This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Joe reads like his first grade peers, but instead of keeping his eyes on the page, Joe keeps his fingers running along the raised dots that create the words and sentences on the page. Joe takes in everything through touch because he, like all my students, has a visual impairment.
I teach students with visual impairments in various schools in my school district.
My students in the past have ranged in age from 3 to 21. Some students have some functional vision while others have no vision. It is amazing to watch them take in the world through touch. Unfortunately there are limited materials available that are tactile and meaningful, but my students are so appreciative of everything that is presented in a tactile format. It is so exciting to see them when they experience something new.
My Project
The 3D printer opens the doors to an unseen world for my students. We recently finished a unit on the pumpkin. With the use of a 3D printer, my students could gain a better understanding of the concept of the pumpkin life cycle. The change in the seed to the sprout to the vine to the flower could all be more realistic for students who are blind. This is just one example of how the 3D printer can increase access to an unseen world for my students. As we begin a unit on the moon, a creation of a miniature moon at each phase would be more concrete and help students who have limited concepts of things that are visual in nature. I would love to print a picture for my student to feel, even if only once, so they would understand the concept of a picture. I could take a picture of the student, print it on a 3D printer and use it to explain mirrors and reflection, a concept that a student who has been blind since birth does not have. I could go on and on with specific examples.
The thought of having a way to expand access to the visual world through 3D printing for my blind students is exciting.
To give them a peak into a world that they are removed from would be a dream come true.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Green and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.