A User interface Environment as a Support in Maths Teaching for Deaf Children
The use of theories stemming from different areas of knowledge has contributed both to knowledge acquisition since these theories help perceive individuals more effectively and to the development of educational software. This is the case, for instance, of cognitive theories, which in turn assist in terms of both learning support and the clarification of possible needs in the acquisition of a given concept. In the present paper, we propose a discussion about the help function (Leite, Borba and Gomes, 2008) provided by educational software, focusing deaf students. This paper also presents an enhancement for the interface design of the help function, based on the Conceptual Fields Theory and the Theory of Multiple External Representations. This interface design enhancement is created by carrying out a new analysis regarding the display of a help function through diagrams. In short, in the present paper we derive important contributions from these two theoretical frameworks so as to provide deaf students with support in the acquisition of mathematical concepts, considering that these deaf students are put in an inclusive context.
ICEIS