Children with Motor Impairments Play a Kinect Learning Game: First Findings from a Pilot Case in an Authentic Classroom Environment

Abstract

This paper presents the first very positive findings from an empirical study about the effectiveness of the use of a Kinect learning game for children with gross motor skills problems and motor impairments. This game follows the principles of a newly presented approach, called Kinems, which advocates that special educators and therapists should use learning games that via embodied touchless interaction – thanks to the Microsoft Kinect camera- children with dyspraxia and other related disorders such as autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and Attention Deficit Disorder, can improve related skills. Several Kinems games have been proposed (http://www.kinems.com). These games are innovative and are played with hand and body gestures. Kinems suggests that games should be highly configurable so that a teacher can modify the settings (e.g. difficult level, time settings, etc.) for the individual needs of each child. Also, a teacher should have access to kinetic and learning analytics of the child’s interaction progress and achievements should be safely stored and vividly presented.

Keywords

• Learning games
• Dyspraxia
• Autism
• Kinems
• Kinect for Windows
• Motor Impairments