title: Action video game play and transfer of navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind.
abstract: For individuals who are blind, navigating independently in an unfamiliar environment represents a considerable challenge. Inspired by the rising popularity of video games, we have developed a novel approach to train navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind. Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES) is a software application that allows for the virtual exploration of an existing building set in an action video game metaphor. Using this ludic-based approach to learning, we investigated the ability and efficacy of adolescents with early onset blindness to acquire spatial information gained from the exploration of a target virtual indoor environment. Following game play, participants were assessed on their ability to transfer and mentally manipulate acquired spatial information on a set of navigation tasks carried out in the real environment. Success in transfer of navigation skill performance was markedly high suggesting that interacting with AbES leads to the generation of an accurate spatial mental representation. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between success in game play and navigation task performance. The role of virtual environments and gaming in the development of mental spatial representations is also discussed. We conclude that this game based learning approach can facilitate the transfer of spatial knowledge and further, can be used by individuals who are blind for the purposes of navigation in real-world environments.
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Erin C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Connors
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Memory and Brain, Boston University Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Chrastil
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Center for Advanced Research in Education, University of Chile Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Lotfi B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Merabet
keywords: adolescent; early blind; gaming for learning; navigation; serious videogames; spatial cognition; virtual environment