KEPLER UNIVERSITY OF LINZ

Educational Endeavour Computer Science for the Blind
Institute for Computer Science, University of Linz
Altenbergerstrasse 69, A-4040 Linz, Austria
tel.: +43-732-2468/9232, fax: +43-732-2468-9322, e-mail: info@mvblind.uni-linz.ac.at
contact person: Klaus Miesenberger


Founded in 1991 the educational endeavour tries to facilitate a university curriculum under equal conditions and in the same time as for the sighted students by means of new information and communication technology.
Presently, courses in general computer science, computer science for economists, law, and a special preparation course for students without university qualification are attended.
The main part of our support activities is the digital preparation of all studying materials such as books, lecture notes, overhead sheets, exercises, contents of the blackboard and so forth, by tutors who are students in an advanced semester. Materials that are already obtainable in digital form are converted to a format suitable for the visually impaired. Materials available in printed form are processed by a scanner.
In order to support the lecturers, information not immediately accessible to the visually impaired students is conveyed to them by special instructors; examples for such information are graphics, drawings, diagrams or mathematical formulae.
In 1994 the educational endeavour initiated and organised the first international computer camp (ICC) for partially sighted and blind children and teens together with sighted children and teens.
The 1996 ICC's objective was to get the participants to know new technologies, improve knowledge and to provide a platform for international and inter cultural exchange while being aware of improving ones chances in life. Participants came from 16 different countries spread across Europe. In 1997 the camp will take place in the Netherlands.
Since 1996 the MVB is working as a partner in the Leonardo da Vinci Project Workable Centre Network Europe. The project aims to establish placements for handicapped students in the last semesters of their studies or for young unemployed academics with special needs.
Since 1996 the MVB is working in the Telematics-Libraries project TESTLAB which aims to set up a data base of materials available in a format which suits the needs of the visually handicapped and which sets up workstations for the blind in scientific libraries all over Austria. In 1996 the educational endeavour organised the 5th International Conference Computers for Handicapped Persons (ICCHP) ´96 in co-operation with the Austrian Computer Society (OCG).

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