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ABSTRACT
For a very long time we have recognised the value of pictures and images in a printed book. We use graphics to summarise and condense information, show relationships between objects or ideas, to teach children about the physical environment, and to depict humour and other abstract concepts.
However, when the book is intended for a blind child or adult, there is always the problem of making the ideas and information contained in a graphic accessible.
Children who are blind and visually impaired have major problems in two fundamental activities in life; communication and mobility. The use and understanding of tactile graphics plays a vital role in both of these areas.
Yet there is a recognised lack of published tactile graphic materials available. In an integrated educational setting it is often a struggle to provide meaningful tactile graphic material to a blind student in a timely fashion. Educational professionals may not be able to produce all of the required tactile graphics and the student is then disadvantaged by missing out on the important information they contain.
In education generally, the
use of graphics has increased dramatically. Textbooks, especially in the
sciences, were once predominantly text with a few supporting diagrams.
Now they are predominantly graphics, with text playing a supporting role.
Job opportunities in the decades to come will require subjects that have
a high graphical content, such as science and mathematics.
Parents of blind children usually know the individual interests and information needs of their children, yet have no easy and quick way of producing meaningful materials. Given the right tools, however, parents can actively participate in the educational process by producing tactile graphics relevant to non-academic areas, covering subjects as diverse as sport, favourite animals, maps of where their grandparents live or where their ancestors came from, as well as mobility maps specific to their own neighbourhood.
Parents and educational professionals thus share a common problem in lacking the time and tools needed to produce tactile graphics. Traditional methods of making tactile graphics mostly involve "one-off" or small volume production methods. In addition to being time consuming, this also limits the uniformity of information. There is a lack of internationally recognised standards for preparing graphical information.
This presentation will describe new products and methods for producing and using tactile graphics. Emphasis will be placed on technology solutions with a view to creating libraries of information, for regional, national and international dissemination. With the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web, easy storage and exchange of tactile graphic information is now a real possibility.
The presentation will also discuss the presentation of information in an audio-tactile format. Even when tactile graphics are available, they are often most meaningful, when someone else describes them. This means that blind students are not receiving independent access to information. Also, only limited amounts of information can usually be included on a tactile graphic. By their nature, tactile graphics only contain a small percentage of an equivalent printed graphic.
Audio-tactile information is a possible gateway to the future where graphical information will become accessible to all blind people. Projects involving the use and production of audio-tactile materials in the US, Germany and Australia will be discussed.
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Language of Presentation: English
This Abstract is for a Workshop ____ Poster Session
ICEVI
10TH WORLD CONFERENCE
ICEVI 10TH WORLD CONFERENCE
OFFICIAL SUMMARY STATEMENT
Title of Presentation: TOUCHING PICTURES! THE HOW AND WHY OF TACTILE GRAPHICS
Presenting Author: Tim Connell
Managing
Director
Quantum
Technology, Australia
SUMMARY STATEMENT
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The use of graphical information is increasing rapidly in education and the general community and this is becoming a barrier to equal access and opportunity.
This presentation reviews new technology solutions for producing tactile graphics suitable for mass production and distribution via electronic services such as the Internet and the World Wide Web.
The role of teachers and parents in producing tactile graphics and in making them meaningful will be discussed.
The current state of the art of audio-tactile presentation of information will also be reviewed, with examples of projects from the US, Germany and Australia.
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THIS SUMMARY STATEMENT IS FOR A Workshop ____ Poster Session