scientific and graphing calculators

They have scientific and graphing calculators that are usable by blind students?

Calculators Are extensively employed in every level of education. Calculators capable of performing statistical or scientific calculations, alter matrices and plot functions for graphs are helpful in the study of complex mathematics. While the majority scientific calculators and graphing tools aren't accessible to those who don't have vision but there are alternatives that permit those who visually impaired users to use these calculators successfully.

There are numerous talking Scientific calculators are on the market, though every calculator won't function to the exact specifications that are required for all grades. Therefore, an assessment of features required by the student is required to be completed so that the best calculator for that student is selected. Susan Osterhaus at the Texas School for the Blind has written a comprehensive review about the features of different speaking Scientific calculators which can aid in the selection process. The calculator, Orion TI-30XS MultiView Communicating Scientific Calculator can be highly respected and well-respected as a talkative scientific calculator that may meet the needs of various types of students.

Another option is the electronic notetaker portable that comes with the latest math functions. Certain notetakers have speech synthesis using Braille which refreshes. This can be used by students who are blind to trigonometric and logarithmic computations. Make sure to check with the manufacturer of the notetaker to determine if an scientific calculator function could be used.

There's also software that can allow the ability to speak to the scientific calculator application. Certain of them mimic the standard calculator interface and some can also provide audio access to graphs. For example, there is Audio Graphing Calculator (AGC) is an example of an accessible Windows-based program with a graphing calculator that features graphing calculators that have the capability of showing graphs audio as well as visually as a sonified tone graph.

To learn more about accessibility of for the scientific and graphing calculators see the accessibility resource available Calculators at the GeorgiaTech Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA).

For more information on accessible math, take a look at these Knowledge Base articles What are possible ways to design Braille maths materials? and why is accessible math essential?