The effectiveness of gamified interactive programs relating to online safety for people with intellectual disability

Abstract

People with intellectual disability use the internet for a wide variety of reasons such as entertainment, connecting with other people and looking for information. However, they are at risk of cyberbullying, scams, and exploitation. This case study looks at how people with intellectual disability used a gamified online learning program to understand how to safely navigate the internet. A disability service provider in Australia developed and implemented the program. The research team was asked to evaluate the program. We found that while some participants were able to recall what they learned from previous sessions, most required prompting from carers to complete tasks. The research observations offer some useful guidelines for similar projects moving forward, such as including prompting through animations and scaffolding existing competencies. The need for support means that the involvement of carers in the design of these training software will be essential.