Abstract:

Inclusive is a didactic strategy supported on a web platform, to learn English to a visually impaired population made up of learning activities organized hierarchically into units, lessons and activities that are managed from a web platform implemented with the Phalcon, Boostrap and Angular CLI frameworks in a MariaDB database and supported by Cloudinary. To support the use in each element of the platform, the apprentice is guided by a screen narrator which locates the event position of the activity by means of an audio source, and in addition, the activities are made up of related audios that guide the thematic content and the comprehension and production exercises to be done. Users with permission to log in, can use the strategy in the url: http://inclusive.bucaramanga.upb.edu.co. The Strategy was developed under the Design and Development Research methodology and the Rational Unified Process (RUP).

The persons with visual impairment (PVI) access the platform through a screen reader and the audios that support the elements of the strategy (Units, Lessons, Activities and Questionnaires). A pilot test was carried out with a group of eight students, they found in Inclusive, a friendly and easy to use tool to learn English.

Although it is true that the e-learning model is characterized by being flexible and adaptable to individual learning rhythms, it also poses challenges to the learner as it requires a greater degree of autonomy so that the self-regulation of their process be more strategic and significant. In the case of the visually impaired population, the challenges are even greater not only due to their physical limitations per se, but also due to the impact that technological mediation may have on their learning process. Tutors, for their part, must inquire and learn about the literacies of people with visual disabilities, either partial or total, before starting the design of any learning strategy or activity so that it can respond to the real needs of apprentices throughout the process.

Inclusive is a tool designed and created to fill the existing gap of materials and strategies specially designed to support the English learning process of PVI. This is a first attempt to create an accessible and useful tool to meet the specific needs of PVI in learning English, and the feedback given by the participants is a valuable input for the future development of the tool. In summary, students made some suggestions to include some buttons and to change the location of others, to facilitate the platform usability.

With the implementation of the Inclusive web application, it is evident that by applying information technologies in extensive processes such as data collection and analysis, it is possible to obtain results in less time and with greater efficiency.

Keywords:

Didactic strategy, English learning, Person with Visual Impairment (PVI), Web application.