An Online Multimedia Tutorial System to Teach

Malay Braille to Sighted Individuals Supporting

Children who are Blind
Lay Wah Lee
School of Educational Studies
Universiti Sains Malaysia
11800 USM, Penang
Malaysia

Abstract
Most young children who are blind learn braille through adult support. When adult
supporters do not know braille, the literacy skills of these children will be affected. This is
especially critical in countries where assistive technology is not commonplace. An online
multimedia tutorial system has been developed to teach Malay braille to special
educators/parents in Malaysia. The system is developed based on evidence-based
theories of instruction. The result is an interactive, individualised learning environment
with features such as animated demonstrations, braille simulator, guided assessments,
and braille games. Evaluation showed that the system supports self-paced, self-accessed
learning. Learning braille becomes more manageable and interesting. This open-access
system is available at http://ekodbraille.ses.usm.my

1 Introduction

Braille is a tactile reading and writing system that is developed for people who
are blind. Braille is the primary method by which they become literate. A study
conducted by the state of Washington on the impact of braille learning on people
who are blind (http://www.trianglebraille.org/the-importance-of-learning-
braille.html) found that those who learned braille at an early age did significantly
well in all areas of study and in fact they did just as well if not better than their
sighted peers. The study also found that among unemployed people who are
legally blind, those that learned to read print made up a larger percentage of the
unemployed workforce than those that read braille. This study concluded that
learning braille at an early age is critical for blind students to develop mentally
and physically and to keep up with their sighted peers.

However, in recent years, the use of assistive technology such as voice-

recognition software, audio texts, screen readers seem to have impeded braille
learning. Research however has shown that technology as a substitute for braille
has left people who are blind illiterate, as blind people who know braille are more
likely to earn advanced degrees, find good jobs and live independently. It is
therefore important that the braille system be taught to children who are blind in
order to give them a fair chance. According to Lavigne and Adkin (2003), the
determination of a student’s literacy medium should not be an “either/or”
decision nor a final one.

In developing countries such as Malaysia, the use of assistive technology is not

commonplace. Braille is still the main reading and writing medium for students
who are blind and all examinations for these students are conducted in braille.
Hence, there is no other option for students who are blind but to learn braille.
Yet, we see anecdotal evidence of newer special education teachers who are not
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picking up braille, and instead rely on the braille translation software to do their
work. This trend if allowed to continue will affect students’ braille literacy. One of
the main reasons cited for not learning braille is that braille learning can be
tedious and time-consuming because of its memory-dependent content which
require repeated practice. Pre-service special education teachers who have learnt
braille for a semester still make significant errors (Lee & Lee, 2011). Other
reasons for not learning braille include time constraint, and the non-availability of
a braille instructor. Therefore, there is a need to make braille learning more
efficient, interesting and accessible for adults who are supporting students who
are blind, which would be special educators and parents.

2 eKodBraille

An online multimedia tutorial system, eKodBraille, has been developed to solve

the above problems. The main purpose of eKodBraille is to help make braille
learning more efficient and easier for people who are sighted. The second reason
is to make braille learning more interesting and fun. The third reason for
developing eKodBraille is to make braille learning accessible to in-service
teachers, pre-service teachers, parents, NGO personnel and other interested
individuals throughout the Malay Archipelago. Singapore and Brunei share the
same Malay language system as Malaysia. This means to train an unlimited
number of people, anytime, anywhere, independently without the need for face-
to-face tutors.

In order to make braille learning efficient and easier for people who are sighted,
mastery learning and direct instruction theories are applied to the eKodBraille
system. (refer to Joyce, Weil & Calhoun, 2009, for detailed explanation of these
theories). A task analysis of the Malay braille curriculum was conducted, and the
curriculum was broken down into five mastery levels, from simple to complex.
The five mastery levels are: (1) basic braille, (2) braille contractions, (3) braille
signs, (4) basic mathematical signs, and (5) braille texts. Each of these levels is
further subdivided into smaller learning objectives. Teaching of each learning
objective is structured based on direct instruction. Flash objects are used to
model the content. A braille simulator is developed for use in guided practice and
independent practice. Clues and prompts such as pop-up pages are provided
during guided practice and the system provides immediate corrective feedback to
the user. Progress to the next objective/level is dependent on mastery of prior
objective/levels. Summative tests are used to evaluate mastery which is set at
90%. This learning structure is suitable for the learning of braille codes which are
cumulative in nature, and require mastery through repeated practice. Therefore,
when given sufficient time, nearly all users should be able to master braille using
the eKodBraille system.

In order to make braille learning more interesting for teachers/parents, theories

such as multimedia learning, motivational design, and cognitive learning
strategies are applied to the system (refer to Mayer, 2009 for detailed
explanation of the theories). Flash-based multimedia learning objects, braille
games, and pedagogical agents (virtual tutors) are used in the system to make
learning more fun and interesting. In addition, online certificates of completion
are awarded at each mastery level to increase motivation.

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As eKodBraille aims for self-access learning, technical support and advice are
built into the system. On registration, the learner is prompted to download the
user manual. Throughout the course, technical support is provided through an
internal mail system called eKodMail and also through the administrators’ e-mail.
An individualised learning management tracking system is also developed to
chart user progress. This allows the administrator to prompt users who are
lagging behind. User’s time on tasks for each level and summative evaluation
scores are also recorded.

The result is an interactive and individualised online multimedia tutorial system

to learn Malay braille. eKodBraille is the first and only online multimedia tutorial
system to support the teaching and learning of Malay braille on the internet. This
open-access online tutorial system is available at http://ekodbraille.ses.usm.my.

2.1 Pilot Study

A press conference was held to launch eKodBraille to the public in early March
this year. As a result, about 150 users registered with the system. As predicted,
registered users include special education teachers, regular teachers, parents,
NGO personnel serving people who are blind, pre-service teachers and other
interested individuals. To date, 16 users have fully completed all five levels of
this course. The time taken to finish all five levels ranges from two weeks to two
months. The shortest learning rate of two weeks was by a special education
teacher who is currently teaching students who are blind. The 16 users who
finished the course were interviewed. Two of the interviewees are Pheng and
Sally. Pheng is a special education teacher in an integrated program at a primary
school. She is from the Southern part of West Malaysia. Sally is an
undergraduate student taking a medical course at a local university located on
the eastern part of West Malaysia. Their comments typically reflect those of other
users, and are presented below.

“What motivates you to learn braille through eKodBraille?” (interviewer)

“Before this, I was teaching students who are deaf, but this year I am teaching
students who have visual impairment. Because of this, I registered to take this course
when USM started to offer the eKodBraille system so that I can help my students more
effectively”. (Pheng)

“I read about eKodBraille in the newspaper and since it is free, I registered. I thought
there is no harm in trying; besides I get to learn something new. I can also use my
free time in a more beneficial way”. (Sally)

“Was it easy or difficult to learn braille through eKodBraille?” (interviewer)

“It was easy at levels 1, 2, 3 and I started to find it more difficult at levels 4 and 5”.
(Pheng)

“Some units are easy whilst some are difficult”. (Sally)

“Did you feel that you could learn braille through eKodBraille on your own without any
help or guidance from an instructor?” (interviewer)

“Yes, so far I learned braille online at home only (after school), and without any
guidance from an instructor”. (Pheng)

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 “Yes. I learned on my own without any help from an instructor”. (Sally)

“Did you experience any problems while learning through eKodBraille (e.g. time
limitation, internet facility, difficulty of certain units)?” (interviewer)

“I had some problems doing the summative test of the final unit as I needed to braille
longer texts. I had errors and needed the help of the system administrator, as I was
not sure where my errors were”. (Pheng)

“Some minor problems in certain units”. (Sally)

“How satisfied are you towards learning through eKodBraille?” (interviewer)

“When I can braille texts and short essays for my students, I feel that the eKodBraille
system has been successful in helping me to increase my knowledge and braille skills”.
(Pheng)

“I feel very satisfied learning through eKodBraille.” (Sally)

“How does eKodBraille benefit you?” (interviewer)

“The system has helped me to master braille contractions, braille signs, mathematic
symbols. Before this, I could only braille the alphabet from a to z”. (Pheng)

“eKodBraille gives me the opportunity to learn something new. I can use this
knowledge to help people who need it”. (Sally)

3 Discussion

The results of the pilot study show that it is possible to learn braille online
independently without much assistance using eKodBraille. The application of
mastery learning and direct instruction in developing this tutorial has created a
systematic and highly-structured learning environment which has allowed for
successful self-paced and self-accessed learning. Users who completed the
course expressed satisfaction in using the eKodBraille system.

In terms of difficulty, as expected, the results revealed that the higher level units
are more difficult for some users. In such cases, the eKodMail (internal mail)
system has proven to be useful for administrators to provide support to users
with queries.

In conclusion, with eKodBraille, an unlimited number of people can be trained

anytime, anywhere. Restrictions in terms of course availability, geographical
locations, time-constraints, work-constraints can be solved with the use of this
online tutorial system. This system is sustainable and can be used to train all
pre-service and in-service special educators in Malaysia. The tagline for this cost-
effective project is “Now Everyone Can Braille!”

References

Braille and the Blind (n.d.): The importance of learning Braille. Available at
http://www.trianglebraille.org/the-importance-of-learning-braille.html

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Joyce, Bruce /Weil, Marsha/ Calhoun, Emily (2009): Models of teaching (8th ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson.

Lavigne, Eva / Adkins, Ann (2003): Braille/Print Literacy Issues and the Learning
Media Assessment. Available at
http://www.tsbvi.edu/seehear/spring03/literacy.htm

Lee, Lay Wah / Lee, Bee Hiang (2011): Analisis jenis kesalahan Kod Braille
Bahasa Melayu dalam kalangan pelajar yang mengambil kursus masalah
penglihatan. [Analysis of Malay Braille Code errors in pre-service teachers taking
visual impairment course]. In Malaysian Education Dean’s Council Journal
6/2010, 1-14.

Mayer, Richard E (2009): Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA:

Cambridge University Press