Date
25 March 2024

Present information in different ways

Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8’

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Consider visual experience

Consider visual experience

We often take for granted the amount of visual information received every day. Many students with a vision impairment do not have a lifetime of visual experiences to draw upon.

Take a multi-sensory approach

Take a multi-sensory approach

Offer students multiple opportunities to build understanding using all their senses.
  • Offer real experiences, physical activity, and manipulables to support understanding.
  • Support text and spoken information with photos, graphics, audio, and video.
  • Present digital text rather than printed text so that students can personalise it by enlarging it or listening to it.
  • Use online tools such as Google Slides or blogs to bring multimedia together, so students have content options presented in different media all in one place (for example, a YouTube video, a graphic and some text).
  • Make instructions, demonstrations, or key content rewindable and accessible 24/7.

Increase accessibility of content

Increase accessibility of content

Discuss with the student what will support their access to information.

Build the suggestions into your teaching practice.

  • Provide enlarged photocopied versions of printed materials.
  • Create clear, uncluttered materials.
  • Use high-contrast colours for whiteboard pens, text and graphics on slides. Avoid pastel colours and grey tones on printed and online materials.
  • Set out board work in a clear, consistent format with good contrast, using columns, grouping information and clear, large writing.
  • Use visual tools to highlight information such as key words and new vocabulary.
  • Incorporate markers, such as fluorescent stickers, to help navigate to certain places or questions in workbooks.

Offer text-to-speech tools

Offer text-to-speech tools

Offer text-to-speech tools to read text aloud and support comprehension. Free text-to-speech tools are available across all computer operating systems.

Use closed captions

Use closed captions

Look for closed captions when viewing video and TV to increase access to audio content.

On YouTube

  • Search for videos with closed captions using the Subtitles/CC filter. The filter menu box appears on the left of the YouTube search results page – that is, once you have searched on a subject, for example “frogs”, and have a list of results.
  • Look for the CC symbol. It may be under the settings cog.

On TV and streaming services 

  • Look for TV settings or settings on each streaming service.
  • The subtitles or closed caption option may be listed under Audio and subtitles, or Accessibility options.

Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Helpful classroom strategies years 1-8”:

Return to the guide “Low vision and learning”

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