Harnessing accelerometer technology for inclusive mobile learning

The goal of this research is the establishment of a usable and accessible mobile learning system for the inclusion of both blind and vision-impaired students within mainstream education through independent, collaborative and ubiquitous mobile learning environments. An essential component of this work is the enhancement of the field to enable all students to work successfully together despite vision disabilities for the achievement of a learning outcome.Given the advancements in mobile technologies, and the personal nature of mobile devices, there is a lot to be gained, especially for the vision-impaired, by harnessing new technologies for education. Some technological advances can increase the divide between such students and their fully sighted peers. However the incorporation of technologies such as the accelerometer, now standard within many modern mobile phones, provides an opportunity to develop new inclusive mobile learning applications.The accelerometer could enable us to present a visionimpaired student with the capability to successfully play and interact directly with their fully sighted peers within a collaborative game to achieve a single outcome. This could be achieved without the heavy reliance on visual interfaces that were a necessary part of earlier mLearning models. The student would interact with the game through specific movements of their mobile handheld device. The device, for example, would be moved in one direction to give a specific command, while tilting and shaking the device would be used to command separate specific functions of the game. The student's interaction through the accelerometer could be enhanced through the provision of both haptic and audio feedback as they twist and tilt the handheld mobile device to interact with a learning game, removing altogether the need for the incorporation of a visual interface. The incorporation of wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, would allow for the provision of a collaborative environment for mobile learning, allowing all students to communicate via their handheld device, regardless of the disabilities faced by individual learners.Providing the ability to create an engaging, level playing field for such students could reduce the digital divide currently in existence for the future success of mobile learning environments.