Several wearable augmented reality devices have emerged in recent years. Although these devices target users with 20/20 vision, they have also been explored as low vision aids. However, such devices are still relatively inaccessible and expensive. This study explores one of the inexpensive commercial headmounted see-through display, google cardboard, and a simple homemade wearable augmented reality display. The experimentation reveals that, although not perfect, the homemade device built using a smartphone and common household scrap items is the most promising platform for experimenting with visual aids.

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Abstract.Readability of text on the web is a key prerequisite for achieving universal accessibility. The World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines state that general text should not require reading levels more advanced than lower secondary education. The subsequent research into readability on the web is limited. However, the literature on measuring readability and reading level is vast, but limited to simple measures of sentence length and word difficulty. This study explores the value of using other features that are harder to acquire manually, but are now readily available through computer technology. Our results indicate that the proposed features are not as accurate predictors to readability as the classic measurements. There may thus be some way to go before we have reliable automatic means of assessing texts on the web for readability.

Readability of text is generally believed to be connected to sentence length. Most studies on readability are based on visual reading. Less is known about text readability for users relying on screen readers, such as users who are blind. This study therefore set out to investigate the effect of sentence length on the readability of web texts accessed using screen readers. A controlled withinsubjects experiment was performed with twenty-one participants. Participants used a screen reader to read five texts with different sentence lengths. The participants' comprehension and perceived workload were measured. The findings reveal that there is a significant effect of sentence length and most participants exhibit the highest comprehension and lowest workload with sentences comprising 16-20 words. Implications of these results are that web content providers should strive for sentence length of 16-20 words to maximize readability.

Websites are essential for learners' access to information. However, due to the lack of accessibility and usability of websites, students with disabilities who solely rely on screen readers face challenges accessing webpage contents. This study explores accessibility and usability issues frequently encountered by screen reader students while interacting with Norwegian university webpages. An evaluation using automated tools showed that none of the university websites met the minimum WCAG 2.1 guidelines. Sixteen visually impaired participants were recruited and assigned five usability tasks on four different university websites. The results show that participants encountered usability and accessibility issues on all four websites. Recommendations for increased accessibility are proposed based on the findings.

Abstract. Managing online materials for large classes can be time-consuming and error prone. In particular, it can be challenging to manage long lists of students, lecture progress, and auditorium schedules as these often change on a daily basis. We therefore introduce a simple Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework implemented in Excel that can help teachers handle daily tasks more efficiently. Examples include how to generate lecture plans, student presentation schedules, and peer-review plans for students. The authors have successfully used the system for more than five years in several courses. The framework simplifies the task of reusing material from one teaching semester to another. Teachers only need to focus on the content and not the visual appearance.

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This study explored students’ learning experiences in higher education during the Covid-19 pandemic. A journal writing methodology was used to extract learners’ reflective thoughts regarding their living and learning during the pandemic outbreak. The results were interpreted through the views of relevant student engagement frameworks. The students’ structural factors (family, support, and pressure) were impacted because of political and sociocultural factors (restrictive measures in response to the pandemic outbreak) within which the university factors were embedded (total closure with online education, subsequent reopening allowing physical attendance, and later principal distance education with approved exceptions), which collectively and psychosocially influenced students’ life and studies. The learners self-adapted via their individual efficacy to tackle the unfamiliar situations by digitally reaching out to family/friends and enhancing skills/self-learning; learner differences in learning style and preferences were noted. Online courses offered flexibility for learning independent of time and space while social presence in the learning community during online lessons remained less effective; traditional values of face-to-face physical classrooms were recognised among some learners. Learners’ perceived effective engaging measures underscored the importance of ensuring learner well-being (counselling and mask-wearing), learning independence (online lecture recordings and optional attendance), and strengthening online learning experiences (building the learning community, enhancing class dialogue, and demonstrating problem-solving techniques). Recommendations for engaging learning were discussed.