What sort of material is required for the preparation of teaching aids? Do you think that the locally available material can equally be useful in preparation of A.V Aids?

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Education,Answer: Teaching aids are vital tools to enhance learning of basic concepts. They play a significant role in teaching – learning of visually impaired children. The difficulties encountered by the child in understanding a concept could be overcome by the correct use of teaching aids. Certain fundamental questions should be asked before the preparation of teaching aids. What is the purpose of the aid? To whom is it useful and when? Clarifications to these questions may help the teacher to frame his specific objectives for the task.

• Teaching aids make teaching effective and simultaneously make the learning interesting and profitable.
• Aids quicken the pace of learning, foster its development and help to overcome the hurdles in learning.
• Aids provide first hand concrete experience to the child. One aid is equivalent to thousand words when a child has difficulties in forming a concept.
• Aids bring variety to the learning of the visually impaired child which is more in demand for his education. In fact, visually impaired children need varieties.
• Good collection of aids motivates the teacher for better teaching. The ideas involved in the aids evoke the creativity of the teacher.

Preparation of Aids for Visually Impaired Children
1. A number of aids can be prepared subject-wise. But it should be borne in mind that some of the aids are not very important and some others are very vital. Judgment regarding the selection of the aid is one of the most important skills of the teacher. The aids should be more selective.
2. A particular teaching aid should be prepared in such a way that the visually impaired child is able to explore, discriminate and recognize it without much confusion. First the child must be able to perceive the differences between the different textures, forms, etc, used in the aid and distinguish one from another. Thirdly, he should be able to perceive details of appearances so as to identify the names for the parts of the aid or the aid itself for recognition.
3. The next important rule to be observed is that the aids, which prepared should withstand the manipulation of the little hands of the children. When the aid is prepared in hurry the very touch of the object may dislocate the parts. Therefore, it should be strong enough to have longer durability.
4. Validity and preciseness are factors, which make the aid more effective and time saving. The aid should be tactfully as attractive as possible because visually impaired children are devoid of visual attraction.
5. Innumerable hours of preparation of teaching aids must be avoided. A teacher should not spend much of time for an aid which has very little value for visually impaired children. Appropriate use of time is very imperative as the teacher has to attend to other activities too in the educational programme for children with visual impairment.
6. The teacher should be tactful enough in preparing an aid in such a way that when it is prepared, it should be useful for teaching more than one concept. This little attention saves time, energy and cost.
7. Principle in the preparation of aid may be “Make it cheap; use it well and change it often”. Newness and novelty will always attract the children. The teacher should know the art of improvising aids by using low cost materials readily available at the local markets.

Audio visual material must be seen in their relationship to teaching as a whole and to the learning process as a whole, until the teacher understands the relationship between audio visual material and teaching learning process. Audio visual materials are produced, distributed and used as planned components of educational programs. It helps the process of learning that is motivation, classification and stimulation. A.v. aids are multisensory materials which motivate and stimulate the individual. It makes dynamic learning experience more concrete realistic and clarity. It provides significant gains in thinking and reasoning. Audio visual aids are sensitive tools used in teaching and as avenues for learning. These are planned educational materials that appeal to the senses of the people and quicken learning facilities for clear understanding.

Definitions:
1. According to Kinder S. James: Audio visual aids are any device which can be used to make the learning experience more concrete, more realistic and more dynamic.
2. According to Burton: audio visual aids are those sensory objects or images which initiate or stimulate and reinforce learning.
3. According to Carter.v.Good: audio visual aids are those aids which help in completing the triangular
process of learning that is motivation, classification and stimulation.
4. According to good’s dictionary of education: audio visual aids are any thing by means of which learning process may be encouraged or carried on through the sense of hearing or sense of sight.
5. According to Edger Dale: audio visual aids are those devices by the use of which communication of ideas between persons and groups in various teaching and training situations is helped. These are also termed as multi sensory materials.
6. According to McKean and Roberts: audio visual aids are supplementary devices by which the teacher,
through the utilization of more than one sensory channel is able to clarify, establish and correlate concepts,  interpretations andappreciations.
7. According to KP. Neeraja: an audio visual aid is an instructional device in which the message can be heard as well as seen.

CLASSIFICATION OF A.V.AIDS:
Various classifications are given for Audio visual aids according to the type of projection by various authors.
I) Classification of A.V.Aids
I) Audio aids: Audio materials are those which can be heard. Ex: - radio, tape recorder, walkman, Headphones.
II) Visual aids: these are helpful to visualize the things. Ex:- graphic aids, 3d-aids, display boards, and print material.
III) Audio visual aids: these aids can be heard and seen simultaneously. Ex: - projected aids, TV, films.

II) Classification of A.V.Aids
I) Simple A.V.Aids: It includes graphic aids, display boards, 3d-aids, print material...etc.
II) Sophisticated A.V.Aids: includes audio-visual aids.

PRINCIPLES TO BE FOLLOWED FOR THE EFFECTIVE USE OF A.V.AIDS:
· Audio visual materials should function as an integral part of the educational program.
· A.v. aids should be centralized, under specialized direction and leadership in educational programs.
· An advisory committee consisting of representative from all areas of curriculum should be appointed to assist in selection and coordination of a.v. materials.
· An education program should be flexible.
· A.v. material should be carefully located to eliminate duplication, easy accessibility and convenient use.
· A.v. material should be available whenever and wherever they needed for effective utilization as an integral part of curriculum.
· Budget appropriations should be made regularly for a.v. education programs.
· Periodic evaluation to be done to assess the function of, utilization and expenditure of the program.