assistive’technology’for’mathematics’for’blind’and...

AT for Mathematics for Blind and VI 1 2013 Jessica Castellini

Assistive Technology for Mathematics for Blind and Visually Impaired

When calculator use is introduced in the math curriculum, the use of assistive technology is a necessity. Finding the one that best suits the needs of the student is important to the success of the student in a particular math class. A solution for low vision users could be to use their CCTV with the given calculator; however, this might not always be a convenient or portable solution. As with recommending any piece of AT, there are many considerations to ensure the most appropriate hardware/software is chosen for a student; student/school Factors (current placement, computer availability, keyboarding skills, student ability (learning modes-‐auditory, LP, Braille, etc.), student needs, motivation, responsibility, future placement, school environment), weight/portability, utility, intended use vs. need, adaptability/flexibility/expandability, compatibility with other systems, learnability-‐learning curve of device, supportability-‐(installation, training, maintenance-‐-‐from vendor, customers), other devices needed; i.e. cables, adapters, software, etc., reliability, cost-‐fundability.

It is important to choose the solution that best suits the individual’s needs. Also, in regard to calculators, each calculator will have a variety of features that may or may not suit the needs of the student in a particular math class. Calculator solutions should be decided with current and future needs in mind.

Large Display Scientific/Graphing Calculator Solutions

Software Example: Features/Description: How to purchase: System Requirements TI-‐SmartView™ Emulator Software for the TI-‐30X/TI-‐34 MultiView™ Calculators *$99.95 (Single User CD) (Mac / Win)

Emulator software that can be used for students with Visual Impairments whose class is using the TI-‐30X or TI-‐34 scientific calculators. This software can be downloaded to a computer in the classroom and a computer at home for homework, or a laptop that travels with the student. Since the student will have the same calculator as everyone in the class, they will be able to participate in class activities that involve the calculator, including calculator tutorials. Can control the calculator using the mouse OR keyboard shortcuts. Outside training for the user interface and if the student needed to learn the shortcut keys for the calculator buttons. TI-‐Software to be used in

http://education.ti.com Most school districts already have this software for their teachers to use on projectors. Check with the students school district or math departments first. Call TI at 1-‐800-‐TI-‐CARES or e-‐mail at ti-‐[email protected]. They can give you a list of vendors from whom you can make your purchase.

Windows: Operating Systems supported: Windows Vista® 32-‐bit (Home Premium/Ultimate/Business) Windows® XP (Home or Professional edition) with Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3 Windows® 7 ( Home Premium/Professional/Ultimate) Browser Support: Microsoft Internet Explorer® version 6.0 or higher Mozilla® Firefox® version 3.0 or higher Apple Safari® version 3.0 or higher Other Requirements: 900 MHz Pentium-‐compatible CPU 1 GB RAM 500 MB of available hard-‐disk space CD-‐ROM drive and an active Internet connection for installation

MAC: Operating Systems supported: Mac® OS X 10.6.8 or 10.7 Browser Support: Mozilla® Firefox® version 3.0


conjunction with screen enlargement software (ZoomText), or operating systems built-‐in accessibility features. TI-‐SmartView emulator software for the TI-‐30X/TI-‐34 MultiViewTM

projects an interactive representation of the calculator.

or higher Apple Safari® version 3.0 or higher. Other Requirements: Intel Processor 1 GB RAM 500 MB of available hard-‐disk space CD-‐ROM drive and an active Internet connection for installation

TI-‐SmartView™ Emulator Software for the TI-‐73 Explorer™ Graphing Calculator *$129.95

Emulator software that can be used for students with Visual Impairments whose class is using the TI-‐73 Explorer graphing calculator. This software can be downloaded to a computer in the classroom and a computer at home for homework, or a laptop that travels with the student. Since the student will have the same calculator as everyone in the class, they will be able to participate in class activities that involve the calculator, including calculator tutorials. Can control the calculator using the mouse OR keyboard shortcuts. Outside training for the user interface and if the student needed to learn the shortcut keys for the calculator buttons. TI-‐Software to be used in conjunction with screen enlargement software (ZoomText), or operating systems built-‐in accessibility features. In addition to all the same features that made TI-‐SmartView Emulator Software for the TI-‐84 Plus Family so popular, the TI-‐SmartView emulator software for TI-‐73

http://education.ti.com Most school districts already have this software for their teachers to use on projectors. Check with the students school district or math departments first. Call TI at 1-‐800-‐TI-‐CARES or e-‐mail at ti-‐[email protected]. They can give you a list of vendors from whom you can make your purchase.

Windows:

Operating systems supported: Microsoft® Windows Vista® 32-‐bit (Home Premium/Ultimate/Business) Windows XP (Home or Professional edition) with Service Pack 2 Windows 2000 Professional edition with Service Pack 4

Browser support: Internet Explorer® 6.0 or later Netscape® 5.0 or later Opera 7.0 or later Mozilla® Firefox® 1.0

Other requirements: 900 MHz Pentium-‐compatible CPU 512 MB RAM 125 MB of avilable hard-‐disk space CD-‐ROM drive or active Internet connection for installation Mac: Operating systems supported: Apple® Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5

Supported browsers: Safari® 2.0 or later Mozilla® Firefox® 1.0 or later AOL® Browser 1.0 Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 or later Netscape® 5.0 or later

Other requirements: G3 CPU or later (900 MHz) 512 MB RAM 40 MB of available hard-‐disk space CD-‐ROM drive or Internet


Explorer is an easy and effective way to lead classroom instruction of middle grades mathematics concepts.

connection for installation

TI-‐SmartView™ Emulator Software for the TI-‐84 Plus Family *$135.00

Emulator software that can be used for students with Visual Impairments whose class is using the TI-‐84 Plus Family graphing calculator. This software can be downloaded to a computer in the classroom and a computer at home for homework, or a laptop that travels with the student. Since the student will have the same calculator as everyone in the class, they will be able to participate in class activities that involve the calculator, including calculator tutorials. Can control the calculator using the mouse OR keyboard shortcuts. Outside training for the user interface and if the student needed to learn the shortcut keys for the calculator buttons. TI-‐Software to be used in conjunction with screen enlargement software (ZoomText), or operating systems built-‐in accessibility features. This easy-‐to-‐use software complements the TI-‐83 Plus and TI-‐84 Plus families of graphing calculators, letting the educator project an interactive representation of the calculator’s display to the entire class. It is an ideal demonstration tool for leading classroom instruction of math and science concept

http://education.ti.com Most school districts already have this software for their teachers to use on projectors. Check with the students school district or math departments first. Call TI at 1-‐800-‐TI-‐CARES or e-‐mail at ti-‐[email protected]. They can give you a list of vendors from whom you can make your purchase. *Vernier offers this software.

Windows: Windows® XP Professional SP 2 or SP 3, Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1, Windows Vista® Ultimate SP1, Windows Vista® Business SP1, Windows® Home Premium, Windows® 7 Ultimate, Windows® 7 Professional • Processor Speed: 1.2 GHz or higher

recommended • RAM: 1 GB • Hard drive: Approximately 1 GB of

available hard-‐disk space • Compatible with 32-‐bit and 64-‐bit

Operating Systems • Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 • CD-‐ROM drive or active internet


Mac: Mac® OS X 10.6.8, Mac® OS X 10.7 • Processor: Intel® Processor • RAM: 512 MB • Hard Drive: Approximately 300 MB of

available hard-‐disk space • Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 • CD-‐ROM drive or active internet



Sci-‐Plus 200 $249.00

The Sci-‐Plus is the only large display calculator that allows people with low vision to perform scientific, statistical and trigonometric calculations. • Rugged, portable case • High contrast LCD display with

enlarged, proportional numerals

• Enlarged, highly visible keypad (0.7” keys) with positive activation & color differentiated operation keys

• Long life lithium battery • Large print user-‐manual • Universal recharger • Weighs only 14 ounces • Size: 9” x 6” x 1.3”H


Scientific Notebook (SN) (a software package) $150.00

If your student has a laptop, SN can be installed on it, and then you actually have a very portable device, which is more than just a graphing scientific calculator. SN is also a math/text processor, so your student could do all of his assignments, calculations, and graphs in one document directly on the laptop. It has onscreen magnification up to 400%, or ZoomText may be used. In addition, two large print fonts are available from MAVIS, which will allow further onscreen magnification and large print hard copies.

*Offers free 30-‐day trial version. http://www.mackichan.com/licensing.net/dnloadreq.aspx

E-‐mail: [email protected]

Website: http://www.mackichan.com With Scientific Notebook, create attractive documents with text, mathematics, and graphics, have it compute the solutions, import data from your graphing calculator, connect to the Internet and download documents.

Microsoft Windows® NT 4.0, or Windows® 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows® 7 or later Apple Macintosh® running an emulator program such as Virtual PC™, Parallels, or the free Virtual Box running a version of Windows® listed above • 64 MB of RAM • 35 to 250 MB hard disk space, depending

on the type of hard drive and the installation options selected

• CD-‐ROM drive


*Vernier offers the TI-‐84 Plus Family software and a good explanation of licensing: http://www.vernier.com/products/texas-‐instruments/software/smartview/


Talking Scientific/Graphing Calculator

Hardware/Software Example Features/Description: How to purchase: System Requirements:

Talking Scientific Calculator: ORION TI-‐34 $249.95

The Orion TI-‐36x Talking Scientific Calculator is ideal for advanced algebra, trigonometry, computer science, chemistry, and statistics. Perfect for high school students or teachers. It has all the mathematical features of the TI-‐36, but it has also been enhanced for greater usability. It's highly portable and pocket sized, so you can take it anywhere. Voice is easy to hear and each key is spoken when pressed. Features • Clear, high-‐quality, natural speech • Choice of speech modes for quiet or verbose

operation • Unique learning mode for key identification

without interrupting operation • Ergonomically designed for use by the

visually impaired • Over 127 scientific functions • Large, tactile, functionally zoned keys • High capacity rechargeable battery for over 6

hours of continuous operation • Battery or AC adapter operation • Easy on/off control, auto power-‐off • Protective snap cover • Small and light weight

Orbit Research 3422 Old Capitol Trail, Suite 585 Wilmington, DE 19808 Phone: 888-‐60-‐ORBIT, FAX 888-‐606-‐7248 Website: http://www.orbitresearch.com/

Talking Graphic Calculator: ORION TI-‐84 Plus

A graphing calculator is an absolute necessity in today's high-‐school curricula, in higher education and for professionals. The Orion TI-‐84 Plus is the world's first fully accessible handheld graphing calculator. Based on the popular TI-‐84 Plus model from Texas Instruments, the market-‐leader in calculators and educational technology, the Orion TI-‐84 Plus represents a breakthrough in STEM education for blind and visually-‐impaired students. Since its functions are exactly the same as the TI-‐84 Plus, the Orion TI-‐84 Plus Talking Graphing

*The Orion TI-‐84 Plus will be available through APH's Federal Quota Program and units will ship in time for the 2013-‐2014 school year.

http://www.aph.org/newsrel/20130226Talking-‐Graphing-‐Calculator.html


Calculator is very easy for teachers to help with. A high-‐quality, synthesized voice announces each key and the answer on the display, providing a choice of speech rates, voices, etc. Features • Easy for teachers to help with -‐ LCD display

and keypad functionality are identical to the standard TI-‐84 Plus

• Amazing list of scientific, statistical, and financial functions

• Unique Learning Mode for instantaneous key identification without interrupting operation

• Calculator functions have the benefit of decades of experience from TI, the world leader in calculators

• Full access to all menus, expressions, text, and symbols displayed on the screen

• Use the screen reader to review the screen without losing your place

• Superb synthesized speech quality with choice of voices, speech rates, and pitch

• Full access to graphs through speech output of coordinates and the innovative SonoGraphTM, including differential sounds for negative regions and axis crossing points

• Unique haptic feedback for multi-‐modal visualization of graphs

• Listen using stereo earphones or built-‐in stereo speakers

• Ergonomically designed; Large, tactile, functionally zoned keys

• Each key is spoken when pressed • Repeat facility to speak the display (or parts

of it) at any time • Scroll the history of calculations and quickly

recall input/output • High capacity rechargeable battery • Battery or AC adapter operation; charge

from a USB port • Connect to your computer via USB cable to


print or emboss graphs and other work (requires a printer or embosser)

• Expandable hardware accessories using USB port

• Fully upgradable via supplied USB cable • Dimensions: 9.3 inches x 3.5 inches x 1 inch • Included accessories: High quality stereo

earphones for private use, AC adapter/charger, user manual

• One-‐year limited warranty

Talking Scientific Calculator: iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch with Talking Scientific Calculator app $4.99-‐app

Works with VO for Blind users, offers multiple voices including student recorded voices, offers multiple view options (high contrast, etc).

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/talking-‐scientific-‐calculator/id411433609?mt=8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e40bM_RU7o

iPad iPhone iPod Touch

Talking Scientific Calculator: SciPlus 300 $325.00

All the features of the SciPlus 200 with the addition of: • Selectable speech output with volume

control • Fraction calculations • Backspace key • Variable decimal settings • Headphone or external speaker jack

(earbuds supplied)


Talking Graphing Calculator: ViewPlus Accessible Graphing Calculator (AGC) $295

• Describes graph shapes through audio tones and cues

• Tactile output options, however, only with ViewPlus embossers

• Middle school algebra and above

Background

The use of a scientific graphing calculator is now an integral part of advanced mathematics classrooms across the U.S., and they are a requirement for many statewide assessments.

The Audio Graphing Calculator (AGC) is a computer software program available from ViewPlus Technologies, Inc. www.viewplus.com The AGC was first introduced in March 2001 as the Accessible Graphing Calculator. Since that time, ViewPlus released Version 2 in 2006 and most recently Version 3 in 2007 and changed its name to the Audio Graphing Calculator.

As you know from previous evaluations, I am always looking for the "best buy" in any math technology. However, although my definition of best buy includes price affordability -‐ user-‐friendliness, features, and reliability are equally important.

Affordability

You may download a free 30-‐day fully functional copy of the AGC from the web at http://downloads.viewplus.com/software/AGC/. Then, check it out for yourself to make sure that it is the right product for your needs. The cost of a single copy license is $295. You can upgrade AGC 2.0 to 3.0 for $195.

User-‐Friendliness The AGC was developed from the ground up to be of universal design, and it is a Windows computer program that features a graphing calculator capable of displaying graphs both visually and audibly as a tone graph. With technology specifically designed for the blind,

*Offers free 30-‐day fully functional copy of the AGC. http://downloads.viewplus.com/software/AGC/

ViewPlusTechnologies, Inc. 1853 SW Airport Avenue Corvallis, OR 97330 Phone: 866-‐836-‐2184 FAX 541-‐738-‐6505 E-‐mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.ViewPlus.com

Windows: Operating System:Windows 7 (32-‐ and 64-‐bit), Vista (32-‐ and 64-‐bit), XP (32-‐bit) CPU: 200 MHz Pentium (or equivalent) processor Memory: 256MB or more Hard Drive Usage: Up to 35 MB Sound: Windows compatible sound card Display Resolution: 800x600 or more


we often find that although it may be user-‐friendly for the blind student, there is an extensive learning curve for their sighted teacher. Since the AGC is truly accessible by both the blind and sighted, teachers, parents, and peers do not need to learn to use a special device in order to teach or assist these students.

In fact, the regular ed math teacher may very well wish to use the AGC with the entire class. In this day and age when math anxiety is rampant, and there is an emphasis on the multi-‐sensory approach, the math teacher is looking for any tool that will capture the attention of and increase understanding in all her students.

The AGC is a complex program and requires some practice before a student will become proficient and totally independent in its use. However, I have noticed that those of my students already technologically proficient in the use of a screen reader are the quickest to learn how to navigate in the self-‐voiced AGC.

It is not necessary that the student learn all the features of the AGC at once in order to benefit from its use. I feel that features should be introduced as needed, and the AGC should never replace the student learning how to graph manually. The best student knows how to use all the various tools in his/her toolbox.

The AGC comes with an HTML and a self-‐voiced user manual, getting started instructions, specific instructions regarding the use of screen readers and magnification, and help both off and on-‐line. On-‐line tutorials can be found at: http://downloads.viewplus.com/tutorials/AGC+3.0/

Features

The AGC has a scientific keypad calculator; an expression evaluator with the ability to define or import constants and expressions; two data set


screens that permit the user to enter equations to graph, import and edit data tables, and compute a number of standard statistical properties; and the ability to plot either data set, their sum or difference, or their first derivative. The user can now graph two functions on the same coordinate plane, and work with matrices. There are various hot keys that allow the user to find relative maximums and minimums and x-‐axis intersections for functions. When two functions are graphed, there is a hot key to find points of intersection. There are several display options for tone-‐graph audio plots, and it is self-‐voicing for usability by people who are blind or dyslexic or kinesthetic learners.

Navigating the AGC is actually pretty user-‐friendly. Using the arrow, space bar, tab, and shift-‐tab keys let one move around fairly quickly, but many items can also be selected by using a hot key shortcut. The speech rate, pitch, and volume controls on the Speech screen can be easily adjusted to the individual user's satisfaction. The AGC screen can also be magnified repeatedly (using F8) and then decreased again (using F7). The domain, range, use of grid lines, tick marks, or none, and thickness of the graph can be adjusted to the user's specific requirements from the Plot screen, allowing for further individualization.

Reliability and Flexibility

The AGC is accessible to all. The on-‐screen graphics are easily seen by a low vision student, and the graph can be listened to by using the audio wave feature. Print copies can be made using any standard printer using a variety of fonts including braille. The print copies created with a braille font can be copied onto Swell Touch paper (available from the American Thermoform Corp. www.americanthermoform.com or Humanware www.humanware.com) and run through a


tactile imaging machine to create a raised line graphic. The Braille Swell Paper font (called Swell Braille) is highly recommended, and it can be downloaded for free from http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/fonts.html. However, in my opinion, the best way to create a tactile graphic is to emboss directly from the AGC to a TIGER (braille/graphics embosser) from ViewPlus.

Recommendations

I highly recommend this calculator program for students taking high school algebra and beyond. It is especially beneficial at the Algebra II level.

Osterhaus, S.A. (2010). Susan’s math technology corner: The Audio Graphing Calculator (AGC) From ViewPlus Technologies, Inc. Division on Visual Impairments Quarterly, 55(4), 25-‐27.


Graphing Tool: MathTrax from NASA Free

MathTrax is a graphing tool for middle school and high school students to graph equations, physics simulations or plot data files. The graphs have descriptions and sound so you can hear and read about the graph. Blind and low vision users can access visual math data and graph or experiment with equations and datasets. Screen readers such as JAWS for Windows can read the MathTrax interface. MathTrax sounds can be played on standard computer speakers or through headphones.

Navigating MathTrax with a screen reader is accomplished by tabbing from element to element. With Jaws, hitting Tab moves the focus one component forward and Shift+Tab moves the focus one component backwards. Providing navigation shortcuts is important for enabling advanced users to jump directly to the component of interest.

MathTrax has a number of shortcuts or hotkeys built into the software to facilitate navigation for advanced users.

http://prime.jsc.nasa.gov/mathtrax/ Windows Mac

The MathTrax Windows Installers provide MathTrax and everything necessary to run it, including the Java Access Bridge used by screen readers. MathTrax runs in its own Java Runtime Environment (JRE) which is separate from any other Java installation you might have on your machine so MathTrax works without making any changes to your existing computer setup.

All graphical Java applications which are to work with Windows-‐based assistive technology require the Java Access Bridge (see http://www.sun.com/access/). The JRE installed with the MathTrax application has the Java Access Bridge built into it, so you don't need to perform any additional installations. If you already have the Java Access Bridge, installing MathTrax does not affect your existing installation.

You need 50M of available memory to run MathTrax.

assistive’technology’for’mathematics’for’blind’and...

Documents