(75f) Tactile/Audible Representations as Aides to Students with Limited Vision

Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are pervasive elements of most modern technical software and represent a convenient tool for student instruction. For example, GUIs are used for [chemical] process design software (eg. CHEMCAD, PRO/II I and Aspen) typically encountered in the senior capstone course. Drag and drop aspects of GUIs are challenging for students with little or no visual acuity. We report on the combination of tactile representations, audible cues, and tablet pc technology to circumvent such aspects of GUI.