Inclusion in an Electronic Classroom

Disability Group: LEARNING DISABILITY

ID 2008

Summary of problems observed in each of the various protocols and the corresponding sources of these problems are discussed.

Course Info

Item 2 (Log-in).

No rank given because login was already completed.

Item 11-13 (Items associated with the Chat room).

The Chat room was not accessible. The JAVA script necessary for powering the chat is not connected. As a result these items were skipped.

Item 9 (Read the Course Notes (Course Documents) for this module).

The participant had difficulties with this item for the following reasons:

1. The way that the instructions were given was a bit confusing using both Course Notes and Course Documents and not distinguishing between the two.
2. The terminology used to distinguish between Course Documents (which is a link in the main frame for navigating) and Course Notes was very confusing for this participant. The participant obviously did not understand what was being asked of her for this item. She has trouble processing information and has a very limited short-term memory.
3. After the question was read to her, the participant was obviously disoriented and asked what she should do. Instead of repeating and clarifying the task at hand, the participant was instructed to click into Course Documents. After she had followed these simple instructions, she still did not know what the task was going to be about. So again she asked 'what next'? Instructions were again given to view the course documents. The participant did not comprehend what the task was about and as a result more detailed instructions became necessary in order to complete the task.

Summary:

This item was particularly problematic for the participant because

• She did not originally understand the instructions given. This could be a result of both her disability and the vagueness of the instructions given.
• The item was also problematic because of the confusion surrounding the difference between Course Notes and Course Documents. The subject went in to the link found in the main frame called "Course Documents" and was then suppose to find Course Notes but the Course Notes were actually called Course Documents (Lecture notes) and can also be accessed by clicking on the link that says Lecture Notes. Hence although there were multiple ways of accessing the Course notes, the labels assigned to them were not consistent and as a result created confusion for the participant.

Item 24 (Contact the Instructor through the course internal email and acknowledge that you have completed the module. Internal email is linked from the Communication page).

Immediately before this question, the subject had completed the quiz. There was a discrepancy between how the subject had answered and how the computer had scored the answers. The subject was pre-occupied with the results of the test and kept thinking about what it was that she might have done incorrectly. Although she was repeatedly reminded that the results of the test were not important and should not be taken seriously, the participant continued to ponder on the test results. The instructions for item 24 was repeated three times by the researcher but the participant was completely immersed in the test and as a result was unable to focus on anything else. Step by step instructions were needed for this item to be completed not because of its level of difficulty but because the participant’s attention was directed elsewhere.

Summary:

Problems encountered with this item was due mainly to the subject’s mental pre-occupation with a previous item which prevented her from thinking of or focusing on little else, an obvious symptom of her disability.

Summary of Sources of Problems Encountered

• The nature of this participant’s disability entails that she has a lot of difficulties handling many things at the same time. When she is mentally preoccupied by other significant or insignificant information, especially something that threatens or interferes psychologically with concepts related to her abilities or herself, then it is very difficult to get her to successfully complete or even to focus on another task. She may hear the instructions being given but her limited short-term memory makes it impossible for her to retain any of it. Evidence of this stagnant preoccupation is seen in item 24.
• The participant is also slow at processing information given particularly so if the information is in any capacity unclear or ambiguous. This ambiguity of the the information given was due in part to the vagueness of the instructions, the use of confusing terminology and in part to the disability of the participant which impeded her ability to quickly process and decipher the information. Also the failure of the researcher to clarify the question worsen the situation. The participant remained confused and hence required more detailed step by step instructions in order to complete the task.

Web-CT

Item 1 (Create an account)

This participant had a lot of difficulties here. When the information on the screen asked her whether she had already set up her Web-CT, this participant was completely stunned. She had a bit of trouble understanding and processing the meaning of the question presented. The participant also experienced significant difficulties handling the mouse due to her difficulties with fine motor tasks but was able to overcome these. More difficulties were encountered when the participant was asked to enter her "Global ID". She was not familiar with the terminology and once again instructions were required to get pass this step. For the remaining steps of the task, the subject was lead through step by step. The participant seemed to rely heavily on step by step instructions given by the researcher and also constantly required approval of the steps that she had undertaken or was about to undertake.

Summary:

Hence the difficulties encountered with this item was due to a number of confounding problems:

• The participant’s learning disability presented limitations that affected the accessibility and completion of this task.
• The use of the term Global ID versus the more frequently used ‘User name or User ID’ also presented further complications. This participant is a relatively newcomer to the use of computers and adaptive technology and hence is not as familiar with the computer terminology as a more experienced user might be.
• This participant’s fine motor difficulties also complicated the situation further but in an indirect way (since she was able to overcome these specific difficulties). The difficulties experienced with the mouse inflated her level of frustration, which in turn affected her already confined level of functionality.

This item presented a lot of difficulties for the participant, some of which will be highlighted below:

1. The question or task had to be repeated a number of times and broken down into progressive steps for this participant. The participant also experienced some navigation problems, which illustrated the fact that she is a relative newcomer to the use of computers. Examples of navigation problems included: Not knowing how to ‘minimize’ or ‘close’ a screen using the buttons in the upper right hand corner of the computer screen. Her inexperience and limited knowledge about computer related information is further depicted by the fact that she did not know what a white-board was and what it might be used for. This created confusion for the participant.
2. Once again, the participant experienced difficulties navigating with the mouse. She has fine motor difficulties and difficulties with co-ordination. The researcher explained that she must move the mouse over to the icon on the whiteboard, click the mouse on the desired icon and then while holding it down she should move back to the whiteboard. These instructions were too complex for this participant and she was not able follow.
3. Step by step instructions were required and a demonstration by the researcher was also necessary for the participant to grasp what she should do.

Summary:

Hence the difficulties encountered with this item was due to a number of confounding problems:

• Participant experienced problems with navigation. Some of the problems that affected the accessibility were a result of her inexperience with web navigation whereas other navigation problems resulted from the fine motor difficulties that she encountered while using the mouse.
• This participant’s learning disability interferes with her retention and short term memory capacity. As a result she had lots of difficulties remembering what she needed to do and consequently demanded step by step instructions.
• The participant also has organizational difficulties, which interferes with her approach to completing a task. Even for a simple task she has to keep in mind which step comes first and which next. Her organizational difficulties are therefore further compromised by her inability to retain too many steps in her head simultaneously and hence once again needs to rely on step by step instructions to complete a task (especially those that are multi-stepped).
• Also this participant has significant difficulties with new learning and because of the "newness" of a lot of the exercises and steps the participant was completely dependent upon step by step instructions, repeated a number of times and sometimes even demonstrated or pointed out before she could complete the task.

Item 14 (Submit a file using the Assignment Drop Box, which is linked from the Tools page)

Difficulties encountered included the following:

1. The layout of this screen was very problematic and has been discussed previously for one of the other participants. This was not an issue for this particular participant however because the researcher provided step by step instructions (so you will have to get into access exercise first etc…Now you need to go into Student Files) before problems were experienced.

The researcher instinctually began to provide step by step instructions for the completion of the exercise. This is because of previous experience working with this participant and knowing the limits of her abilities and disabilities. The instructions are also continuously solicited by the participant (How do I do that? I don’t know how to do that? Click this?). Hence the problems encountered in this item would be summarized as due to both the mental limitations of the participant and her lack of experience with computers.

The question was read to the participant and even elaborated upon by the researcher so as to make it more understandable to the participant. But by the time the researcher had finished explaining, the initial instruction for the task had been lost from the participant’s memory (so what do I do?). Once again, the participant was led through the task, step by step, to its completion. The researcher also had to explain to the participant what the term ‘frames’ referred to.

• Once again, the difficulty with this item was a result of the mental limitations of the participant. Her lack of experience also complicated the problems experienced.

This item was problematic for the following reasons:

1. Difficulties with the mouse. This participant had significant amount of difficulty navigating with the mouse.
2. Had to be told that she needed to go to ‘compose’ to ‘post’ a message. Subject was just waiting for instructions when she was left to work on her own. She also had to be prompted to enter the ‘subject’ of her message and told where to put the cursor.
3. After the message had been successfully posted, the subject again had to be instructed step by step how to verify (by going to unread messages) that the message had indeed been posted.

• Subject relied on step by step instruction for completing the item.
• Subject experienced significant difficulties using the mouse, which in turn caused frustration.

1. Subject had to be instructed to how to get to the search engine. Then instructions were again needed for entering the terms (e.g. where do I enter?)
2. The instructions for the task and two terms had to be repeated a number of times by the researcher. Instructions were needed for entering the second term as well. (Asked whether she should leave the first term in the edit box). Instructions were needed to delete the first word. And instructions were needed to click "search" after the terms had been entered.

• Subject could not complete any parts of this task without instructions. Her low level of functionality and her lack of experience are deemed to be the major culprits of all the barriers encountered.

This item was not completed because the quiz was not available.

1. Instructed to compose a message. Instructed to click on Browse to select recipient of message. Instructed after finished typing message to send it.
2. Subject was able to complete some of the steps in between without direct instructions (typing message and entering the subject of the message) but even with these steps constantly required approval and verification before completing.

• Participant could not complete the task without some instruction and frequent affirmations and hints from the researcher.

WCB

Item 8 (Access the Student Tools from the Student Directory and update your Homepage).

1. Subject required assistance and hints for finding the Student Directory. Once she was there, she was unable to decipher that there was a different student tool for each of the different participants (classmates). As a result she went in the first Student Tools that she came across, but this was not her own. She had to be instructed to look for her own name and then to go into her own student tools.
2. This participant experienced some problems clicking the mouse quickly because of her fine motor difficulties.
3. She also needed step by step instructions for updating her home page.

Summary:

Difficulties were a result of the participant’s problems with organization of steps necessary for completing a task, limited short term memory (what she needed to do), fine motor difficulties and the newness of the task. There were also some inconsistencies with the terminology used to refer to the Student Directory. On one occasion it is called "Students" and then later "Student Directory". This inconsistency exasperated the difficulties that the participant was already prone to experience as a result of her inherent disability.

1. Step by Step instructions for submitting an assignment and uploading a file was necessary for the participant to complete the task.

Although this type of assignment has been done a number of times before in previous modules, the participant approached the task as a novel one. This demonstrates her significant difficulties with generalization and transfer of new learning (new skills) to other tasks.

1. The participant experienced difficulties finding the appropriate icon for viewing the grades. Because she appeared very disoriented and confused, the researcher instructed her that she was looking for Student Grades, which can be found under Students.
2. With these instructions, the participant was able to access the grade-book.

Problems experienced are due mostly to certain characteristics of the participant. There also appears to be some problems with the organization of the Student directory page. The presence of eight different Student Tools, Grade-book etc (one for each student) can be confusing especially for users that have trouble with organization and for the visually impaired. Recommendations: Why is it necessary for each of the students to have in their Student Directory the personalized icons for other students in the course (their Student tools/ Grade-book icons etc). Students cannot in fact access the Tools of the their classmates so maybe each student should have only their own tools in the Student Directory (so the student directory should be more personalized for the user). This would eliminate a lot of confusion for many of the participants even those who were eventually able to overcome their initial difficulties.

1. Once again, this participant needed instructions for locating the "create portfolio icon".
2. It was also necessary to inform her about the features she could potentially change on the page. Instructions were also necessary for the participant to follow through on the steps (Okay so now you need to view the rest of the page, you need to submit your changes etc).
3. The participant became confused when an automatic refresher came on. Instructions were needed to get past the automatic refresher.

The page appeared too complex and contained too much information (dense) for her to quickly process. Even after a brief explanation of what she was required to do, the participant was lost. She required step by step instructions to complete the task. (Problems are a result of the participant’s disability). The automatic refresher was also a source of confusion for this participant.

1. The participant needed instructions for locating the white-board.
2. Once she was able to locate it, the participant asked for an explanation of what a white-board was and what it might be used for (newness of task).
3. Because the computer was unable to load the white-board, the participant was unable to complete items 20, 21 and 22 since they were all associated with the white-board.

White-board was not accessible. After the appropriate icon was selected, the white-board failed to automatically load.

Top Class

Password was given to her (pre-arranged) and she signed in (Researcher did not rank).

Problems encountered:

1. Both the Participant and Researcher had difficulty locating the link to ‘Read your Email message’. A ‘Mail’ icon was found but this only allowed the subjects to 'send' an email not to 'read' one. It was decided that they would try to send an email before reading one, thinking that it might be a pre-requisite step to reading messages. Difficulties were encountered here, not only by the participant but also the researcher.
2. A third party was involved and was able to relate the required steps for the successful completion of the exercise.

• Locating the icons necessary for sending and writing email was a bit confusing. One possible reason for this could be due to the fact that most systems have the 'send' and 'read' options in one location but in this case it was separate.
• Difficulties were also experienced sending an email. All necessary steps were completed without difficulties but an error message resulted. Again a third party instructed the participant and researcher that recipient of the email can only be 'internal' and thus has to be chosen from the list of names provided.

Problems encountered:

1. Difficulties with previous related items (to sending an email) continued after the subject was asked to attach a file. Subject was instructed that she should select the add attachment button. Once in there, the participant had to be instructed step by step how to first select the file and then upload it. After it was uploaded the participant then had to be told to submit the attachment and then eventually to send the message.

• Subject was already frustrated from the problems that she had experienced in two previous items. Although the participant does know some web navigating skills, she had to be instructed step by step how to upload and then had to be prompted to submit and then send the email. The subject’s difficulties with this item can be summarized as being a result of pent up frustration, issues concerning her disability (problems with retention, organization of thoughts) and her inexperience with computers.

1. The participant had little or no difficulties reading messages posted to the discussion list but could not locate a link for writing a message to the discussion list. The researcher made a number of suggestions about where she should look (Check the entire page to see if there is something at the bottom of the screen; Check the Homepage for clues) but neither the researcher nor the participant were able to locate the link. Eventually the researcher asked the participant to try the icons at the bottom of the screen and was able to find the correct link.
2. The icons were not self-evident as to what its function might be. The ‘alt text’ did not appear as the cursor was moved over the icon
3. The participant was confused as to what a URL was. The researcher explained its function and suggested that it was not necessary and that it could be ignored.

• Icon for posting a message was not obvious.
• The links at the bottom of the screen were also a bit confusing particularly because the image itself sometimes did not correspond or was not obvious as to what the actual function might be. (if an image is going to be used, it should be representative of its function so that the user would be able to easily associate the image with its designated function).
• Also the image icons did not automatically display its corresponding ‘alt text’.
• The participant also encountered some terminology (URL) that she had never previously seen. This again shows her inexperience with the web and web terminologies.

1. Subject was again unclear about how one might attach a file. The researcher reminded the participant that this exercise would be similar to the one just completed but this did not spark anything for the participant. She still seemed very confused and uncertain about how the task might be done.
2. The researcher had to provide step by step instructions for uploading and for submitting the file.

Again, the participant had to be told and lead through step by step the procedure for attaching a file. Although she was told and showed how to do this a number of times, the participant still approached the task with very little direction and very little recollection of previous atempts. This pattern again demonstrates her inability to transfer skills previously learnt and her reliance on step by step instructions for multi-stepped tasks.

Virtual U

Difficulties with this item were due to:

1. Participant tried to select Assignments and Activities by clicking on the actual words, as she would do with links. She was reminded that these were not links and it cannot be selected by clicking on the words but instead that she has to click within the corresponding circle and then press view.

• The participant is familiar with links and how to access these but did not realize that these were not links. The participant obviously does not fully understand the descriptive features of ‘links’ and what they entail (that these are identified by words that are usually in a different colour and underlined). Hence again difficulties are experienced as a result of inexperience and unfamiliarity with features of the web.

Problems experienced were very minute. The participant didn’t have an email address so was instructed to write anything.

The difficulty encountered with this item would not be classified as a "problem" per say. The question asked was not for clarification or because of a lack of understanding of what she was being asked to do.

Problems experienced here were due to a defect with the courseware (Netscape window default).

Problem encountered:

1. The participant was having difficulties navigating within the Quiz. She was unable to get to the edit box for the next question. She tried a number of different strategies (using the keyboard) on her own but then was eventually told that she should use the mouse to get to the next question. This shows her inexperience or difficulty applying what she already knows. She needs to be constantly reminded of ways to do simple things that she has done previously without problems. The participant also had to be reminded a number of times that the way to get to the next edit box would be to click the mouse in the box.

• This illustrates the participants’ limitations in terms of learning new skills or transferring already learned skills to new situations.
• The participant’s lack of experience with regards to navigation is also evident.

Overall Summary of Participant’s performance on Modules

The problems experienced by the subject can be summarized as follows:

• Participant experienced problems with navigation. Some of the problems that affected the accessibility were a result of her inexperience with web navigation whereas other navigation problems resulted from the fine motor difficulties that she encountered while using the mouse.
• This participant’s learning disability interferes with her retention and short term memory capacity. As a result she had lots of difficulties remembering what she needed to do and consequently demanded step by step instructions for the completion of tasks.
• The participant also has organizational difficulties, which interferes with her approach to completing a task. Even for a simple task she has to keep in mind which step comes first and which next. Her organizational difficulties are therefore further compromised by her inability to retain too many steps in her head simultaneously and hence once again needs to rely on step by step instructions to complete a task.
• Also this participant has significant difficulties with new learning and because of the "newness" of a lot of the exercises and steps the participant was completely dependent upon step by step instructions, repeated a number of times and sometimes even demonstrated or pointed out before she could complete the task. The participant also demonstrates problems with learning transfer or generalization of skill.
• There were also a few problems that can be directly attributable to the actual software such as accessing the quiz and the white-board but most of the other difficulties were a result of the participant’s experience level and level of functionality.