Two teens aimed to offer visually impaired student independence. Mission accomplished
It’s challenging enough for students to find their way around a new, bigger place when they transition from elementary to middle school. For visually impaired kids, it’s much harder.
Two students in Shawnee Mission’s Signature Engineering program are trying to make it easier for an incoming Westridge Middle School student next year.
Seniors Alyssa Jimenez of Shawnee Mission East and Addison Bien of Shawnee Mission North have been working all semester on a new tactile map of Westridge that’s intended to be an improvement on the district’s latest version.
It’s not as easy as just 3D printing a paper map. Considerations include size and the feel of materials, as well as leaving out inconsequential information that can make reading a tactile map confusing. The final product is more like a large notebook, with different pages for different parts of the school.
“We had to get the building plans from someone within the building of Westridge Middle School,” Alyssa said. “We had to change some of the design principles of it: change the width of walls and remove unnecessary objects within the room, add emergency exits, create stairs. A lot of planning went into it.”
For inside information to help them understand what’s needed and what isn’t, Alyssa and Addison turned to Erin Meyer, an orientation and mobility specialist for visually impaired people.
“She’s been what we call an expert and stakeholder in the process. (Students) seek help and advice from someone experiencing the problem they want to solve,” said engineering teacher Greg Thiel.
“The biggest challenge for them was truly empathizing with the person having the problem. Our first step in the design process is empathy, to help understand the problem from the standpoint of the person who’s experiencing the problem.”
Trying to plan around obstacles that you haven’t personally faced can be tough.
“The most difficult thing is just really trying to break it down on a level where we can try to understand what is going to be most desired for our client,” Addison said. “We’re trying to relate to them, and it’s hard, because we’re not visually impaired.”
Right now, the district has paper braille maps and maps using Velcro, but neither holds up for a long period of time.
The process isn’t just one and done. Alyssa and Addison have worked with the student who will receive the map to test it and see what works for him and what needs modifications.
“My student was very excited. Addison and Alyssa made sure he was part of the process,” Meyer said. “They took all the information he gave. When they went back to work on things, they really took into account all of his opinions. I don’t know if every sixth-grader feels like their opinions are put into something permanent like that.”
Considerations in the construction of the map included making it easy to hold and not too heavy to carry around the school hallways. The students used AutoCAD to modify the building plans and used a laser cutter to shape Masonite, then attached the pieces to foam board. To give emergency exits a different texture, they used a 3-D printer to make those pieces.
All labels on the map are in both raised lettering and Braille.
“Making it has been a struggle. There are a lot of constraints to follow,” Addison said. “You can’t make it too detailed, because it can throw the person off. You can’t leave it too minuscule of detail either. It’s making it as simplistic as possible and making it as efficient as possible.”
Meyer said she’s hoping this project will allow them to slowly build up a better collection of maps in the district. Currently, the district has approximately 50 students who are either blind or have low vision.
“It just gives independence and safety,” Meyer said. “It gives them a more level playing field with the other students in the school.”
