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Teaching a Blind Student Engineering Graphics – A Case Study

swell paper helped blind student learn  engineering graphicsIt began with a conundrum: How to accommodate a blind mechanical engineering major who needed to take a required engineering graphics course but couldn’t access its computer-assisted design system. Steven Zemke, a professor of engineering and physics at Whitworth University, figured out a way to teach fundamental visualization and drawing skills using assistive technologies such as braille pads – and small, 3-D-printed plastic parts that could felt and then sketched on special “swell paper” to show the raised lines like the example pictured here.

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Design a Sneaker

sneaker with xray leg in itStudents in upper elementary/early middle school follow the engineering design process to brainstorm and build prototype sneakers from a variety of materials to meet such design requirements as good traction or deep cushioning. They learn how the sole provides support, cushioning, and traction. There also may be some fashion-based functions, including cool colors or added height.

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