An Improved Design Guideline for Dyslexia-Friendly Applications Based on Eye-Tracking Data
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32890/jict2024.23.3.5Keywords:
Interaction design, eye-tracking usability, human-computer interaction, dyslexiaAbstract
Addressing dyslexia through digital product design presents distinct challenges and necessitates the development of tailored strategies or guidelines to facilitate children in reading accurately and efficiently. Hence, a design guideline was formulated by integrating Interaction Design (IxD) principles to enhance comprehension and minimise reading errors while using digital applications. Nonetheless, the existing design guidelines for dyslexia people have yet to be confirmed and updated to cater to the current and latest five IxD dimensions. Therefore, this paper presents an eye-tracking usability test that was conducted to identify usability issues pertaining to the design guideline by performing the test on an application called BacaDisleksia, which
was developed based on the existing guideline. A usability test was conducted using the Tobii eye-tracking tool through an in-person
and moderated session with six dyslexic children. The test reveals pertinent design issues by analysing heat maps and gaze plots. Based on these findings, this paper proposes a refined design guideline with five IxD dimensions and strategies conducive to dyslexia-friendly application design by incorporating space and time components. The results contribute to the development of comprehensive design guideline for people with dyslexia, which aligns with UNESCO’s objective of utilising technology to promote inclusion for disabled learners. This effort underscores the significance of informed design decisions in digital innovation for better-serving individuals with dyslexia and similar learning challenges.
References
Abowd, G. D., & Beale, R. (1991). Users, systems and interfaces: A unifying framework for interaction. HCI’91: People and Computers, 4, pp. 73-87, Elsevier, Stuttgart.
Al-Wabil, A., Zaphiris, P., Wilson, S. (2007). Web Navigation for Individuals with Dyslexia: An Exploratory Study. In: Stephanidis, C. (eds) Universal Acess in Human Computer Interaction. Coping with Diversity. UAHCI 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 4554. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73279-2_66
Aziz, F. A., & Husni, H. (2012). Interaction design for dyslexic children reading application: A guideline. Proceedings of Knowledge Management International Conference (KMICe) 2012, pp. 682-686.
Aziz, F. A., Husni, H., & Jamaludin, Z. (2013). Translating interaction design guidelines for dyslexic children’s reading application. Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2013, Vol. II, pp. 977-980.
Benfatto, N. M., Seimyr, Ö. G., Ygge J., Pansell T., Rydberg, A., & Jacobson, C. (2016). Screening for dyslexia using eye tracking during reading. PLoS One, 11(12), e0165508. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165508 Journal of ICT, 23, No. 3 (July) 2024, pp: 495-
Catts, H. W., & Petscher, Y. (2022). Cumulative risk and resilience model of dyslexia. Journal of Learning Disability, 55, 171–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194211037062
Cowen, L., Ball, L. J., & Delin, J. (2002). An eye movement analysis of web page usability. In People and Computers XVI - Memorable yet Invisible, 317–335, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0105-5_19
Desmet, P. M. A. (2007). Product emotion. In H. N. J. Schifferstein & P. Hekkert (Eds.), Product experience. Elsevier Science Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008045089-6.50018-6
Dam, R. F. & Teo, Y. S. (2024, February 8). Personas – A simple introduction. Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/personas-why- and-how-you-should-use-them
Eroğlu, G., Teber, S., Ertürk, K., Kırmızı, M., Ekici, B., Arman, F., Balcisoy, S., Özcan, Y. Z., & Çetin, M. (2022). A mobile app that uses neurofeedback and multi-sensory learning methods improves reading abilities in dyslexia: A pilot study. Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 11(3), 518–528. https://doi.org/10.10 80/21622965.2021.1908897
Franzen, L., Stark, Z., & Johnson, A. P. (2021). Individuals with dyslexia use a different visual sampling strategy to read text. Scientific Reports, 11, 6449. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84945-9.
Gran Ekstrand,A. C., Benfatto, N. M., & Seimyr, Ö. G. (2021). Screening for reading difficulties: Comparing eye tracking outcomes to neuropsychological assessments. Frontiers in Education, 6(643232). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.643232
Harley, T. A., & O’Mara, D. A. (2006). Hyphenation can improve reading in acquired phonological dyslexia. Aphasiology, 20(8), 744–761. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687030600591658
Häikiö, T., & Luotojärvi, T. (2021). The effect of syllable-level hyphenation on novel word reading in early Finnish readers: Evidence from eye movements. Scientific Studies of Reading, 26(1), 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2021.1874384
Husni, H., & Jamaludin, J. (2008). Dyslexic children’s reading pattern as input for ASR: Data, analysis, and pronunciation model. Journal of Information and Communication Technology, 8, 1-13.
Interaction Design Foundation (2015). The five languages or dimensions of interaction design. Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF. Journal of ICT, 23, No. 3 (July) 2024, pp: 495-https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/the-five-languages-or-dimensions-of-interaction-design
Irlen, H. (2005). Reading by the colors: Overcoming dyslexia and other reading disabilities through the Irlen method. Perigree Book.
Ismail, R., & Jaafar, A. (2014). Important features in text presentation for children with dyslexia. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, 63(3), 694-700.
Jamaludin, Z., Husni, H., & Alobaedy, M. (2018). BacaDisleksia 2.0: An application to fortify reading engagement for dyslexic children. Universiti Utara Malaysia.
Kolinsky, R., & Tosonian. M. (2023). Phonological and orthographic processing in basic literacy adults and dyslexic children. Reading and Writing 36, 1705–1742 https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11145-022-10347-6 Lebeničnik, M., Pitt, I., & Istenič Starčič, A. (2020). Optimal multimedia combination for students with dyslexia. Advances in Methodology and Statistics, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.51936/ myhk6939
López-Resa, P., & Moraleda-Sepúlveda, E. (2023). Working memory capacity and text comprehension performance in children with dyslexia and dyscalculia: A pilot study. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1191304. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1191304
Manhartsberger, M., & Zellhofer, N. (2005). Eye tracking in usability research: What users really see. Empowering Software Quality: How Can Usability Engineering Reach These Goals? Usability Symposium 2005, 198, pp. 141-152.
Nerušil, B., Polec, J., Škunda, J., & Kačur, J. (2021). Eye tracking based dyslexia detection using a holistic approach. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 15687. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95275-1
Nielsen, J., & Pernice, K. (2011). Eyetracking Web Usability. Pearson.
Rello, L., & Baeza-Yates, R. (2013). Good fonts for dyslexia. Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, 14, pp. 1-8.
Rohrer. C. (2022, July 17). A Guide to Using User Experience Research Methods. Nielsen Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com/ articles/which-ux-research-methods/
Russell, J. A. (2003). Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion. Psychological Review, 110(1), 145-172. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.110.1.145 Journal of ICT, 23, No. 3 (July) 2024, pp: 495-
Seeman-Horwitz, L., Montgomery, R. B., Lee, S., & Ran, R. (2021, April 19). Making Content Usable for People with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities. W3C Working Group Note. https://www.w3.org/TR/coga-usable/
Schwarz, J., Lizarazu, M., Lallier, M., & Klimovich-Gray, A. (2024). Phonological deficits in dyslexia impede lexical processing of spoken words: Linking behavioural and MEG data. Cortex, 171, 204-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2023.10.003.
Shaywitz, S. E., & Shaywitz, J. (2020). Overcoming dyslexia: Completely revised and updated. Hachette UK.
Snowling, M., & Hulme, C. (2024). Do we really need a new definition of dyslexia? A commentary. Annals of Dyslexia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-024-00305-y
Stein, J. (2023). Theories about developmental dyslexia. Brain Science, 13(208), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13020208
Strohmaier, A. R, MacKay, K. J., Obersteiner, A., & Reiss, K. M. (2020). Eye tracking methodology in mathematics education research: A systematic literature review. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 104, 147-200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-020-09948-1 Špakov, O., Siirtola, H., Istance, H., & Kari-Jouko, R. (2017). Visualising the reading activity of people learning to read. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.16910/jemr.10.5.5
Wang, J., Antonenko, P., Celepkolu, M., Jimenez, Y., Fieldman, E., & Fieldman, A. (2018). Exploring relationships between eye tracking and traditional usability testing data. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 35(6), 483-494. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2018.1464776
Wu, Y., Cheng, J., & Kang, X. (2016). Study of smartwatch interface usability evaluation based on eye-tracking. In International conference of design, user experience, and usability, pp. 98–109. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40406-6_10
Published
Issue
Section
How to Cite
Research impact
Harvested 2026-09-06Counts differ between services because each indexes a different body of literature. None of them is the whole picture.
2002 - 2020
