Abstract
Efforts to address the problems of literacy are often focused on developing countries. However, functional illiteracy is a challenge encountered by up to 50% of adults in developed countries. In this paper we reflect on the challenges we faced in trying to design and study the use of a mobile application to support adult literacy with two user groups: adults enrolled in literacy classes and carpenters without a high school education enrolled in an essential skills program. We also elaborate on aspects of the evaluations that are specific to a marginalized, functionally illiterate, group in a developed country - aspects that are less frequently present in similar studies of mobile literacy support technologies in developing countries. We conclude with presenting the lessons learnt from our evaluations and the impact of the studies' specific challenges on the outcome and uptake of such mobile assistive technologies in providing practical support to low-literacy adults in conjunction with literacy and essential skills training.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | CHI '12 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems |
| Place of Publication | New York, NY (US) |
| Publisher | ACM |
| Pages | 489-504 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-4503-1016-1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 5 May 2012 |
| Event | CHI conference on human factors in computing systems - Austin, TX, United States Duration: 5 May 2012 → 10 May 2012 |
Conference
| Conference | CHI conference on human factors in computing systems |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Austin, TX |
| Period | 5/05/12 → 10/05/12 |
Keywords
- evaluation methodology
- user studies
- mobile computing
- interface design
- educational interfaces
- assistive technology
- mobile learning