Madurai :

To keep abreast of latest technologies that enhance teaching, the visually challenged teachers under the banner of Blind Teachers Association (BTA), Madurai Branch, arranged a special technical session for their members. More than 300 visually challenged teachers are members of the branch that has jurisdiction from Karur to Kanyakumari districts and 90 of them from Madurai and nearby districts participated in the workshop held on Saturday.

Pune-based innovation company, Persion Technologies, announced during the event that it will come out with an interactive whiteboard for blind teachers by next month. Kiran Deshpande, director of the innovation and applications wing at the company, said the whiteboards will display whatever one keys into a laptop. The company will be also offering the device at comparatively cheaper prices, he informed.

V Elangovan, BTA chairman, observed that the teaching technology is changing fast and the education department too adopts lot of such technologies into teaching. “We feel that we should be adequately prepared for the technologies in the market. The response from our teachers was very enthusiastic,” he said.

At the worshop, teaching-aids developed by the Pune firm were demonstrated. An input-cum display device helps to feed all standard shapes, charts, scientific and mathematical symbols in any standard application. A Braille embosser for printing ordinary books into the Braille and a scanner device that reads out the printed sheets were also found useful for blind teachers.

“The general challenge we face during the class room is the control of students because we can’t see the activities of the students in a class. Using such modern equipment will help to increase the involvement of students,” said M Kalidoss, a history teacher in Kodukkampatti High School in Madurai.

Nicholas Francis, director of Helen Keller  Talking Library, who inaugurated the workshop, remarked that the visually challenged are the pioneers in utilising modern technologies among the differently abled community. “The visually challenged teachers should not be left behind with technological advancements and should strive hard to learn these scientific tools,” he said.

Elangovan said that the association is planning to hold similar workshops in Tirunelveli in the coming days for the benefit of blind teachers from Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / March 25th, 2013