Google Earth in VR, for Students with Special Needs

Virtual Reality (VR) is one of the major technology trends right now and will increase much more in the future. This technology promotes a new way of interaction, communication, and productivity. This paper aims to allow students with special needs to work and interact with Google Earth using VR. The theoretical framework used, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) perspective and checklists, allows us to identify the best way to propose an interactive and funny learning process for students with Special Educational Needs (SEN). By means of ICF, the definition of the proper technological tools and of the main steps in which the learning process can be divided is possible. This approach, indeed, leads to the translation of cognitive tasks that can result too complex for students with cognitive fragilities into concrete experiences more easily to do for all, promoting inclusion and equity in our modern digital society. In the present work, the inclusive VR-based technology is tested on a group of 10 students with SEN in Google Earth environment, and the final outcomes in terms of system usability are presented.