Serious games in the context of people with cognitive disabilities: a case study (Preprint)
Authors: Menezes William Manoel , Neto Jorge Correia , Filho Moacyr Cunha , Villar Guilherme 
Published: October 2017

BACKGROUND

While traditional video games provide amusement, with the advent of serious games (SG), it has raised the potential and the results that can be achieved from the games, these artifacts, whose main differentials are the fact that they are naturally playful and motivators. While in the 1990s, the games aimed only at entertainment, nowadays teaching and learning combine with entertainment and become the main goals to be achieved through the SG. A strong example of SG application is for motivation and help in the formal or special teaching-learning process acting as a pedagogical tool. In this sense, the following question arises: What are the characteristics and interface resources considered adequate to compose the interface of a serious game that have educational objectives directed to people with Williams-Beuren Syndrome? Here's the motivation guide for this article.

OBJECTIVE

Elementary mathematics education for people with Williams Syndrome

METHODS

An exploratory and descriptive study,using qualitative and quantitative approaches.

RESULTS

The results portfolio obtained from the WBS user experience assessment presents the confidence rectangle within the "desirable" quadrant. This is what a project program is, since scientifically this is one of the biggest difficulties reported by unlock authors, it is not possible to teach content and maintain playfulness.

CONCLUSIONS

The prototype of the game here called SoundMath, was intended to meet a demand for learning elementary arithmetic for people with WBS, from a playful and immersive process. Through the results of the evaluations carried out, this work provides relevant information that can encourage the development of this game, as well as help companies in the educational segment, and contribute to the improvement of the quality of the applications targeted to this type of public. Other important point to be highlighted from this work is with regard to the social aspect that this work encompasses, because it is the development of a solution applied to a daily problem of this public.

But we did not just develop; we decided to go beyond and document the entire process of engineering and gamification, based on data obtained throughout this study of design and design of a serious educational game prototype that contained in its layout the ideal characteristics to mediate a teaching-learning process from its use, as well as document and outline a methodological process that may serve as the basis for further studies. Thus, we believe that the results and reflections raised from this study may, in the future, broaden the knowledge about the design of serious games for people with cognitive disabilities.

The prototype of the game here called SoundMath, was intended to meet a demand for learning elementary arithmetic for people with WBS, from a playful and immersive process. Through the results of the evaluations carried out, this work provides relevant information that can encourage the development of this game, as well as help companies in the educational segment, and contribute to the improvement of the quality of the applications targeted to this type of public. Other important point to be highlighted from this work is with regard to the social aspect that this work encompasses, because it is the development of a solution applied to a daily problem of this public.