Supporting collective learning experiences in special education: development and pilot evaluation of an interactive learning tool for Down syndrome

Afonseca, Cátia; Bermúdez i Badia, Sergi

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.13/2613

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Authors

Afonseca, Cátia

Bermúdez i Badia, Sergi

Abstract(s)

Down Syndrome (DS) is one of the most common causes of cognitive disability in our society. In DS, cognitive skills are impaired, and learning requires personalized attention and specific special education approaches. In this context, computer mediated learning, and in particular computer games, are promising as potential tools for the personalization of learning and for engaging users in motivating and stimulating learning experiences. In this paper, we present a virtual reality gaming approach to support DS education, with particular emphasis in collective learning in small group settings. The proposed system addresses some of the main limitations in DS such as training of association and composition/decomposition tasks. Here we present the development of the system and results of a pilot study with special education instructors (N=3) and DS participants (N=4). The results show a high degree of acceptance and suggest that our system can be a valuable tool to support both, instructors and DS users, in the learning experience. In addition, our results support the use of integrated computer based interactive board systems with multiple DS users. We find that group settings seem to be more effective at engaging DS participants and encouraging their autonomy and initiative.

Keywords

Human computer interaction Down syndrome Trisomy 21 Learning technologies Interactive board . Faculdade de Ciências Exatas e da Engenharia

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.13/2613

Citation

Afonseca, C., & Bermúdez i Badia, S. (2013). Supporting collective learning experiences in special education: development and pilot evaluation of an interactive learning tool for Down Syndrome. In SeGAH 2013-IEEE 2nd International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health, Book of Proceedings.