What is it about?
Students with Visual Impairments are often dehumanized in mathematics education based upon deficit perspectives, on the assumption that mathematics learning must be visual, and a lack of tools that allow students on the entire spectrum of vision to collaborate mathematically. The current advent of Assistive Learning Technologies holds promises in helping students with visual impairments learn mathematics, however, these emerging technologies attempt to solve this issue by translating non-textual mathematics information into auditory or haptic output, so students with visual impairments can hear or touch a graph. These technologies are impressive, but how do they actually connect with how these students learn and understand mathematics, especially since they approach mathematics from a non-sighted perspective? We, the two authors, one blind and one sighted, use a disability studies and rehumanizing mathematics education framework to examine currently available assistive learning technologies. We organize our findings using the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) model, then offer a critical analysis of 14 studies involving assistive technology for students with visual impairments. Lastly, this review not only examines the current advancements in assistive technologies, but also connects them to learning theories from the realms of disability studies and rehumanizing mathematics education.
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Why is it important?
Our findings show that only a few technologies recognized the unique mathematical experiences of students with visual impairments or empowered them to create and own their own mathematical knowledge through collaboration with all students on the spectrum of vision. We hope that this paper will greatly contribute to recognize that the problems that students with visual impairments face in learning mathematics is not due to their impairment, but in societal attitudes and treatments of these students. Consequently, this will promote societal awareness to view students with visual impairments from a rehumanizing mathematics education perspective. This allows the recognition that all students are capable of “doing” mathematics and continually creating mathematical knowledge through connecting their experiences and social interactions, remaking mathematics from a non-visual perspective is.
Perspectives
We approach this literature review not only as educational researchers, but through our personal connection to the debilitating ways students with visual impairments are positioned in mathematics education. We argue that blindness must no longer be regarded as a deficit but an aspect of human variation that requires new and alternative ways of communication and discourse that serves all learners. We, therefore, invite practitioners, educators, and policymakers to “see” students with visual impairments not as a vulnerable group. We call for the expansion of mathematics to include multi-modal communication as opposed to assistive learning technologies that simply replace visual information. We hope the learning technology community continues to develop and explore assistive technologies that empower these students, evolving and growing theoretical foundations so that students with visual impairments will be able to work with tools that modify and redefine how we all approach mathematics learning. We also look forward to assistive learning technologies that do not focus just on visual, audio, and tactile feedback, but move towards true multimodal perception by incorporating senses such as smell, taste, and motion.
Ishtiaq Ahmed
The Ohio State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Assistive learning technologies for students with visual impairments: A critical rehumanizing review, Investigations in Mathematics Learning, April 2018, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/19477503.2018.1463005.
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