On the Development of Haptic-Virtual Learning Systems for the Education of Blind People

The concept of inclusive education goes beyond considering the needs of people with disabilities; it refers to the process of recognizing the students' learning needs and to act according to such needs. People with visual limitations do not necessarily require more attention and dedication than other people; they only need to be initially guided and to have accessible information. Thus, one of the main challenges of universal education is to generate inclusive and assistive educational technologies, which can be used for the teaching and learning of people with disabilities. In this chapter, the development and assessment of haptic-enabled virtual reality learning systems for the education of non-sighted people are presented and discussed. These virtual systems represent the research work conducted to promote the accessible education of blind people and to determine the effectiveness of virtual touch in the education of blind people.

Evolution of Accessibility Metadata in Educational Resources

This chapter presents in a descriptive and visual way the evolution of accessibility metadata in educational resources, considering the different organizations and projects that contributed in investigations and establishment of standards for their implementation. The purpose is to justify the importance of its application in the optimal search of educational resources that responds to the needs and preferences of the user, considering the variability of learning and emphasizing the even greater requirements when dealing with students with disabilities. Accessibility is an issue that is developed optimally, and its adoption is increasing; however, in the area of virtual environments and digital educational resources, the use of accessibility metadata is still incipient and requires to be understood from its implementation of comprehensive manner and the suitability of its application.

Analysis of the Use of VR and Haptic Devices in the Teaching-Learning Process for Blind People

The inclusion of people with disabilities in society is an issue that is currently becoming relevant. This is why technology is in a constant struggle to develop tools that meet the needs of this sector of the population and with it fulfill this objective. One of these disabilities is blindness. Therefore, this chapter shows an analysis of the application of virtual reality (VR) and haptic devices as support tools in the teaching-learning of people with such disabilities through the study of various projects that have implement these technologies, obtaining the advantages and disadvantages offered by these resources. For this, an analysis is made from the point of view of accessibility that it presents as well as the approach of the user-centered design (UCD).

A Software Testing Process Based in Gamification for Children With Down Syndrome

Evaluating software implies challenging users' abilities during a period, applying several assessments, and analyzing their evolution. This process might turn unpleasant and stressful, especially to those susceptible to anxiety and stress, such as Down syndrome users. The poor performance of unpleasant users generates unreal results. A gamified approach for software testing is proposed that maintains user motivation and engagement and reduces anxiety and stress. Common behaviors expected are anxiety, stress, unwilling to work, and in general, lack of motivation. Using gamification, makes it possible to succeed in controlling these common negative behaviors and stimulating the positive ones including the MDA framework into a generic learnability evaluation process, linking these two elements with the psychological approach of gestalt therapy. Gamifying the testing experience increased the quality of communication between users and applicators; provided a friendly, motivational, and engaging environment; and increased the rate of testing success and the range of potential participants.

Design Process for Accessible Virtual Reality Learning Environments

Virtual reality has captured the attention of people. Since virtual reality has become more realistic, with the evolution of the technology like the innovation of smartphones, it has been more accessible for society, and many industries have begun research on the application of VR for training and for learning about certain specific topics as it allows reducing accidents and maximizes safety. Their use in the education industry has been best seen as a tool to complement certain issues that may be difficult to understand since it can allow one to virtually move to certain areas from safe areas. However, the development virtual environments is not fully specialized to implicitly include and promote learning, much less the consideration of people with disabilities. The main objective of this chapter is the presentation of a design process for the development of virtual learning environments that allows accessibility.

Educational Applications as a Support for Reading Disability at Elementary School

Reading is an important competency to be developed for children in the first years of elementary school. Reading becomes a mechanism that allows the children to interact with the world and identify their characteristics. Dyslexia is one learning disability frequently manifested in elementary school, and to identify it, teachers require extra educative resources, in particular educational applications. This work proposes a process model to design and develop educational applications considering the learning needs of children with dyslexia. It involves a user-centered approach because different perceptions of several actors are considered. The performance of the proposed model is explored in a case study and an evaluation, taking into account usability and accessibility factors.

Physical Access Difficulties at Educational Institutions Experienced by People With Visual Impairment

The objective of this chapter was to assess the impact that haptic tools have on the experience of people with some kind of visual impairment when accessing a building. The analysis was performed through the application of a case study carried out in the facilities of the Center for Teleinformatics and Industrial Production of the National Learning Service in Popayán, Colombia with the participation of five people. Taking into account the principles of universal design, the analysis considered people with total blindness, partial blindness, and people without visual limitation. Participants provided feedback and insights on their experience locating the designated area with and without the support of defined haptic tools. The study resulted in a set of drawbacks that influence the location of visually impaired people. Such findings can be taken into account by people who wish to make projects of access to physical spaces of visually impaired people.

HCI and User Experience Design Education

A thorough and robust understanding of responsible and ethical practices in UX is essential to user experience designers. Ethical UX practices include authentic inclusion, vulnerability in participants, the inclusion of IRB-protected groups in research, tolerance for risk and motivation, truth in research, fair and respectful conduct, informed consent, cultural sensitivity, accessibility in UX processes, stigmatized populations, idiosyncratic populations, right to privacy, and an understanding of ADA-compliant accommodations by UX researchers and participants. This chapter will introduce these principles as well as demonstrate one possible application in an undergraduate design classroom.

Towards a Role-Playing Game Procedural Dungeon Generation Strategy to Help Developing Working Skills

This chapter describes the insights towards a proposal to integrate a procedural content generation strategy in a computer role-playing usable and accessible learning video game for gaining replayability to encourage engagement and motivation in learners. In order to explain the contextual issues of the topic, the chapter includes a discussion on how computer role-playing video games impact the skills considered crucial for the work in the future—abstraction, system thinking, experimentation, and collaboration—emphasizing the importance of usability and accessibility to ensure effectiveness of the proposal. A first approach of a computer role-playing video game is presented to provide an illustrative example. The prototype will serve for future evaluations with people for usability and accessibility.

Reflections on Instructional Design Guidelines From the MOOCification of Distance Education

There are some similarities in developing distance education online courses and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) using the basis of eLearning instructional design. However, the task of converting an online course into a MOOC is not as simple as direct migration of eLearning materials and assessment resources into a MOOC platform. In online learning, learners should be continually influenced by information, social interaction, and learning experiences, providing them with the knowledge to come up with new ideas to develop within an engaging course. In this chapter, the process of MOOCification a distance education online course on “Design for All for an Inclusive and Accessible Society” is explained and contextualized. The re-factorization process has been based upon the quality model used for MOOCs at UNED Abierta and the instructional design based on Gagné's events of instruction. The eLearning activities were completely refactored, along with the content itself, the interaction events, and the online assessment following the Gardner's multiple intelligences product grid.