Design of a braille writing tutor to combat illiteracy |
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Authors: | N Kalra T Lauwers D Dewey T Stepleton M B Dias |
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Affiliation: | (1) Newell-Simon A504, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, USA |
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Abstract: | Less than 3% of the 145 million blind people living in developing countries are literate (Helander, Prejudice and dignity: An introduction to community-based rehabilitation. New York: UNDP 1998). This low literacy rate is partly due to the lack of trained teachers and the challenges associated with learning to write
braille on a traditional slate and stylus. These challenges include writing from right to left, writing mirrored images of
letters, and receiving significantly delayed feedback. Extensive conversations with the Mathru Educational Trust for the Blind
near Bangalore, India, revealed the need for a robust, low-power, low-cost braille writing tutor. We present an iterative
and participatory process resulting in the creation and refinement of a prototype braille writing tutor system. This system
uses a novel input device to capture a student’s activity on a slate using a stylus and uses a range of techniques to teach
braille writing skills to both beginner and advanced students. We report on lessons learned from the implementation of this
project and from a 6-week pilot study at Mathru, and outline future directions for improvement.
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Keywords: | Developing nations Intelligent tutoring systems User-centered design Braille |
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