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
The growing penetration of mobile and networked devices, for example, standard phones, smartphones and tablets have gradually transformed the mode of teaching and learning in Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs). The learning process is increasingly online, with students using electronic devices to access content and to self-learn at any time and from any place. This online ubiquitous learning is termed electronic-learning, or mobile learning (M-learning) when mobile devices are used. In Tanzania, 36% of people aged 24-29, which is the largest age group of students in HLIs, own a mobile device. As a result, m learning has been increasingly adopted by HLIs. However, little is known on the level of engagement in M- learning by visually impaired learners (VILs) in Tanzania; for instance, the tools they use and the challenges encountered when accessing learning contents. With an estimated 250 VILs in Tanzanian HLIs, it is essential to ensure that the ever-increasing reliance on electronic and mobile learning does not leave them with knowledge and skills gaps, as these could contribute to poor performance, dropping out and lower chances of employment after graduation. In this regard, assistive technology is needed in HLIs because as the world shifts from traditional classroom settings to online settings, VILs needs it in order to move with the pace and improve academic achievement. This study is intended to determine the usability of existing versatile assistive technologies among VILs in Tanzanian HLIs and the challenges that they face when accessing online learning platforms. User requirements for assistive features were gathered, and an assistive technology prototype was developed and validated. Data were collected via surveys and interviews involving 33 VILs in four HLIs. The study found that 67% of respondents did not know about mobile assistive technologies or integrated assistive technologies on online learning platforms. Also, 66% could not afford smartphones and were therefore unable to use assistive technologies. The prototype was developed for Android devices and consists of three parts: a user management component for user authentication; a learning resources component for a learning management system available in their HLIs; and a speech synthesizer. Whereby the platform can be able to synthesizer text and graphical contents into audio content, with the pitch analyzer. A usability test was conducted with 7 VILs using the System User Scale (SUS) questionnaire. The prototype achieved an average score of seventy-six-point eight percent (76.8%), which was higher than the 68% usability score given to existing Android accessibility tools. It is confirmed that accessibility, ii knowledge and skills are the principal concern with respect to the adoption and usage of learning technology for visually impaired learners.
Recently smart devices have emerged in platforms for designed an assistive technology software which is embedded in them. Users requirements and awareness of the visually impaired population have made devices manufacturers incorporate accessibility part in their devices. Also, there are third-party developers have been trying to develop assistive technologies to fit gaps for accessibility of other smart devices available [4]. Despite the above advances, assistive, or even accessible mobile phone software development is still an emerging market [5]. Consequently, most of the instructors assume learners have sight while preparing learning material and upload them in m-learning; hence it is difficult for VIL to engage themselves in self-learning using smart devices visually impaired users face some challenges when operating their mobile phones. Partially sighted users, for example, may complain about the size of the letters on the relatively small phone screens, while blind users have difficulties finding items quickly on a touch screen smart device. These encounters, though, do not seem to be an
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