I can touch it

Why this project

Learning materials are increasingly visual. For blind and visually impaired students in mainstream schools, this creates a daily gap between what teachers are showing and what students can actually access.

Two-dimensional tactile images help — but they lose spatial information that matters for understanding. Three-dimensional tactile aids fill that gap, and 3D printing now makes them affordable, customisable and shareable.

I can touch it brings together four schools specialised in education for blind and visually impaired students with a digital fabrication lab to design, test and openly share a library of 3D tactile aids aligned with national curricula.

What we will produce

• An open library of 3D tactile teaching aids, aligned with primary school curricula
• A standardised methodology for designing tactile aids that work pedagogically
• Training programmes for teachers on TinkerCAD, Cura, slicing and inclusive design
• Video guides for using the aids in the classroom
• Best-practice guidelines for adapting 3D models to visually impaired learners