Testing of a Drawing Toy for Children with Blindness: The Kuwu Experience

Abstract

Play is a fundamental activity in early childhood and a source of cognitive development. One ludic activity in early childhood is drawing, a semiotic activity in which children can build and transform symbols and meanings in a way to reflect their thoughts and emotions. However, drawing has a visual component that is a challenge for some children with blindness or visual impairment. This research aims to evaluate a prototype of a haptic pencil called Kuwu. Through user’s usability tests and expert heuristic inspection, we evaluated 10 children with blindness or visual impairments between 5 and 8 years old, from 2 schools of Santiago, Chile. Heuristics evaluation shows the minimalist design, ease, and flexibility of use of the pencil that allows children to draw independently. Usability testing is a foundational phase in any technological development, especially when creating from a universal design perspective.