Making Course Work Accessible
by Sylvie
Kashdan and Robby Barnes
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It is
important to remember that in making course work accessible to visually-impaired
and blind adult students there are a number of factors that need to be
considered--both in the basic education teaching context, where the adult
students are proficient English speakers, but need assistance in developing
literacy and GED knowledge and skills, and in the ESL context where the adults
are in the process of learning a new language and about a new culture, and often
need assistance in developing oral communication skills along with literacy.
1.
Teachers need to develop activities which include blind and
visually-impaired students as full participants, not as bystanders who need help
to be even minimally involved. Remember
no student is a "standard learner."
All students benefit from utilizing multiple senses and a variety of
approaches and methods. All people
use some sort of compensatory skills in exploring and participating in daily
life and learning experiences. we
need to utilize the many ways that all people learn.
2.
English communication skills--reading, writing, listening and
speaking--are vital for mastering the other compensatory skills necessary for
dignity, independence and full participation in North American society.
3.
By making lessons accessible to blind and visually-impaired students and
including them as full participants, teachers can help them focus on the English
communication skills needed to accomplish their life/career goals.
Blind and visually-impaired students need an emphasis on literacy as well
as oral skills. Braille or
large print literacy is important in functioning on a daily basis in one's
personal life, on the job and even often for learning technology.
Some
Pointers for Class Lessons and Tutoring Sessions
*
Encourage students to record sessions on cassettes for later review.
*
When students record sessions on cassettes encourage them to ask
questions about things that they are having difficulty understanding, and then
to record their own understanding of the answers (in their first language if
necessary). If this is not done,
recordings may be difficult to understand when reviewed later.
*
Blind and visually-impaired students should be given textbook lessons and
all other lesson materials in braille or their preferred size and font of print.
Adapted versions of textbook lessons and all other lesson materials should be
provided to the students well in advance of the class sessions in which they
will be used and well in advance of the time for the completion of homework
assignments based on them.
*
If material from the back of textbooks is utilized during class sessions
or for homework assignments, be sure to provide blind or visually-impaired
students with these materials in braille or their preferred size and font of
print well in advance of the class sessions in which they will be used and well
in advance of the time for the completion of homework assignments based on them.
*
Encourage students to take notes in the print size that they can best
read or in braille, to give natural practice in writing and reading, as well as
in thinking about the lesson material. Although
notetaking may be difficult in the beginning, it will only become easier if
students practice.
*
Use complete sentences when presenting a lesson.
Keep in mind that blind or visually-impaired students will not usually be
able to fill in the blanks in their minds both because they are in the process
of learning the English language and because they will have difficulty seeing
things that are referenced by simply being labeled in pictures or pointed to.
*
Record material for students with them present to insure that they can
understand the material, that the speed and tone you are using is understandable
to them, that you are spelling and clearly pronouncing words they feel they need
spelled and clearly pronounced, that you are referencing the numbers of the
written material that is being recorded, and that you are taking into account
other factors of importance to their ability to use the recordings later.
*
Homework and in-class assignments should not simply be written on the
board and/or written down by assistants for the blind or visually-impaired
students. Assignments can be
dictated to students to write down themselves in their preferred format.
Or they can be produced either in the appropriate size and font of print
or braille as well as being recorded on cassettes.
*
Students should prepare homework assignments that will be reviewed during
class sessions in their preferred reading and writing format--print handwriting
or computer-produced print of the appropriate size and font (if they have access
to computers for lesson preparation), or in braille.
In order to develop literacy skills and participate as equals along with
fully-sighted students, visually-impaired and blind students need to be able to
read out their answers to assignments rather than simply responding orally to
someone else's reading of assignment questions.
If they have difficulty reading any size and font of print, then braille
should be considered as a more appropriate literacy tool and they should be
given the opportunity to develop some proficiency in braille before continuing
in the mainstream class (unless advanced diabetes or other disorders interfere
with the ability to perceive writing tactually).
*
In addition, students should prepare homework assignments that will be
handed in to teachers in print handwriting or computer-produced print (in order
to develop their skill in communicating in writing with sighted people) as well
as making it possible for teachers to evaluate their work directly.
*
Students should prepare in-class assignments that will be reviewed during
class sessions in their preferred reading and writing format--print handwriting
or computer-produced print of the appropriate size and font for them to read (if
they have laptop computers available in class), or in braille.
In order to develop literacy skills and participate as equals along with
the fully-sighted students, visually-impaired and blind students need to be able
to read out their answers to assignments rather than simply responding orally to
someone else's reading of assignment questions.
If they have difficulty reading any size and font of print, then braille
should be considered as a more appropriate literacy tool and they should be
given the opportunity to develop some proficiency in braille before continuing
in the mainstream class (unless advanced diabetes or other disorders interfere
with the ability to perceive writing tactually).
*
In addition, students should prepare in-class assignments that will be
handed in to teachers in print handwriting or computer-produced print (in order
to develop their skill in communicating in writing with sighted people) as well
as making it possible for teachers to evaluate their work directly.
Students who are using braille will need to prepare the print versions to
be handed in after the class session in which they were reviewed.
*
Teachers should inform visually-impaired and blind students in advance of
the specific parts of assignments they will be asked to read out in class, so as
to make it possible for the students to clearly demark and find those parts when
they are needed. Otherwise, the
students may spend a lot of time and emotional energy on searching for the parts
required after they are called on. The
stress and embarrassment caused by this experience can greatly diminish
students' in-class participation and learning.
*
Blind and visually-impaired students should be given tests in braille or
their preferred size and font of print, and allowed at least double the amount
of time allowed fully-sighted students, to compensate for possibly slower rates
of reading and writing, and the time required in reading the test materials,
then writing down answers, then finding their place in the questions.
Administering tests orally does not provide students either the
opportunity or incentive to practice their literacy skills.
It is also a less accurate method of testing, since the reader often
inadvertently gives the student oral cues as to correct or incorrect answers.
*
There are numerous high tech tools that can assist people who are blind
or visually impaired with literacy related tasks.
There is no single multipurpose tool which can do all things, but
individual tools that are helpful with specific tasks.
For new English learners, the primary focus needs to be on appropriate
basic communications skills--listening and speaking, reading and writing with
appropriate size and fonts of print, or with braille--as part of communicative
teaching and learning strategies. Care
must be taken lest technology, not language, become the student's focus (and the
instructor's focus and fascination). As
noted earlier, this workshop's presenters are available to give referrals in
cases where students do not already have specialists they can call upon for
assistance with technology.
*
Hi tech tools can be used as supplementary tools by assisting in three
major areas:
1. accessing printed and electronic information
2. producing written communication
3.
producing materials in alternate formats.
*
Remember that before the adult with a visual impairment can fully
participate in and benefit from a mainstream ESL or ABE classroom she or he must
learn to compensate for the visual impairment by becoming competent in
compensatory skills. Along with
orientation and mobility skills, the most important compensatory skills are
those related to communication, including listening and speaking, reading and
writing using: large print and
handwriting and reading skills, or braille reading and writing skills,
notetaking skills, and skill in mathematical calculations.
The need that adult students
with visual impairments have to learn compensatory skills will vary depending on
the degree of their functional vision, visual efficiency, age of onset, effects
of additional disabilities, and the demands of the literacy tasks required for
achieving the students' goals. Compensatory skills cannot be taught by
mainstream adult ESL or ABE instructors. Students need to develop basic
proficiency in the necessary compensatory skills before entering a mainstream
adult basic education program in a community college or community-based
organization.
When the adult is a new English
learner, it is the role of the specialized ESL instructors to assess the
student's ability to perform various academic tasks fast enough, using
compensatory skills, to function efficiently in the mainstream ESL or ABE
classroom. Only through mastery of compensatory skills can an adult who is
visually impaired have access to learning in a manner equal to that of sighted
peers. If the student's ability to use compensatory and other communicative
skills to function efficiently in the mainstream ESL or ABE classroom is
overlooked, both the visually-impaired adult student and the mainstream adult
basic educator may have to deal with many challenges and discouragement's that
could be either avoided or reduced if competency in both compensatory and basic
communications skills are developed prior to entry.
Many people think that cassette
recorders and computers with synthesized voice technology make it unnecessary
for visually-impaired and blind people to read or write using large print or
braille. However, often reading large print or braille is an important part of
the process of learning computer and other technology, and later in learning
upgrades as they come out.
Moreover, obtaining information
and learning by listening to a recorded tape or listening to a computer with
synthesized speech is not an automatic process. It takes a lot of practice in
continuous concentration and remembering, as well as learning how to avoid or
cope with dozing during periods of study.
In addition, listening to tape
recordings or synthesized speech produced by a computer does not give general
literacy skills of reading, writing and spelling. Recorded material does not
usually contain information about spelling, punctuation or sentence and
paragraph structure. When recordings contain such information they tend to be
tedious and somewhat cumbersome to read because this basic literacy information
interferes with concentration on more complex meanings. Reading material oneself
is a much more efficient method for learning new subjects as well as for
developing the skill to do accurate and precise writing. Reading braille or
large print directly enables visually-impaired and blind people to become used
to the forms of words and sentences, so as to more easily spot their own writing
mistakes, rather than relying on others for correction.
It
is important for blind and visually-impaired new English adult learners who
cannot easily read and write print to utilize braille as a basic functional
literacy tool. They need to develop basic reading and writing skills using
braille rather than simply relying on tape recordings and computer synthesized
speech for reading and relying on dictating their words to other people or
computer voice recognition programs for writing. Audio recorders and computers
with voice output software are important supplemental tools. Utilizing computer
keyboard typing for writing to sighted instructors, family members, friends and
others who do not use braille is both necessary and desirable. But, only if a
person is physically unable to develop enough tactile sensitivity and skill to
read braille or enough muscular coordination to write in braille with a
braillewriter or slate and stylus, should audio recordings or computers be
utilized as the primary basic functional literacy tools.
In
most cases the problem is not the difficulty of learning to read or write
braille. The most common problem in learning to read braille is the lack of
practice. When students who are capable of developing the necessary tactual
skill are not given practice in learning to read braille, they will not develop
enough proficiency to be able to intelligently choose when to utilize braille or
when to choose audio recordings or a computer with voice output software for
reading. For those who have not developed proficiency in reading braille, it
will never be an acceptable choice, because it will always be judged to be too
onerous, and will be avoided even when an audio recording or a computer with
voice output software is not available for use.
The
most common problem in learning to write braille is that when students who are
capable of writing braille directly are not given the necessary practice in
learning to write braille with a six-key style braillewriter keyboard or with a
slate and stylus, they will not develop enough proficiency to be able to
intelligently choose when to write braille directly or when to utilize audio
recording or computers for writing. For those who have not developed proficiency
in writing braille directly it will never be an acceptable choice, because it
will always be judged to be too onerous, and will be avoided even when an audio
recorder or a computer with accessible software is not available for use.
This article was presented as part of Session Three: Braille and Large Print Literacy; Supplemental Technology, part of
Extending the Bridge: Helping
Tutors, Teachers, and Other Service Providers and Their Organizations to Better
Serve Blind and Visually-Impaired Adults Learning English as a Second Language
(ESL), Focusing on Literacy Acquisition a six-session series of information and
discussion.
This series was presented in
May and June of 2003. It was funded primarily by a grant from the American
Foundation for the Blind (AFB). In
2002, the presenters, Sylvie Kashdan, Robby Barnes and Cecilia Erin Walsh
attended a three-day training presented by the American Foundation For
The Blind National Literacy Center, entitled:
Bridging the Gap: Best
Practices for Instructing Adults Who Are Visually Impaired and Have Low Literacy
Skills. Following this training we
were invited to submit a proposal for sharing what we had learned.
Hence, this series, Extending the Bridge.
Other funding sources were St. James ESL Program, Kaizen Program for New
English Learners with Visual Limitations, and Washington State Office of Adult
Literacy. We also received help
from volunteers with research and organizational tasks.
CITATION:
Kashdan, Sylvie & Barnes, Robby (2003), Making Course Work Accessible. Workshop document; Seattle, U.S.A.
Kaizen Program
for
New English Learners with Visual Limitations
810-A Hiawatha Place S., Seattle, WA 98144, U.S.A.
phone: (206) 784-5619
email:
kaizen_esl@literacynet.org
web: http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/