ACCESS TO HYPERCARD TEACHING TOOLS BY BLIND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

TWO NEW COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES PROFOUNDLY CHANGING TEACHING TOOLS ARE MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES AND DO-IT-YOURSELF PROGRAMMING TECHNOLOGIES. BOTH ARE EMBODIED IN APPLE MACINTOSHC'S HYPERCARD. THESE NEW DEVELOPMENTS ENABLE TEACHERS TO USE, MODIFY, AND CREATE TEACHING MATERIALS THAT COMBINE VISUAL AND AUDITORY MEDIA TO ENHANCE THE LEARNING PROCESS OF ALL STUDENTS AND TO HELP REMEDIATE CERTAIN KINDS OF LEARNING DISABILITIES. BECAUSE THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND HYPERCARD IS INHERENTLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH CURRENT SPEECH- BASED ACCESS TECHNOLOGY FOR GRAPHICAL COMPUTERS, THIS POWERFUL EDUCATIONAL TOOL AND TOOL MAKER IS VIRTUALLY INACCESSIBLE TO BLIND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. THE PURPOSE OFTHIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP THE TECHNOLOGY NECESSARY FOR SOFTWARE ACCESSORIES THAT PROVIDE BLIND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FULL SPEECH-BASED ACCESS TO HYPERCARD AND APPLICATIONS LIKE IT. WITHOUT THIS ACCESS, BLIND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WILL BE INCREASINGLY ISOLATED FROM MAINSTREAM DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY THAT, AT LOW COST ANDWITHOUT SPECIAL EQUIPMENT, WILL PROVIDE BLIND TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FULL SOFTWARE-ONLY ACCESS TO HYPERCARD, THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN SOFTWARE THAT ENABLES TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO USE, MODIFY AND WRITE NEW MULTI-MEDIA TEACHING TOOLS, WHICH IS CURRENTLY INEXCESSIBLE TO BLIND PEOPLE. TECHNOLOGYDEVELOPED IN PHASE I WILL BE USED IN SUBSEQUENT R&D TO PRODUCE A FULLY FUNCTIONAL SOFTWARE ACCESSORY CALLED HYPERGATE THAT WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH BSI'S MARKETING CHANNELS FOR LESS THAN $200.