The effectiveness of distance learning systems in teaching courses for visual impaired students using smart devices and speaking programs at King AbdulAziz University

Abstract

Shaden Khalil Elewat

Technology plays an important and active role in the teaching-learning process, especially for people with special needs, specialists in the field of special education seek continuously to provide better access to education for people with disabilities, especially visual impairments, as the blind and visually impaired in dire need of new technologies to help them receive the information, and there is an urgent need to prepare their own courses through this technology, such as distance learning. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the distance learning systems in teaching courses for visual impaired students using smart devices and speaking programs. This research qualitative in nature, where the researcher used two tools to collect and analyze information: an interview and distributing a form. The study sample consisted of only from two visually impaired students, the researcher attended lectures about distance learning systems with the students in order to evaluate the appropriateness of speaking programs in teaching using distance learning systems, then he interviewed the members of the sample in order to identify the most important technical problems they face in the educational process, In addition to assessing their ability to use speaking programs in distance learning systems. The results showed that the main interface to log on to the system at the location of King Abdul-Aziz University through smart devices doesn't support access to some of the following elements: Naming subject headings, defined text fields, check boxes, buttons, links and this is for the following ten courses: conversation and listening in English course, Environment and Development course, the overall financial economics course, the administration of non-profit organizations course, e-government course, the reading in English course, youth and the values of citizenship course, the writing in English course, the Islamic culture course, and the health services management course. As for the main facade of the Blackboard as an e-learning management system at windows environment, it supports access, except for the following elements: Home Tab, courses Tab, technical support tabs, tutorials tab, for the main interface of Blackboard with smart devices: it supports the possibility of access, except the following: menu button courses, back button, and the main page of settings with the main facade of smart devices. The display of the content at Windows environment and also smart devices, the content have been displayed using PowerPoint files, it supports access but also includes some simple mistakes that must be considered when viewing content using these files to fit the visual impaired student. With respect to the recorded lectures at windows environment where the recorded lectures are displayed either with the format of mb3 or mb4, the media player doesn't support access. The results also showed that the recorded lectures at the smart devices environment where the screen reader can access to all interface elements in the recordings facade at the virtual classrooms, and the virtual classroom does not support the possibility of access to the Windows environment, and the virtual classroom supports access to the environment of smart devices.