MAKING GEOLOGY CLASSES AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE PHYSICALLY AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Science faculty from the disciplines of Geology, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology developed a program that was funded by the National Science Foundation under the Research in Disabilities Education program to develop changes in the curriculum so students with disabilities can successfully complete the coursework. The need for such a program is increasing as more military personnel are returning disabled from overseas duty while serving our country.

Although the primary problem for geology students is the large amount of field work, numerous problems in the laboratory were also identified. Facilities often needed changes in their configuration. Equipment that may be used in accommodating students with disabilities was researched, purchased and used in appropriate situations. Possible accommodations to problems were designed and analyzed in the classroom by using paid, disabled student volunteers. Such students were the principle resource for determining what solutions worked. The use of Clarity projectors/magnifiers was determined to be the best solution in laboratory situations where specimens needed to be identified.

Field problems were solved by the use of field partners, different wheelchair configurations, and the use of digital-video projectors and laptop computers. Some visually impaired students had the use of guide dogs but many needed to rely on field partners. Many versions of wheelchairs were used. The best for trail movement was a six wheeled chair. A large, manual ballooned tire chair was also usable if a partner could assist the student in difficult situations. For many of the students, especially the visually impaired; the only solution that worked was the development of virtual field trips and investigations designed for use on the department web site and on CD-ROM's. The software programs were constantly evaluated for efficient, supportive, engaging, and intuitive descriptions. Software speaking program, such as JAWS and Dragon were used on all computers and the descriptions of all illustrations were carefully developed using the ALT tab procedures.

Although not all the identified problems have been resolved enough headway was accomplished that more classes in all four disciplines have been redesigned so students with disabilities can successfully include such courses.