A Method and Semi-automated AI Tool Supporting Tutors in Preparing Audio-Tactile Exercises for Blind Students
摘要
The article presents a method and tool that use deep learning to enable the preparation of educational graphic materials adapted to the needs of visually impaired people, focusing on supporting the teacher's work in adapting exercises to an alternative audio-tactile form. The challenges educators face, the proposed alternative in the form of an artificial intelligence tool, and the research carried out are presented. The research group comprised 9 teachers with extensive experience working with visually impaired students, and the study spanned one semester in a high school setting. The proposed evaluation method encompassed several factors, including a comparison of the effectiveness of the obtained artificial intelligence models for image analysis, a comparison of the time required for exercise preparation in contrast to previously used solutions, the usability scale of the proposed system measured by subjective indicators, and the reduction of the workload of the tutor by using a standard task-load index. The findings suggest that the proposed method and the teacher support tool attain high-efficiency scores in the quality of the classifier and markedly reduce the workload necessary to adapt educational material to the needs of blind individuals. Further development of the tool toward generative models can contribute to the creation of a comprehensive and automated adaptation tool, thereby reducing exercise preparation time to the requisite minimum.