Team Project: Liz Estefan and Victoria Ellen Valdes
Grad School Project/Virtual Reality Prototype/Learning Tool for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 2019.
About the Prototype
The “Visual Learning Center” prototype is a virtual reality learning tool for children with autism. It is a VR environment meant to act as a supplemental study tool to reinforce lessons learned in the classroom.
In Our Research, What We Learned
We visited the Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (CARD) to observe the children in the classroom and the methods of learning used. Pattern familiarization, repetition and incentives are key for their learning. Children with autism need hundreds of examples of photos and drawings of the same item in order to correlate words, objects and the real world. And they need positive reinforcement through incentives to support learning.
In the classroom the children are taught to follow their daily schedule using easy to identify shapes and colors which correlate to learning/activity zones in the classroom. The prototype mimics this process. Using the subject of vocabulary as an example, it incorporates two lessons starting with virtual flashcards to reinforce repetition and then taking the learning a step further by incorporating the images in a 360 real-world environment. And through correct answers and completing lessons, the child collects gold stars and badges as reward to support learning.
