Moving beyond Limitations: Designing the Helpdys App for Children with Dyslexia in Rural Areas
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Departamento de Informática y Ciencias de la Computación, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 17-01-2759, Ecuador
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Department of Software and Computing Systems, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Maria Kett, Catherine Holloway and Victoria Austin
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7081; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137081
Received: 25 April 2021
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Revised: 22 May 2021
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Accepted: 25 May 2021
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Published: 24 June 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Critical Junctures in Assistive Technology and Disability Inclusion)
Dyslexia is a relatively common language disorder which is generally ignored in rural communities. It hinders children’s learning processes and, in some cases, is the cause of dropouts or violence in schools. The present work strives to create a web and mobile app as a preliminary step towards the diagnosis and treatment of dyslexic children. Apps providing didactic educational games and activities improve literacy skills for students with reading disabilities. The current work incorporates user experience and prototyping to fulfill app requirements. The authors evaluated the apps with the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) tool to assess engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information. The app’s improvements were immediately implemented and tested in the “Escuela Linea Equinoccial” (Ecuador) school, proving its utility for future use in the education system. The app can be a valuable tool for children with dyslexia to progress successfully through school, raising their self-confidence and, thereby, helping them reach their full potential as adults able to make a positive contribution to society.
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Keywords:
dyslexia; inclusive education; mobile apps; rural area; sustainable apps; web apps
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MDPI and ACS Style
Larco, A.; Carrillo, J.; Chicaiza, N.; Yanez, C.; Luján-Mora, S. Moving beyond Limitations: Designing the Helpdys App for Children with Dyslexia in Rural Areas. Sustainability 2021, 13, 7081. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137081
AMA Style
Larco A, Carrillo J, Chicaiza N, Yanez C, Luján-Mora S. Moving beyond Limitations: Designing the Helpdys App for Children with Dyslexia in Rural Areas. Sustainability. 2021; 13(13):7081. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137081
Chicago/Turabian StyleLarco, Andres, Jorge Carrillo, Nelson Chicaiza, Cesar Yanez, and Sergio Luján-Mora. 2021. "Moving beyond Limitations: Designing the Helpdys App for Children with Dyslexia in Rural Areas" Sustainability 13, no. 13: 7081. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137081
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