Dr. Barbara R. Heard was a professor of biology at a community college until her retirement in June 2023. After attending a workshop on new technologies for students with blindness and visual impairments (BVI), she became interested in supporting students with BVI in the college biology laboratory. In 2016, she conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the specific accommodations, such as tactile models and audible equipment, provided for students with BVI in the college biology laboratory. Results of that study are available at Study. Though built for the original study, this website was revised to include information on creating accessible content and specific accommodations for students with disabilities in all of the sciences. An article written about the study for a STEM issue of Future Reflections, a publication of the National Federation of the Blind, can be found at Science is For Everyone. Her more recent publication in Microbiology Letters, a publication of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, is entitled, Supporting Students with Blindness and Visual Impairments in Microbiology. It contains tables regarding safety, accessibility, and accommodations.
Accessible Science 