AudioGene: Mobile learning genetics through audio by blind learners

Abstract

Science learning is a complex task for children at school age, especially for blind children. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate AudioGene , a game that uses mobile and audio-based technology to assist the interaction between blind and sighted children, and help them to learn biology and become more socially integrated. AudioGene was designed considering the communalities and specific particularities of the mental model of both blind and sighted users. The goals of this virtual environment were to integrate blind and sighted users, learn genetics concepts, and create ways of collaboration between them through the use of mobile devices. The software usability was evaluated and the results show that audio-based technology accompanied with ad-hoc methodology can play a role in the school integration of blind users. Relevant gains in this task as we expect from the initial results of this pilot study could reveal that mobile gaming can be a powerful tool for science learning of both blind and sighted students in school integrated learning settings. © 2008 International Federation for Information Processing.