SpellWell, a computer-based English spelling game for visually challenged learners.
Challenge
Good English skills can make a critical difference in finding employment, and good spelling is an important part of written communication. But are the needs of visually challenged learners any different from their sighted counterparts?
Solution
Analysis of hundreds of emails and other written communication showed that visually disabled learners make characteristic errors due to their inability to differentiate between homophones, or words that sound the same but are spelled differently (like ‘mourning’ and ‘morning’).
Designed to resemble a radio quiz-show, the SpellWell game features a number of rounds, consisting of wordlists built around commonly misspelled word categories, as shown by our research. An interface with large-fonts and high-contrast allows use without a screen-magnifier, and voice-over does away with the need for expensive screen-reading software. Finally, we have kept SpellWell customizable, so that future users can tailor word lists for their specific needs.
