Yao-Ming Yeh

Designing a Scanning On-Screen Keyboard for People with Severe Motor Disabilities

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of a scanning on-screen keyboard for persons with severe motor disabilities. In order to enhance the typing performance, the on-screen keyboard employs the group-row-column scanning and a frequency-of-use layout. Besides the international alphabetical layout, the on-screen keyboard also provides two Chinese selection layouts for Chinese users. The usability evaluation was carried out with simulations and experiments. The usability evaluation was conducted to compare the performance with that of the QWERTY layout of block scanning built in Microsoft Windows XP. The results demonstrated that the performance of using the scanning on-screen keyboard was better than that of using the Windows XP. No significant difference between the error rates of the two different keyboards was found.

A flexible on-screen keyboard: dynamically adapting for individuals' needs

This study was to design an alternative on-screen keyboard and evaluate the efficacy of this innovative layout design for people with severe physical disability. The matrix keyboard layouts was designed based on human computer interaction. A repeated experiment was performed to compare the speed and accuracy of text entry with point-and-click input method between the matrix on-screen keyboard and the Windows XP QWERTY virtual keyboard. Data analysis revealed that the matrix on-screen keyboard provided better performance for the participant. The result also indicates that layout adaptation assessment is a valid tool to confirm proper layout size for users and that alphabetic order is better than QWERTY order for a novice user to learn a new on-screen keyboard. A usability study was undertaken to evaluation the performance of the double click instead of the point-and-click plus Shift key input method. The possible causes of the results and suggestions for further studies are discussed.

Is digital divide an issue for students with learning disabilities

Exploring digital divide between students with learning disabilities (LD) and peers.No difference was found in ICT access between children with and without LD.A difference was found in ICT competencies between children with and without LD.Typical students enhanced ICT skills gradually, but those with LD did not.Specific ICT instruction programs should be provided to children with LD. The purpose of this study was to examine if digital divide exists between elementary school aged children with learning disabilities (LD) and their nondisabled peers in Taiwan. A self-reported questionnaire regarding information and communication technology (ICT) access and ICT competency, Scale of Digital Participation of Elementary School Students, designed by the authors, was used to collect data. Totally, 117 students with LD and 117 peers without disabilities were recruited in this investigation and were conducted with the questionnaire. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the opportunities to access computers and the Internet at home and at school between children with and without LD. However, there was a significant difference found in ICT competencies between children with and without LD. Moreover, students without LD enhanced their computer competency gradually year by year, but students with LD eventually did not. The findings of this study supported the notion that mere provision of ICT access is not sufficient for children with LD to master ICT skills. A specific designed ICT instruction programs should be provided to children with LD. Finally, suggestions for future studies were also discussed.

Assisting an Adolescent with Cerebral Palsy to Entry Text by Using the Chorded Keyboard

For people with severe motor disabilities, the utilization of a standard keyboard has been a challenge because of their motor limitations. This study aimed to design a chorded on-screen keyboard with a customized alternative input device to meet the needs of a client with cerebral palsy. A bilingual on-screen keyboard with Chinese and English input methods was designed especially for Chinese users. The intervention study revealed that the chorded on-screen keyboard with a customized alternative input device could significantly improve the text entry performance of the user and could efficiently be his communication tool. A deeper understanding on computer access through text entry was explored and better text entry training solutions were recommended for future researches.

The effectiveness of a pedagogical agent‐based learning system for teaching word recognition to children with moderate mental retardation

The article discusses an experiment with an agent-based method of teaching word recognition to children suffering from moderate mental retardation. Three children who were unable to recognize Chinese characters participated. The method involved each child to 4 separate words, each accompanied by an illustration of varying clarity. Results showed that two of the children progressed to where they could identify the words without any illustrative cue, while the third achieved identification with only a modest cue.

Design and implementation of a chorded on-screen keyboard for people with physical impairments

The purposes of this study were to design an alternative on-screen keyboard for people with physical impairments and to evaluate the efficacy of the chorded input method. The approach of the on-screen keyboard is based on the human computer interface. It gives visual guide and instant feedback to show users where they can find the characters they need. The system has been designed with the principles of universal design. Three factors including the learning ability, efficiency of using and subjective satisfaction are considered as the usability evaluation. According to a preliminary study, the participant felt mastered the text input method quickly. An experimental evaluation on the typing performance of the subjects with muscular dystrophy will be measured under both scanning input mode and chorded input mode in the future.

Erratum: Different ICT Competency but Similar Pattern between Students with/without Learning Disabilities?

This paper explored if the ICT skills is different between students with/without learning disabilities across the grades. Meanwhile the current paper also explored if the structural equation modeling (SEM) is different between the students with/without learning abilities. 547 students with LD and 2298 students without LD from grade 3 to grade 9 participated in this survey. The results indicated that although the ICT skill is different between the students with/without LD, the structure of model is similar between the two groups.

Adaptive reading: a design of reading browser with dynamic alternative text multimedia dictionaries for the text reading difficulty readers

The effectiveness of reading comprehension on a Reading Browser with Dynamic Alternative Text Multimedia Dictionaries was explored in this paper. Students with text decoding difficulty (N=62) were randomly assigned to one of three modes: auditory mode, pictorial mode, 5 full functions mode. A quasi-experimental design was used to measure reading comprehension. Although differences were not significant among all of the modes, the findings indicate that all modes of Reading Browser with Dynamic Alternative Text Multimedia Dictionaries were successful in promoting reading.

An integrated text entry system design for severe physical disabilities

Text entry is an important and prerequisite skill for people to utilize the computer information technology; however, people with severe physical disabilities need appropriated text entry system to interact with computer. The authors designed a text entry system which integrated on-screen keyboarding and encoding technique. Furthermore, this integrated text entry system provided learning strategy and on-screen keyboard layout adaption tools. This study also introduced the effect of the application of this text entry system on two clients with severe physical disabilities. The results demonstrated that the text entry system benefited the clients.

Experiential Coe-Tutoring: A Report on Taiwan's OpenStudy Project That Seeks Innovative Accessible E-Learning Methodologies

This paper will report on the accessible OpenStudy e-learning project that aims to narrow the digital divide of people with disabilities in Taiwan. Not only does the project deploy accessible e-learning infrastructure and service, it also applies an innovative experiential coe-tutoring technique in order to fulfill the objectives and the challenges of multi-cultural and multi-scenario e-learning. We also describe the methodologies that we use, and some of the results.