Technologies in the education of children and teenagers with autism: evaluation and classification of apps by work areas
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Gallardo Montes, Carmen del Pilar; Caurcel Cara, María Jesús; Rodríguez Fuentes, Antonio VicenteEditorial
Springer Nature
Materia
Special education Autism Educational technology Appropriate technology Assessment Mobile learning resources
Date
2021-10-16Referencia bibliográfica
Gallardo-Montes , C.d.P., Caurcel Cara, M.J. & Rodríguez Fuentes, A. Technologies in the education of children and teenagers with autism: evaluation and classification of apps by work areas. Educ Inf Technol (2021). [https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10773-z]
Sponsorship
University of Granada and the Spanish Ministry of Education, Innovation and Universities [FPU19/00026]; University of Granada / CBUAAbstract
Mobile apps represent a resource with great potential for encouraging the development
of many skills, given the high number of apps available and the quick access to
them. Many professionals and families include these resources in the education and
therapy of children with autism. For a group with such particular needs, a review
of the apps is great importance, since, due to their characteristics, the apps must
provide content, design and pedagogical aspects that fit those needs. Through a previously
validated system of indicators, 155 free apps on Google Play were evaluated,
using “autism” in English and in Spanish. We determined which work area
each app developed, as well as which were the most multifaceted. Having evaluated
the recorded data, we calculated frequencies, percentages and reliability, as well as
parametric contrast and correlation statistics. We found that the focus of most apps
was on executive functions, language and entertainment, with a minority devoted to
the emotional sphere or time management. However, 98.06% of the apps worked on
several areas, which makes them more functional but with the downside of not being
specialized. Most apps were placed in the “recommendable” level but with margin
for improvement in increasing their functionality.