This presentation describes the initial evaluation results of a field test of a computer interface called the Talking Tactile Tablet (TTT). The system allows visually impaired students to move independently among the varying elements – pictorial, verbal and numeric – that comprise the tools of statistical thinking. Exploration of visual concepts like data distribution is difficult for visually impaired students.
The TTT is a computer peripheral device that acts as a “viewer” for tactile graphic imagery. Users mount raised-line and textured (tactile) overlay sheets on the device’s touch-sensitive surface, and as they explore the graphic, they hear appropriate descriptive audio feedback.
Statistical knowledge level and perceived self-efficacy in statistics were measured before and after a semester-long statistics class for eight visually impaired students and compared with a similar class of sighted students using the same textbook and visual materials. Access to only a small number of visually impaired students precluded a TTT/no-TTT research design, so learning gains of the visually impaired students were compared to gains of the sighted students.
Although visually impaired students scored significantly below sighted students in both the pre- and post-tests, the amount of learning gain in both groups was statistically significant over the semester and did not differ significantly between the two groups, indicating that the curriculum produced learning gains for visually impaired students comparable to gains shown by the sighted students. A study contrasting learning gains in visually impaired students using the TTT versus those not using it is planned for 2006.
Prior knowledge of topic assumed: Low
Contains advanced technical content: Yes
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