Mobile devices as assistive technologies for ASD: experiences in the classroom

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science. The final authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40355-7_18Information and Communication Technologies offer new opportunities to people with disabilities to develop their autonomy and independence in their daily life activities. However, more research should be done in order to comprehend how technology affects this collective of people. This paper presents two experiences where participants with cognitive disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder used AssisT-Task to perform job related activities and DEDOS to perform educational activities. Their performance is improved along the sessions using both tools. Combining visual and textual information help students with cognitive disabilities and ASD to focus on the contents presented, avoiding usability and accessibility issues, and therefore improving their learning process while they are having fun interacting with new technologiesThis work has been funded in part by the Spanish Economy and Competitiveness Ministry under project “e-Integra: e-Training y e-Coaching para la integración socio-laboral” (TIN2013-44586-R) and by the Region of Madrid under pro-ject “eMadrid – Investigación y Desarrollo de tecnologías para el e-learning en la Comunidad de Madrid (S2013/ICE-2715

Kaasaegsete kognitiivsete ja sotsiaalsete sekkumistehnikate loomine pediaatrilises neurorehabilitatsioonis ajukahjustusega lastel

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneOmandatud ajukahjustusega lapsed vajavad kaasuva kognitiivse ja sotsiaalse defitsiidi diagnostikat ja rehabilitatsiooni, mis on oluline lapse akadeemilise edukuse ja elukvaliteedi parandamisel. Neurorehabilitatsioon on plaanipärane sekkumine, mille eesmärk on kompenseerida või kergendada ajukahjustusest põhjustatud defitsiiti. Antud doktoritöö eesmärk oli uute arvutipõhiste meetodite kasutuselevõtmine omandatud ajukahjustusega laste kognitiivses ja sotsiaalses neurorehabilitatioonis. Treeningdisainid loodi tähelepanu, ruumitaju ja sotsiaalse kompetentsi häirete raviks. Uuringus osales 59 epilepsia, ajutrauma või tikkide diagnoosiga ja 47 tervet kontrollgrupi last vanuses 8–12 aastat. Patsiendid läbisid rehabilitatsiooni (10 treeningut) koos eelneva ja treeningujärgse testimisega. Tähelepanu ja ruumitaju treeningus kasutati arvutipõhist ForamenRehab lastele kohandatud programmi väljatöötatud treeningprotokollidega. Sotsiaalsete häirete raviks loodi esmalt struktureeritud neurorehabilitatsiooni mudel, mis koosnes sotsiaalse kompetentsi olulistest komponentidest, nende hindamismeetoditest ja rehabilitatsiooni vahenditest: puutetundlikud lauad Snowflake Multiteach Tabletop ja Diamond Touch Table, ning virtuaalreaalsuse keskkonnad. Tulemusena esines patsientidel treeningu eelselt väljendunud tähelepanu, ruumitaju ja sotsiaalse kompetentsi defitsiit. Arvutipõhised ja virtuaalreaalsuse programmid olid efektiivsed kognitiivsete häirete ravis. Patsientidel esines treeningute järgselt oluline paranemine kahes tähelepanu komponendis (tähelepanu jagamine ja seiramine) ja kolmes ruumitaju komponendis (visuaal-konstruktiivsed võimed, visuaalne tähelepanu ja nägemis-ruumitaju) ning raviefekt oli säilinud järeltestimisel 1,3 aastat hiljem. Sotsiaalse rehabilitatsiooni järgselt paranesid oluliselt patsientide vaimuteooria (Theory of Mind) ja emotsioonide äratundmine, kasutati rohkem koostööoskuseid, verbaalset ja mitteverbaalset kommunikatsiooni ning pragmaatika oskuseid. Uuringute tugevuseks oli sajaprotsendiline ravisoostumus ning positiivne tagasiside. Olulised on töö käigus välja töötatud teaduspõhised sekkumisprotokollid ja uued tehnoloogiapõhised rehabilitatsioonimeetodid häirunud funktsioonide spetsiifiliseks raviks lastel.Children with acquired brain injury (ABI) need diagnosis of accompanying cognitive and socio-emotional deficits and neurorehabilitation to enhance their future academic success and quality of life. Neurorehabilitation is a systematic intervention designed to compensate for or remediate the impairments caused by brain injury. The main aim of the thesis was implementing new computer-based programs, multitouch-multiuser tabletops and virtual reality in cognitive and social neurorehabilitation for children with ABI. Rehabilitation designs were developed for the treatment of attention, visuospatial, and social competence deficits. 59 children aged 8–12 years with ABI diagnosis (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury or tic disorder) and 47 healthy controls participated. Study group patients completed 10 training sessions guided by therapists. Pre-intervention assessments, and outcome assessments immediately and 1.31 years after the rehabilitation were carried out. ForamenRehab computer-programme was adapted to children and intervention protocols were created for attention and visuospatial function remediation. For social deficit remediation, the structured neurorehabilitation model was created, composed of the main components of social competence with evaluation and intervention tools: Snowflake Multiteach Tabletop, Diamond Touch Table and virtual reality programmes. Pre-intervention assessments showed that children with ABI had significant deficits in attention, visuospatial abilities and social competence functions. Computer-based and virtual reality programs were effective in the remediation of cognitive deficits in patients. After training, the patients had improved performance in two attention (complex attention and tracking) and three visuospatial components (visual organization, visual attention and visuospatial perception). The positive training effect had preserved after 1.3 years in follow-up assessments. Additionally, after social deficit rehabilitation, the patients showed improvements in Theory of Mind and emotion recognition, and they used more cooperation, communication, and pragmatic skills. The patients’ compliance was 100% and feedback was positive for all three interventions. In sum, the developed evidence-based intervention protocols and new technology-based rehabilitation methods are important in the remediation of specific cognitive deficits in children.https://www.ester.ee/record=b528718

Review: Development and technical design of tangible user interfaces in wide-field areas of application

A tangible user interface or TUI connects physical objects and digital interfaces. It is more interactive and interesting for users than a classic graphic user interface. This article presents a descriptive overview of TUI's real-world applications sorted into ten main application areas-teaching of traditional subjects, medicine and psychology, programming, database development, music and arts, modeling of 3D objects, modeling in architecture, literature and storytelling, adjustable TUI solutions, and commercial TUI smart toys. The paper focuses on TUI's technical solutions and a description of technical constructions that influences the applicability of TUIs in the real world. Based on the review, the technical concept was divided into two main approaches: the sensory technical concept and technology based on a computer vision algorithm. The sensory technical concept is processed to use wireless technology, sensors, and feedback possibilities in TUI applications. The image processing approach is processed to a marker and markerless approach for object recognition, the use of cameras, and the use of computer vision platforms for TUI applications.Web of Science2113art. no. 425

Influence of technology on social interaction and play in autistic children

The social and communication differences associated with autism can make engaging in social play difficult for autistic children. However, it has been suggested that digital technologies could motivate or inspire autistic children to communicate with other people and engage in collaborative play. This conflicts with the increasing concerns from parents and practitioners around the impact of technologies on social interaction in children and young people, which could be exacerbated in autistic children due to the aforementioned difficulties in social interaction. This thesis includes five studies which aim to explore whether and how technology can provide opportunities for autistic children to engage in social play with peers. Chapter 1 outlines the context and rationale for exploring the influence of technology on social play and interaction in autistic children. In neurotypical children, technology is likely to have small or negligible effects on social development. A number of studies have shown that features of technology, such as the interface and the software design, can encourage social interaction. Autism is associated with social differences and difficulties in social interaction, and a number of technologies have been designed to teach or mediate social interaction in autistic children, with relative success. A further number of studies have suggested that autistic children are more likely to engage in social play and interaction when using digital technologies. Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of key issues in autism research and justifies some of the research methodologies chosen in the remainder of the thesis. Chapter 3 explored how educational practitioners used technology in classrooms with autistic students. In an online survey, practitioners said that they more frequently used technology to teach social skills to autistic students, rather than to facilitate peer interactions. Respondents also said that technologies such as smart boards, tablets, and computers were used more widely than more recently developed technologies, such as tangibles and robotics. These results were followed up by focus groups, where practitioners highlighted that different features of interfaces made children more aware of social partners and could sometimes encourage or inhibit interactions depending on children’s social interaction style and technological preferences. According to practitioners, children who were interested in technology would be more likely to socially benefit from it, than others who were less interested in technology. Chapters 4 and 5 reported on a design-based research study, in collaboration with educational practitioners, to explore the influence of different technologies and classroom environments on children’s social interactions and play. The main finding was that children interacted differently both with technologies and with other people, and that different apps and technological interfaces produced unique patterns of social interactions. Children engaged in more social play with peers while using the iPad and Code-A-Pillar technologies, and more social play with adults while using Osmo. Novelty appeared to have the strongest environmental influence on social interactions in digital environments, even more than creating collaborative spaces and having practitioners directing children’s social play. Chapters 6 and 7 compared social play and joint engagement in pairs of children while they played with digital and non-digital toys and explored the effect of enforced collaboration. The results showed that children engaged in more social play and joint engagement when using digital toys. Enforcing collaboration led to more interactive play and joint engagement in both digital and non-digital conditions. This suggests that technology itself can strongly mediate social interaction in autistic children, perhaps more than the children’s own interests and social interaction styles. Together, the studies within this thesis highlight that there are many ways in which autistic children engage with other people while using digital technologies, and many opportunities to foster these interactions in classroom settings. In conclusion, as summarised in chapter 8, technologies do influence social interaction in autistic children, but so do children’s social interaction styles and preferences, the wider classroom environment including adult roles, and so do particular technological interfaces and software. In terms of how technology mediates interaction, it can provide a socially inclusive space where children can jointly engage with others on devices and activities which interest them, provide an engaging environment where others can scaffold interaction (i.e. practitioners), or the technology itself can mediate child-led interactions through children’s interests

Investigation and development of a tangible technology framework for highly complex and abstract concepts

The ubiquitous integration of computer-supported learning tools within the educational domain has led educators to continuously seek effective technological platforms for teaching and learning. Overcoming the inherent limitations of traditional educational approaches, interactive and tangible computing platforms have consequently garnered increased interest in the pursuit of embedding active learning pedagogies within curricula. However, whilst Tangible User Interface (TUI) systems have been successfully developed to edutain children in various research contexts, TUI architectures have seen limited deployment towards more advanced educational pursuits. Thus, in contrast to current domain research, this study investigates the effectiveness and suitability of adopting TUI systems for enhancing the learning experience of abstract and complex computational science and technology-based concepts within higher educational institutions (HEI)s. Based on the proposal of a contextually apt TUI architecture, the research describes the design and development of eight distinct TUI frameworks embodying innovate interactive paradigms through tabletop peripherals, graphical design factors, and active tangible manipulatives. These computationally coupled design elements are evaluated through summative and formative experimental methodologies for their ability to aid in the effective teaching and learning of diverse threshold concepts experienced in computational science. In addition, through the design and adoption of a technology acceptance model for educational technology (TAM4Edu), the suitability of TUI frameworks in HEI education is empirically evaluated across a myriad of determinants for modelling students’ behavioural intention. In light of the statistically significant results obtained in both academic knowledge gain (μ = 25.8%) and student satisfaction (μ = 12.7%), the study outlines the affordances provided through TUI design for various constituents of active learning theories and modalities. Thus, based on an empirical and pedagogical analyses, a set of design guidelines is defined within this research to direct the effective development of TUI design elements for teaching and learning abstract threshold concepts in HEI adaptations

Proceedings of the 9th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2012)

The proceedings of the conferenc