Introduction

Since the 1970s, many universities and agencies have prepared professionals in visual impairment through distance educational approaches, including concentrated off-campus courses, video and telephone connections, and synchronous or asynchronous online methods. Although online professional preparation in visual impairment has become common, there is little data that compares outcomes of on-campus instruction with distance education methods. This article reports follow-up data from a federally funded graduate university program that prepares teachers of students with visual impairments: It compares results from a survey that describes how on-campus and distance education students perceived the quality of their preparation.

Methods

An online survey was sent to 37 bachelor’s degree students who had earned certification as teachers of students with visual impairments. 27 students returned usable surveys, in which they reported relevant demographic information and current job roles. The survey included 13 demographic questions about employment and setting. Eight questions related to general evaluation of their preparation program, and 22 questions related to perceived competence in skills needed to prepare teachers of students with visual impairments.

Results

There were few differences between perceptions of students who were prepared in the full-time on-campus model and those who were prepared through distance education. Most respondents were graduates working as itinerant teachers in public schools or specialized school settings. With regard to perceptions of their own skills related to visual impairment, only the item on assistive technology showed a significant difference between the two models. Students in distance education perceived themselves as less well prepared in that area.

Discussion

Given the increased shift toward distance learning caused by the COVID-19 virus, the authors suggest that a broad-based national study of outcomes related to distance learning in visual impairment might offer more detailed insights into the quality of teaching produced through distance learning.

中文翻译：

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远程和校园学习模式的比较，以准备有视力障碍的学生的教师

介绍

自 1970 年代以来，许多大学和机构通过远程教育方法培养视觉障碍专业人士，包括集中的校外课程、视频和电话连接以及同步或异步在线方法。尽管视觉障碍的在线专业准备已经变得普遍，但很少有数据可以将校园教学与远程教育方法的结果进行比较。本文报告了联邦资助的研究生大学计划的后续数据，该计划旨在为视力障碍学生的教师做好准备：它比较了一项调查的结果，该调查描述了在校和远程教育学生如何看待他们的准备质量。

方法

向 37 名获得视障学生教师资格认证的本科生发送了一项在线调查。27 名学生返回了有用的调查，其中他们报告了相关的人口统计信息和当前的工作角色。该调查包括 13 个关于就业和环境的人口统计问题。8 个问题与对他们的准备计划的一般评估有关，22 个问题与视觉障碍学生教师准备所需技能的感知能力有关。

结果

在全日制校园模式中准备的学生与通过远程教育准备的学生之间的看法几乎没有差异。大多数受访者是在公立学校或专业学校担任巡回教师的毕业生。在对自己与视力障碍相关的技能的感知方面，只有辅助技术项目显示出两种模型之间的显着差异。远程教育的学生认为自己在这方面准备不足。

讨论

鉴于 COVID-19 病毒导致远程学习的转变增加，作者建议，对视觉障碍远程学习相关成果进行一项基础广泛的全国性研究可能会为通过远程学习产生的教学质量提供更详细的见解。