Development of Virtual Reality Applications with the ADDIE Model for Prospective Educators of Children with Autism

Abstract

Knowledge is needed for children with special needs to support their quality of life. This is a challenge for prospective educators / prospective teachers. A deeper knowledge is needed to really understand children with special needs. This research is carried out to develop a skill simulator application for autistic child’s prospective educator using Virtual Reality technology. This application will be used as a teaching medium which incorporates motion sensor tools. The sensors will make the virtual application looks realistic. The application was developed using the ADDIE method (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation). The application development begins with discovering the characteristic of autistic children. This is done to formulate the learning materials. The knowledge base of the autistic children was obtained from the Sekolah Luar Biasa (SLB). By using the obtained knowledge, storyboard was designed and implemented. The developed application has been evaluated by 16 prospective child educators with autism and two professional experts. In general, the application can help prospective educators understand the characteristics of children with autism. Moreover, it provides a safe and pleasant teaching skill practice for the prospective educators.

Keywords

• virtual reality, simulators, autism, addie, prospective educators