Digital Technology for Educating Blind

Majority of visually challenged people in India reside in rural and least developed areas. Access to education in these areas is limited leading to low literacy rate leading to struggle for employment. The Covid-19 pandemic has further hindered accessibility to education.

To reduce this disparity caused by limited availability of books and reading materials in braille, the Foundation has launched pilot programs for the visually challenged students, like the Digital Literacy and Virtual Learning to equip them to access textbooks and course materials through the internet. Digital education starts with the students from 3rd to 5th grade continuing through middle and high school. For blind students with college degrees, we provide training on use of computers to enable them to compete for employment.

This program can be scaled to cover 12 million visually challenged in India or 37 million globally. 

Education is considered a fundamental human right, and yet most people with visual disabilities cannot enforce this right.  According to the 2011 census, India is home to 1/3 of the world’s blind population. There are currently more than 2 million visually challenged children in India who are vulnerable to illiteracy and poverty, but only 5% of them receive any type of education. Visual impairment creates a cycle of illiteracy, poverty and social exclusion for people, making them one of the most vulnerable groups in the world. Having not studied school-level mathematics and science, students automatically drop out of eligibility criteria for higher education and STEM courses. 

Our dream is to see all blind students in India get high school education (and college education for those who continue to do well) and make them ready to get employment- employment to those who are old and never went to schools as well as those who have graduated from high schools and universities. Our mission is inclusive education for all.

Our solution simply focuses on making the best use of available technology for the welfare of the visually challenged students. Our Technology for Visually Challenged Program intends to create a life-changing program where the visually challenged  have equal and fair opportunities to learn, work and live. By using transformative education and technology, we are providing equal education opportunities to visually challenged students. Our MIT interns (2020-21) deep-dived into the technologies available in market and after thorough analysis, they recommended multiple applications which can be used by visually challenged students for their education and quality of life. Blind students are being trained in the use of computers and the internet to prepare them to move on to schools for sighted students and/or develop skills which can help in competing for employment. MIT student interns are helping with the development of  training manuals on the use of computers and smartphones by blind to enable them to manage their daily life and gain as much independence as possible. By incorporating STEM education, we are helping them to increase their literacy in science and mathematics, and technology.

The target audience is school and college students with total visual impairment or low vision problems. These students are part of the Foundation’s computer literacy program for blind which provides opportunities such as access to digital education and enhanced quality of life. Education is a fundamental need for people who are at the edge of society, with limited opportunities and suffering prejudice. The blind people with low socio-economic backgrounds, especially those in rural areas where the poverty rate is high, are unable to receive the same quality and quantity of education as their sighted peers. Blindness, like many disabilities, leads to unemployment, which furthers the cycle of poverty and leaves them with a loss of income and low standards of living. 

MIT interns shortlisted the most accessible applications and software presently in use to improve blind people’s education and life. They interviewed successful visually challenged professionals to better understand their strategies to overcome the challenges in life related to their disability. 

Our keyboard training program enables visually challenged students to get basic training in typing prior to learning the use of computers. The students gain knowledge about STEM subjects by participating in our virtual classes for high school students. Students get exposure to leadership skills through virtual classes on communication. These opportunities help them in improving their analytical and problem-solving skills. Oral communication skills help blind students in affording an opportunity to maximize social inclusion and mobility. The digital inclusion of the visually challenged students improves the quality of life using education and skill development as a tool which in turn, is expected to result in enhanced employment opportunities and self-dependence. 

Through our Technology for Visually Challenged Program, we aim to create a level playing field for visually challenged students who belong to low-income families by using transformative education and technology to enhance their way of learning, employability and living. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Foundation made the virtual classes inclusive to them. They are learning beyond-school curriculum and acquiring skills like communication, critical thinking and leadership which will surely prove beneficial for them in applying for jobs. The goal is to make education more inclusive for the visually challenged using technology as means to empower. 

We selected a pilot model as we have tested its components from 1 year (Technology for Blind) to 2 years (Train-the-trainers) and 3 years (High School Leadership). The final (composite) model is being tested out in 1 school (Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys’ Academy, Kolkata, India = BBA). Based on  baseline surveys conducted at BBA, this model has been implemented to provide opportunities to visually challenged students. Currently, there are 40 direct student beneficiaries and 3 faculty under this program. The Foundation aims to expand its reach to additional blind schools through collaboration with the Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts. 

Through this pilot program, we are developing innovative approaches in consultation with MIT’s graduate students, a faculty member, and student interns and EKAF Fellow in the Program. Feedback from this will be used to understand technology to support learning needs for visually challenged students in schools (K-12) and colleges.

The Technology for Visually Challenged Program for students follows closely with our mission of inclusion. This carefully constructed program offers a revolutionary approach of making the other educational models inclusive for blind students, which is unheard of in the Indian education system. This model uses technology to improve the standard of living while offering free-of-cost training models which are easy to replicate in other locations too.

 The Foundation created a standard and a level playing field for all students so that they can learn and grow free-of-cost, at the same pace and so that no one is left behind. The lack of Braille machines, Braille textbooks and a dependency on others has a negative impact on their academic and social achievements. EKAF uses recent technological advancements in both static (e.g., laptops, computers) and mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones), as tools for education and enhanced quality of life of the visually challenged students. There has been ever-increasing participation of the visually challenged students in our other programs such as the High School Leadership program. This shows how this program has helped build their confidence and leadership skills over time. 

Through this program, the Foundation’s mission is to create a life-changing experience for these students where they get fair and equal opportunities to learn and grow. A place where they can find their own voice in society.

Currently, our programs have 40 visually challenged students (in India) who are directly its beneficiaries. 150 people are the indirect beneficiaries, including students, volunteers and interns.

As we continue to grow our model, we aim to directly provide to 100 students in a year from now. In 5 years, we aim to directly benefit 500 students.

We track and keep a check on our growth and progress by bringing to notice how they continually align with the Sustainable Development Goals as specified by the United Nations - 4,8,10 and 17. We have continually aligned with the SGD 4- Quality Education, SDG 8 - Decent work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities and SDG 17- Partnerships for the Goals.

Through our programs, we continually provided Quality Education to students through constantly revising our strategies, updating them and also training teachers to be better educators. Decent Work and Economic Growth is crucial to the model of our program wherein we want to increase the potential and the employability of these visually challenged students and make them important contributors to the global economy.

Through the application of such inclusive programs, we Reduce Inequality between the able-bodied and these visually challenged students to make sure no one is left behind. We have also started seeking our Partnerships with several on-ground blind school teachers and Principals, volunteers, interns (MIT, Harvard, New York University, and Delhi University, India) and other organisations to achieve our mission. 

Additionally, there has also been a reduction in the dropout rates in our programs and the level of digital proficiency among students is continually tracked with the help of students. This also helps us chart their learning stages and their respectives pace.

Full time staff: 1

Interns: 2-5

Part time staff: 3

Volunteers: 100+

Ek Kadam Aur has been working on components of this solution for the past three years. We have a dedicated team who is striving hard to create a life-changing program where the visually challenged have equal and fair opportunities to learn, work and live. The program has an active Advisory Board that provides strategic guidance and knowhow. The Board consists of collaborators from Perkins School for Blind, blind entrepreneurs, Blind School Principals, and staff members from the Foundation who have responsibility for High School Leadership, Train-theTrainers, and Active Learning Programs.

The approach followed by the Foundation to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning team is reflected in its Advisory Committee. The advisory committee of the program comprises a representation from 3 visually challenged members out of a total of 6 members which accounts for 50% participation. We believe that their representation is crucial for the program as their suggestions and advice help us understand the intricacies from a visually challenged students’ perspective. We are committed to hiring professionals with diverse educational and socio-cultural backgrounds.

We are submitting this application on behalf of our organization Ek Kadam Aur. First and foremost reason for submitting this application is to work with Solve Teams in the MIT Environment.

Our Mission is democratization of quality education for all- those who can see and those who cannot (blind). We are seeking technical and mentoring support from MIT’s Solve Challenge for the Foundation’s educational and skill development programs for the less privileged. There are about 2 million visually challenged children in India). The funding support offered will be utilized in the following ways:

• To establish our Program in STEM education and enhance quality of life for blind children and adults in India using knowhow from our programs on students who have normal vision. Our programs for students with normal vision include: Train-the-Trainers for Elementary Schools; High School Leadership for STEM Education; and Active Learning for Middle and High School students. Each of these programs will be tailored to the needs of blind and visually challenged. 

• To provide blind children means to study with children who have normal vision (usual practice in the United States).

One hundred percent of the funds will be used by Ek Kadam Aur to support the Program. The Founder is committed to the success of this program through working full-time for Ek Kadam Aur and will NOT take financial support for himself. 

• Business Model support in terms of upgrading the model

• Financial model support in terms of expanding the reach

• Service distribution support to reach out to a larger number of beneficiaries

• Technological support to come up with more tech-driven solutions for the problems faced by our visually challenged students

We would like to continue the collaboration with MIT’s PKG center to host interns. Our team would like to collaborate with the MIT Solve team for developing tech-based solutions and also for funding purposes. Moreover, we are also looking to collaborate with corporations led by MIT alumni for both volunteering and funding.