ReDeCheck: An Automatic Layout Failure Checking Tool for Responsively Designed Web Pages

Since people frequently access websites with a wide variety of devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and desktops), developers need frameworks and tools for creating layouts that are useful at many viewport widths. While responsive web design (RWD) principles and frameworks facilitate the development of such sites, there is a lack of tools supporting the detection of failures in their layout. Since the quality assurance process for responsively designed websites is often manual, time-consuming, and error-prone, this paper presents ReDeCheck, an automated layout checking tool that alerts developers to both potential unintended regressions in responsive layout and common types of layout failure. In addition to summarizing ReDeCheck’s benefits, this paper explores two different usage scenarios for this tool that is publicly available on GitHub

Innovative Computer Technology in music based interventions for individuals with autism - Moving beyond traditional interactive music therapy techniques

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who exhibit developmental lim- itations in social-emotional interaction and communication, are widely reported to respond positively to music therapy interventions that incorporate active and im- provisational techniques. The fundamental elements of music have been shown to bypass both cognitive and language impairments to help facilitate communication skills, form social relationships and promote cognitive progression. In recent years, computer technologies such as mobile devices and interactive motion capture systems are being developed to provide new approaches to music interaction. When included into new or existing music interventions, digital technology can enhance the music playing experience and motivate children to interact differently with their environ- ment through providing novel and engaging approaches to music interaction and creativity. This review highlights the core symptoms of ASD and presents evidence that supports the use of music therapy techniques within the autistic population, underpinned by neurological studies reporting on benefits of musical intervention. Further to this, it is explained how new technologies such as mobile devices and multi-sensory computer systems can move beyond traditional music instruments to add additional dimensions to music therapy sessions. Finally suggestions of future research are made alongside considerations in designing new and novel auditory interventions

Computer-based technology and student engagement: a critical review of the literature

Computer-based technology has infiltrated many aspects of life and industry, yet there is little understanding of how it can be used to promote student engagement, a concept receiving strong attention in higher education due to its association with a number of positive academic outcomes. The purpose of this article is to present a critical review of the literature from the past 5 years related to how web-conferencing software, blogs, wikis, social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter), and digital games influence student engagement. We prefaced the findings with a substantive overview of student engagement definitions and indicators, which revealed three types of engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) that informed how we classified articles. Our findings suggest that digital games provide the most far-reaching influence across different types of student engagement, followed by web-conferencing and Facebook. Findings regarding wikis, blogs, and Twitter are less conclusive and significantly limited in number of studies conducted within the past 5 years. Overall, the findings provide preliminary support that computer-based technology influences student engagement, however, additional research is needed to confirm and build on these findings. We conclude the article by providing a list of recommendations for practice, with the intent of increasing understanding of how computer-based technology may be purposefully implemented to achieve the greatest gains in student engagement. © 2017, The Author(s)