An innovative serious game for the detection and rehabilitation of oral-facial malfunction in children: a pilot study

We present SONRIE, a serious game based on virtual reality and comprising four games which act as tests where children must perform gestures in order to progress through several screens (raising eyebrows, kissing, blowing, and smiling). The aims of this pilot study were to evaluate the overall acceptance of the game and the capacity for detecting anomalies in motor execution and, lastly, to establish motor control benchmarks in orofacial muscles. For this purpose, tests were performed in school settings with 96 typically developing children aged between five and seven years. Regarding the different games, in the kissing game, children were able to execute the correct movement at six years of age and a precise movement at the age of seven years. Blowing actions required more maturity, starting from the age of five and achievable by the age of six years. The smiling game was performed correctly among all ages evaluated. The percentage of children who mastered this gesture with both precision and speed was progressively greater reaching more than 75% of values above 100 for children aged seven years. SONRIE was accepted enthusiastically among the population under study. In the future, SONRIE could be used as a tool for detecting difficulties regarding self-control and for influencing performance and the ability to produce fine-tuned facial movements

A Virtual Environment to Improve the Detection of Oral-Facial Malfunction in Children with Cerebral Palsy

The importance of an early rehabilitation process in children with cerebral palsy (CP) is widely recognized. On the one hand, new and useful treatment tools such as rehabilitation systems based on interactive technologies have appeared for rehabilitation of gross motor movements. On the other hand, from the therapeutic point of view, performing rehabilitation exercises with the facial muscles can improve the swallowing process, the facial expression through the management of muscles in the face, and even the speech of children with cerebral palsy. However, it is difficult to find interactive games to improve the detection and evaluation of oral-facial musculature dysfunctions in children with CP. This paper describes a framework based on strategies developed for interactive serious games that is created both for typically developed children and children with disabilities. Four interactive games are the core of a Virtual Environment called SONRIE. This paper demonstrates the benefits of SONRIE to monitor children’s oral-facial difficulties. The next steps will focus on the validation of SONRIE to carry out the rehabilitation process of oral-facial musculature in children with cerebral palsy

Educación y futuro digital

Resumen basado en el de la publicaciónTítulo, resumen y palabras clave también en inglésLos proyectos de Aprendizaje-Servicio Solidario permiten desarrollar de manera activa competencias personales y académicas en los estudiantes universitarios. A continuación, se presenta un proyecto dirigido a los estudiantes de los Grados de Educación con el objetivo de formar en valores a escolares de Infantil a través del conocimiento y respeto a los animales como hilo conductor. El estudio (2013-2016) es transversal descriptivo con metodología mixta y diferentes instrumentos de recogida de información. Los resultados constatan el desarrollo de valores y percepciones positivas de los escolares hacia los animales, la transferencia de conocimientos y la adquisición de competencias en contextos reales.ES

Spanish Transcultural Adaptation and Validity of the Behavioral Inattention Test

Objective. To adapt, validate, and translate the Behavioral Inattention Test as an assessment tool for Spanish individuals with unilateral spatial neglect. Design. A cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting. University laboratories. Participants. A sample of 75 Spanish stroke patients and 18 healthy control subjects. Interventions. Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures. The Behavioral Inattention Test. Results. The Spanish version of the Behavioral Inattention Test shows a high degree of reliability both in the complete test (α = .90) and in the conventional (α = .93) and behavioral subtests (α = .75). The concurrent validity between the total conventional and behavioral scores was high (r=-.80; p<0.001). Significant differences were found between patients with and without unilateral spatial neglect (p<0.001). In the comparison between right and left damaged sides, differences were found in all items, except for article reading (p=0.156) and card sorting (p=0.117). Conclusions. This measure is a useful tool for evaluating unilateral spatial neglect as it provides information on everyday problems. The BIT discriminates between stroke patients with and without unilateral spatial neglect. This measure constitutes a reliable tool for the diagnosis, planning, performance, and design of specific treatment programs intended to improve the functionality and quality of life of people with unilateral spatial neglect

Serious Game for the Screening of Central Auditory Processing Disorder in School-Age Children: Development and Validation Study

BackgroundCurrently, many central auditory processing disorder screening tests are available for children, and serious games (SGs) are frequently used as a tool for the diagnosis of different neural deficits and disorders in health care. However, it has not been possible to find a proposal that unifies both ideas. In addition, the validation and improvement of SGs, in general, does not take into account the player-game interaction, thus omitting valuable information about the playability and usability of the game. ObjectiveThis study presented Amalia’s Planet, a game conceived for use in school environments, which allows a first assessment of a child through their performance of the proposed tasks related to different aspects of auditory performance. In addition, the game defines a series of events in relation to the execution of the tasks, which were evaluated for the subsequent optimization of its performance and the improvement of its usability. MethodsUsing screening tools based on the use of SG technologies, a total of 87 school-age children were evaluated to test the various hypotheses proposed in this study. By grouping users according to whether they had personal history of hearing pathologies, the discriminant power, playability, and usability of the final solution were examined using traditional statistical techniques and process mining (PM) algorithms. ResultsWith a confidence level of 80% for test 2 (P=.19), there was no statistical evidence to reject the null hypothesis that a player’s performance is affected by whether the player had a previous auditory pathology. Furthermore, the tool allowed the screening of 2 players initially categorized as healthy because of their low level of performance in the tests and the similarity of their behavior with that of the group of children with a previous pathology. With regard to the validation of the proposed solution, the use of PM techniques made it possible to detect the existence of events that lasted too long, which can lead to player frustration, and to discover small structural flaws in the game. ConclusionsSGs seem to be an appropriate tool for the screening of children at risk of central auditory processing disorder. Moreover, the set of PM techniques provides a reliable source of information regarding the playability and usability of the solution to the development team, allowing its continuous optimization

Spanish Transcultural Adaptation and Validity of the Behavioral Inattention Test

Objective. To adapt, validate, and translate the Behavioral Inattention Test as an assessment tool for Spanish individuals with unilateral spatial neglect. Design. A cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting. University laboratories. Participants. A sample of 75 Spanish stroke patients and 18 healthy control subjects. Interventions. Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures. The Behavioral Inattention Test. Results. The Spanish version of the Behavioral Inattention Test shows a high degree of reliability both in the complete test ( = .90) and in the conventional ( = .93) and behavioral subtests ( = .75). The concurrent validity between the total conventional and behavioral scores was high ( = −.80; &lt; 0.001). Significant differences were found between patients with and without unilateral spatial neglect ( &lt; 0.001). In the comparison between right and left damaged sides, differences were found in all items, except for article reading ( = 0.156) and card sorting ( = 0.117). Conclusions. This measure is a useful tool for evaluating unilateral spatial neglect as it provides information on everyday problems. The BIT discriminates between stroke patients with and without unilateral spatial neglect. This measure constitutes a reliable tool for the diagnosis, planning, performance, and design of specific treatment programs intended to improve the functionality and quality of life of people with unilateral spatial neglect

Prospective One-Year Follow-Up of Sensory Processing in Phelan–McDermid Syndrome

Background: Phelan–McDermid syndrome (PMS) is caused by the loss (deletion) of a small portion of chromosome 22 in a region designated q13.3 (22q13.3 deletion). PMS is one of the most common genetic forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in which sensory reactivity difficulties have been described on limited occasions. Methods: The objective of this study is to identify whether changes in sensory reactivity skills occur after one year of follow-up in a group of 44 participants diagnosed with PMS. All participants completed the Short Sensory Profile (SSP). Two-factor ANOVA tests were performed with repeated measures for the study of the evolution of the scores. Results: Participants with PMS showed significant changes after one year of follow-up in sensory reactivity skills associated with tactile hyperreactivity (p = 0.003). The rest of the study variables did not show significant differences compared to the baseline assessment, showing definite differences associated with patterns of hypo-responsiveness and sensory seeking, low/weak energy, and difficulties in auditory filtering. Conclusions: Understanding the evolution of sensory reactivity skills can facilitate the adjustment to behavioral changes in people with PMS and design-targeted interventions to address sensory reactivity challenges

A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study of Manipulative Dexterity on Different Subtypes of Multiple Sclerosis

Background. Manipulative dexterity impairments affect 76% of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). Patients with MS can experience reduced skill when performing both basic activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Many studies consider that physical rehabilitation leads to a decrease in the level of disability, especially at the mild and moderate stages of the disease. However, most studies fail to distinguish between the different MS subtypes. Purpose. Our aims were (1) to describe the manipulative skills of people according to the different subtypes of MS, (2) to analyze the correlation between dexterity and self-perception variables, and (3) to identify possible predictors of functionality. Study Design. A descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods. 30 individuals with MS. The measurement tools used were the ABILHAND, the Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT), the Nine-Hole Peg Test, and the Box and Block Test. Results. All subtypes of MS obtained lower scores for manipulative dexterity compared to normal skill levels, with individuals with primary progressive MS displaying the lowest values. However, the analysis of differences between the different subtypes did not reveal statistically significant intragroup differences. In addition, differences were found regarding the effect size of practically all the variables analyzed for both manipulative dexterity (PPT, NHPT, and BBT) and the self-perception of ADLs (ABILHAND), for which high values (dr=0.72) and very high values (dr=1.46) were obtained. Conclusions. Although no significant differences were found between the different types of MS, the assessment of manual dexterity and perceived efficacy of daily activities must be considered as prognostic factors in the progression of the disease. These findings may help support further research on targeted interventions to improve dexterity deficiencies, as well as promote an improved quality of therapeutic interventions

Modelos de administración y gestión, políticas y metodologías, en materia de e-learning para la enseñanza en la universidad pública española

Proyecto elaborado en el ámbito de la 'III convocatoria de ayudas a la innovación educativa: convocatoria para el desarrollo y participación en proyectos de innovación educativa y mejora de la calidad docente, curso 2007-2008'No existe un modelo estándar, ni aproximaciones pedagógicas, tecnológicas u organizativas únicas al e-learning. Por ello es necesario determinar cuáles son los elementos que definen la elección de un modelo u otro para su aplicación al ámbito de la educación superior. En este sentido se ofrece una aproximación a los distintos modelos existentes de e-learning para, a continuación, realizar un estudio sobre el aprendizaje derivado del uso de estos modelos: aprendizaje significativo, aprendizaje basado en problemas, aprendizaje basado en proyectos, y aprendizaje basado en casos. Por último, se ofrece un apartado en el que se describe la situación del e-learning en la Universidad pública española, se proponen modelos de evaluación del e-learning y se dan herramientas para la acción docente y para la gestión de modelos en el ámbito universitario.MadridBiblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín 5 -3 Planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; [email protected]