“EMPOWER – Design and evaluation of technological support tools to empower stakeholders in digital education” is a project approved within the Horizon Europe Framework Program, under the call Inclusiveness in times of change (HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01). EMPOWER is a multidisciplinary pursuit, at the interface between education, psychology, special education, technology, and software development.
The project is led by the University of Valencia and is locally coordinated by BRU-Iscte researcher, Aristides Ferreira, from the Organizational Behavior & Human Resources. The project started in October 2022.
In the initial stages of the EMPOWER Project, the team met with expert teachers and independent specialists via focus group interviews, to explore and gain deeper insights into their perspectives concerning the utility and requirements of resources to help neurodiverse children develop their executive functions and emotional skills. These focus groups were conducted at the end of 2022 and the data we collected helped to identify the main features recommended for incorporation in the games, which we are taking into consideration during their development phase.
💡 Key findings from interviews highlight the importance of rewards, captivating activities, and images in educational tools. As design our games, we’re prioritizing features like sound, fun, customization, progress monitoring, rewards, short activities, and feedback to enhance the learning experience.
🔎 One interesting revelation is the emphasis our experts place on promoting Attention, Working Memory, and Emotion naming in their practice. This aligns with the current landscape of available resources, offering promising prospects for our digital platform’s utility and impact.
