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Interactive sensory objects for and by people with learning disabilities

Published: 01 June 2014 Publication History

Abstract

This project engages people with learning disabilities as co-researchers and co-designers in the development of multisensory interactive artworks, with the aim of making museums or heritage sites more interesting, meaningful, and fun. This article describes our explorations, within this context, of a range of technologies including squishy circuits, littleBits, and easy-build websites, and presents examples of objects created by the co-researchers such as "sensory boxes" and interactive buckets, baskets, and boots. Public engagement is an important part of the project and includes an annual public event and seminar day, a blog rich with photos and videos of the workshops, and an activities book to give people ideas for creating their own sensory explorations of museums and heritage sites.

References

[1]
Kate Allen, Nic Hollinworth, Faustina Hwang, Andy Minnion, Gosia Kwiatkowska, Ticky Lowe, and Nick Weldin. 2013. Interactive sensory objects for improving access to heritage. In CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '13). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 2899--2902.
[2]
Ayah Bdeir and Paul Rothman. 2012. Electronics as material: littleBits. In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI '12), Stephen N. Spencer (Ed.). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 371--374.
[3]
Design for all, http://designforall.org/new/winners.php (last accessed 23/05/2014)
[4]
Nic Hollinworth, Faustina Hwang, Kate Allen, Gosia Malgosia Kwiatkowska, and Andy Minnion. 2014. Making electronics more accessible to people with learning disabilities. In CHI '14 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '14). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1255--1260.
[5]
Klikin, http://blog.klikin.eu/about-us/united-kingdom/about-kilk-in/,(last accessed 23/05/2014)
[6]
littleBits, http://littlebits.cc/, (last accessed 23/05/2014)
[7]
Multimedia Advocacy, http://www.multimediaadvocacy.co.uk/, (last accessed 23/05/2014)
[8]
Samuel Johnson and AnnMarie P. Thomas. 2010. Squishy circuits: a tangible medium for electronics education. In CHI '10 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 4099--4104.
[9]
Sensory Objects Blog, http://www.sensoryobjects.com/, (last accessed 23/05/2014)

Cited By

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  • (2023)Smart Objects and Replicas: A Survey of Tangible and Embodied Interactions in Museums and Cultural Heritage SitesJournal on Computing and Cultural Heritage10.1145/3631132Online publication date: 2-Nov-2023
  • (2022)TronicBoards: An Accessible Electronics Toolkit for People with Intellectual DisabilitiesProceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3491102.3517483(1-15)Online publication date: 29-Apr-2022
  • (2020)A participatory approach to the evaluation of participatory museum research projectsInternational Journal of Research & Method in Education10.1080/1743727X.2019.170646844:1(20-40)Online publication date: 3-Jan-2020
  • Show More Cited By

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Published In

cover image ACM SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing
ACM SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing Just Accepted
June 2014
25 pages
ISSN:1558-2337
EISSN:1558-1187
DOI:10.1145/2637487
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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 June 2014
Published in SIGACCESS , Issue 109

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Cited By

View all
  • (2023)Smart Objects and Replicas: A Survey of Tangible and Embodied Interactions in Museums and Cultural Heritage SitesJournal on Computing and Cultural Heritage10.1145/3631132Online publication date: 2-Nov-2023
  • (2022)TronicBoards: An Accessible Electronics Toolkit for People with Intellectual DisabilitiesProceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3491102.3517483(1-15)Online publication date: 29-Apr-2022
  • (2020)A participatory approach to the evaluation of participatory museum research projectsInternational Journal of Research & Method in Education10.1080/1743727X.2019.170646844:1(20-40)Online publication date: 3-Jan-2020
  • (2018)Taking into Account Sensory KnowledgeProceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3173574.3173810(1-14)Online publication date: 21-Apr-2018

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