Abstract

The advancement of learning technologies has paved the way for learners to learn at their own pace. For visually impaired learners have been relying on other learners to get information through their smart devices. The purpose of this study focuses on usability test for designing assistive technology prototypes for m-learning to be used by visually impaired learners. The research was conducted to gather user requirement in developing m-learning assistive technology by which its Android packet kit was installed in smart devices to enable visually impaired learners to get accessibility and usability of the mobile learning management system available. The developed m-learning assistive technology prototype provide services to visually impaired learners through smart devices. The system contains three parts; namely, user management include user authentication for higher learning institutions, learning resources, and speech synthesizer. The overall results were obtained was 78%, which exceeded the standard results for usability, which is 68%; this shows that m-learning assistive technology perceived the use and acceptance by the intended users (visually impaired learners).

Keyword

Learning technologies, Smart devices, M-learning, SUS, Assistive technology, Visually impaired.

Cite this article

Kamaghe J, Luhanga E, Kisangiri M

Refference

[1][1]Szpiro SF, Hashash S, Zhao Y, Azenkot S. How people with low vision access computing devices: Understanding challenges and opportunities. In proceedings of the international ACM SIGACCESS conference on computers and accessibility 2016 (pp. 171-80). ACM.

[2][2]Kim HK, Han SH, Park J, Park J. The interaction experiences of visually impaired people with assistive technology: a case study of smartphones. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2016; 55:22-33.

[3][3]Shemahonge R, Mtebe J. Using a mobile application to support students in blended distance courses: a case of Mzumbe University in Tanzania. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT. 2018; 14(3).

[4][4]Singhal R, Singhal A, Bhatnagar M, Malhotra N. Design of an audio repository for blind and visually impaired: a case study. In advanced computing and communication technologies 2019 (pp. 77-85). Springer, Singapore.

[5][5]Pal J, Viswanathan A, Chandra P, Nazareth A, Kameswaran V, Subramonyam H, et al. Agency in assistive technology adoption: visual impairment and smartphone use in Bangalore. In proceedings of the CHI conference on human factors in computing systems 2017 (pp. 5929-40). ACM.

[6][6]Turk MA. World report on disability: what are the implications for the US? Disability and Health Journal. 2012; 5(3):127-8.

[7][7]Armano T, Borsero M, Capietto A, Murru N, Panzarea A, Ruighi A. On the accessibility of Moodle 2 by visually impaired users, with a focus on mathematical content. Universal Access in the Information Society. 2018; 17(4):865-74.

[8][8]Butler M, Holloway L, Marriott K, Goncu C. Understanding the graphical challenges faced by vision-impaired students in Australian universities. Higher Education Research & Development. 2017; 36(1):59-72.

[9][9]Hakobyan L, Lumsden J, O Sullivan D, Bartlett H. Mobile assistive technologies for the visually impaired. Survey of ophthalmology. 2013; 58(6):513-28.

[10][10]Kumar S, Sanaman G. Web challenges faced by blind and vision impaired users in libraries of Delhi: an Indian scenario. The Electronic Library. 2015; 33(2):242-57.

[11][11]Spagnol S, Csapó Á, Konstantinidis EI, Kalimeri K. Mobile assistive technologies. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing. 2018.

[12][12]Sharma KD. Ensuring quality by utilizing ICT for reforms in management education through ODL in India. Asian Journal of Distance Education. 2018; 13(2):157-66.

[13][13]Bartolotta J, Bourelle T, Newmark J. Revising the online classroom: usability testing for training online technical communication instructors. Technical Communication Quarterly. 2017; 26(3):287-99.

[14][14]Yates R. Web site accessibility and usability: towards more functional sites for all. Campus-wide Information systems. 2005; 22(4):180-8.

[15][15]Takagi H, Asakawa C, Fukuda K, Maeda J. Accessibility designer: visualizing usability for the blind. In ACM SIGACCESS accessibility and computing 2004 (pp. 177-84). ACM.

[16][16]D Atri E, Medaglia CM, Serbanati A, Ceipidor UB, Panizzi E, DAtri A. A system to aid blind people in the mobility: a usability test and its results. In second international conference on systems 2007 (pp. 35-5). IEEE.

[17][17]Hassan HM, Galal-Edeen GH. From usability to user experience. In international conference on intelligent informatics and biomedical sciences 2017 (pp. 216-22). IEEE.

[18][18]Ferati M, Raufi B, Kurti A, Vogel B. Accessibility requirements for blind and visually impaired in a regional context: an exploratory study. In international workshop on usability and accessibility focused requirements engineering 2014 (pp. 13-16). IEEE.

[19][19]Wattenberg T. Beyond legal compliance: communities of advocacy that support accessible online learning. The Internet and Higher Education. 2004; 7(2):123-39.

[20][20]Harrati N, Bouchrika I, Tari A, Ladjailia A. Exploring user satisfaction for e-learning systems via usage-based metrics and system usability scale analysis. Computers in Human Behavior. 2016; 61:463-71.

[21][21]Christian JM, Graff P, Nakatsu CA, Hockey BA, inventors; Intel Corp, assignee. Systems and methods for providing non-lexical cues in synthesized speech. United States patent US 9,542,929. 2017.

[22][22]Zaied AN, Hassan MM, Mohamed IS. Applying website usability testing techniques to promote E-services. Advances in Computer Science: An International Journal. 2015; 4(5):54-60.