Abstract
Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) have been successfully used in educational interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) for overcoming their persistent differences related to social communication and imagination. This paper investigates the potential of VLEs presenting Social Stories, as an advantageous pathway for the development of social problem skills in children with ASC. To this end, it presents the design and development of VLSS (Virtual Learning Environment with Social Stories), a prototype three-dimensional VLE for children with ASC. Overall, the evaluation of VLSS by 40 experts (special education teachers) was very positive, indicating that VLSS has the potential to be a beneficial and easy-to-use educational tool for enhancing social problem solving in children with ASC.
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We wish to thank all special education teachers who took part in this study. This study would not have been made possible without their valuable contribution.
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Appendix
Appendix
Teachers’ own point of view | Teachers’ point of view for students’ with ASC | ||||||||||
Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree | ||
Usefulness | |||||||||||
S1. | It helps user be more effective | ||||||||||
S2. | It helps user be more productive | ||||||||||
S3. | It is useful | ||||||||||
S4. | It makes the things user wants to accomplish easier to get done | ||||||||||
S5. | It saves user’s time when he use it | ||||||||||
S6. | It meets user’s needs | ||||||||||
Ease of use | |||||||||||
S7. | It is easy to use | ||||||||||
S8. | It is simple to use | ||||||||||
S9. | It is user friendly | ||||||||||
S10. | It is flexible | ||||||||||
S11. | Using it is effortless | ||||||||||
S12. | User can use it without written instructions | ||||||||||
S13. | User doesn’t notice any inconsistencies as he uses it | ||||||||||
S14. | User can recover from mistakes quickly and easily | ||||||||||
S15. | User can use it successfully every time | ||||||||||
Ease of learning | |||||||||||
S16. | User learned to use it quickly | ||||||||||
S17. | User easily remembers how to use it | ||||||||||
S18. | It is easy to learn to use it | ||||||||||
S19. | User quickly became skilful with it | ||||||||||
Satisfaction | |||||||||||
S20. | User would recommend it to a friend. | ||||||||||
S21. | It is fun to use | ||||||||||
S22. | It is pleasant to use | ||||||||||
S23. | The realistic representation of students with ASC through an avatar is very important | ||||||||||
S24. | The presence of avatars motivates the user’s participation in activity | ||||||||||
S25. | SS provide logical sequence and an escalating degree of difficulty in a helpful format for students with ASC | ||||||||||
S26. | The interaction is suitable with the motor and cognitive level of students with ASC | ||||||||||
S27. | The feedback is constructive and appropriate to the students with ASC | ||||||||||
S28. | The design and the presentation of SS should attract the attention of students with ASC | ||||||||||
S29. | The design of SS would overload the memory of students with ASC | ||||||||||
S30. | The presentation of SS is “simple” in the sense that it displays only the required information |
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Volioti, C., Tsiatsos, T., Mavropoulou, S. et al. VLEs, social stories and children with autism: A prototype implementation and evaluation. Educ Inf Technol 21, 1679–1697 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9409-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-015-9409-1