Making Models and Modifying Equipment

Hi. I'm Sarah Hughes and I am the Head of Science at New College Worcester. NCW is a Specialist Special School for Visually Impaired young people (aged 11 to 19 years) in Worcester, England.

I joined the school from a mainstream comprehensive in September 2007. When offering advice to teachers and support staff of visually impaired students I am always conscious of the fact that things are very different in my setting compared to that of a mainstream teacher with a class of 30 students (and only one visually impaired student). I love to use gadgets wisely in my teaching and take care to select the right equipment for the job (which does not always involve spending megabucks!)

To give you a taste of what I am trying to do, here are four points:

1. Coming from a mainstream secondary school to NCW I considered the fact that I no longer had a whiteboard and projector in my classroom. I feel that for partially sighted students there is a place for such technology. However, just because something is on a big screen this would not necessarily make it accessible. Budgets are always an issue for schools and interactive whiteboards are expensive and I would argue of limited use (shadow cast on screen when student close, fixed position, poor resolution, to name a few). I have introduced a 42" LCD TV on a wheeled stand to the science dept (total cost £700). This has a port for a laptop so that it can be used as the monitor/display (with the advantage of being backlit with built in speakers and moveable to suit the student).

2. My Science Department has also purchased a hand-held digital microscope with magnification x200 for under £100 and in addition to being used with a laptop via the USB port as a microscope, it is also used as a web cam to observe very small measurements in chemistry practical work or to show a hazardous practical demo on the TV.

There is also a hand-held magnifier from HumanWare at just under £500 which some students who love gadgets have.

3. Using the above equipment I often deliver lessons which use modified Powerpoints which I used at my previous (mainstream) school. I modify the images on the PowerPoint and I may also change the hyperlinks from video clips to other visuals or audio clips that are more suited to the children in my class. So even PowerPoint presentations are modified in the same way that students would be given modified print diagrams or text. I also use Dolphin's Lunar to flip the screen colours and/or contrast simply to suit the preferred view for each student in the group. I am now thinking that by using Photoshop I can manipulate images to enhance colour or contrast, etc. This is why I have been looking at Apple Macs lately because I think that the standard photo manipulation software is easier to use than on a PC.

4. I have also been using Audacity to record revision mp3s for my students. Here's the case study about this.

I am very interested in the use of technology in teaching and have more ideas about using technology to encourage access to learning. I do believe that the answer is not always in purchasing expensive, purpose built equipment, but thinking about how you can use readily available kit in a different way (as you can tell by the above).

If you'd like to learn more, I have produced a pdf file with more detailed text and photographs. It's called "Making Models and Modifying Equipment".

I hope that this gives you a taste of what I'm trying to do and the way that I'm thinking. You are very welcome to visit me or contact me regarding any of the above.

Sarah Hughes

Head of Science

New College Worcester