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impairment covers a whole spectrum,
from people who are only slightly
affected to the very small proportion
who are totally blind and cannot distinguish
light from dark. Few people realise
that complete blindness affects only
a small minority of people, nor that
only 3 per cent of people registered
blind and partially sighted use Braille.
Impact on learning
The most obvious impact of blindness
or partial sight on learning basic
skills is that learners are not able
to access standard 'written' text
or numbers. Teachers of partially
sighted children have to ensure that
suitable alternative formats are available.
The challenge for schools and colleges
supporting partially sighted students
is that there is not just one format
that suits all. Most partially sighted
people have their own preferred system
of accessing information. Even legibility
depends on many factors. The most
common preferences include one or
a combination of the following: large
print, various combinations of print
colours to background colour, audio,
or Braille.
Technology
Technology has had a huge impact on
the capacity of blind and partially
sighted people to access information.
As technology advances, the options
for blind and partially sighted people
continue to increase.
The Royal National College for the
Blind in Hereford, has over 130 years
experience in delivering programmes
to people who are blind or partially
sighted. Over 35 programmes encompass
all areas of the curriculum and support
progression into Higher Education.
Staff at the RNCB continually research
and evaluate the various technologies
on offer, to find solutions to suit
each of the 180 Partially Sighted
Students. Every year, more people
who are blind or partially sighted
enrol at RNC than any other specialist
residential college in the UK.
Individual study is catered for in
the College’s Flexible Learning
Centre (FLC). Open seven days per
week and weekday evenings it has a
network of computers, each having
the latest technology – low
vision aids, CCTVs, screen readers,
speech and magnification software.
The PCs give unlimited access to the
Internet, the College intranet and
also personal email accounts. Students
can magnify the images and text on
the screen, however with the advantages
of this, comes the disadvantage of
the restriction of the viewable area
– resulting in the students
continually scrolling horizontally
and vertically. With consideration
for the benefits of magnification,
forward thinking Shirely Evans of
the RNCB decided to evaluate a SMART
board interactive whiteboard to effectively
increase the image size without the
need for scrolling. Bristol Education
recommended Smarter Solutions as the
preferred reseller. Smarter Solutions
subsequently provided an on-site demonstration
and consultation regarding the optimum
use of the board. Seeing an appropriate
use for one of SMART Technologie’s
software applications, they also demonstrated
“SynchronEyes” and value
that this would provide.
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Supporting
the numerous learning styles within
any class is a challenge for all teachers,
however at RNCB, working with some
students at PCs each having colour,
font style and size preferences, with
others in front of the Interactive
Whiteboard, adds additional challenges.
To manage the diversity of the student
legibility preferences, RNCB do use
SMART’s SynchronEyes software
application. “The use of SynchronEyes
to link groups of PCs so the Visually
Impaired learner can follow what you
are writing on the SMART board on
their own screen allows the lecturer
to give a lecture more in a way that
they would to fully sighted learners,
allowing more flexibility and spontaneity”,
explains Shirley. The students can
also save their preferred viewing
style on the network.
The evaluation confirmed Shirley’s
idea, and Smarter Solutions implemented
the board and carried out 2 on-site
training sessions. While some students
still found it easier to see images
on a PC screen, others found that
the SMART Board provided the ideal
answer.
“Using the SMART Board Interactive
Whiteboard has provided a completely
versatile way of teaching to different
student styles”, explains Shirley.
"Students of all sightedness
are experiencing a fresh perspective
on learning. ICT is empowering pupils
to manage their own studying in a
style right for them," declares
Lesley Wells from the RNCB Research
Task Force. “Together, we are
pushing the boundaries of IT capabilities
and discovering abundant resources
on-line. Stepping into this brave
new world is made easier for teachers,
as the student’s enthusiasm
and fearless approach towards new
technology spurs them on".
“Before we knew anything about
the Prep Grant, there were several
reasons for our decision to invest
in a SMART Board,” explains
Shirley. “Originally, with the
difficulties that our students have,
we found it to be very robust. As
we always have to consider costs,
the fact that all new versions of
the software application that comes
with the board can be upgraded free
of charge was also a key consideration.
The touch sensitivity was something
that was also a major benefit for
our students. The use of Interactive
Whiteboard pens is not ideal for all
the students, as location of the pens
is an additional burden, so the touch
sensitivity of the SMART Board was
preferable.”
Other software used at RNCB includes
the latest upgrade of SMART Board
Interactive Whiteboard software (free
to download from the smartboard web
site), which offers the ability to
record the boards written activity
including voice. This is a particularly
useful tool for the Visually Impaired
Students.
Supporting Information
For further information on The Royal
National College for the Blind,
visi:t www.rncb.ac.uk
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