Students who are blind in South Korea are learning in a whole new way thanks to new research on 3D printing for the visually impaired. IENN has the story.

By Jenny Abamu

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press back in the 1440s there was no evidence that he knew he was changing the information landscape of the world for eternity. Today, as the 3D printer is making its way into the lives of non- specialist, stories of people finding unique and clever uses for the device continue to emerge, changing it from an optional part of our existence to an essential part of our interactions within society. Researchers are now developing ways that 3D printers can change the lives and experiences of those who Gutenberg could never have imagined would benefit from his invention, the blind.

Recently published research from the 3D Printing Lab of South Korea’s Institute of Science and Technology finds that 3D printing has a positive impact on literacy comprehension for the visually impaired.

Jang Hee ll
“We thought that if we could 3D print out all the historical monuments that appear on the text book and provide it to the visually impaired blind students perhaps that could help them to understand the textbook better, especially when it comes to history lessons, so we did, we printed out the historical monuments in Korea and we provide to those students in Seoul’s National School for the Blind and found out they liked the context better.”

That was Jang Hee ll, a researcher on the team. He explained how the researchers originally thought to use the printers to enhance braille reading materials, but with support from the classroom teachers they redesigned the research project to investigate whether creating 3D models of objects like monuments and maps would help support students’ comprehension in history classes.

Jang Hee ll
“Used to be that you have to explain in words, so they were able to see what those monuments look like. But they were able to touch it, they were able to figure out what it looked like, and they could not only motivate them to learn more about history but to also help them with comprehension.”

With the use of 11 historical maps and 27 different relics created from the 3D printers the research team spent three months with four students at the Seoul National School for the Blind monitoring their use of the new reading support materials in their history lessons.

Jang Hee ll,
“Overall, when it comes to learning, the survey showed that both teachers and students agreed that having miniatures of the historical monuments that had to be explained only in words, now being 3D printed so they can touch it, was really meaningful.” Now Hee is extending his research to investigate if visually impaired students in Seoul can use 3D printing to improve their writing skills.

Now Jang Hee ll is working to support writing skills for the the blind through 3D printing, with more research results soon to be published. As researchers like Jang Hee II and his team continue to find ways to use new printing and other technologies to change teaching and learning for those who are often left out of the joys of innovation, we can only hope that their research changes our social landscape in ways that they, like Gutenberg, cannot predict.

Jo, W., I, J. H., Harianto, R. A., So, J. H., Lee, H., Lee, H. J., and Moon, M.  (2016). “Practice Report: Introduction of 3D Printing Technology in the Classroom for Visually Impaired Students.”  American Foundation for the Blind. Retrieved From:  http://www.afb.org/store/pages/ShoppingCart/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=jvib100205&ruling=No

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