Enhancing an Automated Braille Writing Tutor

Abstract

The reported work advances the state-of-the-art in assistive technology for the blind by enhancing a low-cost automated tutor designed to teach braille writing skills to visually impaired children using voice feedback. We first provide some background on how the methodology of Intelligent Tutoring Systems correlates to an automated tutor for teaching braille writing skills. We then build on prior work to enhance our automated Braille Writing Tutor in three dimensions: (1) Initial field testing in three different countries; (2) Exploring customization needs for improving relevance in different cultures; and (3) Adding relevant games for increasing motivation. The outcome of this work is an enhanced low-cost tool that can help to increase braille literacy in blind communities around the world.