Usability of a mobile application for developing and monitoring mathematical skills of preschool children diagnosed with mild intellectual disability

Early childhood is a critical developmental period in which the foundations for fundamental mathematical concepts such as number concept, number relations, operations, geometry, spatial perception, patterning, measurement, and comparison are laid. The mathematical achievements acquired during this period form the foundation not only for students' mathematical achievement in later years but also for their attitudes and motivation toward mathematics. Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) can experience various difficulties in learning mathematics due to difficulties in attention, memory, language, and motivation. It is widely reported in the literature that children with ID experience delays in mathematical achievement compared to their peers. Advances in educational technologies have enabled an increase in technology-supported interventions for teaching mathematical skills to children with ID. While these interventions are among the evidence-based practices for children with disabilities, further research is needed, particularly in the context of teaching cognitive skills to preschool children with ID. Mobile applications, thanks to their multimedia features, hold significant potential for teaching various skills to children with disabilities. However, the effective use of this potential depends on the development of child-friendly applications in terms of educational and design. Therefore, usability tests must be conducted on developed mobile applications and the most effective, efficient, and satisfying designs must be developed for children with ID. However, the limited number of design-focused mobile applications for children with ID indicates that further research is needed to determine design principles. This research is a qualitative study to evaluate the usability of a mobile application developed to support the mathematical skills of preschool children with mild ID and monitor their development. Various data collection tools were used in the study, including teacher, parent, and child usability test observation forms, a teacher feedback form, and video recordings. The usability test observation forms were developed by field experts. Because the mobile application included panels of teachers, children, and parents, the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction levels of all participant groups were evaluated. Teachers also provided feedback on the 20 games included in the application through the "Teacher Feedback Form." To enhance the validity of the data, video recordings were taken of five special education teachers and five children with ID using the application. Data obtained from the forms were evaluated using descriptive statistics, and video recordings were evaluated using thematic analysis; the findings were interpreted using an inductive approach. The research findings indicate that the developed mobile application has a high level of usability for children, teachers, and parents. However, a detailed examination of the effectiveness and efficiency sub-dimensions for children revealed some design issues. The video recordings revealed that children frequently clicked on the screen and required adult support during the modeling and context-providing stages of the games. One of the most significant reasons for this was determined to be the lack of audio and visual stimuli in some games. Data obtained from the teacher feedback form also indicated that some games needed improvement regarding the use of characters and colors. Teachers also stated that the games in the application supported the learning outcomes and were suitable for children. The data obtained from the video recordings also provided information about the app's ease of learning. In conclusion, this research offers several recommendations regarding educational and design elements that should be considered in the design of educational mobile applications for preschool children with mild ID.