Link to TechPsych Post: Laying the Groundwork for Interactive Video Activities for Students with Special Needs: Community Places Road Trip

If you follow the link, you can see the first "draft" of the video.  My goal is to transform the linear video into an interactive video, with hot spots and links:


Laying the Groundwork for Interactive Video: Activities for Students with Special Needs: Community Places Road Trip

Note:  This was my first time trying to shoot video of buildings and signs from a convertible car with the top down ; )

Social Thinking blog - Great post from Michelle Winner's Blog

We're planning an application for a multi-touch SMART Table at one of my schools, and one of the goals is to ensure that it can facilitate social interaction among students with and without disabilties, including autism.  Keeping this in mind, one of my colleages sent me an email a minute ago with a link to a great post by Michelle Winner's blog about social thinking and "inclusion" vs "integration" in education settings.  It is worth a read!

http://www.socialthinking.com/michelles-blog/social-skills-for-an-integrated-setting.html

Exploring high quality, low-cost, and opensource eyegaze, and face tracking technologies:

Update:  More information about this topic is posted on the TechPsych blog.

I'm working with a few students who have multiple special needs who are in need of assistive communication technologies that are not expensive. Although my first idea was to look at eye gaze technology, the possibility of face tracking is also appealing. Take a look at the following video from SeeingMachines, a commercial company:



I have a couple of webcams, and I don't mind a trip to RadioShack. I can program a bit, too, but I have very limited time. I welcome any advice you might have.

DigiBoard Multi-Touch Mixed Reality Game; Ideas for future design of a flexible, adjustable multi-touch surface..

This video is a demo of a multi-touch table, called the DigiBoard, running a game application called "Tower Defense". This multi-modal game takes input from physical tokens, touch, and provides auditory feedback.

According to the credits on the video-clip, the creators of this application were Andreas Hesel, Birna Run Olafsdottir, Dann Sandgreen, and Osk Hilmarsdottir. When I can track down more information about this group, I'll post it!

For more information about interactive display technologies, see Gizmo Watch's Top 15 Interactive Display Technologies. The list is full of photos and video clips of a variety of systems. It was created last year, so it might need some updating.

I am still looking for some examples of good multi-touch table games for use in education. I've created a few prototypes that are not fully fleshed out over the past year, but I haven't had the time or money to build the type of adjustable table that I want.

I'd like my table surface to adjust horizontally, vertically, and angles in-between, like a drafting table. I don't want my table to rely on a projector, since I don't want unnecessary occlusion. A rear-projection system would be heavy and bulky. My design is light and sleek, and it is mobile.

The advantage of an adjustable design is that it allows for flexibility in use, within a single environment, and across a variety of settings. It could work well in schools, libraries, museums, convention centers, exhibit halls, hospitals, visitor centers, airports, public transportation stations, board rooms, data centers, malls, supermarkets, community centers, coffee houses...just about anywhere.

I've written about this topic a few times. For more information, see "Emerging Interactive Technologies, Emerging Interactions, and Emerging Integrated Form Factors"

If you know of anyone who is creating an adjustable, multi-functional touch surface, please let me know.

I am playing around with ideas for a suite of multi-modal, adaptive game for use with young people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, and others who have special needs. A stationary surface would not provide the flexibility my applications will require.

Chill in an on-line 3d tropical paradise from Unity3d

Unity Technologies (Unity3d) is the company behind multi-platform game development company that offers an on-line demo of a 3d tropical paradise environment. This large virtual world is complete with palm trees and grasses that move with the virtual breezes, birds who chirp as they fly over tree-tops, and an interesting terrain that includes mountains, walking paths, a river, brush, and the seashore. Access to Tropical Paradise is free, but the Unity Web Player is required, which can be downloaded from the Unity3d website.

As I explored Tropical Paradise, I noticed that it had a soothing, calming effect on me as a wandered about. It might be a good tool to use for children and teens who get anxious or stressed. It might also be soothing for young people who have autism spectrum disorders. If you work with young people with special needs or have problems with stress and anxiety, consider adding this resource to your toolbox. Try using it on an interactive whiteboard or display if you have the chance, and let me know what you think!

Online 3D Tropical Paradise

Unity Web Player download

The second demo might be good for students who are angry and need to let off some steam. In the Shadow and Light Interactive Room, you can drag and throw the furniture around, turn the lights on and off, and explore the rooms.

If you are thinking about creating virtual worlds or interactive 3D games, Unity3D is an option. Unity is a multi-platform game development tool that provides an easy-to-use interface that provides a less complicated way to make 3D multi-user environments and interactive games that can be deployed, explored, or played on the web. It allows for streaming audio and video, terrain generation, realistic shadows and light, a shader system, a physics engine, and scripting/programming in .NET C# and JavaScript.

Post about CITEd's multimedia instruction of social skills and related links.

The Center for Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd ) is a website with a wealth of information about technology and education. I particularly like the section that focuses on the use of multimedia for social skills instruction. Take a look at my post on the TechPsych blog for more information and links.

Link to post: How to use FireFox to use internet resources off-line

If you use digital media with students with special needs and you have limited Internet access, you are not alone. Kay, the author of the "Teaching Students with Multiple Special Needs", on a recent post, shares a way to use FireFox to use internet resources online. You can check out my recent TechPsych post on the topic, or access Kay's original post here.