Teaching Accessible Computing
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Ebrima Jarjue
I am blind, a father of three daughters, a non-traditional student, and a senior at University of Maryland (UMD), College Park majoring in information science at the UMD iSchool hoping to specialize in human-computer interaction in graduate studies. I value education not only in the practical sense but also for how it shapes me as a person and allows me to contribute to our society.
Are there Hour of Code activities that are accessible to students with visual impairments?
Code.org’s Hour of Code activities are one-hour tutorials designed to expose K-12 students to coding and other aspects of computer science. Although there are numerous Hour of Code projects, many are not accessible to students who are blind and visually impaired. However, there are two that utilize the Quorum programming language and are accessible.
Are there resources to help individuals who are blind build hardware devices?
Yes. For example, there is a community of individuals who are blind and use the Arduino platform to build hardware devices. Arduino allows users to build digital devices that can sense and control objects in the physical world.
How are the terms low vision, visually impaired, and blind defined?
Low vision is used to describe a loss of visual acuity while retaining some vision. It applies to individuals with sight who are unable to read a newspaper at a normal distance of viewing, even with the aid of glasses or contact lenses. People with low vision often need adaptations in lighting and/or enlarged print to read something. There are two specific types of low vision:
In what format will a student who is blind turn in assignments and tests?
In most cases, a student who is blind will type written assignments on the computer. The assignments can then be submitted online via the same methods as their sighted counterparts, as long as those methods are designed in a way that is accessible to students' assistive technologies.
Students who are blind can also submit materials in print form, or via email, flash drive, or via file-transfer service, depending on the preferences of the student and instructor. Sometimes, particularly during tests, students may also dictate short answers to a reader who will handwrite responses.
Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI)
Does a student who is blind need accommodations to benefit from class discussions?
Yes. It is most helpful if all speakers identify themselves by name prior to responding to a question or making a discussion comment. Any demonstrations or visual aides will also need to be verbally described.
Are there scientific and graphing calculators that can be used by students who are blind?
Calculators are commonly used at every education level. Calculators that can perform statistical or scientific calculations, manipulate matrices, and plot functions on a graph are particularly helpful in the study of higher-level mathematics. Although most scientific or graphing calculators are not accessible to someone who does not have usable sight, there are options available that allow students who are blind to use these tools successfully.
What is Nemeth Code?
Nemeth Code is a special type of braille used for math and science notations. It was developed in 1946 by Dr. Abraham Nemeth as part of his doctoral studies in mathematics. In 1952, the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) accepted Nemeth Code as the standard code for representing math and science expressions in braille. With Nemeth Code, one can render all mathematical and technical documents into six-dot braille, including expressions in these areas:
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