Eshetu, Bethelhem (2016) Assessing Visually Impaired Students’ Intention to Use ICT Based Assistive Technology for Learning: The Case of Addis Ababa University. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.
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Abstract
Information Technology is one of the tools used in the process of creating an integrated countries and people of the world interaction. It has become an essential and accepted part of everyday life by providing communication network through information service and information delivery. This facilitates the expansion of products, ideas and resources among people regardless of geographical location. This enables active communication by opening learning opportunities that were previously not available. Information delivery has both audio and audio-visual dimension, so that one can actually communicate without visualizing. In today’s knowledge based society, use of information technology has become universal phenomena in education. Education is the stepping stone for every human being to build a successful life and career. This applies to everyone including people with disabilities. E-learning provides many advantages to visually impair students. Students must adapt the extensive use of e-learning to get educational advantage out of it. E-learning is one of the learning opportunities that information technology provides. However, assistive technology access by visually impaired students to improve their academic competency was overlooked. And visually impaired students are not embracing e-learning at the same rate as the rest of the sighted society. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess visually impaired students intention to use ICT based assistive technology for learning and to assess which factors affect the adoption of ICT based assistive technology for learning in Addis Ababa University. Case study was conducted in Addis Ababa University visually disabled students to assess their intention to use assistive technology for e-learning and technology adoption. The study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods. Questionnaire, interview and document analysis were used to collect data. A total of 109 questionnaires were collected and analyzed using SPSS Standard multiple regression. Purposively chosen respondents from academic staff, administrative officers and students were interviewed. Quantitative results of the study showed most of students have a year experience working with computers. Students are not comfortable with their ability to use computer and ICT based assistive technologies. Students’ technological experience and their attitude on adopting assistivetechnology is explained by their awareness about assistive technology. Visually Impaired students awareness about assistive technology is fair. In addition, most of the students have positive attitude on using assistive technology to use computers to access e-learning materials. However, overall students’ confidence on using windows operating system as well as built in or free version of assistive technology is less. Multiple regression analysis result reveled; the independent variables, students’ awareness on Assistive technology and their experience on it explain 61% of the variance of the dependent variable, the adoption of Assistive technology by students. Among these independent variables, students’ awareness on Assistive technology has significant contribution on explaining students’ assistive technology adoption. The findings of qualitative analysis clearly identified specific problems including issues relating to assistive technology such as inaccessibility of local software and hardware and also websites; issues on accessing PDF, Amharic document, graphics and mathematics formulas using currents assistive technology mentioned. In addition, limited access to resource, lack of management, department as well as IT professional’s awareness about assistive technology, and absence of existing assistive technology policy were implied as a barrier for the level of assistive technology awareness by students. This implies that need of visually impaired students need was not properly managed due to various limitations and addressing the issue in these area will significantly reduce the problem of visually impaired students problem related to assistive technology to their learning effectiveness in today’s learning process. Therefore based on the result, recommendations were subjected to improve awareness level of students and concerned bodies.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) L Education > L Education (General) L Education > LC Special aspects of education Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | Selom Ghislain |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Sep 2018 12:22 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Sep 2018 12:22 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/5347 |
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