Living, Teaching and Learning at Any Time and at Any Place. e-Learning – Opportunities and Barriers for Visually Impaired Students

Author(s):  
Joachim Klaus
Author(s):  
Juliana Samuel Kamaghe ◽  
Edith Talina Luhanga ◽  
Michael Kisangiri

In the past decades, the world has experienced major changes in the advancement of learning technologies which has enabled learners to engage in their learning activities anywhere. The penetration of mobile phone internet users in Tanzania has been increasing from 2 million in 2011 to 23mil in 2017 The adoption of mobile-based learning (M-learning) for students who are visually impaired in Tanzania has become a major bottleneck since most of the e-learning contents assume that learners have sight and thus include a lot of visualizations. This causes visually impaired students in higher learning Institutions (HLIs) to face challenges such as technical knowledge gaps. Lack of skills and inaccessibility of online contents, which then lead to drop out of the university. The aim of this study is to determine the awareness and usage levels of existing mobile assistive technologies for visual impairment, and the remaining challenges that visually impaired students face, when using such tools on smartphones to access m-learning content from HLIs. in Tanzania. The research was conducted an observational and contextual inquiry study at three major HLIs. We found that 67% of respondents did not have knowledge of m-learning assistive technologies, and their technology barriers for visually impaired students. Also, knowledge, accessibility of Assistive technology and affordability can hinder the adoption of m-learning in Higher Learning Institutions


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Diaz

The number of instructional offerings in higher education that are online, blended, or web-enhanced, including courses and programs, continues to grow exponentially. Alongside the growth of e-learning, higher education has witnessed the explosion of cloud-based or Web 2.0 technologies, a term that refers to the vast array of socially oriented, free or nearly free, web-based tools, has represented a transition from institutionally-provided to freely available technology tools. This paper addresses the numerous teaching and learning opportunities and challenges that institutions face in adopting and implementing cloud-based technologies into their eLearning programs and provides a guide for forming implementation decisions.


Author(s):  
A. A. Azeta ◽  
C. K. Ayo ◽  
A. A. Atayero ◽  
N. A. Ikhu-Omoregbe

This chapter examines the learning environment of visually impaired students in the school for the blind. The level of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) utilization and adoption is reported with specific interest in VoiceXML and its application areas. As a case study, a prototype voice-based e-Learning application for course registration and examination was developed and reported. The system was evaluated using ISO 9241-11 usability criteria. The outcome of the usability evaluation is also presented. The voice-based e-Learning technology described in this chapter will improve accessibility to education, including distance learning for learners who are visually impaired in the school for the blind.


Author(s):  
Earl W. Huff ◽  
Julian Brinkley

Prior research into the accessibility of computing education focused primarily on the curricula and tools used in the classroom and the challenges students with disabilities faced in learning from them. We argue that there is insufficient research that explores these problems through observations in an actual programming course to learn about the learning and teaching processes used in conjunction with such curricula and tools. We address this gap through a four-week diary study involving a teacher and two visually impaired students throughout an ongoing distance learning programming course to examine teacher perceptions of their students’ performance in learning to code and students’ perceptions of the course material, tools, and instruction. Findings reveal that despite challenges encountered, students could achieve their learning outcomes from the teacher’s instructions. Additionally, we learn how online learning could be a viable platform for a more accessible learning experience for visually impaired learners.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanto Susanto ◽  
Deri Sis Nanda

In this article we report an ethnographic case study of observing the teaching and learning of English at a school for visually impaired students in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia. Data collection included student and teacher interviews. It also covered class observation and used a social constructivist framework of disability. The study revealed that the students received inadequate modifications of instruction in foreign language learning. However, the students used a variety of resources with the screen reader technology such as Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) and Job Access with Speech (JAWS). These findings suggest that visually impaired students actually can have unique ways of learning foreign language supported by the assistive technology. These abilities should be acknowledged to obtain the perspectives of students who receive disability specific education. Moreover, the study might provide a further facet to the research especially on the importance of learning strategies in special education.


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