Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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What can teachers and instructors do make the life of visually impaired people better? (self.Blind)
submitted by jaromir39
I teach at a University. I love teaching and always try to deliver good classes. Because I have a child with a hearing disability, I have become more aware of accessibility issues. I have been putting more information in my slides and handouts, rather than just saying them in the hope that maybe that helps people who cannot hear.
But then I realised that by moving information onto the slides, I might be making the life of students with visual impairment more difficult. I have been reading a bit online about this (my University never offered a course or training). But I wanted to ask in this community: if you are or were a student, what things have instructors done that helped you learn better? I thank you very much in advance!
But then I realised that by moving information onto the slides, I might be making the life of students with visual impairment more difficult. I have been reading a bit online about this (my University never offered a course or training). But I wanted to ask in this community: if you are or were a student, what things have instructors done that helped you learn better? I thank you very much in advance!
tasareinspace 11 points 3y ago
Honestly, sending the slides out before class is a small thing you can do- this way the VI students can take a peek/listen at them. And make sure they're accessible. If you have a VI friend or colleague who can check for you the first few times till you get the hang of it that would be great.
Also, describe your images to the level of detail you need to. Could be as simple as "University Logo" or as detailed as "photograph of Bob Smith, a bearded man with dark hair and light skin, holding up a complex math equation reading blah blah blah..."
It is REALLY great that you are trying and thank you!
(not a blind student myself, but the parent of a middle schooler)
I will never forget the time in elementary school that they photocopied her assignment (part of her IEP said that she needed her assignments made larger) in black and white and every single question was like "what percentage of the graph is blue? what percentage of the graph is red?". I don't see this being a problem in 2020 at the college level because everything is digital, but don't forget to "double check" to make sure your attempts to make things more accessible in one way don't completely mess it up in another way.
Also, describe your images to the level of detail you need to. Could be as simple as "University Logo" or as detailed as "photograph of Bob Smith, a bearded man with dark hair and light skin, holding up a complex math equation reading blah blah blah..."
It is REALLY great that you are trying and thank you!
(not a blind student myself, but the parent of a middle schooler)
I will never forget the time in elementary school that they photocopied her assignment (part of her IEP said that she needed her assignments made larger) in black and white and every single question was like "what percentage of the graph is blue? what percentage of the graph is red?". I don't see this being a problem in 2020 at the college level because everything is digital, but don't forget to "double check" to make sure your attempts to make things more accessible in one way don't completely mess it up in another way.
jaromir39 [OP] 2 points 3y ago
I always post the slides in advance, but sometimes only hours in advance. The idea was that students can take notes in their ipads or printed slides. I never thought this could a be a great way for visually impaired to study them in advance.
I will certainly rethink many of my images. I teach things like statistics and business, and the tendency is to make richer graphs (there is better software today, screens have high resolution, etc.). But that seems like a bad idea for the VI students.
I will certainly rethink many of my images. I teach things like statistics and business, and the tendency is to make richer graphs (there is better software today, screens have high resolution, etc.). But that seems like a bad idea for the VI students.
tasareinspace 2 points 3y ago
I think there's probably a lot more resources for this but here's a couple articles about accessable graphs and charts from reliable sources:
https://www.afb.org/aw/19/7/15075
https://www.perkinselearning.org/accessible-science/blog/analyzing-bar-and-pie-graphs
A member of my household works at a university, so this is just fresh on my mind, since a lot of educational places are doing reviews at this time of year- make sure you set one of your goals as your classes being more accessible! You're already doing the research and the work and calling your boss's attention to what you're doing will hopefully help spread thinking about accessibility to your department!
https://www.afb.org/aw/19/7/15075
https://www.perkinselearning.org/accessible-science/blog/analyzing-bar-and-pie-graphs
A member of my household works at a university, so this is just fresh on my mind, since a lot of educational places are doing reviews at this time of year- make sure you set one of your goals as your classes being more accessible! You're already doing the research and the work and calling your boss's attention to what you're doing will hopefully help spread thinking about accessibility to your department!
jaromir39 [OP] 3 points 3y ago
Very nice resource! I teach methodological and fairly quantitative courses, so this is right down my alley. I tend to read the graph, but not always, and not entirely. And that will change next semester. I will try to make sure every element of my visualisations is at least mentioned.
pterofly 6 points 3y ago
First it is important to understand that people have different needs / will find different things helpful. My advice would be to just try and make it known that you are willing to be helpful to your students / that you are approachable and happy to try and come up with solutions etc
When I was at university I was mostly provided with slides in advance, either paper or electronic via email (from the more tech savvy / helpful lecturers I had!)
We had an online portal where lecturers could upload lecture slides / notes, some lecturers would add these prior to the lecture starting so I could access them that way.
I would also record some of my lectures with a dictaphone, I would give it to the lecture at the beginning so they could place it at the front so I'd get a decent recording.
When I was at university I was mostly provided with slides in advance, either paper or electronic via email (from the more tech savvy / helpful lecturers I had!)
We had an online portal where lecturers could upload lecture slides / notes, some lecturers would add these prior to the lecture starting so I could access them that way.
I would also record some of my lectures with a dictaphone, I would give it to the lecture at the beginning so they could place it at the front so I'd get a decent recording.
jaromir39 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
I will do that next time. Try to open my door to anyone who wants to give feedback or advice (right now a "virtual" door, because everything is online because of COVID19).
I already upload the slides. With only teaching I have started uploading some of the videos of the class. But I also realize that when I write on the ipad, I may or may not be saying what I write. I would say, "we take logarithms of both sides and obtain THIS", without saying what "this" is because I am writing it.
All this discussion makes me realize how "ableist" I was when thinking about lecture delivery.
I already upload the slides. With only teaching I have started uploading some of the videos of the class. But I also realize that when I write on the ipad, I may or may not be saying what I write. I would say, "we take logarithms of both sides and obtain THIS", without saying what "this" is because I am writing it.
All this discussion makes me realize how "ableist" I was when thinking about lecture delivery.
poochbrah 5 points 3y ago
A minor thing that really helps me is for the presenter to read aloud what's on the presentation rather than saying "read this" or pointing to the slide.
An audio described presentation if you will
An audio described presentation if you will
jaromir39 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Many thanks! It is a good point. Unfortunately when we are "taught" how to present, they tell us not to "read slides". Which makes sense until you realise that not everyone can properly see the slides. I will think about what is a good solution to this.
rauling-on-a-river 5 points 3y ago
First up, thank you for wanting to learn, my lecturers don’t even try to understand my needs and I’m heading intomy third year. I learn electronically because I can’t see paper so for me I have the slides on my device in front of me so I can zoom in as I need it. I also use my online learning environment and I downalod documents from there. What I will say is don’t make your slides/documents too overloaded with colour it’s distressing for a lot of people’s eyes and if you’re using text boxes for people to fill in try to not have them super colourful or have the text and the boxes too hard to see (like pale green background with pale yellow writing) and just ask, that’s my preferences but others might want different ☺️
jaromir39 [OP] 3 points 3y ago
Thank you very much. I always thought colour would help provide information easily and never occurred to me that it could make life difficult. I have been trying to the extent that I can to move to palettes that are easier cor the colour-blind to perceive.
One solution is to create different sets of slides. It is marginally more work, but I can add more text for the hard-of-hearing and less for others.
Thanks. I still have a lot to learn and think about this issue!
One solution is to create different sets of slides. It is marginally more work, but I can add more text for the hard-of-hearing and less for others.
Thanks. I still have a lot to learn and think about this issue!
thumpetto007 2 points 3y ago
I want to follow this, and learn.
AlexDalcourt 1 points 3y ago
You are going so well already! A lot of teachers dont even consider partially sighted folk when making plans. If you have specific student in mind, ask them!!! We are used to self advocating for our needs so ask what they need!
State that you are welcoming and understanding of any needs of students with struggles, this way they wont be afraid to ask for help!
Here are a few tricks to help!
-Record your class and post it online.
-Narrate your class a little more than usual so they know what's going on (repeat things that are visual so they have a chance to process it.)
-find the optimal brightness for the class for your partially sighted students.
-most universities have an accessibility centre, make sure your students have access to it.
-leave slides up longer than usual and make sure everyone got the notes down or knows what's going on before moving on.
-Post the PowerPoint on line so partially sighted students can follow along.
Just remember that you recognizing a visually impaired person's needs is a huge step to making sure your classroom is accessible. Good job! Good luck ❤
Message me for any other questions or info
State that you are welcoming and understanding of any needs of students with struggles, this way they wont be afraid to ask for help!
Here are a few tricks to help!
-Record your class and post it online.
-Narrate your class a little more than usual so they know what's going on (repeat things that are visual so they have a chance to process it.)
-find the optimal brightness for the class for your partially sighted students.
-most universities have an accessibility centre, make sure your students have access to it.
-leave slides up longer than usual and make sure everyone got the notes down or knows what's going on before moving on.
-Post the PowerPoint on line so partially sighted students can follow along.
Just remember that you recognizing a visually impaired person's needs is a huge step to making sure your classroom is accessible. Good job! Good luck ❤
Message me for any other questions or info
jaromir39 [OP] 2 points 3y ago
Sorry for the late reply (probably the time zone!). I will try to make myself more available. I need to find a balance between their privacy or desire not to out their accessibility needs and my efforts to help and include them.
This and other replies made me think that I need to get more in touch with the department that deals with accessibility. 90% of the effort goes into mobility (e.g., ramps, buildings). I am not going to judge how they invest their money and resources, but I would certainly ask more about what exactly is being done for hearing and visually impaired students and staff.
For instance, for years I have been complaining to the dean's office about the shitty projectors we have. The resolution is terrible, the brightness also. Now I have a reason to keep making this point and bring it to the university level.
Many thanks!
This and other replies made me think that I need to get more in touch with the department that deals with accessibility. 90% of the effort goes into mobility (e.g., ramps, buildings). I am not going to judge how they invest their money and resources, but I would certainly ask more about what exactly is being done for hearing and visually impaired students and staff.
For instance, for years I have been complaining to the dean's office about the shitty projectors we have. The resolution is terrible, the brightness also. Now I have a reason to keep making this point and bring it to the university level.
Many thanks!
AlexDalcourt 1 points 3y ago
No problem! Read up about disability laws in your state/province so you have legal supports for your requests.
The best option for privacy about accessibility needs is to have a suggestion box or online box where students can anonymously suggest ways to make their experience more accessible. You can get them to email you or video call via zoom etc. You dont have to talk in front of other students.
It's so amazing you recognize the issue of privacy though it's not something many consider.
I congratulate you on being an ally to the disabled community, you are doing your part to make sure your space is better ❤❤❤
The best option for privacy about accessibility needs is to have a suggestion box or online box where students can anonymously suggest ways to make their experience more accessible. You can get them to email you or video call via zoom etc. You dont have to talk in front of other students.
It's so amazing you recognize the issue of privacy though it's not something many consider.
I congratulate you on being an ally to the disabled community, you are doing your part to make sure your space is better ❤❤❤
jaromir39 [OP] 2 points 3y ago
Thanks. I will report back!
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