EXPLORING STEM EDUCATION FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN INDIA & HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE IT

Visually Impaired (VI) students in India struggle to pursue a future in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), and many students drop out of science and maths in 8th or after 10th grade. This is primarily because STEM is not engaging enough for these students, and they face multiple challenges in accessing information. VI students are not inherently weaker than sighted students; in fact, they are equally vulnerable to the same misconceptions. However, often because of inaccessible content and poor pedagogy these misconceptions are never cleared leaving them weaker in STEM. Although work has been done by many organizations in India like Xaviers Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired to the Raised Line Foundation which provides 3D tactile models, raised diagrams, braille translated textbooks and audiobooks to visually impaired students, these organizations face difficulty in reaching out to VI students in rural areas. This paper also examines the advantages of gamifying STEM, how it can make it more engaging; help develop the collaborative skills of students and help them grasp concepts. Hence with advances in technology, a gamified platform or product that can be scaled even in rural areas must be developed to encourage VI students to pursue STEM.