AIM AND OBJECTIVES The investigation aimed to determine how the learning of the life sciences is facilitated (mediated) in special schools for blind learners and to establish how the lessons learnt from this experience could be implemented to the advantage of blind learners in the Senior Phase and Further Education and Training Band in inclusive Outcomes-based education settings. METHODOLOGY Educators and blind learners were interviewed through the use of the Qualitative Inquiry methodology as well as its techniques and strategies for data gathering. Analysis of the transcripts resulted in the development of themes/codes discussed in the research investigation. RESULTS Educators spent a good amount of time and effort with blind learners in the biology and life sciences classrooms. It appeared as if the pastoral role of the educator predominantly exceeded the teaching of biology and life sciences to these learners. Further, it became evident that the emphasis did not fall strongly enough on the achievement of the outcomes envisaged with the biology curriculum but more on the establishment of a caring and supportive classroom environment. CONCLUSIONS Biology and other life sciences subjects have much potential for the blind learners in South Africa but they are not offered at some of the schools or efficiently mediated due to educators’ reluctance, lack of knowledge and resources. Learning mediation strategies to make biology and life sciences more accessible to blind learners could be explored. / Thesis (PhD (Curriculum and Instructional Design and Development))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

Modern society is constantly changing paradigms resulting from the process of globalization and the advancement of technologies in the areas of communication and information technology. These changes give rise to a number of dilemmas for existing models in education, especially those developed for those with some limitations such as the visually impaired. The objective of this work is to propose a model of online activities for the blind using a virtual environment of inclusive learning, based on the Salmon model, as well as to propose a methodology in virtual learning environments. The proposed model is important from the point of view of inclusion, since it aims to work with the target audience of the visually impaired in the context of distance education. In order to validate the model, four distance learning courses were applied to special people (blind), using a virtual learning environment accessible called Eduquito, which was chosen because it has the 3 accessibility stamps. The model was formalized through the Petri network, which is an important mathematical and graphical tool that allows to analyze several types of systems, where it presents two types of vertices called place and transition. Transitions are represented by bars and places by circles, always being directed by arcs, from place to place, and from place to place. The results were: the system reached the objectives proposed as accessibility, motivation and knowledge acquisition; the special students (visually impaired) were satisfied and when they participated in the courses and the majority of the students approved the courses realized. This research contributed to special education, since it ratified that all human beings are equal, so it is not necessary to treat blind people as different because they can not see. After all, these people yearn for learning, they want to build new things and in this way expand their possibilities to broaden their communication, develop their skills and reach ever higher levels. / A sociedade moderna vive uma constante mudança de paradigmas decorrente do processo de globalização e do avanço das tecnologias nas áreas de comunicação e tecnologia da informação. Essas mudanças ocasionam uma série de dilemas para os modelos existentes na educação, principalmente nos desenvolvidos para quem possui alguma limitação como no caso dos deficientes visuais. O objetivo deste trabalho é propor um modelo de atividades online para cegos usando um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem inclusivo, com base no modelo de Salmon, como também propor uma metodologia em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem. O modelo proposto é importante do ponto de vista da inclusão, já que objetiva trabalhar com o público-alvo os deficientes visuais no contexto de educação a distância. Com a finalidade de validar o modelo, foi aplicado quatro cursos de educação a distância para pessoas especiais (cegos), utilizando um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem acessível denominado Eduquito, o qual foi escolhido em virtude possuir os 3 selos de acessibilidade. Foi feito a formalização do modelo através da rede de Petri, a qual é uma importante ferramenta matemática e gráfica que permite analisar vários tipos de sistemas, onde apresenta dois tipos de vértices denominados lugar e transição. As transições são representadas por barras e os lugares por círculos, sendo direcionados sempre por arcos, de lugar para transição e de transição para lugar. Os resultados foram: o sistema atingiu os objetivos propostos como acessibilidade, motivação e obtenção do conhecimento; os alunos especiais (deficientes visuais) se mostraram satisfeitos ao participarem dos cursos e a maioria dos alunos aprovaram os cursos realizados. A presente pesquisa contribuiu na educação especial, pois ratificou que todos os seres humanos são iguais, sendo assim, não é necessário tratar as pessoas cegas como diferentes porque não conseguem enxergar. Afinal de contas, estas pessoas anseiam por um aprendizado, desejam construir coisas novas e desta forma, expandir as suas possibilidades para ampliar a sua comunicação, desenvolver suas habilidades e atingirem patamares cada vez mais altos.

School inclusion of people with visual impairment should lead us to reflect how you are processing science teaching in inclusive schools. For the teaching of science and biology is characterized by extensive use of visual cues and are still scarce resources appropriate for teaching science aimed at students with visual impairment assistive technologies. Therefore, it is justified to consider a job using different assistive technology resources, tactile and sound, which can be used by these students , and the study of its feasibility of use. This study aimed to analyze the process of teaching and learning of Science with visually impaired students in a school of public schools in Aracaju, SE, as the use of assistive technology resources. Research uses qualitative approach adapting to molds case study. For data collection, the research was divided into three stages. At first, semi-structured interviews with students with visual impairments and their science teacher and not participating school interviews were conducted systematic observations. In the second step was performed in a validation group of different resources assistive technology developed by the researcher. In the third, the validated assistive technologies were used by teacher and students in science classes, that the opportunity was held not participating systematic observations. Finally, the opinions of survey participants was collected through semi - structured interviews after class. It can be noticed with this research, from the participants´ speech, that the conditions for learning science discipline, students with visual impairments included in this school are walking on the razor´s edge. Well, on one side there are the teachers interviewed, which have no initial or ongoing training about school inclusion of people with disabilities. Another, students with visual impairment, which merely "hear" the science classes, do assistive technology resources that provide access to strictly visual elements in science teaching were being used. According to students, the use of assistive technologies, which occurred in the third stage of this research, were extremely important to their learning because from these, they were able to access the knowledge of cells and tissues, since, according to them, without use of materials was difficult to understand the lesson. In short, we must go further and constantly hear actors inclusion, as students, subject teachers, specialist teachers of special education and all school staff, precisely because it is a recent, fluid and dynamic process that can be constantly improved as the reality that observes and experiences. / A inclusão escolar da pessoa com deficiência visual deve nos levar a uma reflexão de como está se processando o ensino de Ciências na escola inclusiva. Pois o ensino de Ciências e Biologia é caracterizado por uma ampla utilização de referências visuais e ainda são escassos os recursos de tecnologias assistivas apropriadps para o ensino de Ciências voltados a alunos com deficiência visual. Por esse motivo, justifica-se um trabalho que analise a utilização de diferentes recursos de tecnologia assistiva, táteis e sonoras, que possam ser utilizadas por estes alunos, e o estudo de sua viabilidade de uso. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo principal analisar o processo de ensino e aprendizagem de Ciências com alunos com deficiência visual em uma escola da rede pública de ensino em Aracaju, SE, quanto a utilização de recursos de tecnologia assistiva. A pesquisa faz uso de uma abordagem qualitativa, se adequando aos moldes do estudo de caso. Para a coleta de dados, a pesquisa foi dividida em três etapas. Na primeira, foram feitas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os alunos com deficiência visual e sua professora de ciências e observações sistemáticas não participantes das aulas. Na segunda etapa, foram realizadas reuniões com um grupo de validação para aperfeiçoar os diferentes recursos de tecnologia assistiva elaborados pela pesquisadora. Na terceira, as tecnologias assistivas validadas foram utilizadas pela professora e alunos em aulas de Ciências, que na oportunidade realizou-se observações sistemáticas não participantes. Por fim, as opiniões dos participantes da pesquisa foram coletadas por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, após as aulas. Pode-se perceber com esta pesquisa, a partir das falas dos participantes e observações realizadas, que as condições de aprendizagem da disciplina Ciências, dos alunos com deficiência visual incluídos nesta escola, não estavam condizentes com uma efetiva inclusão escolar, pois, de um lado encontravam-se as professoras entrevistadas, que não possuíam qualquer formação inicial ou continuada a respeito da inclusão escolar da pessoa com deficiência. Do outro, os alunos com deficiência visual, que se limitavam a ouvir as aulas de ciências, pois não estavam sendo utilizados recursos de tecnologia assistiva que proporcionassem o acesso a elementos estritamente visuais no ensino de ciências. Segundo os alunos, o uso das tecnologias assistivas, que ocorreram na terceira etapa desta pesquisa, foram de extrema importância para sua aprendizagem, pois a partir dessas, eles puderam ter acesso aos conhecimentos de células e tecidos, já que, segundo eles, sem a utilização dos materiais ficava difícil de entender a aula. Em suma, é preciso ir além e constantemente ouvir os atores da inclusão, como alunos, professores de disciplinas, professores especializados da educação especial e toda a equipe escolar, justamente por se tratar de um processo recente, fluido e dinâmico, para que possa ser aperfeiçoado constantemente conforme a realidade que se observa e vivencia.

Die in MEDIBUS organisierten Blindenbüchereien sehen sich als Partner der kommerziellen Verlagswelt und nicht als deren Konkurrenten. Die sehr geringen Auflagenhöhen und die speziellen Anforderungen bei der Aufbereitung von Literatur in Brailleschrift und Großdruck wecken in aller Regel nur wenig verlegerisches Interesse. Die wachsende Auswahl an mobilen Endgeräten, Medienkonvergenz und Diversifikation von Angeboten sind Chancen der digitalen Revolution, die es ermöglichen, auch Menschen mit speziellen Bedürfnissen zeitnah und in adäquater Qualität Wissen zugänglich zu machen. libreka! und die DZB kooperieren im Projekt „Leibniz – Sach- und Fachbuchaufbereitung für Blinde und Sehbehinderte“, um PDF- und Satzdaten zu verarbeiten und deren digitale Verbreitung sowohl für sehende als auch für nichtsehende Leserinnen und Leser zu forcieren. DAISY-Standards und -Technologien sind dabei der Schlüssel zum Erfolg.

In this presentation, various projects at DZB will be described, concerning various collaborations with publishing houses and Libreka! – an online platform of the German association of publishers “Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels”, to improve the workflow of transformation of typesetting data into the DAISY 3 format. By developing adaptive content processing facilities, this data can be used to increase the availability of publications in Braille, DAISY and large Print.

Due to the shortage of geographical information suitable for the visually impaired, the current navigation systems fail to provide high quality performance. The results of an international survey on the user needs are discussed in this article. A collaborative accessibility approach (COACH) is proposed to not only extend accessible geo-information, but also offer an opportunity to share experiences among peers. Related topics are addressed, like map data, multimodal annotation, and privacy.

The diploma thesis is focused on the support of early intervention in the inclusion of a visually impaired child into kindergarten. The work describes the development of a child with visual impairment at an early age. It also focuses on early care providing support to families with children with visual or combined disabilities, pre-school education and the support from a special education center. The aim of the work was to find out what is important for the parents of a visually impaired child when choosing a kindergarten, whether the inclusion is in accordance with the legislation and whether a multidisciplinary team participates in the support. As part of the research survey, qualitative research, aimed at monitoring family support for the inclusion of a visually impaired child in kindergarten by early care, was carried out. The results show that for families when choosing a kindergarten, it is most important to obtain information about the possibilities of including a child. Early intervention provides families with important information not only about the possibilities of inclusion, but also about the use of counseling services of a special pedagogical center. The choice of kindergarten is up to the parents, who take into account different aspects when choosing. An important indicator is the...

Thesis (M. A. (Information Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The contribution of library and information services in general towards academic performance improvement of visually impaired students cannot be emphasised. At the University of Limpopo, visually impaired students, like any other students, are continually exposed to an overwhelming mass of visual materials such as textbooks, course outlines, class timetables, lecture notes, whiteboards, writing, memos etcetera. In addition, the use of videos, computers and Blackboard adds to the volume of visual materials to which they have only limited access. One would content that the University of Limpopo, especially after establishing the Audio-Braille library, has done reasonably well in a bid to improving library services of students living with disabilities, however, this is not the reality to the visually impaired themselves. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of the Audio-Braille library in contributing towards the academic performance of students with visual impairments at the University of Limpopo, South Africa. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in this study. The researcher distributed questionnaires to all visually impaired students registered for the 2017 academic year at the University of Limpopo’s Reakgona Disability Centre and conducted interviews with the lecturers who teach these students. The findings indicate that although many students acknowledged the library’s contribution, a greater number of respondents revealed that the library lack relevant up-to-date academic reading material in alternative formats such as braille, large print as well as electronic. The main value of this study is to impart knowledge by pointing out major contributions of the Audio-Braille library with hope that this knowledge will encourage and motivates visually impaired students to make use of the library. Students could improve on their academic performance, abilities and possibilities, and boost their confidence and self-esteem by fully using the Audio-Braille library and its resources. Access to the relevant library facilities and resources ameliorates effects of their disabilities and gives them a chance to be “equal” to the so-called normal students v The findings of this study will also help in enhancing both the quality of education for the visually impaired, as well as the Audio-Braille library services because there is still a lot of inexperience around library services for visually impaired students at the University of Limpopo and maybe in other universities as well. Therefore, the AudioBraille library must ensure that all visually impaired students receive unsurpassed library and information services like any other students by expanding its collection so that student receive books, information, lecturer notes and other study materials that they need in their academic development process in appropriate formats.

Ce travail se concentre sur une tâche de micro-navigation en plein air où le but est de naviguer vers une adresse de rue spécifiée en utilisant plusieurs modalités (par exemple, images, texte de scène et GPS). La tâche de micro-navigation extérieure s’avère etre un défi important pour de nombreuses personnes malvoyantes, ce que nous démontrons à travers des entretiens et des études de marché, et nous limitons notre définition des problèmes à leurs besoins. Nous expérimentons d’abord avec un monde en grille partiellement observable (Grid-Street et Grid City) contenant des maisons, des numéros de rue et des régions navigables. Ensuite, nous introduisons le Environnement de Trottoir pour la Navigation Visuelle (ETNV), qui contient des images panoramiques avec des boîtes englobantes pour les numéros de maison, les portes et les panneaux de nom de rue, et des formulations pour plusieurs tâches de navigation. Dans SEVN, nous formons un modèle de politique pour fusionner des observations multimodales sous la forme d’images à résolution variable, de texte visible et de données GPS simulées afin de naviguer vers une porte d’objectif. Nous entraînons ce modèle en utilisant l’algorithme d’apprentissage par renforcement, Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO). Nous espérons que cette thèse fournira une base pour d’autres recherches sur la création d’agents pouvant aider les membres de la communauté des gens malvoyantes à naviguer le monde. / This work focuses on an Outdoor Micro-Navigation (OMN) task in which the goal is to navigate to a specified street address using multiple modalities including images, scene-text, and GPS. This task is a significant challenge to many Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) people, which we demonstrate through interviews and market research. To investigate the feasibility of solving this task with Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL), we first introduce two partially observable grid-worlds, Grid-Street and Grid City, containing houses, street numbers, and navigable regions. In these environments, we train an agent to find specific houses using local observations under a variety of training procedures. We parameterize our agent with a neural network and train using reinforcement learning methods. Next, we introduce the Sidewalk Environment for Visual Navigation (SEVN), which contains panoramic images with labels for house numbers, doors, and street name signs, and formulations for several navigation tasks. In SEVN, we train another neural network model using Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) to fuse multi-modal observations in the form of variable resolution images, visible text, and simulated GPS data, and to use this representation to navigate to goal doors. Our best model used all available modalities and was able to navigate to over 100 goals with an 85% success rate. We found that models with access to only a subset of these modalities performed significantly worse, supporting the need for a multi-modal approach to the OMN task. We hope that this thesis provides a foundation for further research into the creation of agents to assist members of the BVI community to safely navigate.

Infografik har blivit en populär metod för att visualisera information i det digitala samhället. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på hur användare med normal synförmåga på webben uppfattar infografik, men det finns ett behov av att undersöka infografik utifrån ett tillgänglighetsperspektiv för att inkludera användare med synvariationer. I denna studie presenteras designkonceptet “IFA”, som står för “Infografik För Alla”, som är framtaget i syfte att ta reda på hur ett designkoncept för infografik mot en synvarierad målgrupp kan konceptualiseras för att stödja dessa. Konceptet tas fram i enlighet med konceptdriven designforskning. I konceptet presenteras ett eget bidrag i form av färg, nämligen violett, något som författarna inte stött på tidigare inom ämnets forskningsfält. Tidigare rekommenderade färger som turkos och magenta testades och visade sig vara otillgängliga för målgruppen. I övrigt bekräftade konceptet även befintliga teorier, som vikten av hög kontrast mellan text och bakgrund och en lagom stor typgrad. Förslag på framtida forskning kan vara att testa konceptet “IFA” i en verklig kontext, samt att ta fram en version av konceptet som bygger på motsatsen till vad som rekommenderas i denna studie, detta för att kunna jämföra effekterna i en verklighetskontext. / Infographics has become a popular method for displaying information in the digital society. Previous research have mainly focused on how people with normal visual ability perceive infographics on the web, but there is a certain need to examine infographics from a perspective that focuses on accessibility to include people with visual impairment. This paper presents the design concept “IFA”, which stands for “Infographics For All”. The concept was developed with the aim of finding out how a design concept for infographics for the visually impaired can be designed, and was developed by concept-driven design research. The design concept presents a color contribution, the color violet, which the authors have not encountered in the research field of the subject before. Previously recommended colors such as turquoise and magenta were tested and proved inaccessible to the target group. The research of the design concept also confirmed existing theories, such as the importance of high contrast between text and background and fairly large font sizes. Suggestions for future research may contain to test the concept, “IFA”, in a real-life user context, as well as to develop a version of the concept that is based on the opposite of what is recommended in this thesis, to compare the effects of the concepts in a real-life user context.