USABILITY OF BRAILLE AND
AUDIO OUTPUT TECHNOLOGIES FOR CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS
Presenter #1
515 Kimball Tower
Buffalo
NY
14214
USA
Day Phone: 7162284213
Fax: 0201
Email: kmrao@buffalo.edu
PRESENTER #2
Dr. James Lenker
University at Buffalo, State University of New York Street
515 Kimball Tower
Buffalo
NY
14214
Country: USA
Day Phone: 7168293141
ax:7168293217
mail: lenker@buffalo.edu
This paper investigates the usability and impact of Braille and audio output
technologies for comprehension abilities of K—l2 students with visual
impairments or blindness for persons with visual impairments or blindness,
Braille is a versatile reading and writing medium either used alone or as a
complement to print. A large quantity of print books and periodicals can also
be accessed through the use of computers and scanners with optical character
recognition (OCR) technology, which are ultimately “read” using screen reading
software. This assures that students can effectively listen to text in
circumstances when it is not present in Braille. To date however, there has
been little research comparing the usability of these two reading modalities
for children with visual impairments.
The current study compares reading comprehension of
children using Braille as compared to reading using an audio output device. We
also explore the academic situations for which children show preference to a
particular mode of reading. The knowledge obtained from this study will improve
our understanding of the role and significance of the two modes of reading on
the child’s academic performance and daily functioning.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the usability and impact of two
modes of output for students with visual impairments or blindness.
The research questions for this study are
1) Is there a difference in the comprehension
abilities of students with visual
impairments or blindness when they read using Braille as compared to listening
to
the text?
2) Do the students prefer one mode over the other? what
are the reasons for these preferences?
3) is there a correlation in the student’s preference
of a particular mode and their level of satisfaction usin9 that mode?
4) Is there a correlation in the student’s preference of a particular mode and
their performance on the reading comprehension test using that mode?
S) Are the students’ reported preferences similar to the perceptions of their
teachers and parents?
This study will involve students with visual impairments or blindness 5 to 18
years of age. A purposive sampling method will be used to recruit participants
from two sources: (a) students who participated in the ‘Instant Access to
Braille’ project at the Center for Assistive Technology (CAT), at University at
A within-groups design will be used to compare each participant’s performance
and usability preferences for the two AT interventions. The independent
variable is the mode of output, which has two levels, Braille and Audio. The
dependent variables are reading comprehension, user satisfaction with device,
and preferences for output mode based on task.
Brigance Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills
The BriQance comprehensive
Inventory of Basic skills- Revised (cIBS-R) measures
reading and listening comprehension of students. It was developed in 1978 by
Albert Brigance and revised in 1999. It is criterion-referenced and assessments
are based on curriculum content and objectives. It consists of subtests that
assess various areas of a student’s functioning like readiness, speech,
listening, writing, math, and etcetera.
(http://www.curriculumassociates.com/order/newproduct.asp?topic=TOA&sub=TOA2&title=b
rigcibs&TyperScH&custIdz2061246524308312315533).
A Braille edition for the CIBSR was designed by the American Printing House for
the Blind (APH) in 1999. This edition comprises of 23 subtests with l4 Braille
modules. (http://sun1.aph.org/starweb/APHBLLouis/servlet.starweb).
This test has different forms that assess academic skills of students depending
on their grade levels. Form c assesses the listening comprehension levels of
participants when using audio output devices. Form F, in hard copy Braille
format, will be used to assess the student’s reading comprehension.
Quebec User Evaluation of satisfaction with Assistive Technolo9y (QUEST)
The Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technolo9y (QUEST)
version 2.0 measures user satisfaction with AT devices and associated services.
The QUEST includes a device sub-scale (8 items) and a services sub-scale (4
items). Each of the 12 items is rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 indicates
“not satisfied at all” and 5 indicates “very satisfied”. Demers, Monette, Lapierre,
This questionnaire comprises of the following data: (a) demographic information
about the assistive device bein9 used, (b) user preferences for Braille and
audio output for general use and specific subject areas, and (c) usability of
each mode of output. The questionnaire items use a Likert-like
scale to capture information about everyday usage, ease of use, device preference
for different tasks and frequency of device usage.
Parent and TVI Questionnaires
Additional questionnaires will be used to capture parent and TVI perspectives,
respectively. Each will focus on student preferences for and performance using,
the two output modes.
Procedure
At the onset, the student takes form F of the cIBs-R,
which is in hard copy Braille. This assesses the student’s reading
comprehension abilities and his/her amount of retention. Following this, the
student takes Form c of the cIBS-R, which is in audio
format and answers the questions presented thereafter. In order to identify the
most appropriate grade level for testing each participant, the student s TVI
will be consulted to ascertain the level at which he/she is functioning. Raw
scores will be calculated based on the student’s performance. Following this,
the examiner verbally reads out the QUEST questionnaire to the student, once
for Braille and once for Audio, and notes down the responses. This gives us an
idea of the satisfaction level of the student with respect to both the modes of
output. Following this, the student is given the student questionnaire to fill
out in electronic format, which addresses different issues regarding Braille use
vs. Audio output prefer parent and teacher perspectives will be queried using
the parent and teacher questionnaire respectively.
Data Analysis
Research question 1: “Is there a difference in the reading comprehension
abilities of students with visual impairments or blindness when they read using
Braille as compared to listening to the text?”
Research question 1 will be analyzed using a paired t-test which will compare
the reading comprehension scores of students using Braille and audio outputs
respectively. :
Research question 2: “DO the students prefer one mode over the other? What are
the reasons for these preferences?”
Research question 2 will be analyzed using an independent t-test. The number of
Braille and audio responses will be counted and compared. Research question 3: “Is
there a correlation in the student’s preference of a particular mode and their
level of satisfaction using that mode?”
Research question 3 will be analyzed using a Pearson product moment correlation
coefficient that will correlate the responses obtained on the student
questionnaire and the QUEST. This will help to analyze the correlation between
the child’s preferred mode of reading and his/her satisfaction with that mode.
Research question 4: “Is there a correlation in the student’s preference of a
particular mode and their performance on the reading comprehension test using
that mode?”
Research question 4 will be analyzed using a Pearson product moment correlation
which will correlate the responses obtained on the student questionnaire and
the Brigance CIBSR.
Research question 5: “Are the students’ reported preferences similar to the
perceptions of their teachers and parents?”
Research question 5 will be analyzed using the wilcoxon
signed-Ranks Test, which will compare the responses on the student, parent and
TVI questionnaire.
Anticipated
Outcomes
At the time of proposal submission, data collection for this study had not yet
begun. The results will be completed in time for presentation and discussion at
the CSUN conferences. This study will compare the
differences in comprehension abilities for students using Braille and Audio
output, respectively as reading methods. The results will determine the
everyday viability of each output mode for students with visual impairments and
blindness. This information will yield new insights about the functional
rationale for student choices between two commonly recommended input
alternatives. In effect, this study will enable practitioners to improve
recommendations of these devices for students with low vision.
Limitations
This study has two principal limitations: (a) the
sample size of 26 limits the generalizability of results, and (b) this study
evaluates the effectiveness of
a Braille and audio output only for comprehension. Hence the results may
not apply to other learning skills like spelling, grammar skills, math skills
and, problem solving.
Reference
American Printing House for the Blind. A student Braille
edition for the CIBS-R. Retrieved on July 14, 2005 from
(http : //sunl. aph . org/starweb/APHBLL0ui s/servl
et. starweb)
curriculum Associates. The cIBs-R.
Retrieved on July 14, 2005, from
(http:wwwcul.. asptopi
cT0A&sub=TOA2&ti tl e=br
i gci bs&Type=scH&custld=
2061246524308312315533)
Demers, L., Monette, M., Lapierre,
Y., Arnold, D. L., & wolfson, c.
(2002).Reliability, validity, and Applicability of the Quebec User
Evaluation of satisfaction with Assistive Technolo9y (QUEST 2.0) for adults
with
multiple sclerosis. Disability and Rehabilitation, 24, 21-30.
Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2006 Table of Contents