The effectiveness of adapted web pages on the learning performance of students with severe mental retardation

Learning to use computers and/or using computers to learn has become a part of everyday life for most students. Unfortunately, students with mental retardation in Taiwan, especially those with moderate or severe mental retardation, are often not considered capable of utilizing computers and online learning. It is common for students with moderate or severe mental retardation to have poor vocabulary, or even be illiterate. Web pages mostly displayed in text form have therefore become the major obstacle for students with mental retardation when they try to learn online. This research focused on students with severe mental retardation by integrating picture communication symbols, voices and animation into a teaching home page, and then examined its effectiveness on learning. (C) 2003 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.