2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Literature Survey of How Students with Visual Impairments Interact with Engineering Course Materials

Presented at Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY) Technical Session 12

There has been an increase in overall accessibility (a11y) for students with blind/visual impairments (BVI) at colleges and universities across the country. However, there is a lack of details in content that is made accessible, which can help inform accessibility compliance guidelines for specialized areas of study. While the general a11y guidelines are helpful for many students at a baseline, creating accessible content in many engineering disciplines is difficult and a desire still exists to do more to support students with BVI. Ideally, accessible content should help a student learn the material so that the student can use those skills in other courses or in the workforce. However, it is entirely possible that accessible content can pass the minimum requirements to be compliant with ADA requirements, but remain non-functional for effective student learning. The current paper outlines what barriers exist for students with BVI in engineering despite baseline accessibility compliance and performs a short literature review of the current assistive technologies that exist to overcome these barriers. The paper discusses some conclusions and possible future steps towards specialized guidelines for engineering course materials that are better suited for the discipline as a whole.

Authors

Dr. Adrian Rodriguez zyBooks, a Wiley brand [biography]

Adrian Rodriguez is an Engineering Content Developer for zyBooks, a Wiley brand and a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include engineering education, multibody dynamics, contact and impact with friction, electro-mechanical systems, and nonlinear dynamics. He earned his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington.
Lauren Fogg zyBooks, a Wiley Brand [biography]

Lauren Fogg obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2021 and her Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2022 from Louisiana Tech University. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Engineering with a concentration in Engineering Education from Louisiana Tech University. She is currently an Associate Engineering Content Developer with zyBooks, a Wiley Brand. Her research interests are diversity, gender equity, retention, project-based learning, cognitive models of problem-solving, and making engineering textbooks more accessible and innovative for students.
Dr. Alicia Clark zyBooks, A Wiley Brand [biography]

Alicia Clark obtained her BS Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lafayette College, and her MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. Her research interests include engineering education, fluid mechanics, and medical ultrasound. She is currently an Engineering Content Developer for zyBooks, a Wiley Brand. At zyBooks, she creates digital content for engineering textbooks to help make textbooks more engaging and accessible for students.
Jennifer L. Welter Wiley [biography]

Jennifer "Jenny" Welter has been a publishing professional for more than two decades, specifically focused on engineering publications and courseware during the majority of her tenure. She is passionate about supporting engineering education, specifically focused on content and assessment development for more effective student learning. She earned her BA in English from The University of Iowa.
Dr. Gergely Sirokman zyBooks, A Wiley Brand [biography]

Gergely (Greg) Sirokman is an engineering content developer at zyBooks, a Wiley brand. He earned a BS in chemistry from Brandeis University, and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from MIT. He was a Professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology for 14 years, with particular interests in renewable energy and gamification of education. He now works on creating and improving statistics and engineering content for zyBooks' online interactive textbooks, and has developed a keen interest in increasing accessibility for learning media.
Dr. Ryan Barlow zyBooks, A Wiley Brand [biography]

Ryan Barlow obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah in 2012, his Master's Degree in Science Education from the University of Maryland in 2016 and his PhD in Engineering Education from Utah State University in 2020. He currently works for zyBooks, A Wiley Brand creating interactive content for online mechanical engineering textbooks. His current research focuses on online engineering assessment, accessibility in online textbooks, and studying the effectiveness of online textbooks in engineering courses.

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