The blind students are given special training in the Centre to elevate their understanding regarding the use of computer and specially designed softwares that are widely used all over the world by the blind computer users.
In this modern age, the use of technology has minified most of the problems of visually impaired people. The main idea, thus, is to train more and more blind students so that they may take the best out of the technology to diminish their educational dependency. For this very cause, the Centre is playing a substantial part by promoting the use of technology for the blind and giving them proper training to be heavily benefited from it.
Some blind students on the GCU campus take their exams using the Braille format. The Braille
machine, which is used for this purpose is very expensive and most of the students cannot afford it.
The Centre has arranged for fifteen Perkins Braille machines, which can be used by visually impaired
students to take their exams on campus. In addition, these Braille machines can also be utilized by
the examination branch to transcribe question sheets.
The same Braille machines may also be used by the students to transcribe books/notes and other material related to their college courses.
The Centre now offers computers with special, specifically designed screen reader programs that enable the visually impaired students to work independently in their own special lab and not be dependent on other computer laboratories on the campus. The latest versions of Jaws and open book, (the main screen reader programs used by the blind) are now available in the Centre. With the help of these speech-oriented programs, blind students are able to get rid of their certain limitations in different areas and become educationally independent. The facility of computers may also be used for those blind students who take their exams via computer.
Internet facilities are also available for research purposes. Using their screen reader program (JAWS), a visually impaired person may also be able to surf the internet independently and in an equally effective manner as others.
The Centre for Special Students (CSS) also has a collection of different Braille magazines for the
purpose of pleasure reading.
The magazines may also be issued to the students for a limited period of time. Moreover, the Braille books shall soon be added to this section of the Centre.
English to Urdu Braille dictionary designed by Aziz Jahan Begum Trust for the Blind is available in the Centre. Consulting this six-volume Braille dictionary, the blind students find the greater solution to many of their English vocabulary problems as well as improve their English skills by exploring the meanings of countless words. This unparalleled facility for blind students may not be found in any other college/university in Pakistan.
Audio facilities and other related programs are also available for curricular and extracurricular learning. There is a number of audiobooks and training tutorials on different subjects which the students may get from the Centre. These training tutorials help blind computer users discover in-depth knowledge regarding the screen reader programs as well as the MS office package.
The Centre provides the facility of books scanning which allow blind students to read their course material independently. For this very purpose, the Centre has got a high-speed scanner along with the special program, Abby Fine Reader, Open book, etc. which enables the visually impaired people to scan material of their own and get it to read with the help of speech output softwares.
