A proposed framework of an interactive semi-virtual environment for enhanced education of children with autism spectrum disorders

Education of people with special needs has recently been considered as a key element in the field of medical education. Recent development in the area of information and communication technologies may enable development of collaborative interactive environments which facilitate early stage education and provide specialists with robust tools indicating the person's autism spectrum disorder level. Towards the goal of establishing an enhanced learning environment for children with autism this paper attempts to provide a framework of a semi-controlled real-world environment used for the daily education of an autistic person according to the scenarios selected by the specialists. The proposed framework employs both real-world objects and virtual environments equipped with humanoids able to provide emotional feedback and to demonstrate empathy. Potential examples and usage scenarios for such environments are also described

Investigating the Learning Impact of Game-based Learning when Teaching Science to Children with Special Learning Needs

International audienceIn an attempt to find solutions to the current challenges faced by children with special needs, new teaching and learning methodologies that make us of various technologies such as 3D computer based games, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality enhanced learning have been proposed to be used in the classroom. The technology can enhance the lives of children with learning disabilities and gives then options of intervening in their various educational and cognitive problems. The paper presents a research study on learner experience when a new interactive educational 3D video game called Final Frontier, was used in a secondary school from Romania by children with hearing impairment. Pre-and Post-tests results analysis has shown that the game helped the children to acquire knowledge on the Solar system. It was also noticed that an interactive game-based learning approach is more suitable for children with disabilities than an interactive exploratory based digital library method

ICT research bursaries : a compendium of research reports a report on the ICT Research Bursaries 2002–03

An assessment of the ways in which teachers evaluate software, Bridging the gap: ICT in the transition year, Colouring outside the lines: research into the potential of using new digital technologies to increase home-school interactivity in a conductive education environment, The development and use of a computer-based model for assessing thinking skills, The Hedley Walter High School: cultural change in learning through the use of new technologies, ICT and subject literacies: a study of the relationship between ICT and subject literacies in the secondary school, An investigation into the visual and kinaesthetic affordances of interactive whiteboards, Making IT happen: patterns of ICT use among a group of UK school staff, Networking success: an investigation of the effectiveness of the Birmingham Grid for Learning's ICT Research Network, The Ripple Project: the whole school impact of conducting learner-centred ICT projects in infant classrooms, The use of interactive whiteboards in the primary school: effects on pedagogy, Video conferencing in the mathematics lesson, Trainee teachers and 'impact' learning: A study of trainees' views on what helps them to use ICT effectively in their subject teaching, An investigation of how different ways of presenting information using ICT may affect children's thinking, New Opportunities Funding: Did it work? A follow-up to NOF training, The HomE-Work Project, e-Learning in broadband-connected classrooms, Digital video and bilingual children with special educational needs: Supporting literacy activities, Sustainability and evolution of ICT-supported classroom practice, The impact of prior technological experiences on children's ability to use play as a medium for developing capability with new ICT tools, How can the use of an interactive whiteboard enhance the nature of teaching and learning in secondary mathematics and modern foreign languages?, Already at a disadvantage? ICT in the home and children's preparation for primary school, The impact of technology on children with physical disabilities: an evaluative case study at a special school in the West Midlands, Bedding in: factors that facilitate implementation and integration of ICT in classroom practice, Developing a networked learning community with ICT - learning the hard way, Exploring the elements that make an effective web-based science lesso

ChilDiBu – A Mobile Application for Bulgarian Children with Special Educational Needs

Designing applications adapted to the capabilities of each user is an important part of modern software engineering. Children with Autism spectrum disorder and/or intellectual disabilities are a special group of users where standard application design is not a good approach. Some of them have speech disorders; others have disorders of the musculoskeletal system and in their cognitive development. In the literature, these children are referred to as children with special educational needs. Only a few researchers are involved in the development of various computer technologies, including mobile applications appropriate for these children. Some specialized mobile applications for these users can be found in the different mobile stores. However, most of these apps are rather expensive or with inappropriate user interfaces. Another disadvantage in all the apps is the lack of support in the Bulgarian language. It makes them unusable for the youngest users with special needs in Bulgaria. A conceptual model based on the investigation of some existing applications, the well-established theoretical practices, and on the opinion of children without disorders is proposed in this paper. An approach to designing and developing the interactive mobile application ChilDiBu for children with special needs, suitable for the Windows Phone mobile operating system, is presented. ChilDiBu is a picture-based app that combines graphic images, texts and audio files which can be used to learn the Bulgarian alphabet, the numbers up to 20, some basic colors and the daily activities that children perform. The application is focused on the development of the fine motor skills, observation and decision-making skills which is completed with a puzzle for arranging the two-digit numbers. At the end of the paper the app interface, the way it is used and its app architecture are shown

MIE 2017: 1st international workshop on multimodal interaction for education (workshop summary)

The International Workshop on Multimodal Interaction for Education aims at investigating how multimodal interactive systems, firmly grounded on psychophysical, psychological, and pedagogical bases, can be designed, developed, and exploited for enhancing teaching and learning processes in different learning environments, with a special focus on children in the classroom. Whilst the usage of multisensory technologies in the education area is rapidly expanding, the need for solid scientific bases, design guidelines, and appropriate procedures for evaluation is emerging. Moreover, the introduction of multimodal interactive systems in the learning environment needs to develop at the same time suitable pedagogical paradigms. This workshop aims at bringing together researchers and practitioners from different disciplines, including pedagogy, psychology, psychophysics, and computer science - with a particular focus on human-computer interaction, affective computing, and social signal processing - to discuss such challenges under a multidisciplinary perspective. The workshop is partially supported by the EU-H2020-ICT Project weDRAW (http://www.wedraw.eu)

Use of a Simulated-Virtual Training Module to Improve Dental Hygiene Students\u27 Self-Reported Knowledge, Attitudes, and Confidence in Providing Care to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

Purpose: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder affecting an individual\u27s ability to communicate, interact, behave, and learn. The purpose of this study was to determine knowledge, attitudes, and confidence of dental hygiene students in providing care to children with ASD as a mechanism for evaluating dental hygiene curricula for patients with special needs. Methods: A simulated-virtual training (SVT) intervention was developed as an interactive approach for educating dental hygiene students on providing care to a child patient with ASD. The SVT intervention consisted of a scenario in which the clinician interacted with a child with ASD who was having difficulty in the dental environment. Pre- and post-test surveys measured students\u27 knowledge, attitudes, and perceived confidence related to providing dental hygiene services to children with ASD prior to and following the intervention. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank was used to determine statistical significance at the p=.05 level. Results: Thirty-three second year dental hygiene students completed the pre- and post-test surveys for a response rate of 97%. Statistically significant differences were observed for self-reported confidence to provide care to patients with ASD upon graduation, assessment of the unique needs of children with ASD, and an understanding of the dental needs for children with ASD (p\u3c0.05). Participants\u27 confidence with performing dental hygiene services on children with ASD greatly increased, with statistically significant difference found for almost all services (i.e., oral exam, oral hygiene instruction, oral photos, radiographs, scaling, fluoride treatment; p\u3c0.05) except selective polishing. Most (90%) agreed that there is a need for additional/elective resources to help increase comfort in providing care to children with ASD. Conclusion: Results indicate the SVT intervention increased students\u27 knowledge, attitudes, self-perceived confidence, and comfort. Dental and dental hygiene curricula could include technologies and intervention methods to advance access to dental care by children with ASD

Enhancing the Multisensory Environment with Adaptive Game Audio Techniques

Two workshop case studies are described that document the potential for applying novel approaches to the use of technology in multisensory environments. In contrast to current trends, the environments were regarded as a space within which to work rather than as a given set of technologies. Stimulating interactive story-worlds were enabled for groups of children with mixed Special Educational Needs where technology could empower the different groups to affect the environment as a whole. Arts-based leadership experience was regarded as key within the studies as were methods for moving beyond passive modes of interaction with sound and music. A novel approach to creating interactive ‘soundtracks’ is described that takes adaptive techniques from computer game audio and applies these within a physical space