Abstract

There has been, in the last ten years, a fast developing interest in the potential use of mobile technology in the classroom and in particular, in the use of such technology to support children with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorders). The HANDS project has developed a software application for mobile smartphones based on the principles of persuasive technology design, which supports children with ASD with social and life skills functioning – areas of ability which tend to be impaired in this population. This paper reports on the implementation of the initial prototype, evaluating its impact on these focus domain areas. The evaluation draws on teacher, children and parent interviews, and classroom observations. Particular attention is paid to the key mediating factor of “mobile marriage”, i.e. the fact that the motivation to use and respond to behavioural interventions is linked to the young person’s projection of identity on to the mobile device.

Citation

Mintz, J., Branch, C. & Caty, M. (2011). Children and teachers’ experience of a mobile technology intervention: the role of “mobile marriage” in driving technology engagement in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. In T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2011--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications (pp. 1299-1308). Lisbon, Portugal: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved August 15, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/38037/.

© 2011 Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)