Strategy
Creating a Non-Visual Digital Map: Video Tutorial
Step-by-step instructions and best practices when creating a non-visual digital map for students who are blind or low vision.
Are you working with a student/client and want to create a customized non-visual digital map? Do you want to add just the information relevant for a specific O&M goal or only information that is pertinent for your student? Traditional map apps have numerous points of interest and often contain so much information that it is overwhelming! Or maybe you want to add O&M-related information to a data point or add in a POI that is an important landmark for your student. Now you can! With the free SAS Graphics Accelerator, you can choose which data points to include on your map and what information each data point contains!
Before creating a customized map, it is important to clearly consider the goal of the map along with the student’s abilities (tech skills familiarity with the map software and O&M skills).
The following video tutorial provides step-by-step instruction on how to create customized non-visual digital maps for students/clients who are blind or low vision using mymaps.google.com and the free SAS Graphics Accelerator.
Want to see what the final Illinois School for the Visually Impaired maps look like? Here are two maps: an introductory map with 11 points and a campus building/streets map with 28 points.
- Illinois School for the blind: Basic map (campus map with 11 objects)
- Illinois School for the Visually Impaired: Buildings (campus map with 28 points)
Resources
- How to Create Accessible Digital Maps Using SAS Graphics Accelerator (written directions for creating a customized map)
- Best Practices for Creating Non-Visual Digital College Campus Maps (includes labeling details and what data points to include)
- Creating Customized Non-Visual Digital College Campus Maps (includes creating a smaller, overview map before a detailed map with hundreds of points)
- Build a Mental Map of Campus (Schools for the Blind)
The next video demonstrates how to access a map from the Map Library on Paths to Technology website and how to edit the existing map.
Non-visual digital maps are accessible, digital maps designed specifically for users who are blind or low vision. Keep in mind that these maps are non-visual – meaning that the maps provide information in an auditory format not a visual format. Just like braille looks different than print, auditory maps will look different than traditional print maps.
Resources
- SAS Graphics Accelerator Summary Page (links to all the Paths to Technology posts on non-visual digital maps)
- Map Library (links to all the existing non-visual digital maps on Paths to Technology)
By Diane Brauner
