All,
I have been asked to advise on the accessibility, for visually impaired students, of one of our chemistry modules.
Part of the required reading for this module includes many (possibly over a thousand) fairly complex molecular diagrams that represent chemical reactions.
I have been looking at possible means of presenting these diagrams in alternative ways, particularly for blind learners:
1. By description – textual and spoken;
2. By Braille – using Braille Code Chemical notation;
3. By a combination of Chemical Braille notation and tactile diagrams;
4. By 3D modelling - I am advised that many of the diagrams would be very complex to model in 3D and would be enormous (“the size of a table”).
I have done the obvious web-based research (including the DIS-FORUM archive) on this subject, but would be interested to know:
What anticipatory accessibility measures does your establishment plan or have in place for blind students on undergraduate chemistry courses/modules?
Does your establishment have, or has it had, any blind chemistry students? What strategies did they use?
Any comments, ideas, tips and advice gratefully received.
Thanks in advance,
John C Clarke
Visual Impairment Adviser
The Open University
Disability Advisory Service
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