Visually Impaired Children's Acceptances on Assistive Courseware

Abstract

Problem statement: The government of Malaysia is considering serious efforts in promoting the usage of computers among disabled people. Currently, the availability of computer applications especially related to creative contents for disabled people in Malaysia is infancy and very expensive. Research and expertise in the area of Assistive Technology (AT) in Malaysia is still uncommon and not extensively utilized. Therefore research involving special communities such as disabled people on the usage of electronic applications should be focused because records show that their population populations are increasing. Hence, this research will be tailored for Visually-Impaired (VI) learners. In Malaysia, visual impairment is one of the highest registered disabilities. Approach: This study presents an ongoing project that determines whether the VI children can accept the Assistive Courseware (AC) as one of the effective tools in their learning process. Specification identification, AC development and testing and evaluation are three activities involved in this study. In addition, data have been collected through qualitative approaches. Results: The results highlight four important elements for incorporated in an AC for VI children. Through the testing and evaluation, it was found that the VI children accept the AC due to interesting usage of audio, graphic, text and easy navigation method. Conclusion: In a nutshell, the positive responses prove that the AC not only exposes the VI children to the world of technology but also educates them in terms of interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills and motivation. The recommended future work is to produce a much comprehensive AC which focuses on interactivity, various multimedia elements, multiple intelligence elements and multiple stages of exercise in granting value-added AC not only for VI children in Malaysia but also to other world VI communities in the world.