Creating meaningful tactile graphics for students who are blind and/or have low vision has been an increasingly hot topic in the last year or so with the availability of more affordable 3D printing technology. While there are websites and online repositories for many 3D image files, only a very small percentage are actually useful for education (I mean, how many miniatures of Yoda do we need?). Seriously, for teachers of the visually impaired (TVI's), as well as braillists, Orientation and Mobility instructors, parents, and others providing support to students who are visually impaired, there ARE resources out there. Here are a few places to start when you're presented with a visual image/concept that you want to help your student/child to understand:
To kick off thinking about tactile graphics, Phil Hatlen (from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired), wrote a thought-provoking piece:
The Real Challenge in Tactile Graphics
The Perkins School for the Blind's eLearning site has a invaluable page of links related to the topic of tactile graphics, including BANA (Braille Authority of North America), AFB (American Foundation for the Blind), APH (American Printing House), TSVBI (Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired), and NFB (National Federation of the Blind):
Tactile Graphics for Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
Perkins eLearning has a wonderful webcast on teaching tactile graphics presented by Lucia Hasty. Lucia is a fantastic resource for all things tactile. She is also one of the contributing authors behind the Accessible Image Sample Book.
The link to the book and its accompanying webinar are located on the DIAGRAM (Digital Image and Graphic Resources for Accessible Materials) Center website. At DIAGRAM you'll find details related to creating accessible digital content through standards, tools and software development, research, and training & outreach.
As for 3D printing technology, new projects are going online daily. While the potential of 3D printing is huge, right now it requires a lot of knowledge of how to create the software files as well as how to maintain the 3D printer technology. Mike Cheverie, one of our TVI's with a background in math and science, participated in a webinar about 3D printing with Yue-Ting Siu, a TVI in Northern California. Check out their webinar, 3D Printing for Accessible Educational Materials on the DIAGRAM website.
Through contact with Deezmaker, a 3D printer business, and a liaison with Joan Horvath (author of Mastering 3D Printing--available on Amazon), students at Pasadena City College (PCC) have created a wonderful 3D printed map of the Van Ness/Blend campus, one of our local elementary schools. Check out the video about the Fab Lab project at PCC (the map is about 5 minutes into the video story), or check out a video of a Student Exploring a 3D Map tactually. Mike and Joan continue to work with the PCC students to expand their 3D printing projects, including a model of the eye and chemical molecules.
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