Researchers to present information at Purdue on how to teach science to students affected by blindness
October 24, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - More than 20 researchers will speak about methods and technologies to teach science to students affected by blindness and low vision during a two-day conference at Purdue University.
The 2011 Independence Science: Learning a New Direction (ISLAND) conference will be Friday and Saturday (Oct. 28 and 29) in the East and West faculty lounges in the Purdue Memorial Union, 101 N. Grant St. The event is free and open to the public.
Presentations will be given from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time Friday (Oct. 28). Teacher workshops will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 29).
Cary Supalo, a blind chemist who earned a doctorate in chemistry, is the founder and president of Purdue Research Park-based Independence Science LLC, one of the conference sponsors. He said the company's goal is to inspire blind and low-vision students to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula.
"Persons with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM fields," he said. "The purpose of the ISLAND conference is to learn about factors that contribute to STEM underrepresentation and technologies and strategies for increasing STEM representation."
Presentation topics will include audemes and STEM education, tactile pictures, lab modifications to teach physical science and biology, technology for freehand raised-line drawing, an accessible online algebra course, best practices to support students transitioning to college, making geoscience education accessible, promoting participation in biomedical laboratory research, and comparing phonetic-based, Braille-based and stroke-based keyboard input of written Chinese.
In addition to Supalo, other scheduled presenters include:
* Mick Isaacson and Lyle L. Lloyd, Purdue University
* Steve Mannheimer, Mexhid Ferati, Davide Bolchini and Mathew Palakal, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
* Amelia Dickerson, University of Colorado
* Alan Roth, Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis
* Becky Heck, Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis
* Michael Rosen, Michael Coleman, Joshua Coffee, Keegan Brown and Akie Hashimoto, University of Vermont
* David Schleppenbach, gh LLC, Lafayette, Ind.
* Clark Shingledecker, Brittany Boyne and Jennifer Barga, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
* Amy L. Micklos Lewis and George M. Bodner, Purdue University
* Gina Ceylan, University of Missouri
* Brad Duerstock, Purdue University
* Drew Markley, GW Micro Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.
* Xuyang Cao, Ludong University, Yantai, People's Republic of China, and Wenjing Zheng, Indiana University
The conference is sponsored by gh LLC, the Institute for Accessible Science at Purdue and Independence Science.
For more information or to register for the event, visit http://www.independencescience.com and click on the "ISLAND conference" link.
About Independence Science LLC
Officials at Independence Science are making their expertise available to help school districts, colleges and universities, and state rehabilitation agencies across the country meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements in the science curriculum. These technologies are being made available to further serve as a dissemination tool to benefit any blind and low-vision student in the United States.
About Purdue Research Park
The Purdue Research Park has the largest university-affiliated business incubation complex in the country in four locations across Indiana. The park network is home to about 200 companies that employ 4,000 people and are located in West Lafayette, Merrillville, Indianapolis and New Albany.
Purdue Research Park contact: Steve Martin, 765-588-3342, sgmartin@prf.org
Source: Cary Supalo, 814-441-2589, csupalo@independencescience.com
