Technology Today: Inclusive or Exclusionary for Students with Vision Impairment?

Opie, Jill

doi:10.1080/1034912x.2018.1433294

Cited by 8 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Within mainstream Australian schools, it is estimated there are approximately 4,000 students with vision impairment (Opie, 2018b) with only 320 students identified as having a severe vision impairment or blindness (Deloitte Access Economics, 2016). In classrooms, barriers exist for students with vision impairment as the physical space within the school, curriculum, and assessment are designed for those who can see (Morris & Sharma, 2011).…”

Section: What Is Vision Impairment?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This can be further emphasised by the number of people, glare, and changes of gradient. Orientation and mobility instructors work with students with verified vision impairments to assist them to independently navigate through the school, as well as to and from their homes (Opie, 2018b). This professional assistance is essential for success for students with a vision impairment to safely engage in their environment.…”

Section: Physical Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Initial teacher education courses in Australia only recently began including subjects aimed at a broad introduction to inclusion and differentiation, and within a typical teaching period are only able to cover surface content about a wide variety of issues pertaining to cultural, linguistic, and special needs inclusion (Brown, Packer, & Passmore, 2013;Cain & Fanshawe, 2019a). It is unlikely that teachers have personally experienced the adaptive technologies used by students with vision impairment and may have had little training on the devices prior to use in their classroom (Opie, 2018b). Additionally, they may have had little experience assisting a student with vision impairment to access the curriculum (Thurston, 2014).…”

Section: Training For Inclusivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that a disability is defined by the interaction of a person and their environment (WHO, 2018), technology in classrooms today has the potential to decrease the impact of their disability for students with vision impairment (Opie, 2018b). According to Jones, Rudinger, Williams, & Witcher (2018) "assistive technology is one of the essential components for promoting inclusion of students with disability" (p. 29).…”

Section: Embrace Assistive Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Digital technology can allow students access to online information, make connections through social media and communicate asynchronously with their peers, affording increased social participation (Jessup, et al, 2018). Using mainstream technologies with in-built accessibility functions, assists students to feel less different as their peers are using the same devices in the classroom and as such, more likely to utilise technology to access curriculum and content (Opie, 2018b).…”

Section: Embrace Assistive Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Catering for the Specialized Needs of Students With Vision Impairment in Mainstream Classes

Cain

Fanshawe

2020

Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education

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Thousands of students with vision impairment or blindness attend mainstream schools in Australia. Their experiences depend on multiple pertinent factors, including teachers' understanding of the legal requirements to abide by the inclusive education agenda, schools' understanding of the nature of vision impairments, and the challenges they present to learning. Educators' willingness to take on advice regarding adjustments to the curriculum, assessment, technology, and learning environment are also critical to success for such students. This chapter puts forward the voices of students with vision impairment or blindness to provide a picture of the types of alternative formats used in schools today, including braille and assistive technologies. The voices share how important it is for students to be included in all areas of their education to achieve a sense of belonging and acceptance affording them true inclusion. A list of practical recommendations to assist teachers encourage inclusion academically, socially, and physically is detailed in this chapter.

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Section: What Is Vision Impairment?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Physical Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Training For Inclusivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Embrace Assistive Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Embrace Assistive Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Catering for the Specialized Needs of Students With Vision Impairment in Mainstream Classes

Cain

Fanshawe

2020

Advances in Early Childhood and K-12 Education

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Assistive technologies for visual impairments: Development and validation of self‐efficacy scale for preservice teachers

Baser,

Kamali‐Arslantas

2024

Psychology in the Schools

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This article describes the development and validation process of a scale designed to assess the assistive technology (AT) knowledge of preservice special education teachers related to visual impairment (VI). The scale was administered to two groups of preservice special education teachers, and data from the first group (N = 291) were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results of the EFA revealed that the scale had a five‐factor structure, which included “braille technologies,” “accessibility for documents and software,” “AT for diverse needs,” “AT for accessing print,” and “AT for transforming content into accessible digital format.” Based on the findings of the EFA, the researchers revised the scale and applied it to the second group of preservice teachers (N = 119) to confirm the five‐factor structure through a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The fit indices calculated during the CFA indicated a good model fit. By following a systematic approach, a valid 23‐item scale for assessing AT knowledge related to VI was developed. This study offers a useful assessment tool and knowledge constructs for designing AT courses.

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Equity analysis of an augmented reality‐mediated group activity in a college biochemistry classroom

et al. 2023

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The use of two‐dimensional images to teach students about three‐dimensional molecules continues to be a prevalent issue in many classrooms. As affordable visualization technologies continue to advance, there has been an increasing interest to utilize novel technology, such as augmented reality (AR), in the development of molecular visualization tools. Existing evaluations of these visual–spatial learning tools focus primarily on student performance and attitude, with little attention toward potential inequity in student participation. Our study adds to the current literature on introducing molecular visualization technology in biochemistry classrooms by examining the potential inequity in a group activity mediated by AR technology. Adapting the participatory equity framework to our specific context, we view equity and inequity in terms of access to the technological conversational floor, a social space created when people enter technology‐mediated joint endeavors. We explore three questions: What are the different ways students interact with an AR model of the potassium channel? What are salient patterns of participation that may signify inequity in classroom technology use? What is the interplay between group social dynamics and the introduction of AR technology in the context of a technology‐mediated group activity? Pairing qualitative analysis with quantitative metrics, our mixed‐methods approach produced a complex story of student participation in an AR‐mediated group activity. The patterns of student participation showed that equity and inequity in an AR‐mediated biochemistry group learning activity are fluid and multifaceted. It was observed that students who gave more explanations during group discussion also had more interactions with the AR model (i.e., they had greater access to the technological conversational floor), and their opinion of the AR model may have greater influence on how their group engage with the AR model. This study provides more nuanced ways of conceptualizing equity and inequity in biochemistry learning settings.

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Technology Today: Inclusive or Exclusionary for Students with Vision Impairment?

Cited by 8 publications

References 40 publications

Catering for the Specialized Needs of Students With Vision Impairment in Mainstream Classes

Catering for the Specialized Needs of Students With Vision Impairment in Mainstream Classes

Assistive technologies for visual impairments: Development and validation of self‐efficacy scale for preservice teachers

Equity analysis of an augmented reality‐mediated group activity in a college biochemistry classroom

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