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Simple Tactile Overlays for the iPad and Young Children

1.Your students who are expected to become braille readers, usually exhibit a strong desire to participate in iPad activities with sounds, stories, etc.
2.Even though very early apps that teach shape recognition, choice making, etc. usually do include sound, they are still picture based, and there is a need to make accessible screens for these apps.
3.Having more accessible apps with clear tactile overlays could encourage social play and enhance technology equality between children with visual impairments and their sighted peers or siblings.
4.Consider the following scenario:

Screen one says: "A circle is round like a ring, a plate, or a ball. Can you find the circle?" The child could choose from a tactile circle, square, or triangle. The child picks the circle and the app congratulates him, or, if he chooses the square, the app might tell him to try again.

Screen two says: "Press on every circle you find." There might be two rows or columns with no more than six shapes and three of them are circles. 

How likely would you be to recommend such an app?
5.Consider the following scenario for an introduction to tactile pictures:

It is suggested that stuffed animals be used to depict the poses so that an association between a real object and the picture can be made. 

An app with animal sounds says:

Overlay 1. "I am a bird and I love to fly. Can you find both of my wings; one on the left and one on the right? If you touch one of my wings, I will sing again." (The bird chirps and a very carefully designed tactile of a bird is shown to depict the wings clearly.)

Overlay 2. "I am a rabbit and I love to run. I eat carrots, and I have very long pointy ears! They are pointing toward the top of this page. Can you find my ears? When you do, I will thump and eat a carrot."

(A tactile rabbit is shown with careful consideration given to the view.)

How likely would you be to use or recommend this type of app?
6.Consider the following scenario for an introduction to spatial relationships, orientation, and maps:

The iPad says: "You are on the playground. This picture shows the monkey bars, the merry-go-round, and the sandbox. You are playing in the sandbox. And it feels like a bumpy rectangle in this picture. Can you find it? (If the child touches the monkey bars, it might say that the sandbox is to the left of those monkey bars. If the child touches the merry-go-round, it would point out that the sandbox is to the right of the merry-go-round. Hint button: It is between the monkey bars and the merry-go-round.)

How likely would you be to use or recommend such an app?
7.Given the types of possible apps and overlays discussed above, what populations do you feel, if any, could benefit from these products? Check all that apply:
8.How would you rate the overall need for tactile iPad overlays?