Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Educational software and low vision students: evaluating accessibility factors

  • Long paper
  • Published:
Universal Access in the Information Society Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to draw a few guidelines for the evaluation of the accessibility and usability of educational software programs from the point of view of low vision students. The presented findings are based on the results of a long term research project carried out by the Italian National Research Council’s Institute for Educational Technology (ITD-CNR) and the David Chiossone Institute for the Blind, both based in Genoa, Italy. The educational project, whose general aims and results are not a matter of discussion here, involves a significant number of visually impaired students from primary to upper secondary school; in such a context, the researchers have the opportunity to assess and evaluate whether, and to what extent, the selected educational software products meet the needs of low vision students. In this perspective, the paper takes into account the features which can be considered significant from an educational point of view: general readability, working field extension and position, menu location and coherence, character dimension, colour brightness, etc. Bearing in mind the ultimate goal of providing children with appropriate, effective educational tools, an educational software accessibility checklist is proposed which is meant to be used by teachers with no, or scarce, experience of low vision, and not by professionals; it has already proved to be an effective tool for helping teachers select suitable educational software products “usable” by low vision students.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. http://www.chiossone.it

  2. http://www.itd.cnr.it

  3. http://www.sd2.itd.cnr.it

  4. http://www.istruzione.it/mpi/pubblicazioni/2003/handicap_03.html

  5. From magazine "Oftalmologia Sociale" (2002, n. 2, pig. 44) of the IAPB International agency for the Prevention of the Blindness—Italian Section: the number of blind persons in the world is around 5,000,000 and number of subjects with low vision is around 175,000,000 (1,000,000 in Italy)

  6. Visual acuity is the ability to view an object’s smallest details. When visual acuity is lacking, a person (even when provided with the suitable optical device) is unable to perceive the borders and internal details of the object: the smaller and more detailed the object, the worse the global visual perception. In response to this problem, people tend to shorten the distance between eye and object, and this often results in the loss of visual perception of the object as a whole. It is possible to overcome the problem by using specific magnifying tools (both ICT based and not) and/or enlarged texts and images; nevertheless, even with the use of enlarging optical devices, it is unlikely that people with decreased visual acuity will reach the level of vision experienced by the others.

  7. “Limited or narrow visual field” means that, subjects may have quite a good vision of objects situated in the centre (of what they are looking at), but cannot perceive things located at the borders (they have a good central but poor peripheral vision, often referred to as tunnel vision). These people are able to read only a few letters at a time (sometimes only a part of a letter) and this obviously slows down their reading speed enormously. As a consequence, they need to move their eyes many times, and their eye movements are necessarily very short and limited in extension. In order to read one single line of text they have to make frequent pauses or, alternatively, maintain their eyes in the same position and scroll the text across their visual field.

  8. A short description of CCTV from the web site of AFB (American Foundation for Blind) http://www.afb.org: “A video magnifier, or closed-circuit television (CCTV) system uses a stand-mounted or handheld video camera to project a magnified image onto a video monitor, a television (TV) screen, or a computer monitor. There is considerable versatility in types of video magnifiers available today.”

  9. For instance, a computer with a scanner and OCR software provides the opportunity to digitalize books which voice synthesis then “reads” to the end user.

  10. Enciclopedia Multimediale 2005, Publisher: Finson

  11. http://www.uptoten.com

  12. Before You Know It, Publisher: Transparent language

  13. Around 200 children and teenagers every year, included in the courses of standard schools, are followed at Chiossone's by vision-specialists; since 2005, the research team has started to work with a number of schools located in Genova, Chiavari (Genova), Levanto (Genova), Nè (Genova); in detail the experimental setting is based at the elementary schools “Mazza” e “Richeri” (Genova); and at the middle schools of Andora (Savona) e Ventimiglia (Imperia).

  14. In Italy, teachers are not specialized at the level of requirement posed by different types of disability.

  15. The accessibility references for U.S. are in the Section 508, http://www.section508.gov, and in Italy are in the Legge n.4/2004 (“Legge Stanca”) http://www.pubbliaccesso.it

  16. In Italy Angolo Manzoni publishes books with magnified characters http://www.angolo-manzoni.it/collane/collana.asp?ID = 44

  17. http://www.aph.org/products/aphont.html

  18. For further information about colour and contrast see Rnib-Royal National Institute for Blind website: http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_contrast.hcsp#P35_2315

  19. The checklist has been fully tested by the teachers of the schools included in the experimental project

References

  1. Cannao, M.: La mente con gli occhiali. Sviluppo, patologia e riabilitazione della funzione visiva nel bambino. Milano (Italia), Franco Angelic (1999)

  2. Davis, B.C., Shade, D.D.: Integrating technology into the early childhood classroom: the case of literacy learning. In: Shade, D.D. (Ed.), Information technology in childhood education annual. Association for the advancement of computing in education, Norfolk (1999)

  3. Dini, S., Martinoli, C., Delpino, E., Gettani, A.: La postazione scolastica per disabili visivi: diversi punti di vista, Handyted Proceedings, Genova. http://www.itd.cnr.it/handyted2005/ (2005)

  4. Dini, S., Gettani, A.: L’approccio al computer da parte dell’alunno disabile visivo: l’importanza di un intervento precoce, Handyted Proceedings, Genova. http://www.itd.cnr.it/handyted2005/ (2005)

  5. Dini, S., Ferlino, L., Martinoli, C.: Usability of educational software for visual impairment: a question of viewpoint. In: Computer Hhelping People with Special Needs, 9th International Conference ICCHP, Paris, pp. 575–582 (2004)

  6. Dini S., Ferlino, L., Martinoli, C., Ott, M.: Low vision students: considerations about the accessibility of educational software. In: Stephanidis, C. (ed.) Universal access in HCI—Exploring New Dimensions of Diversity. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 22–27 July 2005, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, New Jersey (ISBN: 0-8058-5807-5) (2005)

  7. Hitchcock, C., Stahl, S.: Assistive technology, universal design, universal design for learning: improved learning opportunities. Spec. Edu. Technol. J. 18 (4) (2003)

  8. Lesar Judge S.: Computer applications in programs for young children with disabilities: current status and future directions. Spec. Edu. Technol. J. 16(1) (2001)

  9. Massironi, M.: Fenomenologia della percezione visiva. Bologna (Italia), Il Mulino (1998)

  10. Novick, R.: Learning to read and write: a place to start. Northwest regional educational laboratory, Portland. From the World Wide Web: http://www.nwrel.org/cfc/publications/learningreadwrite.html (1998)

  11. Riel, M.: Educational change in a technology-rich environment. Res. Comput. Edu. J. 26(4), 452–474 (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Zingirian, M., Gandolfo, E., Ipovisione: Nuova frontiera dell’oftalmologia. SOI—Società Oftalmologica Italiana, Roma (2002)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto D. Chiossone Onlus, Corso Armellini 11, 16122, Genova, Italy

    Silvia Dini, Anna Gettani & Cristina Martinoli

  2. Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche CNR, Via De Marini 6, 16149, Genova, Italy

    Lucia Ferlino & Michela Ott

Authors
  1. Silvia Dini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lucia Ferlino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anna Gettani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Cristina Martinoli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Michela Ott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michela Ott.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dini, S., Ferlino, L., Gettani, A. et al. Educational software and low vision students: evaluating accessibility factors. Univ Access Inf Soc 6, 15–29 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-006-0056-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-006-0056-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation