Recursos pedagógicos táteis tridimencionais (3D) para acessibilidade de estudantes cegos no contexto da educação profissional e tecnológica - EPT

Abstract

Nowadays, Brazil adopts the perspective of inclusive education in special education focused on students with disabilities. This model has been based on international agreements and national legislation in favor of education for all. The inclusion of students with visual impairments requires the promotion of various types of accessibility and the elimination of barriers that hinder these students' participation and learning. However, educational institutions often use teaching resources that favor the sense of sight, which hinders access to knowledge for blind students. Therefore, it is necessary to develop teaching resources capable of translating visual information into tactile information. In this sense, 3D printing technology emerges as a means for the development of tactile pedagogical resources that can enable blind students to manipulate three-dimensional objects, contributing to overcoming visual barriers. This research sought to understand how the use of tactile pedagogical resources, developed through three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, contributes to the accessibility of blind students in Professional and Technological Education (EPT). In order to achieve the objectives proposed in the research, qualitative research was adopted. With regard to the method, the study is characterized as action research. The data collection instruments used were a questionnaire and a collective interview (focus group) with teachers who teach blind students in technical courses in the professional education modality. The teachers participated in a training activity through conversation circles and workshops on modeling, slicing, and 3D printing for the development and printing of three-dimensional tactile pedagogical resources. After data collection, content analysis was used to analyze the collected data. Thus, it was possible to identify the fundamental elements and categories for achieving the research objectives. Once the categories were identified, they were interpreted based on the theoretical references adopted in the investigation. Regarding the contributions of tactile pedagogical resources, developed from modeling, slicing, and 3D printing, to the accessibility of blind students in EPT, based on the analysis of the collected data, it is concluded that these resources can be a path to access knowledge in order to overcome visual barriers in the process of knowledge construction, by translating visual content into tactile information, as well as for student participation in academic activities through the tactile exploration of a map of Brazil, recognizing the states and regions of the country, and the possibility of participating in activities through access to the object of knowledge together with other classmates. The use of the signature guide, a resource that guides hand movement and delimits the writing space, can contribute to the autonomy of blind students by allowing them to sign their own names independently. Based on the results of the research, it can be inferred that the resources produced have the potential to contribute to the accessibility of blind students in order to overcome visual barriers. However, the importance of teacher mediation in this process and pedagogical intentionality is highlighted.