A Virtual Learning Environment for Deaf Children: Design and Evaluation

Authors: Nicoletta Adamo-Villani

Abstract:

The object of this research is the design and evaluation of an immersive Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for deaf children. Recently we have developed a prototype immersive VR game to teach sign language mathematics to deaf students age K- 4 [1] [2]. In this paper we describe a significant extension of the prototype application. The extension includes: (1) user-centered design and implementation of two additional interactive environments (a clock store and a bakery), and (2) user-centered evaluation including development of user tasks, expert panel-based evaluation, and formative evaluation. This paper is one of the few to focus on the importance of user-centered, iterative design in VR application development, and to describe a structured evaluation method.

Keywords: 3D Animation, Virtual Reality, Virtual Learning Environments, User-Centered Design, User-centered Evaluation.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1057435

References:

[1] Adamo-Villani, N., Carpenter, E., Arns, L. An immersive virtual environment for learning sign language mathematics. ACM Proceedings of Siggraph 2006- Educators Program, Boston, 2006.
[2] Adamo-Villani, N., Carpenter, E., Arns, L. 3D Sign Language Mathematics in Immersive Environment. Proc. of ASM 2006 - 15th International Conference on Applied Simulation and Modeling, Rhodes, Greece, 2006, pp. 382-388.
[3] Fakespace Systems, FLEX http://www.fakespace.com/flexReflex.htm
[4] Hix, D., Swan II, J.E., Gabbard, J.L.,McGee, M., Durbin, J., King, T.User-Centered Design and Evaluation of a Real-Time Battlefield Visualization Virtual Environment. Proc. of IEEE Virtual Reality -99, pp. 96-103.
[5] Gabbard, J.L., Hix, D., Swan II, J.E. User-Centered Design and Evaluation of Virtual Environments. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, Nov/Dec. 1999, pp. 51-59.
[6] Bowman, D., Gabbard, J., and Hix, D. A survey of usability evaluation in virtual environments: classification and comparison of methods. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, vol. 11, No. 4, 2002, pp.404-424.
[7] Sutcliffe, A.G. and Kaur, K.D. Evaluating the usability of virtual reality user interfaces. Behaviour and Information Technology, vol. 19, No. 6, 2000, pp.415-426.
[8] Slater, M. Measuring Presence: A Response to the Witmer and Singer questionnaire. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, vol. 8, No. 5, 1999, pp.560-572.
[9] Neale, H.R., Brown, D.J., Cobb, S.V.G., Wilson, J.R. Structured Evaluation of Virtual Environments for Special-Needs Education. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, vol. 8, No. 3, 1999, pp.264-282.
[10] Deol, K.K., Hand, C., Instance, H., Steed, A., Tromp, J. Usability Evaluation for Virtual Environments: methods, results, and future directions. Interfaces, 44, Autumn 2000, pp.4-7.
[11] Disney Toontown. http://play.toontown.com/webHome.php
[12] Engelbrecht, K. The impact of color on learning. NeoCON 2003. http://www.coe.uga.edu/sdpl/articleoftheweek/colorPW.pdf
[13] Duke, D. L. "Does It Matter Where Our Children Learn?" White Paper for the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1998.
[14] Boyatzis, C.J. and Varghese, R. Children-s emotional associations with colors. Journal of Genetic Psychology, vol. 155, No.1, 1994, pp. 77-85.
[15] Grangaard, E.M. Color and Light Effects on Learning. US Department of Education - Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Technical Report, ED382381, 1995.
[16] CDC Growth Chart, United States. National Center of Health Statistics, 2000.
[17] CAL3D Character Animation Library. http://cal3d.sourceforge.net/
[18] Metamotion motion Captor. http://www.metamotion.com/captor/motioncaptor. htm
[19] Immersion cybergloves. http://www.immersion.com/3d/products/cyber_glove.php
[20] Sherman, W.R., Craig, A.B. Understanding Virtual Reality - Interface, Application, and Design. Morgan Kauffman, 2003.
[21] Fakespace Labs, Pinch Glove. http://www.fakespacelabs.com/tools.html
[22] InterSense IS-900 Precision Motion Tracker. http://www.intersense.com/products/prec/is900/
[23] OpenSceneGraph. http://www.openscenegraph.org
[24] VRJuggler. http://www.vrjuggler.org
[25] Nielsen, J., and Molich, R.1990. Heuristic evaluation of user interfaces. Proc. ACM CHI'90 Conf. (Seattle, WA, 1-5 April), 1990, pp. 249-256.
[26] Nielsen, J. Heuristic evaluation. In Nielsen, J., and Mack, R.L. (Eds.), Usability Inspection Methods. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 1994.
[27] Gabbard, J.L. A Taxonomy of Usability Characteristics in Virtual Environments. Master-s thesis, Dept. of Computer Science and Applications, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1998.
[28] Cobalt Flux Dance Platform. https://host156.ipowerweb.com/~cobaltfl/sunshop/index.php?action=ite m&id=1&prevaction=category&previd=1&prevstart=0
[29] Roussos, M. Learning by doing and learning through play: an exploration of interactivity in virtual environments for children. ACM Computers in Entertainment, vol. 2, No. 1, 2004, pp.1 -23.
[30] Roussos, M., Johnson, A., Moher, T., Leigh, J., Vasilakis, C. Barnes, C. Learning and building together in an immersive virtual world. Presence, vol. 8, No. 3, 1999, pp. 247-263.