Preface

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a major role in our lives. However, ICT development which is indifferent to the concerns of social inclusion may raise barriers and increase the gap between the average user and those with special needs, instead of contributing to eliminating this gap and promoting equal rights and opportunities for all. Senior citizens and others with special needs are often faced with multiple minor disabilities that prevent them from enjoying the benefits of technology and higher quality of life standards. According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, technology design should take into account accessibility and usability features for the protection and promotion of the human rights of persons with disabilities, in all policies and programmes

"SEE and SEE": An educational tool for kids with hard of hearing

An educational software, namely "SEE and SEE", that aims to enhance literacy skills of deaf or hard of hearing children is presented in this paper. The proposed computer-based educational environment, takes into account children's visual learning characteristics. The software provides a series of adjustable functionalities to the teacher, so s/he can create visual-kinetic educational information for each pupil. Moreover, pupils have the opportunity to use bilateral presentations of the information content, by evoking sign language video for each text sentence, accompanied with comprehensive diagrams and pictures. A series of testquestions are also incorporated that reflect the contribution of each educational process to the learning curve. The whole activity is logged and archived at a local database that outputs statistic/activity reports and files. "SEE and SEE" can prove to be a useful learning object that contributes to the normalization of the educational environment towards the children needs. © 2008 IEEE

"SEE and SEE": An educational tool for hard of hearing children

An educational software, namely "SEE and SEE", that aims to enhance literacy skills of deaf or hard of hearing children is presented in this paper. The proposed computer-based educational environment, takes into account children's visual learning characteristics. The software provides a series of adjustable functionalities to the teacher, so s/he can create visual-kinetic educational information for each pupil. Moreover, pupils have the opportunity to use bilateral presentations of the information content, by evoking sign language video for each text sentence, accompanied with comprehensive diagrams and pictures. A series of test-questions are also incorporated that reflect the contribution of each educational process to the learning curve. The whole activity is logged and archived at a local database that outputs statistic/activity reports and files. "SEE and SEE" can prove to be a useful learning object that contributes to the normalization of the educational environment towards the children needs