Background
“All individuals are equal, without any kind of distinction, guaranteeing [...] the inviolability of the right to life, liberty, equality, security, and property [...]” (translated by the authors)
“Education is a right of individuals with impairments that must be secured at all educational levels [...], in order to achieve the maximum possible development of their talents and their physical, sensory, intellectual, and social skills, according to their characteristics, interests and learning needs [...]. It is a public authority incumbency to ensure, create, develop, implement, encourage, monitor and evaluate: [...] XIII - Access to higher and technological education in equal opportunities and conditions [...]” (translated by the authors)
Inclusion of visually impaired learners in the computing field
Methods
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Institutional provision for educators and learners;
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Changes in didactic methods (lecture style, accessibility of graphical representations, assessment, and group activities); and
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Perception of changes in didactic methods.
Results: educators’ practices and visually impaired learners’ perceptions
Results for educators
Institutional provision
“Teaching students with visual impairment was a challenge for me. I have not received instructions (...) and I had to (handle the situation all by myself).”
“It was an interesting experience dealing with this situation. I could see how unprepared we are to receive students with any kind of difficulty. Anyway, my adaptation to the new situation was quick and I believe for other educators as well, but it is necessary to rethink the teaching strategies to improve inclusion.”
“[...] I understand that many educators feel unprepared to carry out the task of teaching students with visual impairment. Teaching professionals need to receive training and to develop the skills required to teach students with special needs.”
Learner assessment and group work
Lecture style and educational material
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Using a specific part of the blackboard (for learners with low vision);
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Changing font size (use of larger fonts);
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Delivering accessible material after the lecture;
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Delivering accessible material prior to the lecture; and
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Changing verbalization—repetitively verbalized the blackboard content;
Approaches to make graphical representations accessible
Influence of institutional provision in other aspects
Involved in group activities | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No | Yes | |||
Institutional | No | 7 | 37 | 44 |
Provision | Yes | 2 | 10 | 12 |
9 | 47 | 56 |
Assessed learners differently | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No | Yes | |||
Institutional | No | 22 | 22 | 44 |
Provision | Yes | 7 | 5 | 12 |
29 | 27 | 56 |
Made graphical representations accessible | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No | Yes | |||
Institutional | No | 5 | 24 | 29 |
Provision | Yes | 0 | 11 | 11 |
5 | 35 | 40 |
Changed lecture style over blackboard | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No | Yes | |||
Institutional | No | 6 | 33 | 39 |
Provision | Yes | 0 | 8 | 8 |
6 | 41 | 47 |
Results for learners
Educational level and institutions
Difficulties due to visual impairment
“(I felt a) lack of proper (institutional) support... They provided the minimum... I... filled in the questionnaire about disabilities..., asking (for) a(n) (assistant) to help me in the classroom, so that I could (have a better interaction)..., but I did not receive any support. (The results of the education process) depended mainly on the good will of the (educators). There were no tactile floors and means to locate myself...”
“(I noticed a)... lack of (educators) knowledge about the peculiarities of visual impairment. For example, the educators have an ingrained habit of pointing the items in the slides without mentioning their names or giving more details about the layout of the content. (Additionally, there were) laboratories with computers without screen readers and EAD platforms (that did not meet) the minimum accessibility requirements.”
Accessible books and assistant support
Approaches educators used to make graphical representations accessible
Collaboration with classmates related to graphical representations
Assessment
Problematic topics
Discussion
Result contextualization
Class style and material
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Use of smartboards: some smartboards have integrated OCR and its content can be accessed in real-time. Despite being an interesting approach, it can be expensive;
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Use of multimedia projector real-time collaborative text editors: instead of using the blackboard, educators can project documents and share them with learners using real-time collaborative text editors. The visually impaired learners would be able to access the content of the virtual “blackboard” in real time during the lecture.