The use of Mobile Applications to support the development of arithmetic skills in visually or hearing impaired children at Key Stage 1 level

Abstract

This research project is designed to explore the usage of mobile applications which can be used to support the development of arithmetical skills among visually impaired and hearing impaired children studying at Key Stage One level, typically between the ages of five and seven years old.

The research project looks at issues surrounding the topic area at hand, such as looking at what constitutes a visually or hearing impaired person, the teaching of mathematics to those with visual or hearing impairment as well as children in general, human-computer interaction considerations for children and visually or hearing impaired as well as the area of mobile technologies in a learning environment. The project aims to critically evaluate literature about topics such as those detailed above to develop an understanding of whether mobile applications can be used to help the development of mathematical skills amongst visually or hearing impaired children at Key Stage One level, with the creation of a prototype application being developed using storyboarding to develop paper prototypes, followed by the development of high fidelity designs which were tested using participants, who were selected due to them being experienced teachers of children with special educational needs, who were able to provide valuable feedback to the project and help with the improvement of the high fidelity design in to a second and final high fidelity design of a prototype application.

The interviews and testing of the application provided the project with a greater insight in to areas surrounding the topic as well as the creation of a working prototype application which could be used to aid the development of arithmetical skills once fully developed, with the participants positive about the worth that a prototype application could add to the education of a visually impaired or hearing child, whilst a further statistical and evidence based discussion discovering the increasing desire of schools to introduce mobile technologies and applications in to the classroom.