Soon, accessible e-texts for low-vision students
The method used allows students to build upon their inherent learning requirements instead of being limited to using existing study materials that may have challenging barriers.
Illustration: Varghese Kallada
CHENNAI: For the first time, the Tamil Nadu government will be introducing accessible digital textbooks for low-vision students of classes 1 to 12. An accessible digital textbook is a tool that follows the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) methodologies to allow all students, especially those with visual disabilities, to access information in alternative formats.
The method used allows students to build upon their inherent learning requirements instead of being limited to using existing study materials that may have challenging barriers.
A senior official from the School Education Department told DT Next that accessible digital text provides options, where text can be converted easily to audio, can be displayed in different fonts, colours, and layouts on the screen, and can be simplified as per the requirement of the students.
“This inherent flexibility allows digital text to be accessible to students with vision impairments and even students with learning disabilities and others who simply prefer to modify or access text to suit their preferences,” he added.
According to the official, the goal of the pilot initiative to develop accessible digital textbooks was to enhance the opportunities for children with vision disabilities to improve their learning outcomes by providing them access to the curriculum in multiple mediums.
Stating that the digital content will be prepared by the Tamil Nadu State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) involving academicians and experts in digital printing technology, he said instead of a written assessment to judge a student’s knowledge, they can use multimodal tools available on computers and mobile devices to express information orally or visually”.
“Once the required digital textbooks are prepared, the number of visual impairments will be identified,” he said adding, “Teachers will be given training on how to teach to access the digital textbooks for the children”.
The official said the training objective was to help teachers use inclusive pedagogies, to understand how the accessible digital textbooks prototype functions.
