Enabling Education of Children with Visual Impairment in Schools through Assistive Technology

Abstract

Technology has emerged as a revolution in all walks of life. It has contributed significantly in empowering the disabled human race and help them overcome previously insurmountable barriers which led to their seclusion and ignorance.Assistive technology in particular has helped the students with low vision and blindness in accessing the curriculum.Technology should be considered as one of the important components of teaching learning material in an inclusive setup. Teachers need to make use of Assistive Technology to promote inclusion and meet the varied requirements needs of the students in the same class.A variety of Assistive Technology (AT) devices are available that can help teachers facilitate the process of curriculum transaction in the classroom and bridge the educational needs of students with disabilities. Research has proven evidences that technology has a significant impact on learning of the students in the areas of STEM and language learning as well particularly in reading and writing.This paper discusses the various assistive technologies which can be utilized for promoting inclusion and leveling the playfield of students with blindness in particular.It is the responsibility of the teacher to integrate the student with visual impairment as much as possible with all the relevant adoptions as could be and transact the curriculum to her/him effectively. To do this, the teachers must first be aware of what all adoptions and technologies exist and how they could be utilized in the classroom for effective delivery of the lessons and mainstreaming the children with visual impairment.