Browsing by Author "Nambuwasam, S. G."

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An approach to enhance accessibility of E-Learning materials by hearing Impaired youth
(Research Symposium on Pure and Applied Sciences, 2018 Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Nambuwasam, S. G.
Children with hearing loss have difficulty with all areas of academic achievement, especially reading and mathematical concepts (Chamberlain & Mayberry, 2000; Hoover & Gough, 1990). Learning difficulties of hearing impaired learners lie in their linguistic inability varying according the degrees of hearing loss. E-learning materials designed for non-hearing impaired learners are comparatively abundant. This paper presents a preliminary study done for an ongoing research to identify the accessibility of e-learning materials developed for non-hearing impaired youth for the hearing impaired youth. A major objective of the study is to examine the effectiveness of using text, graphics, audio and video to make e-learning materials accessible by hearing impaired youth in developing Information Communication Technology literacy. The sample study was done with twenty hearing impaired youth selected using convenience sampling technique. The open source Sharable Content Object Reference Model based e-learning materials developed using Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation model were used in the study. Using individual computers the participants logged into the system to accesses the e-learning materials available on the virtual learning environment. Paper based semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the participants’ feedback about the virtual learning experience and the accessibility of the e-learning materials. The questionnaire contained seventeen structured and a single unstructured question. The structured questions were in single response, multiple responses and scaled question forms. Responses of structured questions were analyzed using a statistical package. Unstructured question was used to check the writing skills of the participants. According to data analysis, over 70% had the experience of accessing the Internet through a computer, was not familiar with e-learning or Learning Management System, preferred to follow an e-learning course and use e-learning materials. In comparison to typical hearing peers, students who are deaf or hard of hearing demonstrate vocabulary knowledge that is quantitatively reduced (Luckner & Cooke, 2010). The research results reveal that hearing impaired youth have limited vocabulary, difficulties in pronunciation of words, can write only simple sentences, to understand repeatedly read the same sentence for several times, could understand only simple short sentences and less motivated to read and learn. To make e-learning materials accessible by hearing impaired youth, the learning materials should be customized by using simple short sentence structures, applying good contrast colours between the background and the foreground, using larger font sizes, avoid using of blinking/flickering or moving elements and take precautions to eliminate unnecessary complexities of the contents.
ICT aided skill enhancement for moderately hearing-impaired youth
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Nambuwasam, S. G.; Liyanage, S. R.; Yatigammana, M. R. K. N.
Hearing impairment is a prominent sensory disability in the world. Baker et. al (2017) state that hearing- impaired persons account for over 5% from the world’s population. Though moderately hearing-impaired youth have good eyesight, they have difficulty in reading and writing text-based content due to their inadequate hearing. The inadequate hearing negatively affects their education and makes them low literate and unemployed in the society. If hearing-impaired youth are literate in ICT, more employment opportunities will be available for them in the industry such as graphic designers, computer hardware technicians, etc. Current study focusses on the development of e-learning materials for hearing impaired youth to improve their ICT literacy and competency in order to enhance their employability. We also attempt to identify a suitable methodology to develop e-learning materials targeting moderately hearing-impaired youth to provide ICT literacy skills. The aim of the research addresses the ICT related vocational training of moderately hearing-impaired youth through the development of ICT literacy skills. The research objectives are to identify learning theory, to determine a content development model, to design interactive e-learning material and to assess the applicability of the designed interactive e-learning material to provide ICT literacy for moderate hearing-impaired youth in ICT related vocational training. Based on the literature survey, Constructivism has been identified as a learning theory and the Learnativity content development model as a suitable content development model to provide ICT literacy for moderately hearing-impaired youth. Web based interactive e-learning material has been designed by incorporating text, graphics and audio to suit the requirements of the moderately hearing-impaired youth. A simple quiz is provided at the end of the interactive e-learning material to measure the participants understanding on the provided learning content. The sample participants will be selected using the random sampling technique to test the designed interactive e-learning material. Data will be gathered from the observations, questionnaires and interviews. Participants’ feedback on their interactive e-learning experience is collected using the questionnaire and the interviews. Collected data will be analyzed using a statistical package. Results obtained after analyzing the data will be used to determine the applicability of the interactive e-learning material to provide ICT literacy for moderately hearing-impaired youth. Providing e-learning opportunities to be literate in ICT for moderately hearing-impaired youth is vital because the general education and vocational training of hearing-impaired learners has been drastically affected by the pandemic and the economic crisis of the world.