ERIC Number: EJ1017596
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0145-482X
EISSN: N/A
Use of a Video Assistive Device in a University Course in Laboratory Science: A Case Study
Cole, Ryan A.; Slavin, Alan J.
Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, v107 n4 p311-315 Jul-Aug 2013
This article describes a case study involving an assistive device that aided a student with low vision registered in the introductory physics course at Trent University in the fall of 2009. His Snellen visual acuity fluctuated significantly, with an average acuity of about 20/400. This low acuity presented obvious difficulties for him with the laboratory component of the course. To participate fully in an undergraduate experiment, he was required to see well enough to do all of the tasks while having his hands free to manipulate the equipment. An assistive device was required that would assist the student to meet the lab requirements. The student chose the Acrobat Panel and Long Arm (Enhanced Vision Systems, United States) for assessment. The student has used it for 2.5 academic years of study. The assistive device allowed the student with low vision to participate almost fully and independently in a regular, experimental physics program that is so visually complex that it has hitherto been inaccessible to such students. Not only did it enable the student to set up the laboratory apparatus himself, it enabled him to read fine measurement devices, such as gauges, micrometers, and burettes. With this device, the student could read from a chalkboard or projection screen and record data or notes from a chalkboard on a computer while viewing the camera output on the same screen.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Assistive Technology, Physics, Science Instruction, Partial Vision, Laboratory Experiments, Higher Education, College Science, Chalkboards, Case Studies
American Foundation for the Blind. 11 Penn Plaza Suite 300, New York, NY 10001. Tel: 800-232-5463; Tel: 212-502-7600; e-mail: afbinfo@afb.net; Web site: http://www.afb.org/store
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A