Towards a methodology for user experience assessment of serious games with children with cochlear implants

• Published in: Telematics and informatics Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 993 - 1004
• Main Authors: Cano, Sandra, Collazos, César A., Flórez Aristizábal, Leandro, Gonzalez, Carina S., Moreira, Fernando
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2018; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adults; Assessing methods; Children; Children with cochlear implants; Children with disabilities; Cochlear implants; Computer & video games; Educational software; Games; Implants; Information technology; Methodology; Product design; Rehabilitation; User centered design; User experience; Colombia; Children with cochlear implants; Assessing methods; User centered design
• ISSN: 0736-5853; 1879-324X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tele.2017.09.011

•Computer Games have become an important part in life part in child and a youth culture.•A serious game can be defined as a balance between the entertainments and pedagogical.•The evaluation of a product focused on children is a different process compared with adults.•A child with a hearing impairment acquires language skills at a slower pace than a hearing child.
Information technology is transforming different areas, such as rehabilitation, in such a way that serious games are finding a use as an alternative in hearing therapies for children with cochlear implants, creating a motivating experience in children. As a result, the design of products oriented to children depends on the skills they have to interact, because if they have a better user experience they may have a better learning experience. Most existing methods of assessment are aimed at adults, although some have been adapted for children with special needs, including children with cochlear implants. This article presents a methodology for User Experience Assessment (UXA), that provides support for following the necessary guidelines and choosing techniques adapted to the characteristics of the child with cochlear implant. The methodology has been applied in a case study with 23 children with cochlear implants in the Institute for Blind and Deaf Children in Colombia, where different methods have been used and adapted to assess the user experience.