Sparkling Fingers 2.0
User-oriented development of an audio-tactile e-learning tool for blind and visually impaired students on the basis of an open modular, extensible framework for the generation and use of collaboratively created online content
The project is based on the findings of the 23-month research project "Sparkling Fingers" (2008-2010) and intensifies the co-operation between the Institute of Design and Assessment of Technology (TU Wien) and the Federal Institute of the Blind (BBI).
The project's main goal is the implementation of an e-learning system which opens Web 2.0 services to blind and visually impaired students. The focus lies on the participatory design of a robust and portable tablet that connects geo-localized audio recordings with tactile graphics using capacitive coupling techniques. "Sparkling Fingers 2.0" thus encompasses a wide interdisciplinary scope linking topics of perception training, mobility training, psychomotorics and social learning with new potentials in accessible computing and e-learning as well as crowd- and open-sourcing. The combination of tactile information and Web 2.0 services is a novelty and will allow the development of new scenarios in the field of technology-based special education.