or vocational training beyond high school. Family members, Disability Support Services (DSS) providers, administrators, faculty, and staff will also benefit from the discussion. The paper examines the characteristics of blindness and…

This survey explored the numbers and proportion of partially sighted, blind braille reading and blind non-braille reading students in Higher Education (HE) in 2003-4. As part of a HEFCE/DELNI funded project, all 134 disability offices in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in England and Northern Ireland were contacted by telephone and email, to…

This paper is intended for entering college students who are blind or visually impaired, administrators, faculty and staff, family members, and counselors. First, characteristics of people with blindness and visual impairments are briefly summarized. Services such as translation of texts into braille or audiotaping, readers or assistants, and…

Three blind university students used a computer-generated tachistoscope-like display of electronic braille in an effort to increase reading speeds. Results did not indicate conclusively that such a program is effective in increasing reading speed while maintaining comprehension or in maintaining speed following the withdrawal of treatment. (JDD)