A systematic review of online personalized systems for the autonomous learning of people with cognitive disabilities

ABSTRACT

A lack of access to learning opportunities is among the main reasons for social exclusion of people with cognitive disabilities in the professional field. It has been accentuated in the last few years by the rapid development of online learning strategies that limit the physical presence of students and instructors. Personalized systems can help overcome access barriers in learning for people with disabilities by helping them learn autonomously without the direct intervention of tutors. However, despite the wide range of research initiatives in this area to deal with individual differences, learners with cognitive disabilities still suffer from a lack of consideration of their conditions. Indeed, most e-learning platforms have been designed without taking into account users with multiple profiles and impairments. This paper systematically reviewed papers to provide insights about personalization within e-learning systems. We highlight personalization goals and approaches and review whether they improve learning accessibility and outcomes. The objective is to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of current research and suggest some opportunities to improve research in personalized e-learning systems for people with cognitive disabilities.

KEYWORDS:

• Personalization
• e-learning systems
• technology enhanced learning
• cognitive disabilities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nadia Hocine

Nadia Hocine received her PhD in computer science from the University of Montpellier, France in 2014 and is now an associate professor at the University of Mostaganem, Algeria. Her research interests include adaptive and personalized systems, technology enhanced learning, and serious games for health and education.

Karim Sehaba

Karim Sehaba is a professor of computer science at the University of Mostaganem, Algeria. His main research Interest lies in the field of adaptive systems, extractions of knowledge, and the analysis of behaviors.