Difference between revisions of "Mind mapping for people who are blind"

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== Needs ==
 
== Needs ==
The above products are mainly aimed it making words accessible - either in Braille or read by a voice synthesizer.
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We need to consider the following activities:
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A blind student making maps, whether for better understanding of a topic or for handing in as part of course work, and consuming maps.  These may be maps of others on the course - in a study group for example - or his/her own maps for revision.
  
To understand mind maps, a partially-sighted person might be able to use high-contrast screen settings and an enlarger, but this person is blind, so touch or sound seem to be the only options (updated to add sound).   
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The products that the student has are aimed it making words accessible - either in Braille or to be read by a voice synthesizer.
 +
 
 +
While a partially-sighted person might be able to use high-contrast screen settings and an enlarger, this person is blind, so to understand mind maps, touch or sound seem to be the only options (updated to add sound).   
  
 
We started with the questions: Is there a device to render images as raised dots?  Are there other options?
 
We started with the questions: Is there a device to render images as raised dots?  Are there other options?

Revision as of 00:55, 27 January 2011

To use the mind map, pick one of these links:- Interactive Flash
Interactive PDF
Above image, full size
Text outline for Braille reader
MindManager .mmap file
PDF needs latest Acrobat.
Flash needs latest version.

Twitter throws up a challenge!

A blind person on Twitter asked about products to help him mind map. He “will need to do many mind maps for a course” he wrote, and “do you know anything on Pictorial Guides?? it’s another thing i need to use in this economics course. thanks!”

This is a challenge, need I say, because mapping of any sort is intensely visual.

This is a community page where WikIT has been working with mapping and accessibility experts from Twitter and LinkedIn Groups to help this student, and perhaps others with the same need in future. 29 contributors so far.

If you can add your expertise, please create an account** and jump in. Click the ‘Discussion’ tab at the top of this page to see all the ideas and information that others have contributed, and add your own. If you’re not familiar with Wikipedia-type editing, please tweet @roygrubb with the information you want added.

The response to my call to help the student has been amazing. Take a look at the Discussion tab to see how amazing.

The ideas so far are consolidated in the mind map on the right. I am working to summarize it in text, but there is already an indented outline in plain text that I hope can be scanned to Braille. I know little about screen readers and Braille output, so if users of these devices can suggest better ways of laying out the text, please tweet @roygrubb.

** Sorry about the need for an account, spammers killed anonymous editing.

Products[edit]

I thought technology was the answer, but we have had analogue-world suggestions as well. The student is at present using:

On Windows

On Mac OSX and on iOS

Needs[edit]

We need to consider the following activities: A blind student making maps, whether for better understanding of a topic or for handing in as part of course work, and consuming maps. These may be maps of others on the course – in a study group for example – or his/her own maps for revision.

The products that the student has are aimed it making words accessible – either in Braille or to be read by a voice synthesizer.

While a partially-sighted person might be able to use high-contrast screen settings and an enlarger, this person is blind, so to understand mind maps, touch or sound seem to be the only options (updated to add sound).

We started with the questions: Is there a device to render images as raised dots? Are there other options?

Pictorial guides[edit]

It seems that if we have a solution for mind maps, there is a reasonable chance that it will help with any form of image, but color is likely to be a problem, if elements of a diagram are color coded.

Progress so far[edit]

The progress report has grown so large that it has been transferred to the Discussion tab

Shortly I will publish a summary.

 

Thanks[edit]

Thanks for publicity to @visualmapperorg for a blog post at VisualMapper.org, to @soulati for her post at the SMB collective, to @vicgee for his post at mind-mapping.org and all the responses and re-tweets so far.

Thanks for ideas, offers of help and shared knowledge of experience to those who have contributed so far:

@assistivetek; @sachac; @jamienast; @roygrubb; @vicgee; Leo Roman; @Jennison; @Roopakshi; @VisualLeap; Brian Moon; Alberto J. Cañas; Jennison Asuncion; Roy Blumenthal; David Hyder; Fred Lakin; Brandy Agerbeck; Idriss Ait-Bouziad; Roberta Faulhaber; Michel Laan; Tim Fulford; Raju Mandhyan; Chandrashekhar Ranade; Michael Gerochi; Neil Auty; Brian Friedlander; Barbara Tversky.

If I have missed anyone please let me know.

This is cool: Prof. Alberto J. Cañas has given us some useful information about a project in the University of Chile. And in case you don’t know, he is a co-author of many papers with Prof. Joseph Novak, and is one of the originators of concept mapping.

Spread the word[edit]

I know something about mind mapping software but most of what I know about accessibility options I have learned while building this page, so I will not write any more, other than to ask all to contribute their knowledge, or point this out to anyone they know with experience in this field.

If you’re on Twitter, you might consider tweeting this:

Helping the blind engage with visual methods when a course demands it: Do you have specialist knowledge? Can you help? http://bit.ly/h25M3H