Exploring the Effectiveness of Adaptation Based on Dyslexia Type and Reading Skill Level to Support Learners with Dyslexia

E-learning has become a popular tool for helping people with dyslexia to improve their reading, as it provides interactivity anywhere and at any time. However, most traditional e-learning systems are designed for a generic learner, regardless of each individual’s differences and needs. In this context, a successful e-learning system needs to consider the learner’s individual characteristics – in particular, their dyslexia type and reading skill level. This can lead to a more appropriate learning experience and interaction. There is, however, a need to understand the value of this adaptation, particularly on the learning gain. This study contributes to research by bridging this under-investigated gap by evaluating the learning effectiveness of adapting material based on the learner’s dyslexia type and reading skill. A controlled, between-subjects experiment with 47 subjects is described and the results presented and analysed. The findings indicate that adaptation based on the combination of dyslexia type and reading skill level results in significantly better short-term and long-term learning gains and greater learner satisfaction than non-adapted material. There is also evidence that this benefit transfers to learners’ reading performance on unseen material.