**1. Introduction**

Technological advances in the areas of computing, software development, internet, internet of things, cloud computing, and several other areas that encompass the New Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) brought changes in work routines, education, and even in social relationships. The ICT concept refers mainly to processes and products related to knowledge stemming from electronics, microelectronics, and telecommunications. These technologies are characterized by being evolutionary - that is to say, they are in permanent transformation. According to [1, 2], the Information Society or Knowledge Society is a phenomenon in which different instances (social, political, cultural, educational) are mediated by technological means. This new articulation allowed the consolidation of several remote activities such as virtual work, online classes, virtual communities for the development of activities of various kinds, providing new forms of the process of generating, acquiring, retaining, and sharing knowledge, with the emergence of platforms dedicated to formal and informal teaching-learning processes in digital media. Some researchers still believe that the maturity and excellence of remote work and education processes has not yet been reached. The processes of knowledge acquisition and sharing in digital environments still present several barriers. [2] emphasizes that access to technology is not what guarantees access to the digital world, as it is necessary "to be in a position to actively participate in the collective intelligence processes that represent the main interest of cyberspace".

The concepts of digital literacy and media literacy are also relevant, as they are defined in this work as elements linked to the use of ICT that enable the construction and sharing of knowledge. As defined by Livingstone [3], the concept of media literacy is a set of basic and advanced skills relating individual skills to social practices, crossing the border between formal and informal knowledge. For [4], the literacy is conditioned to the process of access to information, its critical understanding, and the production of new knowledge from this process, since they consider that "the critical dimension of literacy is the basis to ensure that participants can not only act in a practice and build a meaning within it, but can transform and actively produce it in various ways". Thus, digital literacy is related to different competencies that allow network users to access information on multiplatform, to critically and strategically evaluate it, and to use it for different purposes, from the acquisition process to sharing said knowledge, thus reaching the objectives sought.

Starting from the ICTs, the concepts of digital and media literacy, and the processes of knowledge sharing in LMS, we enter into the contemporary proposals of the use of gamification for the development and consumption of teaching-learning platforms and contents. From this introduction, the chapter structure presents the methodology used, the gamification relationships with accessible LMS, the use of Design Thinking as a model for building the gamification process, the importance of developing accessible LMS, strategies for the development of accessible platforms from gamification and design thinking, and the conclusions and proposals of future works.

#### **2. Methodology**

The research methodology adopted was qualitative, with an exploratory and descriptive study approach. According to [5, 6], through the qualitative method, one seeks in the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, paradigms that can validate the observations and considerations regarding the research. [5] also points out that during the process, the researcher immerses themselves in

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*Accessible Learning Management System (LMS) for Disabled People: Project Development…*

the environment in which the research is being developed to relate their object of research to the study environment, drawing the conclusions in relation to the initial

The bibliographic review was carried out in books, articles, journals, dissertations, and theses, and with research also supported in scientific databases. The themes cut out for this first filter were the search for works that brought approaches related to objects of learning, gamification, design thinking, and accessibility on the web. Then, we sought to filter the results of the first research with the scope of developing education platforms, accessibility, and possible gamified approaches. As an exploratory study, we sought to use the collection of information and studies from the bibliographic review, identifying the possibilities of applying gamification and design thinking in the development of accessible LMS, aiming to list steps to develop an accessible LMS with gamified resources for visually and hearing-impaired people, and the proposal to use design thinking and also gamification for organizing the flow of production and development of LMS, exploring gamification with a focus on accessibility tools, stimulating their implementation since the beginning of the project. Combined with the exploratory and descriptive study, Design Science Research - DSR precepts were adopted. The method is based on Design Science and was chosen for bringing an iterative construction proposal according to the prototyping, construction, and product evaluation processes.

The Design Science methodology seeks a scientific or technological gain from a raised problem. Technological research points to the design of an artifact to solve the problem and/or contribute to the area through gains in the field of research. But in addition to building a product, model, artifact, method, instance, it is essential to advance the theory and that the knowledge produced is disseminated in academic bodies and in the area in question, so that it can spread the dissemination of the knowledge produced to researchers, scientists, professionals and/or users in the research area, in order to guide them in solving problems. The choice of DSR is justified because, according to [7] the method "underlies and operationalizes the conduct of research when the objective to be achieved is an object or prescription". Under the DSR's precepts, the path outlined in the research used the following

• Identification of artifacts and configuration of problem classes;

As mentioned, the DSR methodological scope was not applied in full, as the following steps (artifact design and artifact development); evaluation of the artifact; clarification of learning) will be applied in future steps, as we present in this

The initial steps of the research are presented here due to their relevance to the particular discussions regarding the artifact, which according to [8], is the organization of the components of the internal environment to achieve objectives in a

**Figure 1** shows how the design of an artifact should consider the different layers

• Proposition of artifacts to solve the problem.

chapter the scope of the research project and artifact proposal.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97410*

proposal.

DSR steps:

• Problem identification;

• Literature review;

given external environment.

of the artifact's development process:

• Awareness of the problem,

*Accessible Learning Management System (LMS) for Disabled People: Project Development… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97410*

the environment in which the research is being developed to relate their object of research to the study environment, drawing the conclusions in relation to the initial proposal.

The bibliographic review was carried out in books, articles, journals, dissertations, and theses, and with research also supported in scientific databases. The themes cut out for this first filter were the search for works that brought approaches related to objects of learning, gamification, design thinking, and accessibility on the web.

Then, we sought to filter the results of the first research with the scope of developing education platforms, accessibility, and possible gamified approaches. As an exploratory study, we sought to use the collection of information and studies from the bibliographic review, identifying the possibilities of applying gamification and design thinking in the development of accessible LMS, aiming to list steps to develop an accessible LMS with gamified resources for visually and hearing-impaired people, and the proposal to use design thinking and also gamification for organizing the flow of production and development of LMS, exploring gamification with a focus on accessibility tools, stimulating their implementation since the beginning of the project. Combined with the exploratory and descriptive study, Design Science Research - DSR precepts were adopted. The method is based on Design Science and was chosen for bringing an iterative construction proposal according to the prototyping, construction, and product evaluation processes.

The Design Science methodology seeks a scientific or technological gain from a raised problem. Technological research points to the design of an artifact to solve the problem and/or contribute to the area through gains in the field of research. But in addition to building a product, model, artifact, method, instance, it is essential to advance the theory and that the knowledge produced is disseminated in academic bodies and in the area in question, so that it can spread the dissemination of the knowledge produced to researchers, scientists, professionals and/or users in the research area, in order to guide them in solving problems. The choice of DSR is justified because, according to [7] the method "underlies and operationalizes the conduct of research when the objective to be achieved is an object or prescription".

Under the DSR's precepts, the path outlined in the research used the following DSR steps:


As mentioned, the DSR methodological scope was not applied in full, as the following steps (artifact design and artifact development); evaluation of the artifact; clarification of learning) will be applied in future steps, as we present in this chapter the scope of the research project and artifact proposal.

The initial steps of the research are presented here due to their relevance to the particular discussions regarding the artifact, which according to [8], is the organization of the components of the internal environment to achieve objectives in a given external environment.

**Figure 1** shows how the design of an artifact should consider the different layers of the artifact's development process:

*The Role of Gamification in Software Development Lifecycle*

Technological advances in the areas of computing, software development, internet, internet of things, cloud computing, and several other areas that encompass the New Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) brought changes in work routines, education, and even in social relationships. The ICT concept refers mainly to processes and products related to knowledge stemming from electronics, microelectronics, and telecommunications. These technologies are characterized by being evolutionary - that is to say, they are in permanent transformation. According to [1, 2], the Information Society or Knowledge Society is a phenomenon in which different instances (social, political, cultural, educational) are mediated by technological means. This new articulation allowed the consolidation of several remote activities such as virtual work, online classes, virtual communities for the development of activities of various kinds, providing new forms of the process of generating, acquiring, retaining, and sharing knowledge, with the emergence of platforms dedicated to formal and informal teaching-learning processes in digital media. Some researchers still believe that the maturity and excellence of remote work and education processes has not yet been reached. The processes of knowledge acquisition and sharing in digital environments still present several barriers. [2] emphasizes that access to technology is not what guarantees access to the digital world, as it is necessary "to be in a position to actively participate in the collective

intelligence processes that represent the main interest of cyberspace".

The concepts of digital literacy and media literacy are also relevant, as they are defined in this work as elements linked to the use of ICT that enable the construction and sharing of knowledge. As defined by Livingstone [3], the concept of media literacy is a set of basic and advanced skills relating individual skills to social practices, crossing the border between formal and informal knowledge. For [4], the literacy is conditioned to the process of access to information, its critical understanding, and the production of new knowledge from this process, since they consider that "the critical dimension of literacy is the basis to ensure that participants can not only act in a practice and build a meaning within it, but can transform and actively produce it in various ways". Thus, digital literacy is related to different competencies that allow network users to access information on multiplatform, to critically and strategically evaluate it, and to use it for different purposes, from the acquisition process to sharing said knowledge, thus reaching the objectives sought. Starting from the ICTs, the concepts of digital and media literacy, and the processes of knowledge sharing in LMS, we enter into the contemporary proposals of the use of gamification for the development and consumption of teaching-learning platforms and contents. From this introduction, the chapter structure presents the methodology used, the gamification relationships with accessible LMS, the use of Design Thinking as a model for building the gamification process, the importance of developing accessible LMS, strategies for the development of accessible platforms from gamification and design thinking, and the conclusions and proposals of

The research methodology adopted was qualitative, with an exploratory and descriptive study approach. According to [5, 6], through the qualitative method, one seeks in the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, paradigms that can validate the observations and considerations regarding the research. [5] also points out that during the process, the researcher immerses themselves in

**1. Introduction**

**88**

future works.

**2. Methodology**

#### **Figure 1.**

*Layers of the artifact development process: Adapted from [8].*

Thus, artifacts are built to seek a solution in a given class of problems. According to [8], before starting the design or development of an artifact, it is necessary to consult what exists about this artifact in the scientific bases as well as its application in real environments. With this, it is possible to ensure greater assertiveness of the researcher when proposing the artifacts that can solve a given problem situation. Once a possible artifact solution is chosen, the researcher must take care of the development of the artifact itself. From the DSR, this research presents the DSR as a basis for the research, development and testing of the artifact, also associating the steps of design thinking with the method.

### **3. Gamification and accessible LMS**

Gamification is presented in this research as a tool to enhance learning in accessible LMS, as well as to stimulate the development of accessibility tools by developers. For [9], the resource can help in the enrichment of educational experiences, as a way in which the student recognizes and responds through a differentiated use experience, very close to the experience he has in the simple act of playing. The term gamification was used for the first time in the early 2000s, but it was not noticed as something that deserved the attention of the industry. As of 2010, its use began to be observed in a series of conferences and events of great public in the world [10]. According to [9], the use of game design elements outside the context of games is called gamification. [11] see in gamification a possibility of creating "learning spaces mediated by challenge, pleasure, and entertainment". [12] defend the use of gamification in education, suggesting that the use of game mechanics in the learning process increases the commitment of users, making activities more attractive and captivating. Based on the authors, it is pointed out that in addition to the proven benefits to the target audience, also proposing that the development of software with game elements can bring benefits to the final product, as the developers are also experiencing the user experience process by following a gamified dynamic.

Gamification appears as a possibility of education in which the barriers of time and space can be broken with the use of appropriate technologies. However,

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*Accessible Learning Management System (LMS) for Disabled People: Project Development…*

changes in the behavior of the subjects involved in the teaching and learning process are necessary so that demotivation does not occur and the main focus, which is education, is not lost. [13] present several characteristics and recommendations for the use of gamification in learning objects, among which we can mention the use of challenges, the possibility of teamwork, self-motivation, and the construction of social bonds. [14] bring other essential characteristics: the goal of the game, the

For [15], gamification is formed by four principles - the basis, mechanics,

• mechanics are crucial blocks of rules used in the gamification process. Mechanics alone are not enough to transform a given experience into an

• esthetics corresponds to the look and feel of experience, essential elements in the gamification process. It encompasses how the experience is esthetically

• thinking as in a game is the most important attribute in the gamification process - It corresponds to the idea and thought of converting a boring or monotonous task into a motivating activity, applying elements such as: competition, exploration, cooperation, and narrative. It becomes a virtual facts manager

In relation to the learning mobilized in gamified LMS, for Piaget, errors mobilize learning because they allow reflection to solve problems. The immersion process of students within the LMS is enhanced by the gamification process and the experience can even articulate interactions and collective missions between students, providing the construction of knowledge shared through the Human Computer Interaction – HIC - process. This correlation indicates the associative potential of the gamification process with learning objects in classroom or distance education. The process uses an articulation of knowledge through an initial base, challenges to promote acquisition and sharing, missions that allow and enable learning from mistakes and the achievement of objectives, culminating in performance feedback

The development of platforms, LMS and other content flows related to knowledge has been increasingly developed through gamification. Among the justifications for its use, [16] points out that the challenges present in the games are invitations to the adventure of knowledge and to a dynamic learning experience

**4. Design thinking as a model for building the gamification process**

According to [17], "the evolution from *design* to *design thinking* is the story of the evolution of the creation of products to the analysis of the relationship between

• the foundation of games is the creation of an environment or system in which people want to invest their cognition, time, and energy. Basically, it seeks to favor the engagement of individuals in abstract challenges defined by rules that have interactivity and feedbacks that result in quantifiable responses, culmi-

well-defined rules, the feedback system, and voluntary participation.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97410*

esthetics, and thinking as in a game:

nating emotional reactions;

perceived by the individual;

within the work and education processes.

engaged one, but they contribute to it;

that promotes insights into real-world operations.

and the advancement of levels, with benefits and prizes.

people and products and, finally, between people and people".

#### *Accessible Learning Management System (LMS) for Disabled People: Project Development… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97410*

changes in the behavior of the subjects involved in the teaching and learning process are necessary so that demotivation does not occur and the main focus, which is education, is not lost. [13] present several characteristics and recommendations for the use of gamification in learning objects, among which we can mention the use of challenges, the possibility of teamwork, self-motivation, and the construction of social bonds. [14] bring other essential characteristics: the goal of the game, the well-defined rules, the feedback system, and voluntary participation.

For [15], gamification is formed by four principles - the basis, mechanics, esthetics, and thinking as in a game:


The development of platforms, LMS and other content flows related to knowledge has been increasingly developed through gamification. Among the justifications for its use, [16] points out that the challenges present in the games are invitations to the adventure of knowledge and to a dynamic learning experience within the work and education processes.

In relation to the learning mobilized in gamified LMS, for Piaget, errors mobilize learning because they allow reflection to solve problems. The immersion process of students within the LMS is enhanced by the gamification process and the experience can even articulate interactions and collective missions between students, providing the construction of knowledge shared through the Human Computer Interaction – HIC - process. This correlation indicates the associative potential of the gamification process with learning objects in classroom or distance education. The process uses an articulation of knowledge through an initial base, challenges to promote acquisition and sharing, missions that allow and enable learning from mistakes and the achievement of objectives, culminating in performance feedback and the advancement of levels, with benefits and prizes.
