jsc2003e59045 Students at Webster Intermediate School practice robotics design with the ROVer Ranch program.

NASA stretches the limits when it comes to education — the Agency is helping students and teachers with vision disabilities to learn and teach in the exciting realms of math, science and robotics through their very own cyberspace classroom. The Learning Technologies team at Johnson Space Center is building an array of e-tools for blind or low-vision students, educators and professionals.

The Information Accessibility Lab (IAL) is a software platform that will provide an alternative way to access NASA math and science content, which would otherwise require graphical display unseen by the visually impaired. Although IAL was originally conceived as a tool for the blind, it offers a unique way for all students to tackle the crucial concepts of spatial visualization, which underlie ideas in mathematics and science.

The first prototype application currently under development is the Math Description Engine (MDE). Similar to the standard graphing calculator used by algebra and trigonometry students, the MDE enables pre-college and college students to key-in an equation to be graphed. However, unlike the graphing calculator, the MDE analyzes the equation and translates the graph results into a format that can be visualized through text and sound.

The MDE combines the standard method of solving and calculating mathematical problems to generate text or sound descriptions of common curves in a graph. Through sound descriptions, musical tones vary to illustrate the curves as they go up or come down. The Texas State School for the Blind and Vision Impaired and the National Federation of the Blind both show keen interest in the capabilities the IAL delivers.

“My hopes and goals are to be part of this broader movement that is now practical for people with all kinds of disabilities,” said co-inventor Robert Shelton, NASA Learning Technologies Regional Center Project Manager. “We have a lot of the technology to make this happen, and I want to give children a chance.”

	jsc2003e59044 Robert Shelton, Ph.D. (left) demonstrates the Math Description Engine at the 2003 National Convention of the National Federation of the Blind.

Shelton, who is blind and holds a doctorate in mathematics from Rice University in Houston, knows first-hand the challenges that face visually impaired students in learning math and science.

JSC’s Learning Technologies team has already developed a wide variety of software-based tools to aid and educate students and teachers:

·ROVer Ranch transports students to the exciting world of robotics, enabling students to design, build and perform mission tasks, just like NASA robotic engineers do.

·NASA Qwhiz puts students to the test, quizzing them on the NASA Mission. Students can play against the computer or interactively against other students.

·Internet Information Library Access Device (ILIAD) equips teachers with a smart search engine that features an e-mail interface. Because the browser is text-based and not graphical, it has become increasingly popular among blind computer users.

·The Intelligent Math Tutor boosts pre-college and college students’ math success. The Web-based and now CD-ROM series eliminates hefty costs of textbooks and provides all the necessary tools to learn mathematics - including algebra and trigonometry - by computer.

For more information, contact Robert Shelton at Robert.o.Shelton@nasa.gov.