Multisensory technological resource for building graphics by blind students

Abstract

It is usual to use graphics through visual representations, in science teaching, by a social choice. The teaching of graphics for the blind is usually carried out with ready-made textured graphics models, which are previously prepared by the teacher, allowing the student only the interpretation of the data expressed there. However, student autonomy in the process of building graphs is still little encouraged, due to the scarcity of accessible tools or their high cost. Considering this need, a multisensory prototype was developed for the construction of graphs by visually impaired students, which, in addition to the sense of touch, also explores hearing. In this-paper, the stages of idealization and elaboration of this resource are presented, and the tests carried out with a blind reviewer, with the objective of identifying their impressions regarding the possible contributions in the autonomous construction of graphs by the blind. The methodology used for the design of this research was qualitative, having as its main source the discussions about the concept of multisensoriality in teaching people with visual impairments. To analyze the data obtained, content analysis tools were used. The initial analyzes demonstrated that the improvement of this tool with the addition of sound may have expanded and perfected the ability of the visually impaired to use, understand and build graphics independently. It is expected that the educational product developed here can be another effective tool in the process of teaching people with visual impairments.