Scaffolding Digital Literacy Through Digital Skills Training for Disabled People in the Global South
Laxmi Gunupudi, Maryam Bandukda, Giulia Barbareschi, Tigmanshu Bhatnagar, Aanchal Singh, Satish Mishra, Amit Prakash, Catherine Holloway · 2024 · ASSETS 2024: 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility · doi:10.1145/3663548.3675666
Summary
This paper presents a digital skills training intervention for 138 blind and partially sighted (BPS) and deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) people across India and Kenya, grounded in Vygotsky's Scaffolding Theory. The study addresses the digital divide facing disabled people in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), where lack of digital skills limits access to education, employment, and civic participation. The intervention was conducted over two iterations: the first trained 58 participants (18 in India, 40 in Kenya) using Google's standard Android training curriculum, while the second trained 80 participants (40 in India, 40 in Kenya) using an improved scaffolded curriculum developed from iteration one's feedback. Training was delivered over two days in classroom settings with local partners, delivered in English and regional languages (Kannada in India, Kiswahili in Kenya). Participants received Samsung A14 smartphones selected for accessibility compatibility. The curriculum covered five modules: unboxing and basic functionality, accessibility features (TalkBack for BPS, LiveTranscribe for DHH), calls and texts, communication apps and social media, and online safety. After classroom training, WhatsApp groups provided extended digital scaffolding where trainers continued support and participants engaged in peer learning over three months. The study extends Vygotsky's scaffolding model into a new Digital Scaffolding Framework with four zones: Out of Reach Zone, Zone of Proximal Development, Zone of Extended Digital Scaffolding (new), and Zone of Actual Development.
Key findings
The baseline assessment revealed that 60% of BPS participants were unaware of accessibility features like TalkBack, accessibility settings, and text-to-speech services. None of the DHH participants knew about LiveTranscribe. First-time smartphone users among BPS participants found the transition from button phones extremely challenging—one participant was in tears unable to make a phone call and wanted to switch back to her button phone. The modular curriculum design allowed trainers to customize content based on individual baseline skills, with experienced users skipping basic modules. BPS WhatsApp groups were highly active (averaging 5 messages per day) with participants sharing text and audio messages in regional languages, while DHH groups had much lower engagement (1 message every 2 days), possibly due to sign language barriers in text-based communication. The WhatsApp groups evolved from trainer-led support to genuine peer learning communities where participants shared app recommendations, helped each other troubleshoot, exchanged information about government benefits, and discussed topics beyond smartphones like accessible banking and civic participation. Participants demonstrated self-learning by independently discovering new apps like ChatGPT, Swiggy, and payment apps. The three extensions to scaffolding theory are: strengthened zone of proximal development through modular and personalized training, a new zone of extended digital scaffolding via WhatsApp-based continued learning, and an expanded zone of actual development through peer learning and community building.
Relevance
This research provides a practical, evidence-based framework for designing digital skills training programs for disabled people in LMICs—a critically underserved population in accessibility research. The Digital Scaffolding Framework extends educational theory into the disability and technology domain, offering a replicable model that combines classroom instruction with ongoing digital peer support. For practitioners, several insights are immediately applicable: training must accommodate the steep learning curve of touch-based accessibility gestures for first-time BPS smartphone users; DHH participants need different scaffolding approaches than BPS participants due to sign language barriers in text-based platforms; and WhatsApp groups can serve as powerful extended learning environments that evolve into self-sustaining communities of practice. The study highlights that digital inclusion requires not just device access but structured, accessible training delivered in local languages with ongoing support. Limitations include the lower engagement of DHH participants in WhatsApp groups, which warrants further research into video-based or sign-language-friendly digital platforms for extended scaffolding.
Tags: digital literacy · digital skills · scaffolding · visual impairment · hearing impairment · Global South · LMIC · smartphone accessibility · peer learning · India · Kenya
Standards referenced: SDG 4 · SDG 17