Technology Inclusion via Endangered Language Learning Application: An Explorative Case Study with Remote Nganasan Community

Abstract

Digital learning, although extremely popular with tech-savvy users, is still not widely studied in the context of remote communities for endangered language learning. To support technology inclusion, it is also imperative to motivate and engage users for long-term use. We have developed a gamified storyline application for a moribund language, Nganasan (Samoyedic branch of the Uralic language family), and conducted a remote user study, where three teachers autonomously utilized the application at a local school in the Taymyr Peninsula (Northern Siberia, Russia) with 22 children, aged from 7 to 12 years. The results indicate that the application was fun, engaging, and appealing for most children, whereas teachers demonstrated the desire to use the application further and contribute to its development. The analysis of usage patterns, obtained from the three tablets sent to the school, suggests that cooperative work was motivating and engaging for the children from the remote community in Taymyr. We further discuss the value, drawbacks, and learned lessons that can be useful for future research on digital learning and technology inclusion with remote communities.