ERIC Number: EJ1233371
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Nov
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-9359
EISSN: N/A
Effects of New Supportive Technologies for Blind and Deaf Engineering Students in Online Learning
Batanero, Concha; de-Marcos, Luis; Holvikivi, Jaana; Hilera, Jose Ramon; Oton, Salvador
IEEE Transactions on Education, v62 n4 p270-277 Nov 2019
Contribution: A redesign of the Moodle platform to adapt digital educational content [learning objects (LOs)] to the specific needs of students with disabilities. The approach, extendable to a range of disciplines, was empirically tested with blind and deaf engineering students. Background: Previous studies identified difficulties that blind and deaf students face in accessing digital content for learning. General guidelines and specific tools are available to help educators adapt digital content and existing learning platforms for access by students with varying abilities/capacities. Such tools are usually for a specific disability rather than a range of capacities, and few provide empirical evidence of effectiveness. Intended Outcomes: The engineering-related digital content adapted using the techniques described in this paper should enable blind and/or deaf students to use an oscilloscope, understand communication channels, and distinguish the different types of telecommunication networks. Application Design: The Moodle learning platform was adapted using existing e-learning accessibility standards so that digital LOs could be automatically presented in formats accessible to blind and/or deaf students. This model is extendable for other types of disabilities, helping educators adapt existing content for access by students with differing capacities. The teacher adds content (in non-auditory and non-visual formats to describe content otherwise inaccessible to deaf or blind students) and students upload reusable profiles/metadata describing their specific accessibility needs to connect to suitably adjusted content. Findings: Learning improvement with the adjusted platform was evaluated via multiple choice pre- and post-tests. Students' learning performance improved significantly across all groups: blind (45%), deaf (46.25%) and deaf-blind (87.5%).
Descriptors: Assistive Technology, Students with Disabilities, Blindness, Deafness, Electronic Learning, Engineering Education, Student Needs, Integrated Learning Systems, Accessibility (for Disabled), Preferences, Telecommunications, Computer Science Education, Instructional Effectiveness, Deaf Blind, College Students, Adults, Science Equipment, Student Improvement
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Tel: 732-981-0060; Web site: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=13
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A