Visakhapatnam: 'Smart Annie' reaches out to visually-impaired students
Students of Government Residential School for the Visually-Challenged Girls learning Braille during a demonstration of Annie smart class in Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam: Learning Braille has now become an effortless exercise for those studying at Government Residential School for the visually-challenged girls at Sagar Nagar.
Students will now get to learn the fundamentals of Braille and much more in a hassle-free manner as they will soon be accessing a self-assistive Braille literacy device that comes with an interactive content.
Investing Rs 5 lakh, Divi's Laboratories has facilitated eight Annie smart learning devices of Thinkerbell Labs for the visually-impaired students as a part of its corporate social responsibility initiative.
With this, 23 girls studying from classes I to V in the institution will gain access to the device and pick up the nuances of reading, writing and typing in Braille.
Already, teachers were given training in handling the Wi-Fi connected device and the modules are customised to impart lessons that come along with a human voice, assisting the visually-impaired students absorb the content without constant supervision.
"However, a teacher will be monitoring the class to guide the students whenever they need. The new smart class will commence after March 16 and students will attend in batches," explains M Maheswara Reddy, Principal of Government Residential School for the Visually-Challenged.
Along with providing 200-plus hours of learning content, the smart device comprises a Braille display that helps students learn dot combinations for different letters, a display to pick up reading and develop tactile sensitivity on fingertips.
"Also, the device has a keyboard that helps students learn how to type letters, a digital Braille slate that teaches how to write.
In addition, teachers can also keep a track of the students' progress, lessons completed and chapters frequented by downloading an App and getting it connected to the server," elaborates Saif Shaikh, co-founder of Thinkerbell Labs.
Apart from the fundamentals of the Braille, the Annie smart class also introduces the visually-impaired to English vocabulary lessons, including learning new words along with the meaning.