1. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), How Do Students Who Are Blind Get Involved?
By: Ashley Neybert
Independence Science

2. Why should I care about Blind or Low Vision (BLV) Students in STEM?
Almost every major requires taking a class in STEM so even students in different fields need to know how to work in a STEM classroom
Being familiar with STEM disciplines is important for general life success and helps customers achieve their goals

3. Skills needed for Success
White cane travel
Braille literacy
Access technology
Image description: Vernier SciVoice Talking Labquest 2 (TLQ) with temperature probe. The screen displays a logarithmic plot of increasing hand temperature and statistics of the data.

4. How skills can change an outcome or what can happen with low vision and no skills
Measurements were hard
I couldn’t get all the information
Broken glassware
Exclusion by my lab group
Confusion in the classroom
Feelings of self-doubt which spilled outside of STEM

5. Gaining some low vision skills
Contrast including permanent markers, colored papers, and black folders
Magnification
Large Print Handouts
Image description: A graduated cylinder with a black line drawn in permanent marker with a blue paper behind it to increase contrast.

6. Knowing when not to use low vision
Some things can be completed with low vision but are slower or less effective
Use a pipette instead of trying to squint at graduated cylinders when possible
Use color identifiers or a sighted assistant for precisely using color changing indicators
Use Sci-Voice Talking LabQuest instead of relying on others to read measurements
Know when Braille is better than large print!

7. Braille
Knowing Braille is important even for those who can read large print in STEM
Long equations in STEM make Braille imperative to reducing errors and in science and engineering reducing errors means reducing accidents!
Image description: Ashley Neybert reading a Braille book casually at a table.

8. Cane Travel
Cane travel is important for getting around safely and communicating effectively
A person who can get around effectively with a cane is more employable than a person who looks at their feet to avoid tripping
Image description: Ashley Neybert walks down a winding sidewalk using her long white cane.

9. Teaching in the Lab and Classroom
I have students say their names in role call or when they ask questions
Students must describe what’s going on in their experiment to ask if something is right, increasing communication skills
Announcing when you walk behind someone helps reduce accidents for everyone
Image description: Ashley Neybert wears a white lab coat over a t-shirt that reads “I know where I’m going”. She holds her cane in one hand and an Erlenmeyer flask filled with red liquid in the other.

10. Electron Shells Lesson
This project:
Helps students understand the Bohr electron model while providing the instructor a sheet with directions on how to explain shell filling rules
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
Recognize that electrons are located in shells and fill in order of increasing energy
Identify core and valence (bonding) electrons
Image description: A magnet board is used for a tactile representation of a Bohr model of electrons. Yarn is used to represent each shell, small magnets for electrons, and one larger magnet to represent the nucleus including protons and neutrons.

11. Limiting Reagents Lesson
This project:
Helps students understand the concepts of limiting reagents and diatomic elements
Provides students with several examples of basic reactions
Demonstrates conservation of mass.
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to:
Begin to recognize atoms that form diatomic elements
Identify reactions as an application of conservation of mass
Identify limiting and excess reagents
Image Description : A magnet board is used along with different shaped magnets to represent the reagents. In the above image, nitrogen is blue and hydrogen is black (for color contrast). Reactants are shown apart, then in groups of two (how they’d be naturally), then as a completed reaction.

12. We can win!
In 2015 I won the American Chemical Society’s Women’s Chemistry Committee Overcoming Challenges Award
One winner is chosen for this national award per year for overcoming great obstacles on one’s path to success
The American Chemical Society is one of the world’s largest scientific professional societies with nearly 157,000 members
Image description: Ashley Neybert giving an acceptance speech for the National Women’s Chemistry Committee Overcoming Challenges Award.

13. Helpful Resources
National Federation of the Blind Science and Engineering Division
A list of tools for blind scientists
For independent laboratory measurement tools

14. Sources
"About ACS - American Chemical Society." American Chemical Society. Web. 14 Sept
Neybert, Ashley E., and Paula Morehouse. "Tactile Concept Based Labs for the Visually Impaired: A World of Untapped Potential." American Chemical Society National Convention. San Diego Lecture.

15. Thanks and Questions
Special thanks to everyone at the Oklahoma Transition institute for inviting me here to speak today.
Important reminder:
If there are any questions please state your name and wait to be called on as I can’t see you raising your hands! Thank you!