PI: John Goldthwaite The project will develop resource materials to assist science teachers provide students with disabilities the ability to participate in the conduct of science laboratory experiments. Staff from Georgia Tech's Center for Rehabilitation Technology will work with the institution's Chemistry and Physics Departments in setting up twelve computer controlled lab experiments that are representative of first year chemistry and physics lab exercises. Staff will test the combination of computer access and computer controlled laboratory technology and develop a resource guide that will permit teachers to learn to operate these technologies independently. The resource guide will provide teachers the information they need for modifying existing labs and for operating computer controlled systems. It will also cover use of computers equipped with software needed by blind, visually impaired and mobility impaired students. The project's activities and resulting resource guide should be valuable as well to the many schools that do not have modern science laboratories. Many teachers are developing simulations of laboratory experiments to use as supplements to, or substitutions for, chemistry and physics laboratory experiments. Although simulations are not a replacement for fully accessible laboratories, they may be a good alternative in the absence of well-equipped laboratories, and they should be appropriate for some students with severe disabilities who would not otherwise be able to participate in laboratory experiments. Project staff will identify and document existing laboratory simulations and low tech tools and techniques for making laboratory experiments accessible. Staff will test a sample of twenty simulation programs with computer access software to be sure that the simulations are fully usable by students with disabilities. The resource guide will contain a comprehensive list of these simulations and other low tech tools and techniques used as laboratory accommodations.
