BASAER Team: The First Arabic Robot Team for Building the Capacities of Visually Impaired Students to Build and Program Robots

Abstract

the purpose of this study was to examine whether visually impaired students can build educational robots and program them if they receive adapted materials and instructions with guided instruction from well-trained educators in the fields of inclusive STEM Classrooms. Discussion of the technologies and our experimental approach is presented in this paper and validated through the continued successful effort with visually impaired students for two years of the program and specialists in the field of visual impairment and STEAM, we also validated our approach by performing experimental classes for students with different visual impairments and ages. The results indicated that the approach used by BASAER team was successful in enabling the blind and visually impaired students to build and program educational robotics and to participate effectively in national and international STEAM programs and competitions, with some limitations and Challenges encountered and explored during this research. The results from this study will be used to suggest a fully adapted system to support full inclusion for blind and visually impaired students in educational robots in STEAM context and to promote the adoption of this study and similar studies toward Inclusive STEM Classrooms.

Leveraging Robotics to Enhance Accessibility and Engagement in Mathematics Education for Vision-Impaired Students

“…Robots such as LEGO Mindstorms EV3, NXT, WeDo [51,52], and microcontrollers like Arduino [53] and Raspberry Pi [54] are affordable educational tools educators can use to teach STEM. These resources provide tactile and interactive learning experiences that actively engage students in hands-on exploration and problem-solving.…”

Breaking through Barriers: A Systematic Review of Extended Reality in Education for the Visually Impaired

“…The education of visually impaired (VI) people is crucial in ensuring they have equal access to information and opportunities. Thus, ensuring they can access accessible educational resources is essential in promoting their educational inclusion and success [1,2]. Traditionally, education for individuals with visual impairments has relied on adapted materials and specialized methodologies [3].…”