Development strategies and trends in educational solutions for deaf students

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a notable movement towards the inclusion of deaf students in academic environments, most of them heavily based in Computer Science and its technologies. Despite the high number of researches in this area, few present or discuss guidelines and best practices that should be taken in account when developing solutions for the deaf audience. This work proposes strategies that researchers should follow when planning, developing and delivering learning systems aiming the inclusion of deaf students, considering their communicational, sensory and cultural particularities. Systems that follow these guidelines can enhance the learning process by the use of technology. The approaches presented in this study support innovative systems in the offer of a truly meaningful learning environment, and can be applied in researches areas like augmented and virtual reality, natural user interfaces, and gamification.