Interaction design for the resolution of linear equations in a multimodal interface

Abstract

This article belongs to the field of Human-Computer Inter- action, in the context of the access to Mathematics for people with visual disabilities. In a school scenario, the students with blindness who learn Algebra need to work on mathematical expressions, to collaborate and to communicate with their classmates and teacher. This interaction is not straightforward between students with and without sight, due to the different modalities they use in order to represent mathematical contents and to work with them. The computer presents a great opportunity to promote this type of interaction, because it allows the multimodal representation of mathematical contents. After the conduction of experiments on linear equation solving with students with and without sight, we have modelled their intentions and actions and we present a proposal for the interactions required in a multimodal interface serving this purpose. Lastly, we consider the possibilities and limitations for implementation. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.