Project :: Immersive Education

Immersive Education

An ethnographic study conducted as part of a 5 months project placement with the industrial partner Seeper (an Arts and Technology collective). The aim of the project was to build and evaluate an immersive multi-sensory environment for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study focused on autism and the main difficulties that affect people with this condition. It used the 'Theory of Mind' and the 'Theory of Cognitive Development' in order to understand the users’ requirements and how technology could help children with ASD overcome their difficulties and proceed developing.

The ethnographic study took place over three days of workshops run in Baskerville, a school for children affected by ASD in Birmingham. The multi-sensory systems placed in the school allowed students to use different senses such as, touch, vision and sound. The time the observations were conducted was short, however it produced positive results as the immersive experience created a comfortable autistic friendly environment, which contributed to students’ relaxation and soon became part of their 'safe world'. The observations and the interviews with members of staff from the school show that some of the systems facilitated social interaction among students.

People

Antonella Mazzoni
Seeper
Baskerville School, Birmingham UK

Students interacting with the multi-touch sphere

Students interacting with one of the multi-sensory systems