Monash University has developed free, downloadable guidelines to print 3D educational and accessible tools to support people who are blind or have low vision.
The guidelines provide information specifically attuned to the needs of blind and low vision users including inclusive design considerations, directions to create braille or audio labels, and accessible resources.
The information can be used by teachers, parents, orientation and mobility specialists, and occupational therapists to create educational materials like braille learning aids, maps, curriculum-based models such as historic artefacts, landforms or anatomy, maths manipulatives, educational games, and adaptive tools for the classroom.
The guidelines were developed in close collaboration with not-for-profit organisation Round Table, and in consultation with people who are blind and have low vision.
Ms Leona Holloway, from Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology, said the guidelines were created specifically to support people who have print disabilities including people who are blind or have low vision, those with physical disabilities limiting their ability to interact with 2D materials, and people who are unable to follow a line of print or have a disability that impacts their concentration.
“One of the advantages of 3D printed models over raised line drawings, is that they can be used by blind, low vision and sighted students together in educational settings, and they can also be useful for people who are not trained in ‘touch reading’,” Ms Holloway said.
“However, not all models can be understood well through both vision and touch. Instead, as described in the guidelines, thoughtful design, printing and finishing techniques are required to ensure that 3D printed models are optimised for touch reading and inclusion.”
New Avenues for Learning
Sonali Marathe, Round Table President and Manager Accessibility and Inclusion at not-for-profit organisation NextSense, said keeping pace with emerging technologies to explore new accessibility options opened numerous avenues for learning and teaching students living with disability.
“The 3D printed models can help students who are blind get spatial and dimensional understanding of things that they may have never experienced before, for example, for the first time ever students are learning different architectural concepts through 3D printed models of the Burj Khalifa, Taj Mahal, and the Statue of Liberty,” Ms Marathe said.
“Though there is a lot of information available about 3D printing generally, the accessibility-specific information in these guidelines about how to design and use 3D prints for the blind and low vision community has never been available before,” she said.
The guidelines are available online at: https://printdisability.org/guidelines/3D-prints
