A design template for multisensory and multimodal games to train and test children for sound localisation acuity

Children with single-sided deafness (SSD) may experience increased rates of behavioural and educational problems since the ability to hear and listen is linked to normal brain development. This paper explores the issue of improving an aspect of hearing ability of children with SSD called sound localisation via an electronic game. We draw on existing literature to identify design principles to guide the creation of a multimodal, multisensory game to improve sound localisation and introduce a game module template to provide a structured framework on how to describe such games. Finally, game evaluation is considered.

[1]  C. Newman,et al.  Longitudinal Benefit From and Satisfaction With the Baha System for Patients With Acquired Unilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss , 2008, Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology.

[2]  John W. Ruffner Multimedia and Virtual Reality: Designing Multisensory User Interfaces by Alistair Sutcliffe 2003, 333 pages, $55.00 ISBN 0-8058-3950-X , 2005 .

[3]  A. Warth,et al.  Lung Sequestration: A Rare Cause for Pulmonary Symptoms in Adulthood , 2011, Respiration.

[4]  Ellen Mannel Grangaard Color and Light Effects on Learning. , 1995 .

[5]  A. M. Mimpen,et al.  Improving the reliability of testing the speech reception threshold for sentences. , 1979, Audiology : official organ of the International Society of Audiology.

[6]  A. Ayres,et al.  Sensory integration and the child : understanding hidden sensory challenges , 2005 .

[7]  Ole Iversen,et al.  Stepstone: an interactive floor application for hearing impaired children with a cochlear implant , 2007, IDC.

[8]  A. Kluger,et al.  The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. , 1996 .

[9]  D. Moore,et al.  Spatial hearing of normally hearing and cochlear implanted children , 2011, International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology.

[10]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction , 1998 .

[11]  Bill Tagg Desert Island Disks , 1986 .

[12]  P. Kellman,et al.  Perceptual learning and human expertise. , 2009, Physics of life reviews.

[13]  Ximena López,et al.  Beyond Nintendo: design and assessment of educational video games for first and second grade students , 2003, Comput. Educ..

[14]  Pierre Jouvelot,et al.  Motivation-driven educational game design: applying best practices to music education , 2005, ACE '05.

[15]  Harold F. O'Neil,et al.  Meta-analytic studies of findings on computer-based instruction. , 1994 .

[16]  C. Boyatzis,et al.  Children's emotional associations with colors. , 1994, The Journal of genetic psychology.

[17]  A. Mills On the minimum audible angle , 1958 .

[18]  Ernest Adams,et al.  Fundamentals of Game Design , 2006 .

[19]  Ruth Y Litovsky,et al.  Bilateral Cochlear Implants in Children: Localization Acuity Measured with Minimum Audible Angle , 2006, Ear and hearing.

[20]  E. Gibson Principles of Perceptual Learning and Development , 1969 .

[21]  E. Thorndike,et al.  The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficiency of other functions. (I). , 1901 .

[22]  Barney Dalgarno,et al.  What are the learning affordances of 3-D virtual environments? , 2010, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[23]  Heather Desurvire,et al.  Using heuristics to evaluate the playability of games , 2004, CHI EA '04.

[24]  B. Morrongiello,et al.  Infants' Localization of Sounds Along the Horizontal Axis: Estimates of Minimum Audible Angle. , 1988 .

[25]  Yukio Iwaya,et al.  Transfer effects on sound localization performances from playing a virtual three-dimensional auditory game , 2007 .

[26]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Usability engineering , 1997, The Computer Science and Engineering Handbook.

[27]  Jennings Bryant,et al.  Researching Blue's Clues: Viewing Behavior and Impact , 2000 .

[28]  K. Engelbrecht,et al.  The Impact of Color on Learning , 2003 .

[29]  Ji Y. Son,et al.  Perceptual Learning Modules in Mathematics: Enhancing Students' Pattern Recognition, Structure Extraction, and Fluency , 2010, Top. Cogn. Sci..

[30]  Tony Leroux,et al.  Bone anchored hearing aid in single sided deafness: outcome in right-handed patients. , 2011, Auris, nasus, larynx.

[31]  D. Lawrence,et al.  The transfer of a discrimination along a continuum. , 1952, Journal of comparative and physiological psychology.

[32]  R. Dowell,et al.  Perceptual Benefit and Functional Outcomes for Children Using Sequential Bilateral Cochlear Implants , 2007, Ear and hearing.

[33]  Nicoletta Adamo-Villani A Virtual Learning Environment for Deaf Children: Design and Evaluation , 2007 .

[34]  D. Ashmead,et al.  Sound localization and sensitivity to interaural time differences in human infants. , 1991, Child development.

[35]  N. C. Kephart,et al.  The slow learner in the classroom , 1960 .

[36]  R. Litovsky Developmental changes in the precedence effect: estimates of minimum audible angle. , 1997, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[37]  Sigfrid D. Soli,et al.  Transcranial Contralateral Cochlear Stimulation in Unilateral Deafness , 2003, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

[38]  Orit Shaer,et al.  CHI2006: what is the next generation of human-computer interaction? , 2006, INTR.

[39]  Y. Lou,et al.  Small Group and Individual Learning with Technology: A Meta-Analysis , 2001 .

[40]  A. Snik,et al.  The Bone-Anchored Hearing Aid in Patients with a Unilateral Air-Bone Gap , 2002, Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology.

[41]  L. Mens,et al.  Sound Localization and Binaural Hearing in Children with a Hearing Aid and a Cochlear Implant , 2009, Audiology and Neurotology.

[42]  Alistair G. Sutcliffe Multimedia and virtual reality - designing multisensory user interfaces , 2003 .

[43]  R. Jönsson,et al.  BAHA in children and adolescents with unilateral or bilateral conductive hearing loss: a study of outcome. , 2007, International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology.

[44]  Kathleen Tibbetts,et al.  Interregional Brain Interactions in Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss , 2011, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

[45]  F. E. Offeciers,et al.  Earlier Intervention Leads to Better Sound Localization in Children with Bilateral Cochlear Implants , 2009, Audiology and Neurotology.

[46]  J. Wazen,et al.  Localization by unilateral BAHA users , 2005, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

[47]  E. Gibson,et al.  Principles of Perceptual Learning and Development , 1973 .