CBT Plugin: Towards Inclusive Computer-Based Testing for the Visually Impaired

Abstract

Technology has supported and enhanced electronic examinations successfully for years through the use of computers. However, since the invention of computer-based testing examination, the visually impaired persons have not been able to successfully take CBT examinations without external assistance (scribes or mediators). Attempts at addressing this challenge have resulted in solutions which will work only when such students are isolated from their sighted peers, which negates the principle of inclusiveness in learning. This work, through the use of speech technology, provides solutions for some of these issues by creating a voice plugin called CBT plugin, which can be an added to already existing computer-based examination platform. The CBT plugin provides a voice facility through which instructions and questions as well as answer options are read to the blind. They are able to respond through limited buttons on the keyboard. Speech synthesis was used to achieve the objectives of this work through the Speech Application Programming Interface (SAPI). The prototype solution was evaluated by target users that are visually impaired students with great satisfaction. Thus, the application will help in creating an environment that provides equal opportunities for all the students in taking competitive examinations. This will improve the current educational system for the visually impaired.