| NSF Org: |
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 15, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | May 24, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1644538 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Robert Ochsendorf
rochsend@nsf.gov (703)292-2760 DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | January 15, 2017 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $350,151.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $374,151.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2017 = $243,699.00 FY 2018 = $8,000.00 FY 2019 = $8,000.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
221 N GRAND BLVD SAINT LOUIS MO US 63103-2006 (314)977-3925 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
MO US 63103-2006 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
Discovery Research K-12, ECR-EDU Core Research |
| Primary Program Source: |
04001718DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001819DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001920DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
Students with disabilities often have fewer opportunities for experiential learning, an important component of quality STEM education. With continued shifts toward the use of digital media to supplement instruction in STEM classrooms, much of the content remains inaccessible, particular for students with visual impairments. The promise of technology and use of tactile graphics is an effective, emerging innovation for providing more complete access to important information and materials. Tactile graphics are images that use raised surfaces to convey non-textual information such as maps, paintings, graphs and diagrams. Touchscreen-based smart devices allow visual information to be digitally and dynamically represented via tactile, auditory, visual, and kinesthetic feedback. Tactile graphic technology embedded in touchscreen devices can be leveraged to make STEM content more accessible to blind and visually impaired students.
This project will develop a learner-centered, perceptually-motivated framework addressing the requirements for students with blindness and visual impairments to access graphical content in STEM. Using TouchSense technology, the investigators will create instructional materials using tactile graphics and test them in a pilot classroom of both sighted and BVI students. The investigators will work with approximately 150 students with visual impairments to understand the kind of feedback that is most appropriate for specific content in algebra (coordinate plane), cell biology, and geography. Qualitative research methods will be used to analyze the video-based data set.
This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program and the Discovery Research PreK-12 Program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest intervention and innovations to address persistent challenges in STEM interest, education, learning and participation. The Discovery Research PreK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Access to graphics is one of the most pressing challenges for individuals with blindness and visual impairment today. While access to text has largely been addressed via screen-reader and text-to-speech technology in the digital space, there is not yet an analog for graphics. The objective of this project was to investigate if and how graphics could be rendered on a touchscreen using vibrations, sounds, and the visual display with a focus on graphics associated with mathematics. In this project, we developed hardware adaptations, software tools, and human-centered guidelines to produce multimodal graphics on touchscreens. A user can now feel and hear the graphic by running a finger over it. For example, the bars in a bar chart can be felt via vibration and the labels of the axes can be read aloud in real-time while exploring the graphic. This project is a result of deep collaborations with partner schools, organizations, and associations affiliated with individuals with visual impairments and deep integration of multiple disciplines including engineering, computer science, STEM education, and psychology.
Intellectual Merit: This project has produced (1) a comprehensive, published set of perceptually motivated guidelines for the creation and rendering of multimodal, digital graphics on touchscreens; (2) an open-source vibration library for AndroidOS devices; and (3) instructional and learning strategies which help facilitate the extraction of information from multimodal graphics by diverse learners. The guidelines established in this work apply to any commercially-available touchscreen tablet or mobile device capable of producing audio, visual, and touch output and inform both practitioners and researchers on how and when to assign audio and touch feedback to digital graphics and how to render graphical elements (such as points, lines, and basic shapes) so that they can be easily perceived in an accessible, multisensory format, by users, especially those with visual impairments. The vibration library produced in this work can be implemented by other researchers, developers, and content designers to incorporate vibration feedback into their software applications. The instructional and learning strategies uncovered in this work facilitate training and learning how to interpret digital, multimodal graphics and include optional hardware modifications which can improve the overall user experience.
Broader Impacts: This project has helped address the graphics accessibility gap in education today, especially for learners with visual impairments who are underrepresented in STEM. This research provides the groundwork to bring tangible learning experiences into the digital space, transforming the STEM learning experience into one in which students with visual impairments can readily access and interact with educational content nonvisually in real-time and independently, a significant benefit over current practices and technologies. The infrastructure created in this project promotes knowledge acquisition and literacy of multimodal, digital graphics in a learner-centered way, which is critical for all students and is particularly beneficial for students with multiple styles of learning. This work has resulted in many peer-reviewed journal publications, conference publications, and presentations which have helped motivate progress in the field of multimodal, touchscreen graphics. This project also engaged a diverse community of individuals, with individuals with visual impairments being active members of the research team. Through our dissemination at regional and national events, this project engaged over 100 individuals with visual impairments, in addition to supporting 4 PhD students and several undergraduate students from the fields of engineering, psychology, education, and computer science. The outcomes of this project have laid the foundation for ongoing research supporting the rendering of more complex, multimodal graphics and inclusive data science tools, enhancing the impact of this research in STEM education and beyond.
Last Modified: 03/30/2022
Modified by: Jenna Gorlewicz
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