MyEye

 OrCam MyEye 

It is an assistive technology tools for the visually impaired students which was introduced by Prof.Amnon Shashua and Zia Aviram, co- founded Mobileyea (a leader in autonomous driving technology later acquired by intel. This device stands out as an advanced wearable device designed for the individuals with visual impairments providing room for learning for such groups of students. MyEye is a lightweight portable device that attaches magnetically to the arm of a pair of eyeglasses. It has got high definition camera and artificial intelligence which enables to capture visual information from environment and coverts into the audio feedback delivered to the user via tiny speaker on it. This My Eye assistive technology tool can read printed texts and digital texts, identify products, detects colors, recognize people basically the faces just like we humans can do. It will act as an eye for the visually impaired students enabling them to work independently like any other students in the classroom.

MyEye is a small portable device yet functions much better than the humans which supports educational inclusions of students with visual impairments. People in the past have relied much on Braille tools which had limited availability and accessibility of the materials where not all texts were readily available in Braille. It was not portable where the traditional Braille books were large and heavy adding additional trouble for the visually impaired students. These things has limited independence in learning but with the advancement in technology and change in time Assistive tools such as MyEye has enhanced the positive learning environment. It has created a flexible learning environment to accommodate individual learning differences where the visually impaired students need not have assistance and can still read the texts with the help of the device. Of course it cannot write assignments but it can guide one without having any assistance of the classmates.

OrCam MyEye has got impressive features and merits which helps in reading and recognition but it cannot support writing which is also a crucial part in education. The fascinating functions it has got the more expensive it is. Its cost ranges from $2,000 to $4,500 which is much costly which limits low income family to afford and sometimes schools too. In such situations schools can conduct fundraising programs to pertain such assistive tools to support diversity of students in learning. It looks much comfortable to use yet for some it might be the matter of comfortableness and how well one can incorporate with it. It is in teacher/educators hands to be trained on the inclusivity and help students overcome the challenges that such student faces.  

   A study by (Goldstein, 2020) found out that user of MyEye reported a significant increase in independence and the quality of life with regard to the educational and their work settings. The authors noted that students with the printed text were highly benefitted where this device helped them read. The texts where visually impairment students were to feel with their hands and read were made much easier with the device. This kind of device is much suitable for the older students where they are comfortable using it enabling them to actively participate in the class, collaborate with students and read the printed texts on their own without waiting g for the special help from others. However it will be challenging for the younger students or students with learning and thinking difficulties. Since younger children have shorter attention span their mind might get diverted and would not be able to use effectively. Therefore the younger students be better benefit from hands on tool like Braille. Making use of such devices depends on the support provided by the teachers and the school team to enhance learning.

 There are a various similar tool like MyEye yet they require software, computers and other larger equipment. It will be hectic for the visually impaired students so MyEye assistive tool stands out, out of all the tool that’s available making it more convenient and portable. Its unique feature that offer real time, hands free visual support wins over of all the devices. Thus, it’s in the hands of the educators to bring our inclusivity and take in account the diversity of students that present in the class and school. Educators holds the power to shape and change the darkest place to the brightest environment for all the students that has dreams yet to be achieved. Respecting each individuals and their differences play a pivotal role for one and all, who knows what hides behind what each children appears to be.