Understanding the Practice, Perception, and Challenge of Blind or Low Vision Students Learning through Accessible Technologies in Non-Inclusive 'Blind Colleges'

TL;DR

This study investigates how BLV students in Chinese Blind Colleges use accessible technologies amidst non-inclusive educational settings in developing regions. It combines a formative study with a two-part qualitative study (observation N=9, interviews N=20) to reveal that digital and tactile tools improve access but face barriers such as graphical content inaccessibility, software limitations, and resource shortages. The findings highlight the influence of early non-inclusive education on current learning experiences and discuss strategies for transitioning toward Integrated Colleges through policy reform and design enhancements that integrate accessibility into mainstream tools. The work offers design guidelines (e.g., resource platforms, AI-assisted note-taking, and broader software accessibility) and outlines future research directions to advance BLV education in resource-constrained contexts.

Abstract

In developing and underdeveloped regions, many 'Blind Colleges' exclusively enroll individuals with Blindness or Vision Impairment (BLV) for higher education. While advancements in accessible technologies have facilitated BLV student integration into 'Integrated Colleges,' their implementation in 'Blind Colleges' remains uneven due to complex economic, social, and policy challenges. This study investigates the practices, perceptions, and challenges of BLV students using accessible technologies in a Chinese 'Blind College' through a two-part empirical approach. Our findings demonstrate that tactile and digital technologies enhance access to education but face significant integration barriers. We emphasize the critical role of early education in addressing capability gaps, BLV students' aspirations for more inclusive educational environments, and the systemic obstacles within existing frameworks. We advocate for leveraging accessible technologies to transition 'Blind Colleges' into 'Integrated Colleges,' offering actionable insights for policymakers, designers, and educators. Finally, we outline future research directions on accessible technology innovation and its implications for BLV education in resource-constrained settings.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: These figures illustrate the overview of an in-field mock-up workshop. (1) BLV students were divided into three groups. (2) One BLV student attended a lecture (3) One low-vision student attended a lecture. (4) one group of BLV students were presenting their reports
• Figure 2: This flowchart illustrates the procedure of a mock-up course workshop with the approximated time.
• Figure 3: These figures show key features of how BLV students use digitally accessible technologies for learning, such as 1) using shortcuts to operate computers, 2)pre-reading courseware through OCR recognition, 3) collaboratively summarizing contents of reading by each group member, 4) Reading the paper and taking notes at the same interface.
• Figure 4: These figures visualize the challenges encountered by BLV students when using accessible technologies, including 1) Graphic operations such as slider validation that obstructs login; 2) Suddenly appearing pop-up ads during software usage; 3) OCR recognition errors that result in confusing text order; 4) The necessity for BLV students to use music notation software like Sibelius to create their own learning resources.