Our Partners

Thanks are extended to our project partners for their support:

• Monash University (lead organisation)
• The University of Southern Queensland
• The Victorian Department of Education
• The NSW Department of Education
• The Queensland Department of Education
• South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI)
• Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities, Inc.
• Vision Australia

Our Team

Chief Investigators

Prof Kim Marriott is the Project Lead. Kim is the Director of the Monash Assistive Technology & Society (MATS) Centre. He is a senior academic and a world leader in the accessible provision of graphical information to BLV people, including the use of refreshable tactile displays (RTDs) and sonification. He brings extensive expertise in managing research projects – several of which have led to commercial or open-source products – and in co-design with people who are blind or have low vision.

A/Prof Matthew Butler is an expert on supporting information access for BLV people through emerging technologies such as 3D printing, low-cost electronics, conversational agents and RTDs. He has a track record in inclusive STEM education and has been a chief investigator on several projects to support access for BLV people in education, orientation & mobility, and arts. Matt is the Education pillar lead of the MATS Centre.

A/Prof Michael Wybrow is researcher in human-computer interaction. He has experience leading multi-disciplinary projects and a track record of close collaboration with industry stakeholders to develop interactive visualisation applications. He has significant software and mobile app development expertise.

A/Prof Melissa Fanshawe is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at University of Southern Queensland, specialising in mathematics curriculum and pedagogy. She has over twenty-five years’ experience within Queensland schools as a teacher, advisory teacher, Deputy and Principal. Melissa is a qualified and experienced teacher for students with vision impairment and is the parent of a student with vision impairment. Melissa is the immediate Past President of SPEVI.

Research Fellows

Dr Leona Holloway is the Project Manager. Leona is a member of the Inclusive Technologies group at Monash University and the Community Impact pillar lead of the MATS Centre. Her research focuses on the creation and use of accessible graphics, including 3D prints, refreshable tactile displays and sonification. Leona is the Chair of the Australia and New Zealand Accessible Graphics Group and she is an experienced braille transcriber.

Dr Samuel Reinders is the Chief Technical Officer for the project. Sam is a member of the Inclusive Technologies group in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University. His research focuses on interactive access to data and information, co-designed with people who are blind or have low vision.

Partner Investigators

Sarah Hayman works for the Statewide Vision Resource Centre, Victorian Department of Education, as the Vision Technology Library Coordinator and a Support Skills Teacher. She has previous experience as a maths and science teacher in mainstream school settings and is currently studying a Master of Disability Studies, Education (Blind and Low Vision).

Aitken Jardine is an Advisory Visiting Teacher specialising in Assistive Technology for students with blindness or vision impairment, working for Statewide Vision Impairment Service, Queensland Department of Education. He worked as a secondary school maths and science classroom teacher before gaining additional qualifications in Vision Impairment education.

Meagan Rodda is the Mathematics Coordinator 7-12 at the NSW Department of Education, providing advice to teachers, government ministers and other educational stakeholders on mathematics curriculum, assessment and pedagogy. She has 25 years experience teaching mathematics to secondary school students.