As a college professor, you may often receive notifications from your university’s disability services office that you have a student registered for accommodations. Perhaps this time, you have received a notification that you have a student with accommodations unfamiliar to you. These may include large-print materials, breaks to relieve a guide dog, lab assistants in class, reduced lighting to decrease eye fatigue, or assistive technology. You have a blind or low vision student in your classroom.
How do you ensure your course material is meaningful for your new student? This article aims to assist college professors in creating accessible classrooms for their blind and low vision students.
Step 1: Planning
Planning is critical to every course design, especially when teaching a class with a visually impaired learner. There are many steps to ensure that your course is usable from the outset—for example, ensuring that your textbook(s), articles, and any reading materials for your classes are available in the best formats for all your students.
As Dr. Brandi Levingston, Interim Director of the Student Accessibility and Educational Opportunity office at Virginia Commonwealth University, explains, “On the front end [of course design], I step outside of myself to look at materials. I make sure that all articles are [readable by all students]. I work with the Library and the technology support person to ensure all documents are accessible.” (B. Levingston, personal communication, June 2024).
However, it can sometimes be a challenge, especially if this is unfamiliar territory. Therefore, your university resources are available to assist you along the way.
Different courses have different modifications.
If you are teaching two or three different courses, they may need different accommodations.
Enjie Hall, Director of the Disability Resource Center and the ADA Coordinator at the University of Minnesota, shares, “STEM content is where [it can get] difficult. For example, don’t use images [on your lecture slides] – use words! You should be providing image descriptions for your images” (E. Hall, personal communication, June 2024).
Consider how visually impaired students might be able to engage with the course material.
Consider the following:
- Develop your course syllabus ahead of the start of the semester.
- Use image descriptions when displaying pictures, charts, graphs, or images on slides.
- Describe what you are writing down on the whiteboard in class.
- Provide typed feedback as opposed to hand-written feedback on student work.
- Create handouts and course documents in multiple formats – Word, PDF, printed, etc., and in multiple font styles (large print and 12-point font, etc.).
- Ensure the texts for your course are in user-friendly formats.
Step 2: Communication
All too often, professors ask students what they need after the semester has already started. However, professor-and-student communication should occur at all phases of the semester, beginning, middle, and end. Ensure that their needs are met and that they are able to engage with the course material.
You may learn that the student prefers digital books, which they read through a braille display or screen-reading software.
Student Communication
It’s important to talk with your student(s) about how they wish to engage with course materials. Not all will be proactive in their conversations with you or forthcoming about their particular needs. As the professor, it is important to ask questions to elicit a better understanding of the challenges your students experience.
Jackie Cortez-Garcia, a graduate student at Clemson University, shares her insight when she says, “A lot of times this is your first time working with a blind or low vision student, but this is often not the student’s first time navigating a class” (J. Cortez-Garcia, personal communication, June 2024).
By conversing with the pupils in your class, you can better address their questions or concerns regarding their access to the class.
For example, are you teaching a lab class wherein the student may need a lab assistant? Are you teaching a class that uses a lot of technology, and you’re unsure how the student will engage with various learning management systems? Are you teaching a very reading-heavy class, and you’re concerned about your student’s ability to read the books in a format that works for them? Because blindness is a spectrum, your student may have differing answers or responses to your questions depending on their specific needs.
The student should be the expert in their needs, so establishing rapport and having frequent conversations about what is and isn’t working for them in your class will be helpful.
Step 3: Collaboration
As mentioned above, planning and communication are cornerstones for creating a meaningful course design. However, another critical element of accessible pedagogy is collaboration with campus partners so blind or low-vision students can use the course materials. Some key resources, if your campus has them, that you may want to consider connecting with on your campus include, but are not limited to:
- The disability services office
- The center for teaching and learning/instructional design
- The digital accessibility services office or department
As the professor, these offices can help you:
- Facilitate conversations with your students
- Assist you and the student in finding usable texts for your class
- Help outline the particular accommodations your student may need
- Design, create, and implement materials for your courses
Campus partners are an excellent resource to remember if you have questions or concerns regarding materials for your visually impaired student.
Conclusion
After considering how to engage with course design, you now receive an accommodation letter from a student that includes accommodations like large print materials, a lab assistant, breaks during class to relieve a guide dog, assistive technology, etc. These will feel familiar to you. You can address these needs because you’ve already engaged with the student, campus partners, and your course material to create formats usable by all.
When we approach blindness as a spectrum and access as a shared responsibility, we can better position our pedagogy. As Dr. Levingston notes, “At the end of the day, a blind or low vision student is a student. Every student has their own needs” (B. Levingston, personal communication, June 2024). By starting course design with usability, you are setting up your class to include your blind and low vision students from the beginning of the semester onward.