Singaraja- Ganesha University of Education (Undiksha) students are paying attention to efforts to increase Balinese literacy for blind students. Through the Community Service Student Creativity Program (PKM-PM), this is actualized through Voice-Assisted Balinese Script Relief Media (Reaksi). This innovation was applied to students at SLB Negeri 1 Tabanan.
The PKM-PM team consists of Ni Pande Kadek Dewi Sudiartini as chairman, and members Ni Kadek Trisna Putri Utami, Ni Kadek Feby Widianita, Ni Kadek Ayu Gita Wulandari, and Desak Made Dian Widianingsih.
Team Leader, Dewi Sudiartini, explained that the emergence of the idea to create this innovation was inseparable from teachers’ difficulties in finding strategies for teaching Balinese characters and appropriate learning media due to the limitations of blind children. “Based on these problems, the school finally discussed with the PKM-PM team and agreed to hold a training program for writing Balinese script using voice-assisted reactions,” she explained.
In this medium, the Balinese script reliefs are made in a concave shape and can be easily touched with your fingers. Apart from that, it also contains an audio button that can produce sound. “Therefore, this media is designed to be tactile and audible according to the learning style of blind children. “Blind children learn more by touching and hearing due to limitations in seeing,” she explained.
The training stages are adapted to the learning style of blind children, namely touching and listening. The training starts with feeling reactions, then getting to know the forms of reactions, reading simple words using sound-assisted reactions such as combining two boxes of characters for example “ka” and “ca” so they can be read. “kaca”, and then write Balinese script on special paper covered with Kasur thread. The training involved 4 teachers at SLB Negeri 1 Tabanan related to discussions and knowledge sharing on how to teach Balinese script to blind children using voice-assisted reaction media. Next, it continues with the mentoring stage, namely the teacher trains blind children.
This activity is to support Bali Governor Regulation Number 80 of 2018 concerning the Protection and Use of Balinese Language, Script, and Literature as well as the Implementation of Balinese Language Month, more precisely in article 7 which states that Balinese Language Month can be held by Traditional Villages, educational institutions, private sector and Society. Of course, the implementation of Balinese Language Month in schools can be realized with a Balinese script writing competition held by blind children to increase their competitive spirit.
The Balinese script writing competition was successfully realized by blind children, which 9 people attended. The final result was that 3 blind children produced very good writing, 4 blind children produced good writing, and 2 people produced good writing. These results show an increase in the Balinese literacy of blind children in writing and reading simple words using the Balinese script. (rls)
