Quote:
Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore
Those cases are not analogous. For one thing, nobody is denying Kindles to the visually impaired people, its just a service that is not as useful to them (not all visually impaired people would find a Kindle useless). Also, presumably, the visually impaired have other services which they can access that allow them to receive a good education, whether this be audiobooks, screen readers, or other technological devices or classroom accomodations. When I was in primary school I was permitted to use the class computer for my writing assignments (on state mandated tests I was allowed to dictate my responses) because of a neurological condition which makes my handwriting illegible. This was an accomodation that was made for me to ensure that I received the education to which I was entitled by state law (and which my parents and the school system were mandated to provide). I think it would have been wrong for some parents to object to this simply because there wasn't a computer for everyone. Similarly, it would be wrong to protest against the visually impaired being provided with screen readers to aid in their education. This argument, however, cuts both ways. It is wrong to attempt to block the introduction of technological aids which could substantially improve the education of non-visually impaired students. Absolute equality is not equity. They are two different concepts. To sacrifice equity for a mere numerical equality is unjust.
Luqman
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In my case, I have what is called low vision. I am legally blind in the left eye, but have enough vision in the right eye to read most of the time with aids. For instance I use software that magnifies the screen. It also has TTS for those times when my diabetes is bad enough that I can't read at all. So I think a Kindle or other ereader that has TTS would be perfect.
However, I don't really see a need for this policy. After all, there are other avenues for those who are blind or low vision. In order for the students to be earning their college credits, they had to have some way for them to access the information. If they can already access it, then there is no need for them to demand that the Kindle make those changes.