DISABILITY YOUNG CHILDREN LEARNING PROCESS

SUPPORTED WITH MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE: CASE STUDY

Micaela Esteves, Filipe Pinto

School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal

Audrey Silva, Ana Duarte

Computer Science Department lab

School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal

Keywords: Multimedia, disability, human-computer interaction, users with special needs, learning.

Abstract: Throughout technological resources, learning methods have achieved more affective and user-friendly

results than in traditional ways, even when the target audience are young children with special needs.

Addressing the usability, this paper introduces software directed to young children less than 13 years old

with special needs at vision and sound levels. This application intents to explain the definition, the origin

and the way it works of some actual electronic devices used in their quotidian, like television, telephone,

electricity or personal computer. Along this paper, all the work developed under pedagogical guidelines

specially directed to young children with disability it is presented and also the analysis, programming and

testing phases are explained.“Disabled persons have the inherent right to respect for their human dignity

(…) whatever the origin, nature and seriousness of their handicaps and disabilities, have the same

fundamental rights as their fellow-citizens….” (Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, United

Nations resolution December 1975).

1 INTRODUCTION

Contemporary society has been developing around

technological realities. Education in particular,

although its role in technology development hasn’t

still achieved its own benefit.

Some studies about assessment of impact on

information technologies (IT) in education

demonstrates that it encourages creative thinking,

the ability to problem-solving and persistence in the

pursuit of objectives (Azevedo, 1997; Verenikina et.

al, 2003). Some researchers also support that IT

encourage children, in particular, to use different

sensory channels, representing substantial gains in

terms of learning effectiveness, retention and

understanding of the subjects exposed (Azevedo,

1997; Verenikina et. al, 2003;Moore, 2007).

Regarding the learning motivation, compared with

traditional methods, IT increases the availability and

encouragement for learning in children in general

and it is also, associated with the technological

curiosity causing greater interest in those contents

(Lethbridge et al., 2007). Nevertheless, multimedia

resources usage provides a greater adaptability to

different styles of learning regardless their level or

skill in information technology, providing in the user

a greater involvement in the learning process

(McCormick, 2001; Lethbridge et al., 2007).

Technological effect has made its own contribution

to the motivation of any user not only because "the

motivation is one of the most positive contributions

of the computer" (Reeves et. al,2002; Debra, 2004),

but also because all set of images, animation and

sound effects stimulates the user’s interest (young-

child), leading him/her to exploration and discovery

(McElligott, 2004). Technology can actually help

children to acquire self confidence, allowing them

through repetition of the success, providing answers

based on the actions; never be impatient and always

forgiving and allowing the child to learn at his/her

own pace and rhythm (McCormick,2001).

Although their common availability, technological

resources as pedagogical tools at Portuguese schools

are still scarce or sparse, namely to the students with

375

Esteves M., Pinto F., Silva A. and Duarte A. (2008).

DISABILITY YOUNG CHILDREN LEARNING PROCESS SUPPORTED WITH MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE: CASE STUDY.

In Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems - HCI, pages 375-379

DOI: 10.5220/0001709203750379

 SciTePress

special needs. Among others reasons, this stems

from the gap between social and market needs and

Portuguese software market or even scientific

research are applied to this field.

In this context, the work that we developed aimed

the completion or at least reduce the referred gap in

area of software tailored to the issue. After an

exhaustive search along databases software and

surveys oriented or conducted by teachers or

researchers in this field, we didn’t find any software

in Portuguese market with similar objectives to those

that we have proposed in this project.

Citing the main director of a national research centre

for children with special needs: "there isn’t, at

national level, available in the market, software

within the theme proposed" (Sousa, 2006). This

statement is more impressive if we consider young

children with less than 13 years old, who besides

their natural limitations can’t use or gain advantage

from IT or even share all the fascinating issues that

IT suggest on them. In Portugal, in 1999, the tax of

population with some disability was fixed at 9,16%,

within those, 135 500 were blind and 115 000 were

deafs, estimating then, that in 2020 almost 20% of

the Portuguese population will suffer some kind of

disability (Godinho, 1999).

This paper is structured as following: in this

introductory section, we address the main theory

studies that support this kind of projects. In the

following section, we introduce the education for

disabilities young-children’s software following the

experimental work with all corresponding

programming and testing phases. We end this article

with the discussion results and addressing the future

work.

2 SOFTWARE DEVELOPED

According to the previous studies (McElligott, 2004;

Archambault, 2005), the software programming and

planning was developed in the following stages:

 Contents and structure selection;

 Technology selection;

 Interface design;

 System Components;

 Programming;

 Tests interaction;

 Distribution and feedback register.

To support this research, there were needed two

kinds of groups: knowledge experts (composed with

9 teachers from first and second education cycles)

and user groups, composed by 11 elements with

three types of young children users: deaf, blind and

without disability.

2.1 Contents and Structure Selection

Despite the gap in the market of software, to propose

one multimedia application for young children that

covers their curiosity amongst their quotidian

technological devices it was a difficult task. First,

we visited and interviewed some teachers and

registered their opinions. Therefore, with the first

results, we interviewed some young children in

order to check and validate the initial ideas that

came from the teachers group. With the cross table,

we visited again the teachers group and closed the

cycle. It was proposed one list of contents with one

structure like this:

 Community: electricity

 Home device: TV

 Personal use: telephone

 Technology: computer

2.2 Technology Selection

Although the spread use of programming languages

and tools to develop multimedia contents, we

considered that the Director from Macromedia

would be the best option that we could take. Due to

our timing as well the heterogeneity of the research

group that solution represents the best selection both

by their available documentation and the export

facility (allows running the application almost in

every kind of computers).

2.3 Interface Design

During this stage, we developed and presented to

both groups some different kinds of screen layouts.

Each one of these proposes were substantially

different from each other. We tested colours,

schemas, mouse cursor pointing face, font types and

desktop presentation layout.

As a result of the meetings with both groups the

interface selected was this:

 Simple to read, with clear, big and simple type

fonts;

 Simple to use, with large areas to the selection

and with both possibilities: mouse and

keyboard;

 Best contrast rate, with colours selection that

makes visible all the items and information in

the screen;

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 With more attractive character which has big

eyes and wide mouth, it is smiling and whose

body is composed by the elements under study.

2.4 System Components

After all the above steps that were defined the

system components are:

 On-line Dictionary of used terms, that will help

the user to understand better the concepts

presented;

 Main navigation buttons allow in any time the

user to select the main general functions like:

close the active window, activate the help,

printer and systems options;

 Play screen where the theme animation and

activities are presented;

 Main text window which is used to show the

text information relative to current theme

selected;

 Remote control: basic quick access unit that

drives the to main system options, like sounds,

movie controls or theme selection;

 Dynamic menus were the theme titles as well

the application navigation structure are

showed. There are several and different kinds

of menus, like shown in figure 1:

Figure 1: Application screen shoot.

 Chronological time line which reflects the

relative time between inventions or even

between invention milestones;

 Mascot main character used to establish some

user friendship with the user and that intents to

be both an animated main menu and the

narrator of the application stories.

2.5 Programming

Multimedia programming task was one the most

time consuming phases of this project. Thus,

considering this project as a system with a complete

set of modules like (Verenikina, 2003; Archambault,

2005):

2.5.1 Application Interface

As stated before, the interface was considered as one

of the most important aspects to motivate the user

and therefore the application usage. Indeed the

programming was developed to control and present

all options in any time that was required. For

instance, when we in the electricity theme we had to

present options like: historical electricity time line;

electricity main characteristics or bulb lamp

animations library;

Considering the relation between user and

application, based on the mascot narration action,

was needed to study and implement some mouth

movements in order to gain some mascot movement

credibility.

Another credibility issue was the character

movement that was used to illustrate for example

Thomas Watson walk movement. To aim this

objective, we analysed frame-by-frame on real

human walk video in order to capture significant leg

human movements that were needed to reflect in the

character.

2.5.2 User’s Interaction

In this issue, we considered all the programming

tasks related to the devices used to interact with the

application.

As it was previously referred, this application

targeted disabled young children with less than 13

years old. Therefore, the main general application

concerned to user’s interaction, covers the following

aspects (Archambault, 2005;Smith et. al, 2005):

 Easy to use, through basic menus with simple

keyboard, click-action combination or even

with touch-screen option for those that have

this kind of monitors;

 Easy to learn due to their clear interface, all the

objects presented inside the play area are

actionable and therefore conduct the user to the

theme or the subject that we want to go.

 Quick access to main functions, the application

has content menu to all themes and subjects.

 User friendly is assured by the nature of the

application as well by the mascot that reacts to

their interaction.

Regarding each kind of special needs, there are

several classes of requirements according to their

user’s disability:

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 Blind users: According with to their blindness

nature, blind users need can be understood in

two classes: If the user is blind from birth, that

he/she represents that he probably doesn’t have

any idea about screen limits or how does the

mouse works; In other hand, if the user became

blind several years after his/her birth, he/she

probably would have some experience of real

world like the limits or some devices that move

depending their arm movement (e.g., mouse).

Having this scenario in mind, we developed the

application interaction towards blind from birth

users’ limitation. That is, all the application can

be explored with keyboard keys combination

and all options for actions can be therefore

activated with special keys e.g., F1 – Help

index, F2 – main menu,… Notice the fact that

all the referred options also have sound-based

legends.

 Deaf users: Deaf users have a similar

behaviour to those that don’t have any

limitation. The main difference remains in the

fact that these users need special legends to

every available action. Another important

remark is the fact that they need a special

attention to some words which they must be

accomplished in a word/image dictionary,

providing a better comprehension.

2.5.3 Outputs

In this project, we considered three kinds of output

devices: the screen, the printer and speakers.

 The screen was considered simultaneously as

an input and output device: the normal output

function was treated regarding the usability and

the user’s interaction requirements. In order to

use the screen as an input device, some routines

were developed providing an easy user

interaction with the touch screen.

 Regarding the printer, it was considered this

device as one of the most interesting media to

communicate the information with the blind

users. Therefore, it is possible to the blind user

to print the text information with a Braille

printer.

 Sound and image requirements are assured by

the speakers that allow the application to have

sound-based legends. Speakers’ function

represents one of the most important

application characteristic which is spoken

narrative along it is used, namely to blind

young children. The synchronization between

heard sound and available option was

developed under the following items:

Every option available is sound-based described.

This must be in-time and on contextualized, for

instance, if one story is being told when the user

presses some option associated key, their

corresponded legend will be told at a different sound

level or pronounce;

When the user presses sequentially the tab-key,

the focus (sound legend), indicating the next option,

goes along a sequential and ordered set of pre-

defined options.

2.6 Tests Interaction

As soon as it was possible, we presented the very

first application routines to our both group tests.

Doing it we’ve tried to develop the application

according to their expectative and needs. It was

simultaneously an action research activity (we

introduced new facts to the group test, having their

feedback emitted after the recent experience which

was already new to them) and a scientific research -

we developed our research along the suggestions and

needs pointed by the group test and therefore we

tried to answer as better as we could to their

expectative.

As soon as we found the application stable, we

presented it to other users outside our group test. We

found then that our past group test was already

familiar with our project, having them omitting

some other relevant aspects. That was the case of

our blind users belonging to the test group –we’ve

just noticed the huge difference from the user who is

blind since the birth and the one become some time

after.

3 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE

WORK

This project incorporates different knowledge areas:

information technologies; normal and disabled

young children teaching.

Along this work, we presented how it was possible

to combine both multimedia and teaching currents in

order to aim an innovative learning system for

disabled young children.

In order to achieve such objective we’ve started with

two groups of test (one composed with teachers and

the other by the disabled young children under 13

years old), developing with them all work of

analysis (target characterization, user’s interaction

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requirements and audience skills) and first contact

tests. In a second phase, with a stable application

sample, we introduced a second users group that

allowed then new insight about what was missed or

omitted until and during the prototype phase.

The application covers the explanation of how it

works, its history, curiosity and common questions,

related to issues like: electricity; telephone,

television and computer.

As results, we tested and therefore proved that the

systems allow and support the disabled young

children learning process in a way that they were

motivated and when solicited to answer to some

questions they did it well or even they play with the

proposed knowledge activities inside the application.

As a final remark, we constructed a software

application that is ready to be introduced in the

Portuguese market and represents an important

advantage in helping disabled young children

learning process.

As future work and research to be developed, we

point out new a target of disabled people like

children with mental or motor problems, for whom

there are already in the market special devices (e.g.

pointing devices guided by the eye retinal or forearm

support) aiding them to interact with applications

like the one we produced. Other improvement to this

application will be the introduction of new themes or

even applications directed to babies.

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