Learning without being able to see – how does it work? “Die Sendung mit der Maus” shows in a special edition how children who are blind or have a visual impairment learn in school (Sunday, May 30, 2021, Das Erste, 9.30 a.m.; KiKA, 11.30 a.m., on ARD -Media library and in the KiKA player).
Accessibility and disabilities are always a topic for “Die Sendung mit der Maus”, also on the day of action for people with visual impairments (June 6th). Since 2018, the laughing and non-fiction stories have been accessible, with audio description, with sign language and with subtitles – at die-maus.de and in the ARD media library.
In the monothematic issue, mouse reporter Jana Forkel travels to Marburg. She discovered a new side of her hometown: even on the stairs in the train station, she held on to the handrails, she felt dots and markings. With their help, everyone who cannot see can find their way around. Marburg is considered to be the most blind-friendly city in Germany. Vanessa also goes to school here, who is allowed to accompany Jana to class for a day.
Vanessa and her classmates Diana, Chiara, Jason, Kaja and Selina are on the same level and have something else in common: They are blind or have a visual impairment. They can all learn together, for example the school’s 3D laboratory is important: a page of a textbook is turned into a tactile sheet with the help of a laser cutter, braille printer and thermoforming machine. This makes the book easy to read for Vanessa – but can Jana also see, blindfolded, which animal is in today’s organic class?
In the school cafeteria, Vanessa reveals why the “potatoes at four o’clock” are on her plate. And Jana learns what the little device on Vanessa’s glasses can do: It recognizes the faces of friends for her, distinguishes the yoghurt from the cream cups and reads texts aloud. But Vanessa goes to sports without glasses. She really lets off steam in judo and has a big goal: She wants to go to the Paralympic Games in Paris for Germany in 2024.
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