Visual Impairment - Resources

Visual impairment was defined by the presenters as, any diagnosed condition of the eye or visual condition that cannot be corrected to within normal limits. People who are legally blind may still have vision and the sight simulator passed around gave us the opportunity to experience how a person who is legally blind sees. We then discussed how students would be affected if they were to develop a visual impairment after they were born. This was highlighted in the Hamish and Andy video where Andy was blind for the week and showed how difficult it was to deal with the loss of his sight, not being born with vision impairment. He had anxiety attacks and found it difficult to cope and keep up with all the noise going on around him. Students with a visual impairment would doubtlessly feel exactly the same way, and therefore the importance of using resources to assist these students is imperative, not only to their learning but also their everyday life.

The speakers discussed a range of resources such as programs, apps, books, websites and braille. I was not aware that the Guide Dogs Association provided so many resources and programs to assist people with visual impairment. The speakers illustrated how this organisation can assist students with a VI by simply teaching them how to travel to and from school. Vision Australia was another resource shown that I found extremely useful and interesting, its aim too eliminate discrimination against people with visual impairment in society. I feel as though this should start in the classroom, as educating students can easily spread to educating the community. Other interesting resources discussed included chromevox for visually impaired users, colour ID app, and simply adjusting the settings on a standard iPad to suit a student with a VI. I own an iPad myself, and I did not know half the features that were included that could assist a student with a VI in the classroom, so that knowledge was particularly helpful. The main resource I found could be used specifically in the classroom was the Mimio Teach Interactive System and Mimiocapture ink recorder. This amazing piece of technology would be particularly useful in a maths lessons as it records and relays information in chronological order from the whiteboard to the students screen, so they are able to adjust the visuals to suit their individual needs. Braille is also especially important for people to learn braille in maths and science due to spatial concepts. I could easily incorporate these resources into my classroom to further assist students with a VI.

One of the speakers discussed her findings when asking an array of people with visual importance their opinion in regards to whether braille is still relevant and useful in the technological world we now live in. All people surveyed said that it was important and still relevant, one person saying that "it puts me on the same level playing field as a sighted person". This allowed me to understand that even though a myriad of technologically advanced resources are now available, offering students a hard copy (braille) is clearly important in their educational development. The speakers also discussed how the educational level of the parents influences development delay on the communication and socialisation of the children with a visual impairment. This means that as a teacher I will need to ensure I am doing all I can to support, encourage and educate any students with a visual impairment in my classroom, by using the resources mentioned as well as building and maintaining a strong collaborative relationship with the students parents, specialists and other influential people related to the well being of the child.