Virtual Booth

Available reading materials nowadays are not suitable for individuals with limited learning disabilities. Recently, there have been a few mobile applications that focus on teaching Down syndrome children to read at an early stage, despite the fact that the number of mobile learning applications is growing rapidly. Besides that, Down syndrome children are capable of learning to read if the teaching and learning methods are suitable based on their strengths in visual learning. This study involves three main objectives: i) to investigate the learning strategy and learning style of Down syndrome children in the early reading stage; ii) to develop an early reading learning application based on mobile application, content design, interface, teaching, and learning methods. This mobile application is called Baca_SinD; iii) to validate the early learning application based on effectiveness, usability, and user behaviour. The Baca_SinDprototype was developed based on the development methodology, which focuses on basic reading for Down syndrome learners. This development methodology model is composed of five (5) phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The evaluation phase involved formative and summative assessment. The formative assessment process involved experts' feedback on the Baca_SinD prototype. Then, the summative assessment involved usability testing on the Baca_SindD mobile application, conducted on 11 Down syndrome children from a special education school in Selangor. The usability testing on the Baca_SindD prototype was conducted based on constructs involving interaction and user interface aspects such as effectiveness, learnability on the application, and learner positive behaviour on the application while they were using the application. The research instruments used were questionnaires on Baca_SindD prototype usability. Findings of the study shows positive outcome of the mobile learning application approach that focuses on basic reading