Developing e-Examination Voice interface for Visually Impaired students in Open and Distance Learning Context

Voice-based systems allow users access to information on the internet over a voice interface. Prior studies on Open and Distance Learning (ODL) eexamination systems that make use of voice interface do not sufficiently exhibit intelligent form of assessment, which diminishes the rigour of examination. The objective of this paper is to improve on the achievements of previous studies by providing a framework that will guide the development of a voice-based e-examination expert system for the visually impaired students in ODL. The study employs a combination of technologies such as system design, server side scripting, voice-based system development, data management and rule-based reasoning in developing the system. The system was evaluated to determine the level of usability. The results of the usability evaluation showed that the developed application has an ‘average usability’ rating of 3.48 out of 5 scales. The findings show that the voice-based e-examination system will not only be of immense benefit to the visually impaired students in ODL in respective of distance, but will also complement the existing web-based method for online examination

Eliciting mental model of blind people for web page

This paper highlights the need to investigate whether blind people can get two dimensional perspectives in their mental model using bi-modal interaction.The two dimensional perspectives are very important for effective navigation in the Internet.This paper proposed the novel protocol to elicit mental model from the blind people using diagrammatic representation

Touch screen with audio feedback: Content analysis and the effect of spatial ability on blind people's sense of position of web pages

This article presents findings from a Content Analysis of verbal and audio protocol of Mental Model study. When using touch screen display with audio feedback, it was found that the users' mental model is in one dimensional as using screen-reader program. Previous experience using screen-reader program may affected the users' experience using a touch screen with audio feedback. In addition, investigation of blind users' spatial ability on users' performance was also conducted. This study revealed that there was a significant interaction effect between the user's spatial ability and the time taken to answer a question using touch display with audio feedback

A VOICE-BASED E-EXAMINATION FRAMEWORK FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS IN OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

Voice-based systems allow users access to information on the internet over a voice interface. Prior studies on Open and Distance Learning (ODL) e-examination systems that make use of voice interface do not sufficiently exhibit intelligent form of assessment, which diminishes the rigor of examination. The objective of this paper is to improve on the achievements of previous studies by providing a framework that will guide the development of a voice-based eexamination expert system for the visually impaired students in ODL. The study employs a combination of technologies such as system design, server side scripting, voice-based system development, data management and rule-based reasoning in developing the system. The system was evaluated to determine the level of usability. The results of the usability evaluation showed that the developed application has an ‘average usability’ rating of 3.48 out of 5 scales. The findings show that the voice-based e-examination system will not only be of immense benefit to the visually impaired students in ODL in respective of distance, but will also complement the existing web-based method for online examination

EXPLORING THE STAGES OF INFORMATION SEEKING IN A CROSS-MODAL CONTEXT

Previous studies of users with visual impairments access to the web have focused on human-web interaction. This study explores the under investigated area of cross-modal collaborative information seeking (CCIS), that is, the challenges and opportunities that exist in supporting visually impaired (VI) users to take an effective part in collaborative web search tasks with sighted peers. We conducted an observational study to investigate the process with fourteen pairs of VI and sighted users in co-located and distributed settings. The study examined the effects of cross-modal collaborative interaction on the stages of the individual Information Seeking (IS) process. The findings showed that the different stages of the process were performed individually most of the time; however it was observed that some collaboration took place in the results exploration and management stages. The accessibility challenges faced by VI users affected their individual and collaborative interaction and also enforced certain points of collaboration. The paper concludes with some recommendations towards improving the accessibility of cross-modal collaborative search.Peer Reviewe

Ensuring accessibility of electronic information resources for visually impaired people : the need to clarify concepts such as visually impaired

PURPOSE – The paper addresses the importance of clarifying terminology such as visually impaired and related terms before embarking on accessibility studies of electronic information resources in library contexts. Apart from briefly defining accessibility, the paper attempts to address the lack of in-depth definitions of terms such as visually impaired, blind, partially sighted, etc. that has been noted in the literature indexed by two major Library and Information Science (LIS) databases. The purpose of this paper is to offer a basis for selecting participants in studies of accessibility of electronic information resources in library contexts and to put discussions of such studies in context. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – Clarification of concepts concerning visual impairment following a literature survey based on searching two major databases in LIS. To put the discussion in context accessibility is also briefly defined. FINDINGS – Although visually impaired and a variety of related terms such as blind, partially sighted, visually disabled, etc. are used in the LIS literature, hardly any attempt is made to define these terms in depth. This can be a serious limitation in web and electronic accessibility evaluations and the selection of participants. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS – Clearly distinguishing between categories of visually impaired people and the ability of sight of participants is important when selecting participants for studies on accessibility for visually impaired people, e.g. the accessibility evaluation of web sites, digital libraries and other electronic information resources. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – The paper can make a contribution to the clarification of terminology essential for the selection of participants in accessibility studies, as well as enriching the literature on accessibility for visually impaired people in the context of LIS.http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htmhb201

An Empirical Investigation into the Difficulties Experienced by Visually Impaired Internet Users

In this paper, an empirical based study is described which has been conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by the visually impaired community when accessing the Web. The study, involving 30 blind and partially sighted computer users, has identified navigation strategies, perceptions of page layout and graphics using assistive devices such as screen readers. Analysis of the data has revealed that current assistive technologies impose navigational constraints and provide limited information on web page layout. Conveying additional spatial information could enhance the exploration process for visually impaired Internet users. It could also assist the process of collaboration between blind and sighted users when performing web-based tasks. The findings from the survey have informed the development of a non-visual interface, which uses the benefits of multimodal technologies to present spatial and navigational cues to the user

Measuring acceptable input: What is "good enough"?

Many new assistive input systems developed to meet the needs of users with functional impairments fail to make it out of the research laboratory and into regular use by the intended end users. This paper examines some of the reasons for this failure and focuses particularly on whether the developers of such systems are using the correct metrics and approaches for evaluating the functional and social attributes of the input systems they are designing. This paper further focuses on the importance of benchmarking new assistive input systems against baseline measures of useful interaction rates that take allowance of factors such as input success/recognition rate, error rate, correction effort and input time. By addressing each of these measures, a more complete understanding of whether an input system is practically and functionally acceptable can be obtained and design guidance for developers is provided

Synchronizing Audio and Haptic to Read Webpage

Constantly emerging technologies present new interactive ways to convey information on the Web. The new and enhanced website design has gradually improved sighted users‟ understanding on the Web content but on the other hand, it creates more obstacles to the visually impaired. The significant technological gap in assistive technology and the Web presents on-going challenges to maintain web accessibility, especially for disabled users. The limitations of current assistive technology to convey non-textual information including text attributes such as bold, underline, and italic from the Web further restrict the visually impaired from acquiring comprehensive understanding of the Web content. This project addresses this issues by investigating the problems faced by the visually impaired when using the current assistive technology. The significance of text attributes to support accessibility and improve understanding of the Web content is also being studied. For this purpose several qualitative and quantitative data collection methods are adopted to test the hypotheses. The project also examines the relationship between multimodal technology using audio and haptic modalities and the mental model generated by the visually impaired while accessing webpage. The findings are then used as a framework to develop a system that synchronizes audio and haptic to read webpages and represents text attributes to visually impaired users is to be develop. From the prototype built, pilot testing and user testing are conducted to evaluate the system. The result and recommendations are shared at the end of project for future enhancement

The health and social care information needs and behaviour of people with a visual impairment.

Background and purpose: There are currently almost two million people with a visual impairment in the United Kingdom, many of whom also experience other health conditions and/or disabilities. People with visual impairments are, therefore, often regular users of health and social care services. Information has an important role in helping support and improve people's health and social care. The purpose of this thesis was, therefore, to address an identified knowledge gap and undertake an in-depth study of the health and social care information needs and behaviour of people with a visual impairment. Design/ methodology/ approach: The research consisted of four interconnected studies: an interview study with 17 people with an age-related visual impairment and 14 people with a visual impairment since birth or early childhood; an audio diary study with seven older visually impaired people; a survey of managers of local societies for the blind and partially sighted; and an evaluation of the active involvement of visually impaired people in the design of this research. Findings: As a result of this research we now have a detailed understanding of the health and social care information needs of two groups of visually impaired people, in particular the types of information they require; the information sources they use, such as local societies for the blind and partially sighted; what factors potentially affect their information behaviour; the possible role of newer information sources, such as NHS Direct and the Internet; as well as the extent to which two established information models (Wilson, 1999 and Moore, 2002) can explain their information behaviour. Originality/ value: This research, the first of its kind, substantially increases our knowledge of the health and social care information needs and behaviour of visually impaired people by employing novel approaches, such as the adoption of audio diaries as a research method, and involving visually impaired people directly in the design of the research