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Ben Pepper: My name's Ben Pepper, I'm 14 years old and
I'm at Tapton School. I've got albinism which means I can't see some things in the distance
and things up close like small writing I struggle to read.
Anna Pilson: My name's Anna Pilson, I'm a qualified teacher
of children with visual impairments and I work here at Tapton School. When Ben first
arrived at Tapton School, for the majority of his lessons he was supported in class by
a member of the Vision Support Department. As his confidence in using the technology
has grown and also as the type of technology has changed, he has been able to access work
more independently.
Ben Pepper: In class I mainly use a laptop to help me
access work. I type all my work out on Word and I have all the textbooks on Readit which
is a software that helps me to zoom in on it and access the textbooks more. I also have
PowerPoints put on it that the teacher has up in class so I can see what's on the PowerPoint.
I also use an iPad which helps me to zoom in on things like images. I can take photos
of sheets that are small or images that I can't see the detail of and then it allows
me to zoom in on them so I can read what I can't read normally on the sheets.
Anna Pilson: It's really important that Ben has the ability
to access pictures independently within lessons now because he will be fully independent within
the exam setting. Technology gives him more autonomy to access images effectively which
is something he'll need to for the rest of his life. So it develops self-esteem and skills
needed for lifelong learning.
Ben Pepper: Being independent in class with technology
is going to help me in the future in things like exams. I've become more confident and
independent and it allows me to be able to engage more in lessons and talk to more people
in the class rather than having to - talking mainly to a support teacher.