RDE-FRI: Innovations in STEM Education for Blind Undergraduates Using Digital Pen-Based Audio/Tactile Graphics

RDE-FRI：使用基于数字笔的音频/触觉图形为盲人本科生进行 STEM 教育创新

• 批准号: 0726424
• 负责人: Andrew Van Schaack
• 金额: $ 14.33万
• 依托单位: Vanderbilt University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0726424&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RDE; FRI; Innovations; STEM; Education

RDE-FRI: Innovations in STEM Education for Blind Undergraduates Using Digital Pen-Based Audio/Tactile Graphics is a 36-month, $300,000 dollar collaborative award to the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Foundation and Vanderbilt University that is funded by the Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program's Focused Research Initiatives (FRI) track. The primary goal of the project is to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a low-cost, portable, easy-to-use digital pen technology that enables blind undergraduate students and educational support personnel (ESP) to create, explore, and understand the diagrams and figures common to the STEM curriculum using touch and sound. The research team is conducting a three (3) phase research project to examine the benefits of deploying a digital Pen Audio/Tactile graphics (dPATg) approach which includes two-handed tactile exploration, ultrafine selection resolution, portability, and the ease of creating ad hoc content by students and ESP using the Sewell raised line drawing kit (SRLDK) and the SpotDotView Braille Embosser. Following an initial phase of observing students using STEM diagrams and figures in the classroom, the second phase includes a series of single-subject designed studies to investigate the dPATg approach. The third phase employs a quasi-experimental design where student performance is measured as a result of one (1) of three (3) treatment conditions: Use of dPATg systems, use of conventional audio/tactile systems, and no advanced technology use. This project builds on the prior success of the PI's current and previous work on the use of technology for the blind and visually impaired that was funded by the US Education Department's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133E060001; H133A060056; H133S060103).This highly experienced team, which is lead by a research psychologist who is blind and by an expert in instructional technology, benefits from partnerships with the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) and San Francisco State University (SFSU) where approximately 40 blind undergraduate students are being observed and recruited for study participation. Additional subjects are recruited from community colleges in the San Francisco Bay region and from other California State Universities. The project also benefits from an industry partnership with LiveScribe, Inc., a company with expertise in the development and manufacturing of digital pen technology.This project addresses three (3) of the RDE-FRI track goals: To encourage research and development of specific but utilitarian assistive technologies that will help persons with disabilities pursue careers in STEM; to build tools for students with disabilities that can quickly be developed and effectively deployed in the educational environment; and to investigate effective instructional methods and practices for people with disabilities in STEM. There is a formative and summative project evaluation plan being conducted by an external evaluator, Donald Stenhoff, from the University of Kentucky. Additional formative project input is provided by a team of expert internal and external advisors that includes Anita Aaron from the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind; Dmitri Belser from the Center for Accessible Technology; John Brabyn from the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Blindness and Low Vision; Gene Chelberg from SFSU; James Gammon from UCB; and Ted Hasselbring from Vanderbilt University. There is also a dissemination plan which includes a website for distributing project information, publishing findings in peer-reviewed professional journals, presenting project materials and results at educational technology conferences, and facilitating the transfer of digital pen technology to special education and educational technology fields.

RDE-FRI：使用基于数字笔的音频/触觉图形为盲人本科生进行 STEM 教育创新是一项为期 36 个月、价值 30 万美元的合作奖项，由史密斯-凯特威尔眼科研究基金会和范德比尔特大学颁发，由残疾教育研究 (RDE) 计划的重点研究计划 (FRI) 轨道资助。 该项目的主要目标是开发、评估和传播一种低成本、便携式、易于使用的数字笔技术，使盲人本科生和教育支持人员 (ESP) 能够使用触摸和声音创建、探索和理解 STEM 课程中常见的图表和图形。 研究团队正在进行一个三 (3) 阶段的研究项目，以检验部署数字笔音频/触觉图形 (dPATg) 方法的好处，其中包括双手触觉探索、超细选择分辨率、便携性，以及学生和 ESP 使用 Sewell 凸起线条绘图套件 (SRLDK) 和 SpotDotView 盲文浮雕机创建临时内容的便捷性。 在第一阶段观察学生在课堂上使用 STEM 图表和图形之后，第二阶段包括一系列单科目设计的研究来调查 dPATg 方法。 第三阶段采用准实验设计，根据三 (3) 种治疗条件中的一 (1) 种结果来衡量学生的表现：使用 dPATg 系统、使用传统音频/触觉系统以及不使用先进技术。 该项目建立在 PI 目前和之前关于使用技术帮助盲人和视障人士的工作的先前成功基础上，该工作由美国教育部国家残疾与康复研究所 (H133E060001; H133A060056; H133S060103) 资助。这个经验丰富的团队由一名盲人研究心理学家和一名教学技术专家领导，受益于 与加州大学伯克利分校 (UCB) 和旧金山州立大学 (SFSU) 合作，正在对大约 40 名盲人本科生进行观察并招募他们参与研究。 其他科目是从旧金山湾地区的社区学院和其他加州州立大学招募的。 该项目还受益于与 LiveScribe, Inc. 的行业合作伙伴关系，LiveScribe, Inc. 是一家在数字笔技术开发和制造方面拥有专业知识的公司。该项目解决了 RDE-FRI 轨道目标中的三 (3) 个目标： 鼓励研究和开发特定但实用的辅助技术，帮助残疾人在 STEM 领域追求职业生涯；为残疾学生构建可以快速开发并在教育环境中有效部署的工具；调查针对残疾人的 STEM 有效教学方法和实践。 来自肯塔基大学的外部评估员 Donald Stenhoff 正在制定一项形成性和总结性项目评估计划。额外的形成性项目投入由内部和外部专家顾问团队提供，其中包括来自旧金山盲人灯塔的 Anita Aaron；来自无障碍技术中心的 Dmitri Belser；盲人和低视力康复工程研究中心的 John Brabyn；旧金山州立大学 (SFSU) 的吉恩·切尔伯格 (Gene Chelberg)；来自 UCB 的 James Gammon；和范德比尔特大学的特德·哈塞尔布林（Ted Hasselbring）。还有一个传播计划，包括建立一个网站，用于发布项目信息、在同行评审的专业期刊上发表研究结果、在教育技术会议上展示项目材料和成果，以及促进数字笔技术向特殊教育和教育技术领域的转移。