Learning games for the cognitively impaired people

Abstract

Learning environments have been profoundly reshaped by pervasive technology. New educational methodologies take full advantage of ICT in a mobile customized user-friendly environment, to support learning and stimulate individuals' potential. Unfortunately, technology-enhanced learning tools are not often designed with accessibility in mind, although they can greatly benefit the personal empowerment and inclusion of special-needs people. To address this gap, a Web platform has been created for delivering accessible games to people with Down syndrome. Since personalization, orderliness and positive reinforcement are crucial to learning in these subjects, the platform offers a personalized safe environment for learning, conforming to behavioral analysis principles. Learning analytics are incorporated in the platform for easy monitoring of student progress via Web interfaces. The participatory design driving the development of the learning platform allowed the customization of the games' discriminative stimuli, difficulty levels and reinforcement, as well as the creation of a game "engine" to easily set up new personalized exercises. These customization features make the game platform usable by a larger audience, including individuals with learning difficulties and autism.