Breaking Barriers: How Light of Letters is Revolutionizing Education for Visually Impaired Students

By Siddhant Sathe, Senior at Indus International School, Pune and Founder of Light of Letters

When I was fifteen, I volunteered at NFBM Jagriti School for Blind Girls where I met Sanskriti, a thirteen-year-old girl who excelled in biology. In fact, she was so good that I automatically assumed she’d continue studying the subject and build a career for herself. However, my prediction was shattered when her school counselors told me that she wouldn’t study science after eighth grade. Why? Because she was 100% visually impaired, and everyone believed that she should focus on more “practical” subjects like art and crafts. 

This instance opened my eyes to the truth: talented kids like Sanskriti face systemic barriers while trying to educate themselves. It has nothing to do with their intellectual ability, but everything to do with how orthodox society perceives the visually impaired and assumes that their capabilities are limited.

The Hidden Crisis in Rural Education

The statistics show us everything we need to know. In rural communities across India, the potential of visually impaired students isn’t being realized, thanks to the system of education:

• The STEM Stereotype: Thousands of VI students are forced to opt out of the sciences because their educators believe that these subjects are impossible for them to master. In fact, it is quite rare to see VI learners in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics simply because they’ve been conditioned to believe that these subjects are too “visual” and beyond their reach.

• Scribe Dependency: A majority of VI students are heavily dependent on scribes and other traditional aids, resulting in their inability to learn and take exams independently, which hinders their academic journey and reinforces societal assumptions.

• The Dropout Crisis: 43% of VI students drop out after high school. Why? Because college seems more like an insurmountable obstacle rather than an opportunity, not because they lack the cognitive capability to face it, but rather due to the lack of support for them in that educational environment. 

• The Graduate School Gap: Less than 5% of VI students make it to grad school, representing a huge loss of potential talent and innovation, not just impacting their lives but society itself. 

These statistics don’t just show us the numbers; they represent the dreams killed, talent wasted, and societal benefit lost due to this structural problem.

Technology as the Great Equalizer

After months of research during which I had conversations with and interviewed VI students, their families, and educators, I decided to launch Light of Letters. We began with a simple but powerful belief: technology can level the playing field for the blind. But it could not just be any technology; it had to be something carefully calibrated and then properly implemented, such that it would satisfy their needs during different stages of their educational journey. 

The research led us to recognizing that VI students require different technological interventions at different academic levels. That's why we came up with three distinct “Technology Kits”, each designed to support students at crucial transition points in their journey. Each Kit was thematically named after the best teams in the sports of Football, Cricket and Basketball.

Patriots Kit: Empowering Graduate Students with Apple Innovation

For graduate students who generally affiliate themselves with advanced research and complex coursework, we provide iPhones loaded with cutting-edge, world-class accessibility apps:

• Seeing AI transforms the visual world into audio descriptions, helping users with physical navigation

• VoiceOver and iOS accessibility training ensure students can navigate any digital environment

• Bookshare provides access to vast, accessible digital libraries containing over 1.3 million titles and academic resources

• Claro ScanPen Advanced OCR technology converts printed materials into accessible digital text

• Sophisticated voice assistants and speech-to-text tools enable seamless notetaking capabilities during class as well as enhanced research abilities

• Dolphin Easy Reader for accessing textbooks

• Be My Eyes for the option of live assistance through volunteers

• Braille Touch for the provision of a Braille input system for smartphones

The Apple ecosystem's mature accessibility features make it easier to provide graduate students with the sophisticated tools they may require to compete at the highest academic level.

Super Kings Kit: Supporting Undergraduates with Android Solutions

College students receive Android phones that are paired with compact keyboards featuring tactile "bindis" stickers for key identification. This particular kit was inspired by our advisors at Benetech. This kit includes:

• Dolphin Easy Reader for accessing textbooks and academic materials

• Google Lookout for a real-time understanding of the environment around them

• Lazarillo Accessible GPS for seamless campus navigation without any dependencies

• Microsoft Seeing AI for document reading and text recognition

• Easy Voice Recorder for capturing lectures and study sessions for future review

The physical keyboard component is essential to the kit – it enables students to take notes in class, complete assignments independently, and gradually build the typing skills they'll need for professional success in the future.

Lakers Kit: Building Foundation Skills with Comprehensive Laptop Solutions

High school students receive fully configured laptops with Windows 11, Intel i5 or higher, featuring professional-grade accessibility software:

• NVDA screen reader with specialized add-ons for mathematics and science

• MathCAT add-on makes complex equations accessible

• Microsoft Office suite for document creation and collaboration

• Dolphin EasyReader and Thorium Reader for accessing educational materials

• Enhanced phonetic reading tools for improved comprehension

This Lakers kit is arguably our most important intervention. We are helping the students start their STEM journey as early as possible, allowing them to get introduced to assistive tech from a young age. They are able to write their own exams and engage flawlessly with STEM subjects, building their confidence for the rest of their lives.

Beyond Technology: Building Confidence and Independence

What makes Light of Letters stand out from other organisations isn't just the technology we provide, it's how we provide it. Each kit we distribute is paired with a comprehensive training program as well as ongoing support for every student. We continue to work closely with them, their families, and their schools to ensure successful adoption for every single one of them. 

Thanks to our model, we've seen remarkable transformations. Students whose fates once hinged on scribes and other outdated aids are finding a newfound independence. Young people who were once deferred from advanced mathematics and calculus are now able to flourish in the field. High school graduates who always thought college was out of reach are now preparing to acquire advanced technical education. 

The Ripple Effect

One thing I have noticed about the community is how collaborative they are with each other. When we empower one VI student using our technological solutions, the impact extends far beyond that one person. They start becoming advocates and mentors for other students. They challenge stereotypes simply by succeeding. They prove that visual impairment is not the true barrier that stands between them and academic excellence – inadequate support is.

Our organization’s research-based approach has already started showing promising results in reducing dropout rates and increasing college enrollment among VI students in the communities we currently serve. But this is just the beginning.

Looking Forward: A Vision of True Inclusion

I feel strongly every VI student deserves the same opportunities I have had. Every brilliant mind deserves the tools to reach its full potential, not just for the individual but for the larger good.

The technology already exists. The solutions are available. All that’s needed now is the will to implement them systematically and the development of the understanding that diversity, which includes cognitive diversity that stems from different ways of experiencing the world, does nothing but make all of our educational institutions stronger.

Light of Letters isn't simply about providing gadgets or apps. It's about illuminating lives as a scalable and sustainable model. Pl click here to understand more about how we are creating scalable solutions thru international partnership. And it's about ensuring that a student's worth isn't measured based on what they can see, but by what they can achieve when they’re provided with the right tools and opportunities.

Our future belongs to everyone, and technology is facilitating the construction of a world where that's not just an aspiration, but a reality. 

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Light of Letters is always seeking partners, volunteers, and supporters who share our vision of educational equity. If you're interested in learning more about our work or contributing to our mission, please visit www.lightofletters.org or contact us at lightofletters2024@gmail.com