Jose Rizal University

80 Shaw Boulevard Mandaluyong City College of

Computer Studies and Engineering

ASSISTECH: AN E-LEARNING MOBILE

APPLICATION FOR DISABLED
STUDENTS

DATE SUBMITTED:
December 11, 2022

GROUP 8 MEMBERS:
CANTO, PAULINE
CELOCIA, CELINE
MASIRAG, ANGELENE
PINTO, BRYCE

PROFESSOR:
ENGR: ROSALINA ESTACIO

S.Y 2022-2023
 I. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Disability became one of the most important matters in the society today because
of the discrimination and prejudice that people with disabilities are experiencing that
puts them in an uncomfortable situation unlike to those people that do not have any
disability. "Disability has a profound impact, both on people who live with disability and
for society that responds to their needs.", (Jerome Bickenbach, 2017). A disability may
be considered as a blessing or a curse that naturally happens to a person. Persons with
disabilities are important part or group of our society due to the fact that they are still a
human being regardless of their current state.
Disability can limit a person physically, but it does not necessarily mean that it can
also limit the person's skills and talent. However, we cannot deny the fact that there are
still many challenges that surrounds people with disabilities especially for children. A
child's disability can be one of the most marginalizing factors in his or her life. Finding
ways to meet the learning needs of students with disabilities can be difficult in education,
particularly in schools, districts, regions, and countries with severely limited resources.
"21st century learning requires students to be equipped with learning skills, knowledge,
media literacy and also life skills. In order to achieve these skills, the school curriculum
embeds the use of technological tools and strategies to provide teaching and learning
strategies for learners, including students with special needs.", (Tohara, 2021).
Education is an important part of a person's life because it will polish you to
become a better person in the future and unleash your true potential at any level. The
learning needs of a child with disability is very different from others who do not have a
disability due to the fact that they are not all capable of what others can normally do.
"Students’ wellbeing is an essential component of their ability to function well, not only at
school but also in all life domains.", (Skrzpiec, 2015). It is evident that even for children
who have disabilities must experience a good education and answering their learning
needs based on their condition because they are still part of future of our society.
In today's generation, multiple institutions have offered a new type of learning and
that is under students who are in need of special education. The academic performance
and SPED students can greatly affect an environment of a classroom if not given the right
assistance(Michaele & Vivian Moe, 2013). Educators and families can label a child with
a learning disability. “Children with learning disabilities tend to be perceived negatively by
both teachers and peers and they can experience problems in social interaction both
inside and outside the classroom” (Sabornie, 1994). A student's motivation is to end up
with successful learnings. However, disabilites can quite hinder the important factors that
a student should have to actively participate in class. Frequent motivation and effective
strategies for educators as to orient children is a main target for a positive learning
state.(Rheinberg, 2010).
Teachers struggle with meeting the needs of children with learning disabilities.
Some have barriers to instructions, meaning they have no cadence for changes. They
 can teach based on active participation and not just with test scores. These educators
should expect less since they are handling students with special needs. In addition to this,
during the collection of data for focus group discussion, aside from including guardians
or parents with children who are in need of special learning, they must consider the length
of training for educators since SPED students are far different from common learners.
Positive and active participation are the top needs for students who experience
mild to extreme learning conditions. With that, the researchers found a way to get ideas
on how to help them cope up in school. An interview was conducted regarding what
particular subjects do they want to learn as well with their dislikes, likes and educational
needs. After getting the results per student, they found out that repetition is indeed a part
of their daily learning but with the help of parents who should not worry, instead allowing
them to be part of the process one step at a time.
The significance of this mobile learning app is to help users with physical
disabilities to cope up with education and to make education more accessible for them.
This mobile learning application will contain online learning materials that will help the
users to develop their academic and social skills. This will only be available as an
application. People who are blind, deaf, mute, or paralyzed are the application's target
users; people with other disabilities are not.

II. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

General Objective:
The general objective of this study is to design an e-learning mobile application that
aims to promote a right to education for all, especially to persons with disabilities.

Specific Objectives:
This study will pursue the following specific objectives:
1. To design an educational mobile application that provides flexibility and portability to
people with disabilities.
2. To create a mobile application that allows users with certain physical disabilities to
access and manage online course learning materials and communicate about skill
development and learning achievement.
3. To create a user interface that helps develop user's academic skills and social skills.
4. To develop an algorithm with accessible features that will be beneficial to the user
such as text to speech and speech to text converter, sound amplification, voice control
command and online community.
III. Related Works

Table 1. Matrix of Related Literature

Title study, author, Objectives
year
"The Inclusion of Students
with Special Needs in the
General Education
Classroom" Walsh, Megan
(2018)
Results Gaps
Their aim is to have better The assigned educators were The researchers of this study
teaching strategies and well equipped with teaching depend too much on
equipment to use to be more ideas on how to handle documentation and lacked
convenient with the students better bond with special focus on their analyzing
who has special needs. students and maintain what is best in general and
having active participation not just in one area.
to achieve a positive
environment in school.

“Teachers’ Assessment for
Children with Disabilities”
Rolando Jr Villamero
(2014)
To anticipate applying Educators are required to
teaching strategies in adjust based on how a
classrooms to SPED student can absorb the
students. learning contents given to
them. They teach according
to the level of difficulty that
a child can handle by
simplifying deliverables or
assignments.
Teachers commonly put in
the same plan on educating
students with disabilities.
Being creative enough to
gather more information to
enhance the student and
educator connection in
classrooms.

“Issues and challenges in
special education: A
qualitative analysis from
teacher’s perspective”
Fely C. Allam1
, Matronillo M. Martin2
(2021)
This research aims to The challenges as a SPED
address difficulties with educator are told to have
handling and teaching these important themes on
students with special teaching. First is to pick the
needs. most appropriate strategy
and motivation for students
plus having patience and
knowing the needs of
children.
Some educators were not
given the benefit to have
access with learning
equipments and training in
preparation with teaching
children with disabilities.

1. THE INCLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE GENERAL EDUCATION

CLASSROOM

This study will always be a continuous puzzle. These learning strategies depend on how
each special Individual or child focuses on a certain interest. Thus, education should be creative
beyond those 4 walls since there are no limits of potential for these kids. Teachers found a
way to adapt with an environment that includes students who have special needs. They have
set different strategies on every subject; in that way it would be much more effective with the
teaching and learning process. Also, this added a better collaboration with students since
working one on one with them has improved coping up with the lessons assigned.
2. TEACHERS ASSESSMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
It all boils down to the amount of patience and dedication a teacher has. Merely having the
highest degree is never a gauge. Experience is a big factor though. But it’s the heart that truly
matters. Also by making sure that the children are given the best set of educators. Their
background were checked to see if they have at least three years of experience as practitioners
who can handle students with disabilities very well. Observations were also applied in this study
were interviews about classrooms and other important details regarding the teaching process.

3. ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS FROM

TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE

The Department of Education Training and Development makes it their top priority to
properly train and equip teachers until they deserve to be called mentors. The teachers who are
given the challenge to educate SPED students contribute to reach certain targets for classes. They
should be prioritized regarding this matter since multiple requirements are needed before handling
a special class. The lack of budget, materials, training and other support that should be given must
be required for every institution that offer special learning.
Table 2. Matrix of existing product & solutions
Name Product,Make Functions
Blackboard Learn Blackboard Learn can be used to
improve your teaching and learning. It
can be used to create and deliver
engaging content. You can use the
content editor to create rich text, audio,
and video content. You can also use the
content editor to embed multimedia
content from YouTube, Flickr, and other
online sources. Blackboard Learn also
makes it easy to upload and share
documents, images, and other files. Can
be used to create and administer quizzes
and exams which also allows you to set
time limits, display quiz instructions, and
provide feedback to students.
Blackboard Learn can be used to
facilitate communication and
collaboration. You can use the discussion
board tool to create forums for discussion
and debate.
Canvas A tool for creating and delivering
online courses, and for facilitating online
collaboration between students and
instructors. Canvas courses areorganized
into modules, which can contain text,
multimedia, assignments, quizzes, and
other materials. Instructors can use
Canvas to create and deliver lectures,
create assignments and quizzes,and track
student progress.
Gaps (missingfeatures)
• Lack of support for screen
readers: Blackboard Learn is not fully
compatible with screen readers, which
limits the ability of PWD to access the
software.
• Inaccessible features: Many
features of Blackboard Learn are not
accessible to PWD, including the ability
to upload files, create new forums, and
participate in discussions.
• Lack of captioning and
transcriptions: There is no built-in
captioning or transcription feature in
Blackboard Learn, making it difficult for
PWD to access audio and video content.
• Difficult navigation: The
navigation of Blackboard Learn can be
confusing and difficult to use, especially
for PWD who may not be able to see all
of the links and options.
• Lack of support for screen
readers and other assistive
technologies: This can make it difficult
or impossible for users who are blind or
have low vision to access the platform.
• Lack of alt text for images:
Canvas does not currently support screen
readers or other assistive technologies,
which can make it difficult or impossible
for users who are blind or have low
vision to access the platform.
• Lack of support for closed
captioning: difficult or impossible for
users who are deaf or hard of hearing to
access the platform.
• Inadequate support for
MathML: Canvas does not currently
support screen readers or other assistive
technologies, which can make it difficult
or impossible for users who are blind or
have low vision to access the platform.
• Problems with audio and video
content: Audio and video content is
often incompatible with screen reading
software, making it inaccessible to deaf
and hard of hearing users.
Google Classroom Google Classroom can be used as a
way to keep track of assignments.
Teachers can post assignments and due
dates on the Classroom page, and
students can check this page to stay on
top of what is due when. This is
especially helpful for students who have
a lot of different classes, as they can
easily see what is due for each class in
one place. In addition to tracking
assignments, Google Classroom can also
be used as a way to submit assignments.
Students can upload their completed
work to the Classroom page, and teachers
can check it and provide feedback.
Another great use for Google Classroom
is for communicating withclassmates. If
you have a question aboutan assignment,
you can post it on the
Classroom.
• There is no way to organize
assignments into folders or
categories. This makes it difficult to
keep track of everything, especially
if you have a lot of classes.
• There are no built-in tools for
managing behavior or tracking
attendance.
• The interface is not always
accessible for people with visual
impairments or other disabilities.
For example, it can be difficult to
navigate the menus and find the
right buttons.
• There is no way to customize the
interface to make it moreaccessible.
For example, there is no way to
change the font size or colorscheme.
• There is no way to easily add
alternative text to images. This can
be a problem for people with visual
impairments who rely on screen
readers to access content.

1. BLACKBOARD LEARN

Blackboard Learn helps educators create engaging and interactive online courses, and
provides students with a central place to access their course materials and submit assignments. It
is easy to use and provides a wealth of features and tools that can be tailored to meet the unique
needs of any course or institution. For educators, Blackboard Learn provides a flexible and intuitive
course authoring environment, as well as robust assessment and grading tools. For students,
Blackboard Learn offers an engaging and personalized learning experience, with easy access to
course materials and tools for collaboration and communication.

Blackboard Learn is used by millions of educators and students around the world, and is
available in over 40 languages. With Blackboard Learn, educators can create engaging and
interactive online courses that meet the unique needs of their students. And with Blackboard Learn,
students can access their course materials and assignments from anywhere with an internet
connection. In addition to providing students with 24/7 access to their coursework, Blackboard Learn
also offers a number of features that can improve the learning experience. For example, Blackboard
Learn includes a built-in discussion board where students can ask questions and interact with their
classmates. Blackboard Learn also allows instructors to easily create and deliver online quizzes and
exams. While Blackboard Learn is a great platform, there are some areas where the system falls
 IV. PROJECT DESIGN PLAN AND METHODOLOGY
This section details how you will implement your design solutions. This may consist of the following
sections:

1. Block Diagram

FIGURE 1. SIMPLE BLOCK DIAGRAM OF ASSISTECH

In the block diagram above, the physically disabled user can access their learning needs to the mobile
application that can be use in a smartphone. AssisTech will have a text to speech or speech to text converter,
sound amplification and voice control commands depending on the user's learning needs. Also, the physically
disabled user can access an online community in AssisTech so that they can have the chance to socialize with
other people that uses the said mobile application. The programming language that will be used for this mobile
application will be Python.
 2. System Flowchart

FIGURE 2. SYSTEM FLOWCHART OF ASSISTECH

Upon startup, the app will log the user into their current account. The user has the choice to sign up or
register first if they don't already have an account. However, if the user already has an account, they can log in
to the app dashboard by just entering their email address and password, provided they are both valid. The user
can now browse the application dashboard after logging in, where they can see the dashboard tab, environment
tab, courses tab, and community tab. The user's access to courses and video lessons is provided in the
dashboard area. The user can transform the following text into speech, convert the sound into text, and enhance
the sound if desired in every course and video tutorial that is offered. The following features, which are part of
the environment tab, can be used by the user if they are outside yet still want to communicate with others but
are having trouble doing so. Like the lessons in the dashboard tab, all of the lessons in the module tab can be
converted into text or speech depending on the user's needs. The app also has a community area where users
can interact with one another. Other users can be reached through chat and video calls. The capacity of this
app to translate sign language into text or speech makes it more beneficial for the deaf and mute. Once finished
using the app, the user can now log out or simply close it.
REFERENCES:

Jerome Bickenbach, S. R. (2017). BEING A PERSON WITH DISABILITIES OR EXPERIENCING

DISABILITY: TWO PERSPECTIVES ON THE SOCIAL RESPONSE TO DISABILITY. Journal of Rehabilitation
Medicine.
Skrzpiec, G. (2015, November 26). List of Issues. Retrieved from Taylor & Francis Online:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1034912X.2015.1111301
Tohara, A. J. (2021). Articles. Retrieved from Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education:
https://www.turcomat.org/index.php/turkbilmat/article/view/5741

Allam Fely C., Martin Matronillo M. (2021) ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION: A
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS FROM TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE:
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1296259.pdf

Canvas LMS - market share, competitor insights in Learning Management Systems. Slintel Image.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2022, from https://www.slintel.com/tech/learning-management-
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Carmil. (2022, May 23). LMS comparison: Schoology vs. canvas vs. Blackboard. Copyleaks. Retrieved
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Google. (n.d.). Classroom Management Tools & Resources. Google for Education. Retrieved
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Online teaching & learning platforms | Elearning platforms | Blackboard. (n.d.). Retrieved
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Top 10 canvas LMS alternatives 2022 | G2. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2022, from
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Villamero Rolando J. (2014) Teachers’ Assessment for Children with Disabilities:

https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/42646/Rolando-Jr-Villamero---Masters-Dissertation---
Special-and-Inclusive-Education---Erasmus-Mundus.pdf?sequence=1

Walsh Megan, (2018) The Inclusion of Students with Special Needs in the General Education
Classroom:
https://scholar.dominican.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=senior-theses