Learning at the higher education level can be difficult for many
blind and partially sighted students. This is often due to the
large amount of visual diagrams and pictures used in teaching
and textbooks. Many of these could be converted into accessible
forms, such as tactile diagrams and maps.
However students who use them and tactile graphic designers have
a constant problem of striking a balance between too few or too
many diagrams containing too little or too much content.
As part of the HEFCE/DELNI funded “Developing Academic
Expertise in the provision of Accessible Materials for blind and
visually impaired students” project, the NCTD is conducting
a pilot project into core graphics for degree level psychology.
The aim of this pilot project is first to establish whether it
would be possible to select and design a package of reusable core
tactile graphics for blind and partially sighted students.
These packages would aim to cover the majority of topics covered
on their psychology course, without overloading the student with
impossible or non- essential diagrams.
Our main target is to establish whether such a resource would
be advantageous to these students or if each
student’s needs are too individual to warrant such a resource.
The outcome of this project will lead suggestions about the adequacy
of this package of tactile graphics, specifically for psychology
students.
Also suggestions will be made as to whether or not blind and
partially sighted students in other higher education subjects may
also benefit from such a package.
Project Outcome
The Core Graphics Pack (CGP): Psychology is available now!
