I'm an Outreach Consultant: Do I Really Want to Do Raised-Line Drawings?
By DiFrancesco, Barbara L.; See/Hear, Vol. 6, No. 2Publication Date: Spring 2001
Article discusses the use of tactile drawings and symbols for students who are blind or have low vision. Five materials and production techniques for educators are discussed: (1) drawing boards, (2) puff paper, (3) tooling/embossing and collage, (4) computer-assisted diagrams, and (5) use of overlays. Drawing boards can be constructed by using a soft mat with thin Mylar and a ballpoint pen. Teachers can use tactile examples for explaining a point, while students can produce personal drawings with notes for later study. Puff paper, also called Swell-touch paper or Flexi-paper, can be produced by using the Tactile Image Enhancer, TIE Junior, Pictures In A Flash from HumanWare, and the Swell-Form Graphics Machine from American Thermoform. For tooling/embossing and collage, a tactile graphics kit is available from American Printing House for the Blind. Computer-assisted diagrams can be used to create designs on Braille paper, maps, charts, and graphs. Overlays can be created for textbooks that do not have tactile graphics to explain all of the relevant information. The author contends that some of the techniques discussed in the article do not have a very long shelf life, and are not intended for long-term use.
Assistive Products Discussed: P.I.A.F. (PICTURES IN A FLASH)
TACTILE IMAGE ENHANCER JUNIOR
FLEXI-PAPER
SWELL-TOUCH PAPER
SWELL-FORM GRAPHICS HEATING MACHINE
TACTILE IMAGE ENHANCER
Published by:
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (Web Site: http://www.tsbvi.edu )
Link to text: http://www.tsbvi.edu/Outreach/seehear/spring01/drawings.htm
