Tsiopela D. & Jimoyiannis A. (2014). Pre-Vocational Skills Laboratory: Development and investigation of a Web-based environment for students with autism. (original) (raw)

Pre-vocational Skills Laboratory: Development and Investigation of a Web-based Environment for Students with Autism

Procedia Computer Science, 2014

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in educating children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a dynamic field linking both special education and learning technologies research areas. This paper reports on the design and development of Pre-Vocational Skills Laboratory, a Web-based learning environment aiming to support students with ASD towards developing pre-vocational skills. The first section addresses theoretical foundations regarding ICT applications in educating and supporting individuals with ASD. The key design features, the structure and the functionality of the system are analytically presented. Following, preliminary findings regarding an instructional intervention implemented in a special education school in Greece are also presented. The paper concludes that the environment can help students with autism to acquire pre-vocational skills, while the combination of multiple source data (observation notes, system log files and biofeedback data) can offer valuable information regarding the design of effective individualized interventions.

Importance of Computer-Aided Education for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2017

Education materials such as computers, tablets etc. used in the education of normally developing children starting from preschool , are also used in the education of the children with special needs, albeit inadequately. Computer-aided education has a significant potential in terms of increasing the educational experiences and facilitating the education of the children with special needs. Despite its limited use in our country, the said technology, which has been used in the western world for a long time, has become a tool that supports the academic skills of the individuals with special needs as well as facilitating their daily lives. In this study, literature related to the children/youth diagnosed with ASD were scanned and information has been compiled in such subjects; "the targets set to develop the skills of children/youth diagnosed with ASD through the usage of technologyaided education and the results, thereof, achieved; the content of the programmes that were applied and the differences between desk-based and computer-based education. Even though all the studies were case studies, the outcome shows that technology supported education brings out a more positive development. While obtaining information through the scanning of the said literature, face-to-face interviews were held and relevant questions were asked to the professional staff who work in the field of special education and deal with the children diagnosed with ASD in the TRNC, with the aim of finding out their perspective visa -vis the technology aided education of the children/youth diagnosed with ASD. This study aims to provide information, to parents and to experts who work in the domain of special education and to shed a light to researchers who will engage in future, more detailed studies.

Supporting Future Career of Autistic Learners via Technology: Design and Development of iBakery Courseware

Journal of Technical Education and Training

Education is an important thing which is needed by everyone. It could change and evolve based on what is happening at the present time. One of the biggest factors that influence education comes from the industrial side, known as Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0). There is a similar term in education known as Education 4.0 which follows the concept of IR 4.0. Education 4.0 focuses on responding to the needs of IR4.0 where human and technology are aligned to enable new possibilities (Hussin, 2018).There will be some inevitable shifts of replacing some of human workforces with technology, for example the robotic technology. This will eventually affect the next generation in terms of jobs availability, especially for special needs generation who already have limited choice of jobs. In Education 4.0, teaching and learning process focus more on the students instead of the teachers. The use of technology is crucial in Education 4.0 era in order to allow students to learn individually (Maria et al., 2018). Technology used in teaching and learning process could be in any form of courseware, mobile app, MOOC, interactive book, augmented reality, virtual reality, and many more. In order to implement Education 4.0 and follow the current trend of IR 4.0, technology should be used by every students including the special needs students. Special needs students vary based on their type of disorders and disabilities. This paper focuses on the Autistic students. Autism or known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a type of disorder related to brain development which affect the presence of social cognition, communication, and imagination (Keen, Reid & Arnone, 2010). The three impairments are considered as the most serious developmental disabilities which could be noticed within the first years of life (Noor, Shahbodin, & Pee, 2012).

Pre-vocational skills laboratory: designing interventions to improve employment skills for students with autism spectrum disorders

Universal Access in the Information Society, 2016

The use of information and communication technologies in educating children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a dynamic field linking both special education and learning technologies research areas. This paper reports on the development of pre-vocational skills laboratory (PVS-Lab), a Web-based learning environment aiming to support students with ASD towards developing pre-vocational and employment skills. The first section addresses theoretical foundations and the design framework of PVS-Lab, as well as the structure and the functionality of the system. Following a particular intervention is presented including the analysis of the engagement of an autistic student with PVS-Lab and his tutors' monitoring, based on a psychophysiological signal recording system. The paper concludes with the need to advance future research towards new learning environments that can help (a) students with autism to acquire pre-vocational skills, and (b) tutors to harness the potential of multiple forms of information (PVS-Lab system log files, psychophysiological data, video records and observation notes) towards designing effective individualized interventions.

THE USE OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE LEARNING DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) (Atena Editora)

THE USE OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE LEARNING DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) (Atena Editora), 2023

The present work entitled “Special Education: The use of assistive technologies for the development of learning in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)” addresses relevant aspects regarding the importance of inclusion in the educational system. We also address the importance of the participation of education professionals in this scenario, so that citizens can in fact be formed not only in the school context, but especially in society. In this context, the objective is to investigate the potential of assistive technologies as a tool for developing the learning of students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in regular education. Therefore, the methodology used in this work was a bibliographical research, through books and articles by renowned authors that clearly deal with the subject under study.

A Survey on Autism Spectrum Disorder and E-Learning

—Autism or mental imbalance is turmoil in the development and improvement of a mind or central nervous system that covers a huge range of skills, impairment and symptoms. The children who are experiencing autism (or mental imbalance) confront challenges in conveying and adjusting in the group as they experience difficulty in understanding what others feel and think. These days learning innovations changed instructive frameworks with amazing advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Moreover, when these innovations are accessible, reasonable and available, they speak to more than a change for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In this paper, a writing study and foundation study is done on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and E-Learning System for Autism Children.

Assistive Technology For Disabilities: A Case Study Of Autism In Teaching And Learning Outcomes

2016

The educational trajectory for future learning methods has changed from traditional learning in the classroom towards assistive technology strategies. The evolution of assistive technologies in the education setting has undergone enormous changes in terms of achieving teaching and learning outcomes, particularly for students with disabilities. A number of studies have highlighted new teaching techniques. There has been a trend in moving towards e-learning technologies in (Agarwal, 2012) and (Kemp, 2015), where those strategies were part of pedagogy techniques in teaching children with special needs. In the past few years, the increase in using assistive technologies such as tablet computers in education to support teaching and learning has led to innovation of more educational computer programs. Young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who suffer from a lack of social communication interaction and understanding of social pragmatisms, such as turn talking in conversation, ...

A Proposal for Multidisciplinary Software for People with Autism

Mobile Networks and Cloud Computing Convergence for Progressive Services and Applications

This chapter is about the study of treatments for autistic children and interventions of entertainment games with the purpose of developing a technological solution in order to promote a better adaptation between the autistic children and treatment, consequently showing better results in a shorter period of time. The multidisciplinary software for Autism treatment is being developed. It is based on PECs, ABA, and TEACCH methods, and it uses ludic games and activity interventions. Before applying technology to autism treatment, a deep study about autistic children is made. This way, concepts such as customization and the use of Kinect, Mobile (WP7), and Cloud Computer technologies take part as a stimulator system, since they are responsible for intensifying cognitive development and reducing the patient's excitement, aggressiveness, and irritability. www.igi-global.com/article/an-iot-based-framework-for-health-monitoringsystems/219360?camid=4v1a Cloud-Enabled Learning Environment: Optimizing Collaborative Pedagogies, Bridging the Digital Divide, and Enhancing Inclusive Learning Dilli Bikram Edingo (2017). Integration of Cloud Technologies in Digitally Networked Classrooms and Learning Communities (pp. 25-41).

Assistive Technology for an inclusive school for students with special needs, Autism Spectrum Disorders

SHS Web of ConferencesVolume: 139, 2022

The debate over autism and the research efforts to study, understand and confront the phenomenon more than often encounters theoretical and interpretive impasses that also reflect our inability to provide a coherent definition. This seems to be confirmed because we currently refer it to as a Spectrum. Dealing with the phenomenon is a challenge that puts the limits of numerous fields of knowledge and research programs to the test. Non exhaustively, these include many topics of medical research, psychology, language and communication fields, education, sociology, human rights issues, ethics and legal issues and eventually philosophy. Focusing to persons with physical disabilities technology has been always an assistive tool. However, in case of ASD, although some lines of research are focusing on the study of sensory defects, the cause seems to be hidden not only in perception but also in interpreting stimulus from the outside world. The employment of technology, particularly since we entered the digitization era, as an assistive tool in tackling the interpretation of the surrounding world, appears to be a borderline between our knowledge and the dark area of our ignorance. This implies that, for tackling the question, an interdisciplinary approach is required. The question that begs an answer is, which kind of assistive technology should be employed. The answer encounters the institutional and theoretical void that the stormy pace of the digital transformation and evolution has created. All the pillars holding the institutional framework of the modern era are under heavy pressure, while it is exactly this pace that has already destabilized many of them. One of the principal features of a postmodern society which is taking shape under the influence of the digital technology could be the crossing from the physical reality to the virtual realm. Another might be that different fields of knowledge, together with their protocols and communication jargon, are referred to the symbolic language. If the assumption holds entails the creation of hybrid knowledge which expands our physical world, which makes possible the intercommunication between isolated disciplinary fields. Indications shown that persons which fall in to the autism spectrum feel at ease dealing with digital entities in contrast to interaction with other people. People involved in the digital realm for long periods present similar characteristics to those in the autism spectrum. A question begging an answer is, could it be possible the creation of a virtual realm which going to act as the common loci between the so-called normality and the people in the autism spectrum. Following this question, we contact a preliminary study that traces the possibility of an interdisciplinary research program with the participation of experts from all the fields involved in many aspects that ASD presents.