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Marc Jenks
Dr. Joni Flowers
EDU 214 (1006)
24 November 2015
Visual Impairment: Seeing Diagrams and Images
For those who have full use of their eyes, vision can be something taken for granted.
When people with sight imagine learning without their eyes, they immediately think of programs
that read aloud text. Not many think of the learning gap that is created in geometry and higher
math. Not only does information need to be learned by letters, words, and sentencesinformation
needs to be learned by shapes and characters that must be spatially placed in and specific
proximity to other characters, like in an algebraic equation with exponents and fractions. This new
approach to braille and visual assistance is an output assistive device that is being called
Automatic Text-to-Diagram Conversion (Mukherjee). This system has not been given a marketed
name yet and as of 2013 was still in testing and development.
Assistive Technology plays a crucial role in the inclusion movement, which brings
students with disabilities into the general learning environment (Bargerhuff). As teachers become
aware of needs to adapt their lecture styles for the benefit of visually impaired students, they may
be naturally animated in their teaching style. They may also be a visual-leaning teacher, who
depends on images and graphics. One could imagine the challenge it would be to adapt this type
of communication. A simple exercise to demonstrate the difficulty is to blindfold a partner and go
into a kitchen where everything is needed to make a pizza. The task would be to give verbal
instruction to the blindfolded partner. There is little doubt that many would be frustrated in not
being able to show the partner where to move or how to do a task. Teaching the blind can be
like this for teachers, especially when they need to manage the rest of the class, as well.

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Text to speech (TTS) technology is very accessible and is available on all mobile smart
devices. Software recognizes words and plays them aloud so that a visually impaired person can
read. Braille has been around for almost 200 years and is another well-known way that they can
read. It is a binary language that uses raised dots or palpable texture on a surface that can be felt
by fingers and formed into words or images. Up to this level of technology, the teacher has been
given their mouth as a tool and the blindfold. The task of instructing can still create a massive
learning gap when wanting to use visual shortcuts like showing the class a graph or picture.
There are some text to graphic printers that use braille cells to map a simple image. The
systems are usually too expensive for schools to use widely. The RCC Institute of Information
Technology in India has addressed the cost issue by developing a way to convert natural text or
speech into a diagram in digital form. The conversion uses their Automatic Text-to-Diagram
Conversion system. From that point, it can be run through a braille mapping application to create
a diagram in tactile form. Now, the diagram can be printed or embossed with a traditional
affordable braille text printer. The cells are set up and used much like an x/y graph with
coordinates. The braille dots are looked at by the software as it would a pixel. It searches for a
braille dot that is nearest to the place a pixel would be switched on, and an image is drawn. This
can be extremely useful, but the largest limitation is that a visual assistant needs to set up, operate,
and troubleshoot the device. There are other amazing devices that teachers can use to bridge the
learning gap for the blind. Haptic Glove Technology which allows teachers to gesture is another
helpful aid. These two working in the same classroom will allow blind students to grasp geometry
and other concepts that are best taught with imagery and graphic layout. Integrating visually
impaired students can be one of the greatest challenges for a math teacher who is teaching a class
of 30 students, and with training and a few hundred dollars, this gap can be bridged.

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Works Cited
Bargerhuff, Mary Ellen, et al. "Haptic Glove Technology: Skill Development through Video
Game Play." Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness 104.11 (2010): 68899. ProQuest. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.
Mukherjee, Anirban, Utpal Garain, and Arindam Biswas. "Experimenting with Automatic
Text-to-Diagram Conversion: A Novel Teaching Aid for the Blind People." Journal of
Educational Technology & Society 17.3 (2014): 40,40?53. ProQuest. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.