Accessible Science: Perkins teacher speaks at national conference
On Tuesday, June 17th, Perkins science teacher Kate Fraser was a keynote speaker at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired's (TSBVI) conference: "Texas Focus 2008: Providing Access to a World of Learning."
Fraser and fellow Perkins science teachers have been working on a growing and exciting new section of the Perkins School for the Blind website: Teaching Accessible Science.
Fraser and Bower presented about OceanInsight, a collaboration between Perkins and Woods Hole. Bower, who is blind, has been working alongside Fraser to introduce Perkins students to oceanography. Both Fraser and Bower are committed to making science an accessible career option to students who are blind and visually impaired.
The goals of OceanInsight are to communicate the importance of understanding how the world works, instill the excitement of oceanographic research, and introduce Perkins students to careers in the geosciences that they might not otherwise consider as accessible to them.
In September of 2007, Bower and Fraser set out on a research voyage to the Labrador Sea. During the voyage, Bower communicated with students through a website portal and also via voice-to-voice communication and audio postcards. Fraser authored an article about the OceanInsight collaboration, "Oceanography for the Visually Impaired" , published in the March 2008 edition of The Science Teacher.
Don't forget to visit our Teaching Accessible Science website and check back with us for expanded content. We welcome you to contact Perkins science teachers with your specific questions and comments at science@perkins.org!