Professional Report: From Tangible Objects to Interactive Maps for Moving Around and Learning an Area
Résumé
Orienting oneself in and moving around in space are basic daily activities facilitated by different tools, including new technologies. These skills involve a set of cognitive processes based on mental representations of space and the use of tools and objects. The ACCESSPACE project is a multidisciplinary exploratory project involving developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, computer science and visual impairment professionals in the field of VI. It aims to better understand spatial learning by proposing objects or interfaces that support collaboration and development of allocentric spatial frames of reference. The chapter presents two research examples proposing learning objects for learning about space. The first example concerns work conducted between a teacher, a movement specialist and an 11-year-old child via an interactive object facilitating movement and spatial representation. The second is an exploratory study in which an interactive and tactile map is used to study spatial learning in the form of a treasure hunt game.