Teachers and students alike were met with a barrage of distance education technologies to learn on the fly. Lack of access to braille and assistive technologies slowed down academic progress. Virtual learning limited hands on instruction, and was especially challenging for orientation and mobility instructions. While the schedule inconsistencies and accessibility barriers of the pandemic were grueling, the next challenge awaits: catching up on all the learning loss unique to students with visual impairments.
As the vision professional, you are uniquely suited to advocate to administrators, families, and teams about the gaps that developed for students during remote instruction, and how the team can set instructional targets for the coming years to get students back on track. Data from the Access and Engagement reports may be useful in supporting your advocacy, and showing the common themes uncovered through online instruction in recent years.
Students Were Unevenly Impacted by the Pandemic
Protective Factors
- Lots of home support for education during virtual instruction
- Technology skills and resource in place prior to shifting to virtual
- Teachers had lots of time for individualized student attention
Risks for Poor Outcomes
- Limited in-home support
- Less educator support
- Children with multiple disabilities or complex learning needs
- Key developmental stages occurred during lockdowns, especially young children and transition aged youth.
Special Impacts on Orientation and Mobility (O&M)
Students and professionals made admirable efforts to be flexible and resilient throughout the pandemic. However, the very nature of lockdowns kept children in their houses, and limited use and learning of O&M skills. People made fewer trips outside the home, mass transit was shut down or restricted, the need to avoid other people, and virtual instruction all had limiting effects on O&M skill development. Most students will require extra O&M instruction to catch up after these lost learning opportunities. Some of the key areas where deficits in pandemic instruction were identified include:
- Concept development
- Motor patterns, such as cane positioning
- Street Crossings
- Transit system skills
Technology Education
“I would wonder why I didn’t ever think of telling her teachers, ‘We should give her a laptop, we should give her tools or equipment that can help her learn and have the same knowledge about technology as her peers.’ My son and daughter are around the same age. They only have a 13-month age difference, and my son uses the computer with ease. My daughter, on the other hand, doesn’t because no one took the time to say we should teach her how to use technology during school.” —Spanish-speaking parent of an 8-year-old who is blind
- Begin technology instruction early
- Aim for students to acquire proficiency in mainstream technologies at the same time as sighted peers.
- Teach assistive technologies needed to access digital or physical content.
- Choose assistive technologies based on a thorough AT assessment. Assessments may be conducted by a knowledgeable, an AT specialist, a professional specifically training in AT for individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
- Consider technology needs for O&M, vocational needs, communication, and household management early, so that cohesive technology systems can be developed.
- Support families in learning technology, including Assistive Technologies, alongside their student.
