Accessible Learning Management System (LMS) for Disabled People: Project Development Based on Accessibility Guidelines, Gamification, and Design Thinking Strategies

Abstract

We live in a time of expansion and popularization of the processes of acquisition, retention, and sharing of knowledge in virtual media. Platforms geared towards digital learning now play a fundamental role in mediating knowledge processes. Many of them already use gamification with the use of game elements to increase engagement and stimulate the participants’ immersion and flow status. But in addition to the development of dynamic platforms that enhance learning, it is essential that they are accessible to disabled people, allowing gamification resources and interactions between participants to be used by any audience, including people with visual and hearing disabilities. From this premise, this research problematizes the need to think from the initial project on the accessibility tools of an LMS following the recommendations prepared by groups such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Global Learning Consortium (GLC), including Web Accessibility Initiative - World Wide Web Consortium (WAI-W3C), IMS GLC - Accessibility Guidelines (IMS GLC-ACC) and Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA). In addition to studies for the development of accessible LMS, this research also presents the use of gamification strategies and design thinking in the development process, also using the method called Design Science Research to define the steps, thus seeking to promote engagement and immersion of the team, stimulating practical experiences with the gamification process. For the result, the proposal for the development of accessible LMS based on gamification and design thinking strategies is presented, with explicit use in the phases of empathy, definition, and ideation.