119-135

• Skiada, Roxani
• Soroniati, Eva
• Gardeli, Anna
• Zissis, Dimitrios

Dyslexia is one of the most common learning difficulties affecting approximately 15 to 20 per cent of the world’s population. A large amount of research is currently being conducted in exploring the potential benefits of using Information & Communication Technologies as a learning platform for individuals and especially children with such difficulties. We focused on developing an application, which could improve children’s fundamental skills, such as reading comprehension, orthographic coding, short-term memory and mathematical problem solving through game playing. In search of stimulating and interactive learning experiences, we first designed and developed a mobile phone application for children with dyslexia. The main core of our research was to assess the usability of the technology and evaluate its effects. We have presented initial research results regarding EasyLexia, a mobile application for children with learning difficulties. In the meantime, tablets and touch screen portable devices were rising in popularity amongst students, leading us on to question whether bigger screens and more processing powered devices could enhance interactivity, usability and overall engagement. In this paper we improve upon our previous research, and present design choices and implementation details of a tablet based game for children with learning difficulties, whilst comparing our evaluation results to our previous research conclusions.

• Educational sciences

• Εκπαιδευτική τεχνολογία

Dyslexia, learning difficulties, reading comprehension, mobile learning, software for education, portable tablet PC

We would like to thank Mrs Moscha Kontorousi (Speech-Language Pathologist) and her Speech-Language Center for Children & Adults, for her professional guidance during the entire research.

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