Affiliation(s)
Marcelo Norberto, licentiate in informatics engineering, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Games Interaction and Learning Technologies, Porto, Portugal.
Jorge Lopes, licentiate in informatics engineering, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Games Interaction and Learning Technologies, Porto, Portugal.
Paula Escudeiro, Ph.D., adjunct professor and director of the GILT Research Group, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Nuno Escudeiro, Ph.D., professor of informatics, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Rosa Reis, associate professor of informatics, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Maciel Barbosa, Ph.D., professor of electrical engineering, Faculdade de Engenharia do Porto, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
José Bidarra, Ph.D., assistant professor of science and technology, Universidade Aberta, Porto, Portugal.
Ana Baltazar, master in translation and interpretation of Portuguese sign language, President of the Center for Translators and Interpreters of Sign Language, Porto, Portugal.
ABSTRACT
The work presented in this paper is one of the outcomes of the virtual sign project that aims to assist the communication with deaf students in the classroom. The project is being developed by Portuguese researchers. The main goal of the virtual sign project is the creation of a bidirectional Portuguese sign language translator. This translator supports the development of a serious game that was developed to facilitate the sign language learning process. In the game, it is possible to gather different gestures and reproduce them. The game includes three different scenarios. These scenarios are linked to increasing levels of proficiency in sign language. The first one addresses the alphabet, the second one goes a step forward to teach words, and the third one introduces full sentences. The game experience can be enhanced by using the Kinect to perform the gestures. This game intends to be of great assistance in the process of learning the Portuguese sign language.
KEYWORDS
serious games, sign language, education, Kinect, accessibility, deaf community
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References
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