Adaptive Computer Technology Research Articles

Адаптивные компьютерные технологии как средство эффективного обучения детей с особыми образовательными потребностями

The article discusses the main types of adaptive computer technologies that can be used for educational purposes, including to improve visual perception in children with special educational needs. The features of the use of adaptive technologies depending on nosology and special educational needs are revealed.

Adaptive Computer Technologies for Solving Problems of Computational and Applied Mathematics

Adaptive Computer Technologies for Solving Problems of Computational and Applied Mathematics

Deeper Learning With Advances in Discourse Science and Technology

The need for improving learning at deeper levels has been recognized in the national and international arena because language literacy, numeracy, and other core skills will not go the distance in handling 21st-century tasks. The challenge is aggravated by major gaps in school curricula and professional development of instructors. There is inadequate training of strategies for comprehending technical material, generating inferences, metacognition, integrating information from multiple documents, detecting misinformation, self-regulated learning, communicating through different media, collaborative problem solving, and other 21st-century skills. Some of these gaps can be filled with advances in discourse science and technology. Discourse scientists have identified the mental representations and processing mechanisms associated with different discourse levels. These levels stretch beyond word decomposition, vocabulary, and syntax (called basic literacy skills) into the deeper realms of semantics, situation (mental) models, rhetorical structure, and pragmatics. Computer tools automatically scale discourse on many levels so that individuals can get immediate multilevel feedback on text complexity, essay quality, and answers to questions. Discourse scientists have also identified effective strategies for training students how to improve comprehension of difficult material and mastery of a broad array of 21st-century competencies. These strategies have been implemented in intelligent, adaptive computer technologies, including those with conversational agents that take on different roles (e.g., peers, tutors, mentors). Future challenges lie in creating a curriculum for 21st-century skills that embrace discourse science and in scaling up discourse technologies that facilitate deeper learning.

Accessible Computer Technologies for Students With Disabilities in Canadian Higher Education

Two studies explored how well English and French speaking colleges and universities in Canada address availability and access to new computer and information technologies for individuals with disabilities. In Study 1, 156 professionals who provide disability-related supports on campus responded to structured interview questions. In Study 2, 40 professionals who work in Quebec's Francophone junior/community college system (CEGEP) participated. Results showed that most institutions had specialized adaptive computer equipment, though colleges were less likely than universities, and loan programs providing adaptive computer equipment were seen as very effective. Respondents believed they were not very knowledgeable about adaptive computer technologies and those from Francophone institutions scored lower than from Anglophone institutions. The needs of students were seen as moderately well met, with Francophone respondents more favorable than Anglophone. Respondents from Anglophone universities expressed different needs than those from Anglophone colleges or Francophone institutions. Disability service providers wished students were better equipped and prepared for the postsecondary experience, computer based teaching materials used by professors were more accessible, and more extensive support services for adaptive hardware and software available. We provide recommendations based on universal design principles that are targeted at those involved in technology integration in postsecondary education.

A survey of the adaptive computer technology literacy for in-service special education teachers in Taiwan.

*Address for correspondence: National Taiwan Normal University, 162 Ho-Ping E. Road, 1st Sec., Tai-Pei, Taiwan 106, Taiwan. Tel: +886 2 23622841; fax: +886 2 23512772; e-mail: [email protected]

Dialoguing with developers and suppliers of adaptive computer technologies: Data and recommendations

The authors report on findings on computer technology needs and concerns of 725 Canadian college and university students with a wide range of disabilities. The vast majority of this sample population uses computers and almost half need an adaptation to use computers effectively. The authors provide information about computer technologies used by students with different disabilities, describe adaptations/adaptive computer technologies that students find useful, report issues faced by users and non-users of computers in postsecondary education, and discuss reasons why students are not using needed adaptations/adaptive technology. Based on these findings, the authors provide recommendations for adaptive computer hardware and software developers and vendors.

What government, agencies, and organizations can do to improve access to computers for postsecondary students with disabilities: recommendations based on Canadian empirical data.

Computer, information and adaptive computer technologies have the potential to enhance the lives of people with disabilities but also to deny them equality of access to education, jobs, and community life. In a series of three studies we investigated the computer technology needs and concerns of approximately 800 postsecondary students with disabilities. Our data show that the vast majority of college and university students, regardless of sex, age, programme of study, or type of disability, can and do use computer technologies to help them succeed. A variety of government and non-governmental organizations provide computer supports for postsecondary students with disabilities. Here, we describe key aspects of our findings concerning what these organizations can do to improve the availability of technologies to students with disabilities in postsecondary education and formulate recommendations based on an environmental barriers perspective on disability. Although the research is focused on the experiences of Canadians, many of the findings and recommendations are relevant for other countries.

Adaptive computer examination system in prophylactic medical examination of pregnants

The experience of using in obstetric practice the adaptive computer technologies which make it possible to come to the true management decision is shown. The quality of diagnosis and prediction of pathologic states of pregnants increases, the risk groups are revealed more operative in using the examination system.

The Public Electronic Library: Making resources more accessible

Outlines the issues facing those providing access through networked CD‐ROM databases, looking in particular at the limitations to users. Profiles the University of Wisconsin‘s solutions to these problems include the use of tape loading onto several computers and the implementation of a Silver Platter ERL server. Looks at the issues these solutions caused. Assesses Adaptive Computer Technologies in General Library Systems and mentions areas for future development.

The Internet and the education of students with disabilities

The Internet is being used increasingly as an instructional tool at all educational levels and in most academic disciplines. Students can access exciting instructional materials from laboratories, monitor ongoing scientific experiments and events, and exchange data and ideas with other students from around the world. Students with disabilities can benefit from the use of the Internet in schools when adaptive computer technology is available and the materials being accessed and exchanged are accessible. Applications of the Internet for the education of students with disabilities that deserve special attention include: (j) collaborative learning; (ii) independent access to information and educational resources; (iii) mentoring and peer support; (iv) use of specially dedicated Web sites; (v) on-line distance education; and (vi) interaction in virtual educational environments and activities. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

ABC of medical computing. Adaptive computer technology.

People with a wide range of disabilities may be helped by adapting computer technology to suit their needs. In many cases, only relatively simple modifications are needed to allow disabled people to use standard computers at home or at work. In more severe cases computers can be adapted to allow disabled people who cannot move, see, or speak to communicate effectively. For example, Professor Stephen Hawking, who has been severely disabled with motor neurone disease for many years, has written dozens of papers and a best selling book with the help of this type of technology. Furthermore, he lectures and regularly speaks on both radio and television programmes. To allow him to do this, his wheelchair has been fitted with a battery powered computer linked to a sensitive microswitch. Small hand movements are used to select words on a VDU screen mounted on the arm of his wheelchair. These words can be assembled into documents, which can be printed out later or can be fed into a speech synthesiser that reads and then speaks the phrases that he has created. Professor Stephen Hawking uses adaptive computer technology to communicate. (Photograph supplied by Manni Masons Pictures.) #### Conditions that may be helped by adaptive computer technology ##### Sensory ##### Neurological ##### Other Special hardware and software are now available that can accommodate most disabilities and allow disabled people to use all the functions of a computer. It is no longer necessary for the user to sit upright in front of a screen or even to be able to read a screen. Keyboards can be modified or replaced altogether with speech recognition technology. The now familiar mouse, which is extensively used in graphical user interfaces such as Windows, can …

Boon or bust? Access to electronic publishing by individuals using adaptive computer technology

Technological innovations have been a mixed blessing for people with disabilities: they can provide a means of achieving equity, or a further barrier between them and the information explosion. This article explores how people with disabilities use computer technology, as well as the issues involved in using this technology to access electronically published materials. Information is also provided on how libraries can move toward making their computing environments maximally usable by all patrons, regardless of ability. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

CAPS—Communication and Access to information for Persons with Special needs

The SGML community is perfectly aware of the benefits International Standards bring to the interchange of digital information, especially when that information is textual in form. What the same community may be less aware of is the enormous group of individuals who have no access to such information because of visual disability. This paper will describe the efforts of a European Community funded project CAPS (Communication and Access to information for People with Special needs), to use SGML and its associated standards to fulfill the belief "that advancing computer based publishing and through adaptive computer technology for persons with disabilities offers the potential to make printed information accessible simultaneously and at no greater cost than the able bodied community enjoys."The paper will go on to describe how SGML has been used to define a DTD for the European Interchange Format (EIF) to enable print disabled access to newspapers

Access to Computers for Older Adults: Problems and Solutions

Activity that involves a personal computer is a valuable modality for the rehabilitation of older adults. The therapist without specialized training, however, may have difficulty integrating computer use with adults with chronic health problems that impede such use. The purpose of this paper was to describe positioning, visual access, and input problems that may interfere with computer access and to identify solutions for use by the occupational therapist. Through a review of occupational therapy and adaptive computer literature, resources for adaptive computer hardware, software, and positioning devices are identified. Examples of how computer activities can be integrated into existing nursing home, day-care, and home-care programs are provided. Recommendations are made for training for the occupational therapist with limited experience with personal computers and adaptive computer technology.

Training Students in Adaptive Computer Technology

Adaptive computer training is a basic component of literacy for visually impaired people—not just a requirement for job placement. This article discusses models for training in adaptive computer technology, both individualized training for specific jobs and group training for general education. Case histories of students illustrate the benefits derived from training in class settings, including increased competence, self-esteem, and awareness of career options.