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Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016
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Yet, while these and other experiences that week made for some
incredible memories, my main mission was focused on how SOFIA and the
type of astronomy it conducts can impact students with visual impairments.
My students either cannot see well, or even see altogether. So the question
that arose was, "how can I help my students who can't see, see what we who
have sight, cannot see?" It seemed like a reasonable endeavor. For
students who are blind, everything is invisible to start with, so translating the
invisible universe of SOFIA was what was needed to be done. But we soon
discovered that's not such an easy proposition.
We began by making use of our school's Tiger embosser by first making a
tactile image of SOFIA out of one of the photographs found on the SOFIA
website. This allowed my students to orient themselves with the outline of the
plane and the location of the telescope. I brought a stack of them with me
and gave them to the SOFIA team – they were a big hit and helped to open
up many conversations regarding students with visual impairments and how
to help them access infrared astronomy. One promising idea involved
developing vibrating feedback within the images that relates the intensities of
the energies being represented.
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