I'm still waiting for a reply from Alaina, but in the meantime, I've started to think about the various things I'll need to consider for my project. Since I aim to support the education of special needs students, I'll need to be very considerate of their specific situations, and constantly remind myself that I'm not designing for the typical audience.
First and foremost, I need to consider what assumptions I can make in regards to my audience's understanding and capability. This may very well require a lot of research on the different disabilities which are frequently found in special needs classes: is the understanding very low, or is the audience merely unable to express their understanding? Can I at least assume they can still process and understand instincts, the basic needs conditions for survival?
On a related note, what are the most common disabilities found in special needs classrooms, and what, specifically, are the resulting impairments? What is impaired, and how does it do so?
With these two things in mind, I come to the major, overarching problem that needs to be solved: how do I convey, teach, and train the necessary information effectively, and how do I generate the internal motivation to learn? How do I reach my audience so centrally that the act of experiencing the presented content no longer poses a chore, but rather an opportunity, or even a pleasure?
These, I think, are the major challenges I'll need to face throughout this project. They will influence each and every step, each and every design decision I make. I very much anticipate that I will be doing as much learning through this process as I hope to eventually emulate, if not more so.
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