Mobile Learning for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Mobile learning and mobile tools provide opportunities for access to all students. On the other hand, when students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are marginalized by other technologies or traditional classroom structures, mobile technologies provide a new way of personalization and learning for these students. The aim of this study was to investigate mobile learning capabilities for students with ASD. The results show that mobile technologies in learning environments with four characteristics of cost-effectiveness, mainstream, accessibility, and ease of use can affect social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication and self-regulation skills of students with ASD. Finally, the three principles for designing mobile educational software were identified and introduced which named: test it with all populations, keep it simple, and consistent navigation. The conclusion of the study was that mobile learning can be one of the effective assistive technologies in learning environments of students with ASD by providing fair, cost-effective and accessible opportunities.

Keywords:

mobile learning , mobile technologies , educational software , autism spectrum disorder (ASD)