Abstract
Multi-Sensory Reading: Simultaneous audio and Braille presentation to improve reading skills The studies reported here investigated the integration of audio and tactile media in educational materials for visually impaired students. The studies explore the concept of multi-sensory learning (MSL) in which more than one sense is engaged in the learning process. MSL has successfully been used for students with print disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder (AD/HD). Visually impaired students who learn from audio books have difficulties in maintaining attention as listening is an essentially passive process. MSL, being more active and involving more than one channel, might improve attention and comprehension. In the first study, visually impaired people were asked to listen to a text passage in synthesised speech and read the same passage simultaneously in Braille. Reading comprehension questions, reading speed measurements and open ended questions were used to assess the effectiveness of this dual-channel process in learning and showed that the simultaneous process did not slow down reading or impair comprehension.
This strategy, with variations of media, could be applied for people with print disabilities and AD/HD. The first exploratory study yielded promising results, the second study, which is a follow-up to the first, and uses texts and questions especially designed for measuring comprehension levels, is in progress and the results will be presented at the conference.
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