Research Article
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How Screen Readers Impact the Academic Works of College and Graduate Students with Visual Impairments

Year 2023, Volume: 13 Issue: 3, 416 - 434, 31.12.2023

Sevgi Kırboyun Tipi

https://doi.org/10.19126/suje.1201482

Abstract

This study explored the effectiveness of screen readers on the academic life of higher education students with visual impairments, including reading, writing, access to the internet, exams, and general information for their courses. This study was designed as a qualitative study and applied a phenomenological approach in order to discuss the experiences of higher education students who use screen readers as assistive technology. One college student and six graduate students with visual impairments were interviewed in the United States. The findings revealed that higher education students with visual impairments benefitted from screen readers; however, they also noted some limitations: difficulties in accessing printed classroom materials, inaccessible digital content, and time lost due to technical issues. Students with visual impairments should be offered accessible documents such as electronic versions of classroom materials, accessible PDFs and websites, and software compatible with JAWS. Universities should provide accessibility training for lecturers who want to better serve students with visual impairments. University information technology services need to train their technical services staff about screen readers to provide 24/7 professional services for students with visual impairments.

Keywords

Visual impairments screen readers JAWS Voiceover graduate students academic work

References

  • Alves, C. C. D. F., Monteiro, G. B. M., Rabello, S., Gasparetto, M. E. R. F., & Carvalho, K. M. D. (2009). Assistive technology applied to education of students with visual impairment. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 26, 148-152. Retrieved from: https://www.scielosp.org/pdf/rpsp/v26n2/07.pdf
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (1990). Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Pub. L. No. 101–336, 104 Stat. 328.
  • Argyropoulos, V. S., Sideridis, G. D., & Katsoulis, P. (2008). The impact of the perspectives of teachers and parents on the literacy media selections for independent study of students who are visually impaired. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 102(4), 221-231. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X0810200407
  • Bayır, Ş., Keser, H., & Numanoğlu, G. (2010). General review on computer literacy of visually handicapped individuals in Turkey. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 1475–1480 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.352
  • Birt, L., Scott, S., Cavers, D., Campbell, C., & Walter, F. (2016). Member checking: A tool to enhance trustworthiness or merely a nod to validation?. Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1802-1811. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732316654870
  • Calvo, R., Iglesias, A., & Moreno, L. (2014). Accessibility barriers for users of screen readers in the Moodle learning content management system. Universal Access in the Information Society, 13(3), 315-327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-013-0314-3
  • Cervone, H. F. (2013). Selected practices and tools for better accessibility in digital library projects. OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 29(3), 130-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/OCLC-05-2013-0015
  • Cilesiz, S. (2011). A phenomenological approach to experiences with technology: Current state, promise, and future directions for research. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(4), 487-510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-010-9173-2
  • Corn, A., & Wall, R. (2002). Access to multimedia presentations for students with visual impairments. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 96(4), 197-211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X0209600402
  • Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
  • Delgado, P., & Salmerón, L. (2021). The inattentive on-screen reading: Reading medium affects attention and reading comprehension under time pressure. Learning and Instruction, 71, 101396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101396
  • D'Andrea, F. M. (2012). Preferences and practices among students who read braille and use assistive technology. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 106(10), 585-596. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X1210601003
  • Fichten, C., Jorgensen, M., King, L., Havel, A., Heiman, T., Olenik-Shemeh, D., & Kaspi-Tsahor, D. (2019). Mobile technologies that help post-secondary students succeed: A pilot study of Canadian and Israeli professionals and students with disabilities. International Research in Higher Education, 4(3), 35-50. https://doi.org/10.5430/irhe.v4n3p35
  • Galdi, L. L. (2007). Factors that enable graduate students with visual disabilities to succeed in their educational pursuits (Doctoral dissertation). Fordham University, New York, NY.
  • Goker, H., Ozaydin, L., & Tekedere, H. (2016). The effectiveness and usability of the educational software on concept education for young children with impaired hearing. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(1), 109-124. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1207a
  • Hasselbring, T. S., & Glaser, C. H. W. (2000). Use of computer technology to help students with special needs. The Future of Children, 10(2), 102-122. https://doi.org/10.2307/1602691
  • Helfer, L. R., Land, M. K., & Okediji, R. (2020). Copyright Exceptions Across Borders: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty. European Intellectual Property Review, 42(6), 332-340. Retrieved from: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3807368
  • Hill, H. (2013). Disability and accessibility in the library and information science literature: A content analysis. Library & Information Science Research, 35(2), 137-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2012.11.002
  • Holt, M., Gillen, D., Nandlall, S. D., Setter, K., Thorman, P., Kane, S. A., Miller, C.H., Cook, C., & Supalo, C. (2019). Making physics courses accessible for blind students: Strategies for course administration, class meetings, and course materials. The Physics Teacher, 57(2), 94-98. Retrieved from: https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/pte/article-abstract/57/2/94/362043/Making-Physics-Courses-Accessible-for-Blind?redirectedFrom=fulltext
  • Joshi, H. (2006). Reducing barriers to training of blind graduate students in psychology. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (UMI No. 3215379)
  • Kayte, S., Mundada, M., & Kayte, D. C. (2015). Screen readers for Linux and Windows–concatenation methods and unit selection based Marathi text to speech system. International Journal of Computer Applications, 130(14), 975, 8887. Retrieved from: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=5dedf346b7fe835741395a2148ad0f53ec63e896
  • Kelly, S. M. (2009). Use of assistive technology by students with visual impairments: Findings from a national survey. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 103(8), 470-480. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X0910300805
  • Kirboyun, S. (2020). High-Tech or Low-Tech? Impact of Assistive Technology in School Settings for Students with Visual Impairments: Review of Research. International Journal for Infonomics (IJI), 13(1), 1945-1953. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sevgi-Kirboyun/publication/340476299_High-Tech_or_Low-Tech_Impact_of_Assistive_Technology_in_School_Settings_for_Students_with_Visual_Impairments_Review_of_Research/links/5e8c011fa6fdcca789fbedf0/High-Tech-or-Low-Tech-Impact-of-Assistive-Technology-in-School-Settings-for-Students-with-Visual-Impairments-Review-of-Research.pdf
  • Lazar, J., Allen, A., Kleinman, J., & Malarkey, C. (2007). What frustrates screen reader users on the web: A study of 100 blind users. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 22(3), 247-269. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447310709336964
  • Leporini, B., Buzzi, M. C., & Buzzi, M. (2012, November). Interacting with mobile devices via VoiceOver: usability and accessibility issues. In Proceedings of the 24th Australian computer-human interaction conference (pp. 339-348). https://doi.org/10.1145/2414536.2414591
  • Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (2016). Designing qualitative research. (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Napoli, D., Baig, K., Maqsood, S., & Chiasson, S. (2021). I'm literally just hoping this will {work:'}'obstacles blocking the online security and privacy of users with visual disabilities. In Seventeenth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2021), 263-280.
  • Perez, L. (2013). The perspectives of graduate students with visual disabilities: A heuristic case study [Doctoral dissertation]. Retrieved from: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5757&context=etd
  • Rachel, H., Graeme, D., Michael, M., & Sue, K. (2017) Developing an inclusive learning environment for students with visual impairment in higher education: Progressive mutual accommodation and learner experiences in the United Kingdom. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 32(1), 89-109. Retrieved from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781351107570-7/developing-inclusive-learning-environment-students-visual-impairment-higher-education-progressive-mutual-accommodation-learner-experiences-united-kingdom-rachel-hewett-graeme-douglas-michael-mclinden-sue-keil
  • Robson, C. (2011). Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers (3rd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Screen reader user survey #8 results. WebAIM. (2019, September 27) Retrieved from: https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/
  • Seidman, I. (2013). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (3rd Ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
  • Silman, F., Yaratan, H., & Karanfiller, T. (2017). Use of assistive technology for teaching-learning and administrative processes for the visually impaired people. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 13(8), 4805-4813. Retrieved from: https://www.ejmste.com/article/use-of-assistive-technology-for-teaching-learning-and-administrative-processes-for-the-visually-4909
  • Southwell, K. L., & Slater, J. (2013). An evaluation of finding aid accessibility for screen readers. Information Technology and Libraries, 32(3), 34-46. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v32i3.3423
  • Stone, B. W., Kay, D., & Reynolds, A. (2019). Teaching visually impaired college students in introductory statistics. Journal of Statistics Education, 27(3), 225-237. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691898.2019.1677199
  • Şimşek, Ö., Altun, E., & Ateş, A. (2010). Developing ICT skills of visually impaired learners. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 4655–4661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.745
  • Vandenhoek, T. (2013). Screen reading habits among university students. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 9(2), 33-43. Retrieved from: https://www.learntechlib.org/p/130282/
  • Walker, W., & Keenan, T. (2015). Do you hear what I see? Assessing accessibility of digital commons and CONTENTdm. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 27(2), 69-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/1941126X.2015.1029395
  • Yılmaz, Y. (2018). Görme engellilere bilişim teknolojileri öğretimi üzerine durum çalışması [Case study on teaching information technologies to the visually impaired]. Akdeniz Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 12(26), 463-481. https://doi.org/10.29329/mjer.2018.172.23

Year 2023, Volume: 13 Issue: 3, 416 - 434, 31.12.2023

Sevgi Kırboyun Tipi

https://doi.org/10.19126/suje.1201482

Abstract

References

  • Alves, C. C. D. F., Monteiro, G. B. M., Rabello, S., Gasparetto, M. E. R. F., & Carvalho, K. M. D. (2009). Assistive technology applied to education of students with visual impairment. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 26, 148-152. Retrieved from: https://www.scielosp.org/pdf/rpsp/v26n2/07.pdf
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (1990). Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Pub. L. No. 101–336, 104 Stat. 328.
  • Argyropoulos, V. S., Sideridis, G. D., & Katsoulis, P. (2008). The impact of the perspectives of teachers and parents on the literacy media selections for independent study of students who are visually impaired. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 102(4), 221-231. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X0810200407
  • Bayır, Ş., Keser, H., & Numanoğlu, G. (2010). General review on computer literacy of visually handicapped individuals in Turkey. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 1475–1480 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.352
  • Birt, L., Scott, S., Cavers, D., Campbell, C., & Walter, F. (2016). Member checking: A tool to enhance trustworthiness or merely a nod to validation?. Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1802-1811. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732316654870
  • Calvo, R., Iglesias, A., & Moreno, L. (2014). Accessibility barriers for users of screen readers in the Moodle learning content management system. Universal Access in the Information Society, 13(3), 315-327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-013-0314-3
  • Cervone, H. F. (2013). Selected practices and tools for better accessibility in digital library projects. OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 29(3), 130-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/OCLC-05-2013-0015
  • Cilesiz, S. (2011). A phenomenological approach to experiences with technology: Current state, promise, and future directions for research. Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(4), 487-510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-010-9173-2
  • Corn, A., & Wall, R. (2002). Access to multimedia presentations for students with visual impairments. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 96(4), 197-211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X0209600402
  • Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
  • Delgado, P., & Salmerón, L. (2021). The inattentive on-screen reading: Reading medium affects attention and reading comprehension under time pressure. Learning and Instruction, 71, 101396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101396
  • D'Andrea, F. M. (2012). Preferences and practices among students who read braille and use assistive technology. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 106(10), 585-596. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X1210601003
  • Fichten, C., Jorgensen, M., King, L., Havel, A., Heiman, T., Olenik-Shemeh, D., & Kaspi-Tsahor, D. (2019). Mobile technologies that help post-secondary students succeed: A pilot study of Canadian and Israeli professionals and students with disabilities. International Research in Higher Education, 4(3), 35-50. https://doi.org/10.5430/irhe.v4n3p35
  • Galdi, L. L. (2007). Factors that enable graduate students with visual disabilities to succeed in their educational pursuits (Doctoral dissertation). Fordham University, New York, NY.
  • Goker, H., Ozaydin, L., & Tekedere, H. (2016). The effectiveness and usability of the educational software on concept education for young children with impaired hearing. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(1), 109-124. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1207a
  • Hasselbring, T. S., & Glaser, C. H. W. (2000). Use of computer technology to help students with special needs. The Future of Children, 10(2), 102-122. https://doi.org/10.2307/1602691
  • Helfer, L. R., Land, M. K., & Okediji, R. (2020). Copyright Exceptions Across Borders: Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty. European Intellectual Property Review, 42(6), 332-340. Retrieved from: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3807368
  • Hill, H. (2013). Disability and accessibility in the library and information science literature: A content analysis. Library & Information Science Research, 35(2), 137-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2012.11.002
  • Holt, M., Gillen, D., Nandlall, S. D., Setter, K., Thorman, P., Kane, S. A., Miller, C.H., Cook, C., & Supalo, C. (2019). Making physics courses accessible for blind students: Strategies for course administration, class meetings, and course materials. The Physics Teacher, 57(2), 94-98. Retrieved from: https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/pte/article-abstract/57/2/94/362043/Making-Physics-Courses-Accessible-for-Blind?redirectedFrom=fulltext
  • Joshi, H. (2006). Reducing barriers to training of blind graduate students in psychology. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses database. (UMI No. 3215379)
  • Kayte, S., Mundada, M., & Kayte, D. C. (2015). Screen readers for Linux and Windows–concatenation methods and unit selection based Marathi text to speech system. International Journal of Computer Applications, 130(14), 975, 8887. Retrieved from: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=5dedf346b7fe835741395a2148ad0f53ec63e896
  • Kelly, S. M. (2009). Use of assistive technology by students with visual impairments: Findings from a national survey. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 103(8), 470-480. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X0910300805
  • Kirboyun, S. (2020). High-Tech or Low-Tech? Impact of Assistive Technology in School Settings for Students with Visual Impairments: Review of Research. International Journal for Infonomics (IJI), 13(1), 1945-1953. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sevgi-Kirboyun/publication/340476299_High-Tech_or_Low-Tech_Impact_of_Assistive_Technology_in_School_Settings_for_Students_with_Visual_Impairments_Review_of_Research/links/5e8c011fa6fdcca789fbedf0/High-Tech-or-Low-Tech-Impact-of-Assistive-Technology-in-School-Settings-for-Students-with-Visual-Impairments-Review-of-Research.pdf
  • Lazar, J., Allen, A., Kleinman, J., & Malarkey, C. (2007). What frustrates screen reader users on the web: A study of 100 blind users. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 22(3), 247-269. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447310709336964
  • Leporini, B., Buzzi, M. C., & Buzzi, M. (2012, November). Interacting with mobile devices via VoiceOver: usability and accessibility issues. In Proceedings of the 24th Australian computer-human interaction conference (pp. 339-348). https://doi.org/10.1145/2414536.2414591
  • Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (2016). Designing qualitative research. (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Napoli, D., Baig, K., Maqsood, S., & Chiasson, S. (2021). I'm literally just hoping this will {work:'}'obstacles blocking the online security and privacy of users with visual disabilities. In Seventeenth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS 2021), 263-280.
  • Perez, L. (2013). The perspectives of graduate students with visual disabilities: A heuristic case study [Doctoral dissertation]. Retrieved from: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5757&context=etd
  • Rachel, H., Graeme, D., Michael, M., & Sue, K. (2017) Developing an inclusive learning environment for students with visual impairment in higher education: Progressive mutual accommodation and learner experiences in the United Kingdom. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 32(1), 89-109. Retrieved from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781351107570-7/developing-inclusive-learning-environment-students-visual-impairment-higher-education-progressive-mutual-accommodation-learner-experiences-united-kingdom-rachel-hewett-graeme-douglas-michael-mclinden-sue-keil
  • Robson, C. (2011). Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers (3rd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Screen reader user survey #8 results. WebAIM. (2019, September 27) Retrieved from: https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/
  • Seidman, I. (2013). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (3rd Ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
  • Silman, F., Yaratan, H., & Karanfiller, T. (2017). Use of assistive technology for teaching-learning and administrative processes for the visually impaired people. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 13(8), 4805-4813. Retrieved from: https://www.ejmste.com/article/use-of-assistive-technology-for-teaching-learning-and-administrative-processes-for-the-visually-4909
  • Southwell, K. L., & Slater, J. (2013). An evaluation of finding aid accessibility for screen readers. Information Technology and Libraries, 32(3), 34-46. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v32i3.3423
  • Stone, B. W., Kay, D., & Reynolds, A. (2019). Teaching visually impaired college students in introductory statistics. Journal of Statistics Education, 27(3), 225-237. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691898.2019.1677199
  • Şimşek, Ö., Altun, E., & Ateş, A. (2010). Developing ICT skills of visually impaired learners. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 4655–4661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.745
  • Vandenhoek, T. (2013). Screen reading habits among university students. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 9(2), 33-43. Retrieved from: https://www.learntechlib.org/p/130282/
  • Walker, W., & Keenan, T. (2015). Do you hear what I see? Assessing accessibility of digital commons and CONTENTdm. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 27(2), 69-87. https://doi.org/10.1080/1941126X.2015.1029395
  • Yılmaz, Y. (2018). Görme engellilere bilişim teknolojileri öğretimi üzerine durum çalışması [Case study on teaching information technologies to the visually impaired]. Akdeniz Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 12(26), 463-481. https://doi.org/10.29329/mjer.2018.172.23
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Primary Language English
Subjects Other Fields of Education
Journal Section Articles
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Sevgi Kırboyun Tipi 0000-0003-1971-417X

Early Pub Date December 28, 2023
Publication Date December 31, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 13 Issue: 3

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APA Kırboyun Tipi, S. (2023). How Screen Readers Impact the Academic Works of College and Graduate Students with Visual Impairments. Sakarya University Journal of Education, 13(3), 416-434. https://doi.org/10.19126/suje.1201482
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