Visual information and the blind student: the problem of access

Abstract

Information transfer on university level courses, particularly those in science related subjects, is often visual. This poses a problem for blind students wishing to pursue such subjects. Between 1990 and 1993 the Tactile Diagram Research Unit at Loughborough University followed eight such students through their courses to investigate how the problem can be tackled in practice. Students accessed visual information through verbal description and through tactile diagrams, sometimes used in conjunction with the audio-tactile device Nomad. The results indicate that tactile representations are the favoured method of transfer for much of this information. Their greater use at this level of education is advocated.