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“Spatial Computing Against the Math Crisis: Using AR to Support Children with Math learning difficulties"

Lunedì 22 Dicembre alle 10:00 in aula F.

Speaker: Vittoria Frau, Post-doc at School of Communication and Culture - Department of Digital Design and Information Studies at Aarhus (Denmark)

Abstract: Twenty-five percent of Europeans struggle with math. Six percent have dyscalculia—they literally cannot see numbers the way we do. 

It's called "number blindness," and it's mostly invisible, undertreated, and underresearched. Despite affecting around 2-6% of children, it appears up to fourteen times less often than dyslexia in academic research.

So what if we could make numbers visible again? That's what Augmented Reality could enable—by blending the physical and digital worlds, we can create the embodied, multisensory learning experiences that research shows actually work for children with dyscalculia.

Early mathematical skills—finger counting, number sense, spatial reasoning—are the foundation for understanding more complex concepts later on. Without this foundation, children struggle with even basic math, let alone more sophisticated concepts like graphs and networks.

In this talk, we will discuss design decisions, considerations for child-tech research, and early findings from our design-based research at Aarhus University. The goal isn't to treat dyscalculia, but to help children experience math as something they can understand, and maybe even enjoy —starting with the fundamentals that unlock everything else.