Impact of mainstream classroom setting on attention of children with autism spectrum disorder: an eye-tracking study

It has long been reported that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit attention difficulties while learning. They tend to focus on irrelevant information and can easily be distracted. As a result, they are often confined to a one-to-one teaching environment, with fewer distractions and social interactions than would be present in a mainstream educational setting. In recent years, inclusive mainstream schools have been growing in popularity due to government policies on equality rights. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate attentional patterns of children with ASD in mainstream schools. This study aims to explore the attentional behaviors of children with ASD in a virtual reality simulated classroom. We analyzed four eye-gaze behaviors and performance scores of 45 children: children with ASD (ASD n = 20) and typically developing children (TD n = 25) when performing attention tasks. The gaze behaviors included time to first fixate (TTFF), first fixation duration (FFD), average fixation duration (AFD) and the sum of fixation count (SFC) on fourteen areas of interest (AOIs) in the classroom. Our results showed that children with ASD exhibit similar gaze behaviors to TD children, but with significantly lower performance scores and SFC on the target AOI. These findings showed that classroom settings can influence attentional patterns and the academic performance of children with ASD. Further studies are needed on different modalities for supporting the attention of children with ASD in a mainstream setting.

     

Using emotion recognition technologies to teach children with autism spectrum disorder how to identify and express emotions

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which since 2013 is considered as an umbrella term for several disorders such as autistic syndrome, Asperger’s disorder and pervasive developmental disorder, is characterized, among other aspects, by deficits in social-emotion reciprocity. This deficit manifests itself as a reduced sharing of emotions and an increased difficulty in interpreting emotions other people are feeling, which in the end leads to more impairments in social communication. Since it is possible to help a person with ASD (especially children) to improve their ability to understand and detect emotions, we have developed a proposal which integrates emotion recognition technologies, often used in the field of HCI, to try to overcome this difficulty. In this paper, we present a novel software application developed as a serious game to teach children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to identify and express emotions. The system incorporates cutting-edge technology to support novel interaction mechanisms based on tangible user interfaces (TUIs) and emotion recognition from facial expressions. In this way, children interact with the system in a natural way by simply grasping objects with their hands and using their faces. The system has been assessed on the premises of an association with children with ASD. The outcomes of the evaluation are very positive and support the validity of the proposal.

     

Hidden in plain sight: low-literacy adults in a developed country overcoming social and educational challenges through mobile learning support tools

Illiteracy is often associated with people in developing countries. However, an estimated 50 % of adults in a developed country such as Canada lack the literacy skills required to cope with the challenges of today’s society; for them, tasks such as reading, understanding, basic arithmetic, and using everyday items are a challenge. Many community-based organizations offer resources and support for these adults, yet overall functional literacy rates are not improving. This is due to a wide range of factors, such as poor retention of adult learners in literacy programs, obstacles in transferring the acquired skills from the classroom to the real life, personal attitudes toward learning, and the stigma of functional illiteracy. In our research we examined the opportunities afforded by personal mobile devices in providing learning and functional support to low-literacy adults. We present the findings of an exploratory study aimed at investigating the reception and adoption of a technological solution for adult learners. ALEX^© is a mobile application designed for use both in the classroom and in daily life in order to help low-literacy adults become increasingly literate and independent. Such a solution complements literacy programs by increasing users’ motivation and interest in learning, and raising their confidence levels both in their education pursuits and in facing the challenges of their daily lives. We also reflect on the challenges we faced in designing and conducting our research with two user groups (adults enrolled in literacy classes and in an essential skills program) and contrast the educational impact and attitudes toward such technology between these. Our conclusions present the lessons learned from our evaluations and the impact of the studies’ specific challenges on the outcome and uptake of such mobile assistive technologies in providing practical support to low-literacy adults in conjunction with literacy and essential skills training.     

基于位置服务的移动GIS

随着移动终端的普遍应用,无线通信技术和地理信息系统的飞速发展,基于位置的服务LBS（Location Based Service）与移动GIS（Geographic Information system）相结合的应用模式已成为研究热点,并且开拓了一个具有无限潜能的市场. 本文首先论述了基于位置服务的移动GIS的基本概念,探讨了Android开发平台的系统架构与基于LBS的移动GIS体系结构,在此基础上设计了一个基于android平台的移动GIS系统,该系统在传统移动GIS的基础上进行了改进,克服了传统移动GIS缺乏社交互动性的缺点,不仅能够实现准确的实时定位与轨迹记录查询,还能够与好友互相分享实时位置以及进行多人轨迹的同时追踪,可以用于对老人儿童等弱势群体进行实时监护,也可以用于企业员工、车辆的管理调度等.     

Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training for children with high functioning autism

Virtual reality appears to be a promising and motivating platform to safely practice and rehearse social skills for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the literature to date is subject to limitations in elucidating the effectiveness of these virtual reality interventions. This study investigated the impact of a Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training to enhance social skills in children with ASD. Thirty children between the ages of 7–16 diagnosed with ASD completed 10, 1-h sessions across 5 weeks. Three primary domains were measured pre-post: emotion recognition, social attribution, attention and executive function. Results revealed improvements on measures of emotion recognition, social attribution, and executive function of analogical reasoning. These preliminary findings suggest that the use of a virtual reality platform offers an effective treatment option for improving social impairments commonly found in ASD.     

Detecting stereotypical motor movements in the classroom using accelerometry and pattern recognition algorithms

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) frequently engage in stereotyped and repetitive motor movements. Automatically detecting these movements using comfortable, miniature wireless sensors could advance autism research and enable new intervention tools for the classroom that help children and their caregivers monitor, understand, and cope with this potentially problematic class of behavior. We present activity recognition results for stereotypical hand flapping and body rocking using accelerometer data collected wirelessly from six children with ASD repeatedly observed by experts in real classroom settings. An overall recognition accuracy of 88.6% (TP: 0.85; FP: 0.08) was achieved using three sensors. We also present pilot work in which non-experts use software on mobile phones to annotate stereotypical motor movements for classifier training. Preliminary results indicate that non-expert annotations for training can be as effective as expert annotations. Challenges encountered when applying machine learning to this domain, as well as implications for the development of real-time classroom interventions and research tools are discussed.     

Serious Game for Children with Autism to Learn Vocabulary: An Experimental Evaluation

The use of serious games (SGs) to provide intervention for various skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased in the recent years. However, the potential of these games has not been utilized to provide learning of vocabulary to children with ASD. In designing games for children with ASD, there is a need to consider components specifically from the perspectives of ASD and the generic components that can support from the theoretical, content, and game design aspects. In the absence of any existing framework to design games for children with ASD, this article first introduces a framework named serious game design framework (SGDF), constructed to provide support throughout the design process. This framework was constructed based on the extensive review of the literature on ASD and existing SGDFs. The article then focuses on the design and development of a SG prototype based on SGDF. An experimental evaluation prototype was conducted to examine the effectiveness using the withdrawal design of single-subject research design (SSRD) in improving the receptive identification of vocabulary items among children with autism before and after using the prototype. The receptive identification of vocabulary items is measured in terms of the number of correct responses given and the number of attempts made to identify the correct response. The pre- and post-evaluations of the SG prototype show that learning of vocabulary items among children with ASD improved after using the game and they retained items at the end of weeks 1 and 2 following the withdrawal of intervention.     

Audio-augmented paper for therapy and educational intervention for children with autistic spectrum disorder

Autism affects children׳s learning and social development. Commonly used rehabilitative treatments are aimed at stimulating the social skills of children with autism. In this article, we present a prototype and a pilot study on an audio-augmented paper to support the therapy of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The prototype supports audio recording with standard sheets of paper by using tangible tools that can be shared between the therapist and the child. The prototype is a tool for the therapist to engage the child in a storytelling activity. We use a progressive design method based on a dynamic process that merges concept generation, technology benchmarking and activity design into continuously enriching actions. The paper highlights the qualities and benefits of using tangible audio-augmented artefacts for therapy and educational intervention for children with ASD. The work describes three main qualities of our prototype: from building cooperation to attention control, flow control, and using the children׳s own voices to foster attention.     

A ‘blended’ in-service arrangement for classroom technology integration: impacts on teachers and students

Many studies report that the implementation of technology in education is a complex innovation. Particularly teachers lack skills to integrate technology in their instructional processes. Therefore the potential of technology in the classroom is hardly realized. Teacher learning on classroom use of technology is considered important. In this contribution a ‘blended’ in-service arrangement to support secondary school teachers in the integration of technology in their classroom is presented. The arrangement consisted of workshops, exemplary curriculum materials and computer mediated communication. The article describes and discusses two studies that applied and evaluated the ‘blended’ approach to teacher professional development. The results of both studies show that this seems a promising arrangement for supporting the integration of technology in education. However, realizing the potential of technology to create ‘communities of practice’ remains difficult because for most teachers this use of technology is yet not congruent with their daily routines.     

基于自然情绪感知下异常眼动轨迹的孤独症预测模型

孤独症谱系障碍(autism spectrum disorder,ASD)是一类以社会交流、刻板行为和狭隘兴趣为主要特征的神经发育障碍性疾病,致残率较高,严重影响着儿童的健康成长。ASD 主观临床诊断存在耗时长、主观性强等问题。因此,迫切需要一种快速、经济、有效的客观筛查方法。研究发现,ASD 儿童具有非典型的情绪视觉感知模式,有望将眼动追踪技术用于 ASD 的辅助诊断。该文提出一个在自然场景下,ASD 非典型情绪视觉感知模式结合机器学习的自动筛查 ASD 患者的模型。该模型可提取自然场景下感知情绪的眼动轨迹特征,通过机器学习模型进行建模,以实现根据眼动轨迹自动识别 ASD 患儿。实验结果表明,该方法的准确率为 79.71%,有望成为一种 ASD 儿童早期筛查的辅助工具。     

Design and development of a mobile peer-to-peer social networking application

The proliferation of wireless and mobile devices such as personal digital assistants and mobile phones has created a large demand for mobile software applications such as social networking software. In addition, the realization and widespread usage of peer-to-peer (P2P) networking have drastically increased the number of applications utilizing these technologies. The convergence of mobile and P2P networking have generated increasing interest in the mobile peer-to-peer (MP2P) community. In this paper, we describe the design and development of a mobile social software (MoSoSo) based on a P2P network architecture using Juxtapose (JXTA) and Juxtapose for Java MicroEdition (JXME). The MoSoSo application allows users to discover, communicate and share resources with one another. We present three facets of designing the MoSoSo: object-oriented software design, network infrastructure design, and user-interface design. The software has been fully implemented and tested on a variety of mobile devices for use in a campus setting. By studying the design and implementation of the MoSoSo, we hope to benefit the entire mobile application development community by providing common models and insights into developing MP2P software.     

基于Java 语言的移动端软件开发研究

移动设备的大量产生,使人们将目光转移到移动端软件开发当中,通过研发出各种各样的移动端软件,能够有效满足人们的生活、学习、生产需求,极大程度地推动了社会经济增长。本文对Java 语言在安卓系统软件开发中的应用优势进行探讨,分析了Java 语言对安卓系统软件架构的影响,并以加密软件的开发为例对基于Java 语言的移动端软件的开发流程进行了探讨。     

Multitouch tablet applications and activities to enhance the social skills of children with autism spectrum disorders

In spite of great improvements in early diagnosis and interventions, most children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are unlikely to live independently when they reach adulthood. We have been conducting research on novel computer-based interventions with the goal of promoting social skills. Working with 26 children with ASD, their teachers, and other stakeholders, we have iteratively developed a set of activities based on applications that run on multitouch tablets. Our observations suggest these activities increased pro-social behaviors such as collaboration and coordination, augmented appreciation for social activities, and provided children with novel forms of expression.     

“Making it real”: exploring the potential of augmented reality for teaching primary school science

The use of augmented reality (AR) in formal education could prove a key component in future learning environments that are richly populated with a blend of hardware and software applications. However, relatively little is known about the potential of this technology to support teaching and learning with groups of young children in the classroom. Analysis of teacher–child dialogue in a comparative study between use of an AR virtual mirror interface and more traditional science teaching methods for 10-year-old children, revealed that the children using AR were less engaged than those using traditional resources. We suggest four design requirements that need to be considered if AR is to be successfully adopted into classroom practice. These requirements are: flexible content that teachers can adapt to the needs of their children, guided exploration so learning opportunities can be maximised, in a limited time, and attention to the needs of institutional and curricular requirements.     

基于Android平台移动导航定位的研究与设计

随着无线网络技术的发展和Android平台移动智能终端的普及,各具特色的基于位置的服务应用接踵而至。由于全球定位系统GPS应用领域的不断延伸和扩展,传统的LBS仅限于单方位置信息呈现,已不能满足人们日益增长的社交网络需求,实现移动导航定位具有现实的意义,开发基于Android平台的LBS具有巨大潜力。本文提出一种新的LBS应用场景———移动导航定位,并结合Android平台应用程序开发的特点及结合百度Map API,借签C/S软件设计模式设计一款方便实用的移动导航定位应用系统。     

简析信息化背景下中职美术教学新模式的构建

当前美术教学主要围绕学生的审美能力、艺术想象力、绘画技巧、作品表现力等素养培育和提升展开,在实践中往往采用多元化的教学方式,注重和社会实际相结合,把产、学、研的职业教育理念融入其中,凸显美术教学的实用性价值。教学有效性被作为是中职美术教学的主要目标之一。多元的方式应用,包括目前多媒体教学为基础的信息化技术的广泛和深入应用。在目前互联网和计算机技术飞速发展的背景下,教师合理、充分地运用现代信息技术教学,通过构建更加活跃、多彩、丰富的课堂环境,打造全新的教学模式,进一步促进美术教学内容的灵活化、实用化和情感化,从而在增强学生的艺术专业素养,起到陶冶情操、缓释压力,培养兴趣,健全人格等多方面的功能。在多位一体的教学框架下,学生们的主观能动性被调动,将趣味教学融入美术教学中,推动中职美术课堂师生关系和谐构建,教学质、效持续提升的良性循环,针对信息化背景下如何更好地开展中职美术教学做出探析。     

Exploring the use of educational technology in primary education: Teachers' perception of mobile technology learning impacts and applications' use in the classroom

Mobile technology has become popular worldwide with a broad range of users, including students from all levels of education. Although the impact of mobile technology in classrooms has been extensively studied, less is known about teachers' perceptions of how mobile technology impacts in learning and its relation to Applications (Apps) use in the classroom. This state of affairs is problematic since we know that teachers' perceptions have a great influence on their teaching practices. This study used survey data gathered from 102 teachers of 12 different primary schools in Spain. The questionnaire collected data about teachers' individual information, teachers' perceptions on the impact of mobile technology in learning, and use of a set of selected Apps in the classroom. Findings suggest that facilitating access to information and increasing engagement to learning are the two main impacts of mobile technology in the classroom. Findings also show that the choice of Apps is related to the teachers' perception of how mobile technology impacts in learning. Findings could help teachers to take advantage of the combination of affordances of mobile technology and Apps that actually improve some aspects of learning practice.     

Computer supported collaborative writing in an early learning classroom

Abstract This paper describes a collaborative experiment in an early learners' classroom, equipped with special software and hardware to support the acquisition of initial reading and writing skills. This 'Computer-integrated Classroom' originated from the EU project NIMIS. Here, a new method to teach 'reading through writing' is supported by a specific software tool (T³) in the general framework of the classroom environment. Particularly, a collaborative writing task facilitated by a shared workspace system has been evaluated with a group of first graders using the T³ application. The speciality of this experiment lies in the study of domain-specific collaboration in a rich real world learning setting.     

Implementing collaborative learning activities in the classroom supported by one-to-one mobile computing: A design-based process

Mobile devices such as PDAs, smartphones and tablet computers are becoming increasingly popular, setting out opportunities for new ways of communicating and collaborating. Research initiatives have ascertained the potential of mobile devices in education, and particularly, the benefits of incorporating them in the classroom for eliciting collaborative learning and active student participation. However, the development of technology-supported learning environments poses challenges to education researchers, practitioners, and software technologists in creating educational tools that respond to real needs of instructors and learners, meet clearly defined didactic purposes, and are practical for the intended audience. This article reports on a technology for facilitating the implementation of collaborative learning environments in the classroom supported by one-to-one mobile computing. The approach encompasses a framework supporting the design and implementation of the mobile software, and a design-based process that guides interdisciplinary efforts utilizing the framework, towards creating effective pedagogical models based on collaborative learning. The proposed design-based process allowed us to develop pedagogical models that respond to real needs of learners and instructors, where development is grounded on rigorous scientific research, allowing to reuse both knowledge and software, and showing an improvement of the mobile software built based on continuous experimentation and evaluation. A case study illustrating the application of the technology is presented and plans for future research are discussed.     

移动互联网络安全认证及安全应用中关键技术研究简

随着社会的进步和发展,移动互联网在现代社会有了快速的发展,这在很大的程度上影响着人们的生活方式。由于移动互联网的开放性很强,这将导致在移动互联网的交流中可能会漏掉个人信息的一小部分,这就要求相关责任部门要充分做好信息的保护工作,尤其是对于需要保密的通信内容。本文主要通过对移动互联网网络认证的安全性和相关安全应用中关键技术的研究,充分考虑移动互联网的安全需求和面临的安全威胁,提出了切实可行的技术方案。并通过整个网络在实际中的应用,努力查找所存在的漏洞和问题。并能够确保在第一时间制定出较为合适的解决方案,与此同时,也要充分的考虑到移动互联网络安全认证及安全应用中关键技术研究。