Increasing awareness and empathy among university students through immersive exercises - testing of the virtual reality application: A pilot study.

Background: This paper presents an overview of a pilot study focused on testing the effectiveness of immersive virtual reality (VR) exercises, within extended reality experiences, in increasing awareness and empathy among university students towards pregnant women, elderly people, people in wheelchairs, and people with some sort of sight impairment. The extended reality experience was designed to simulate various scenarios that reflect the experiences of people from diverse backgrounds, to promote a better understanding of different perspectives and social issues related to some of the challenges tackled by people whose limitations are many times overlooked.

Material And Methods: A design-based research methodology was applied and qualitative and quantitative data were collected in samples of 20 students from 3 countries.

Treating Children With Speech Sound Disorders: Development of a Tangible Artefact Prototype.

Background: A prototype of a tangible user interface (TUI) for a fishing game, which is intended to be used by children with speech sound disorders (SSD), speech and language therapists (SLTs), and kindergarten teachers and assistants (KTAs) and parents alike, has been developed and tested.

Objective: The aim of this study was to answer the following question: How can TUIs be used as a tool to help in interventions for children with SSD?

Methods: To obtain feedback and to ensure that the prototype was being developed according to the needs of the identified target users, an exploratory test was prepared and carried out. During this test using an ethnographic approach, an observation grid, a semistructured questionnaire, and interviews were used to gather data.