Until recently, blind and visually impaired students in Kenya were still using Braille books for their studies. But Kenyan schools for the blind are now beginning to adopt technology that provides material in a audible form -- and in the process expands their opportunities.

Lucas Mwanzia, 17, intently searches the internet for information. Today's class is on biology. Mwanzia is visually impaired and for the last two years has been attending computer classes at the Thika School for the Blind.
Mwanzia is in eighth grade, having started school at a later age because of his vision.
He says the technology has opened up new frontiers that were once inaccessible.
"Braille books are quite expensive and you have to use quite a sum to purchase one," Mwanzia explained. "But now since we have computers we get the books at virtually no cost. So we download the various books to read and when are done we just close the program."
'Assistive' technology
The school embraced "assistive technology" six years ago, enabling blind and visually-impaired students to access information from computers and iPads.
Zachary Muasya, one of the school's teachers, was born blind. He has been teaching the students how to use the technology for about two years now.
He says the technology presents opportunities that can level the playing field for his students.
"Assistive technology equips the learners with very many skills that really make them independent in life," he said. "They can read materials like books, magazines, newspapers by themselves. And apart from that -- assistive technology equips them with employable skills."
The assistive technology costs $1,000 for a school to install. But an NGO called InAble has provided it to the schools at no cost.
Challenges remain
Peter Okeyo, the program manager at InAble, says blind students using the technology may still face challenges when they move to higher education.
"When learners move from primary to high school and then to universities, they go to university and then they realize there is not that technology," Okeyo said. "So the fact that they learnt that technology in primary and high school, when they move to university they go back to braille which is another challenge to them."
So far, four out of Kenya's 11 schools for the blind have adopted the technology. InAble says it will provide the funding for the remaining schools to come on board.
Vocabulary
impaired:受损的
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:clean
常用英语词语辨析105组(2)
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解5一代词
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解1一冠词
2009中考英语词汇表 系列H
2009中考英语词汇表 系列O
2009中考英语词汇表 系列R
初中英语常用词组复习2
中考英语词汇--“美味水果”大聚会
初中英语常用词组复习1
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:cause
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解2一名词
2009中考英语词汇表 系列S
2009中考英语词汇表 系列UV
2009中考英语词汇表 系列M
2009中考英语词汇表 系列JKL
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:blind
初中英语短语汇总 A- Y
初中英语常用词组1 动词词组
张惠妹《排山倒海》英文版
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:cost
初中英语常用词组3 量词词组
为英语写作”画龙点睛“的24句谚语
英乐时空Here I Am
词汇笔记 五种词汇的学习方法 超强
常用英语词语辨析105组(5)
2010年中考英语词汇旧词新义:deal
09年中考英语总复习经典习题讲解3一冠词
初中英语 词缀记忆法
2009中考英语词汇表 系列N
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |