Children With Special Needs
For Students:
The audiobooks for visually impaired and ISL Dictionary for hearing impaired have been put up on DIKSHA platform. In addition, the National Institute of Open Schooling is committed to make its website accessible to people with disabilities. In its effort to make the website accessible, NIOS has incorporated different features which will make it easier for users to browse the website.
Some of the accessibility features incorporated in the website includes adjusting the display settings, ease of navigation, content readability and so on. Following are the accessibility features incorporated in this website:
- Alternate description for Images & Audio/Video
- Display settings
- Ease of navigation
- Content readability & structure
- Keyboard support
Visually Impaired Learners
- Study material has been developed in Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY), a technical standard for digital audiobooks, periodicals and computerized text.
- Learners can access all study material of NIOS through DAISY
- An Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary has been developed to facilitate communication and education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing learners.
- NIOS has also developed more than 270 Video in Sign Language in 7 subjects to provide educational access to learners at secondary level and Yoga course.
- These videos are available at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXBn5q8Zv4Bz-LZXWWD7Jxw/playlists
- Accessibility in School Curriculum-NCERT’s Initiatives can be found here https://ciet.nic.in/pages.php?id=accesstoedu&ln=en&ln=en
Hearing Impaired Learners
- Course content (Selected ones) of NIOS has also been recorded in sign language which is placed on NIOS website as well as on YouTube.
- NIOS has also developed more than 270 Video in Sign Language in 7 subjects to provide educational access to learners at secondary level and Yoga course.
- These videos are available at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXBn5q8Zv4Bz-LZXWWD7Jxw/playlists
- The recorded content is sent to HI learners on DVD
Innovative Material developed by NCERT
Various steps are being taken to bring children with special needs (CwSN) to schools such as the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) has developed exemplar material for providing low cost quality home education to students with severe disabilities through e-learning. NCERT text books have been converted into digital books which can be downloaded free by any one, any time. Most of the books are in UNICODE which a child with special needs can read using a Text-to-Speech (TTS)/Software/mobile app though e-Pathshaala mobile app. For visually challenged learners e-book in DAISY format and tactile maps have been developed.
Promoting Inclusive Education in the Foundational Years - Barkha: A Reading Series for ‘All’
The department has developed Barkha: A Reading Series for ‘All’ as an exemplary, inclusive learning material in the form of a supplementary early reading series. This reading series is available in print and digital formats. Its design is based on the principles of inclusion and the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Barkha: A Reading Series for ‘All’ is exemplary in demonstrating how the principles of UDL can guide the design of inclusive features like tactile and high resolution visuals, text in accessible scripts etc. This exemplar provides a direction and initial guidelines for developing similarly accessible material in the form of textbooks and other learning resources for all school stages.
In tandem with the Digital India Campaign, the department has also developed a digital version of Barkha: A Reading Series for ‘All’. This digital version retains all the inclusive features of the print version and is unique in its functionality because it allows for greater flexibility and has greater scope of appealing to all. Children can access all 40 story booklets through a single device. This also gives them space to revisit any book whenever and wherever they like. The privacy that is afforded by being able to read on one’s own computer or tablet allows one to read comfortably and at one’s own pace therefore promoting reading in a non-threatening environment with meaning and pleasure. An introduction to each story is available in audio-video format both in sign and regular language forms. It helps to introduce sign language as a regular form of communication at an early age to all children in an inclusive setting. The digital version of this reading series is available on NCERT website and the epathshala portal.
