Impact of Digital Tools and Artificial Intelligence on the AcademicPerformance, Autonomy and Educational Interaction of Studentswith Motor Disabilities

Abstract

Introduction: barriers to access and expression restrict the participation of students with motor disabilities. Objective: to examine differences in academic performance, autonomy, and educational interaction associated with an intervention combining digital tools and artificial intelligence. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 40 students from an institution in Quito, who were assigned – without documented randomisation – to an experimental group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20). Over a period of eight weeks, the mathematics syllabus for the eighth year of Upper General Basic Education was covered. Neither the type nor the severity of the disability was controlled for. Descriptive statistics, the t-test and ANCOVA were used. Results: the experimental group scored 8.7/10, compared with 7.1/10 in the control group (p < 0,001; d = 1.98). Assuming independent groups, the estimated 95% CI for d was [1.21, 2.73]. The reported ANCOVA yielded F(1, 37) = 42.3 and partial η² = .53.
Improvements in autonomy and interaction were reported, although their measurement scale requires confirmation. Conclusions: the findings suggest a favourable association with academic performance. The unusually large effect warrants caution because allocation was not randomized, functional characteristics were not documented, and statistical assumptions were not demonstrably checked. Enrolment grade and the measurement of secondary outcomes require confirmation before the findings can be generalized.