Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress International Special Education Conference Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity? 1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland

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ICT for Inclusion:
A Practical Model for high-quality media-rich motivation

Stuart Randall
27, Sunnyside Ave, Wilpshire, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 9LW
Stuart_randall@tiscali.co.uk

Until recently a teacher of young adults with complex needs, Stuart now advises on ICT and inclusion.   Two years ago he was awarded a BECTA prize for excellence in this area and asked to lead a DFES project to develop IT for disabled teenagers and adults.   Over the last year he has been involved in the BBC “Telling Lives” digital media project.

Abstract

A co-operative model for the creation and use of media-rich resources for both educational and leisure use is proposed.   These would include digital jukeboxes, animations, virtual galleries and electronic books.   A single software application would allow a collaborative community to be built around a structured online media archive, encouraging the participation of a wide range of often-excluded groups and supporting the development of community partnerships.

This paper complements a seminar in which simulations of the proposed model and associated resources were demonstrated and discussed.

Contents

• Introduction
• Proposed model
• User competence and progress
• Online archive
• Field trials
• Summary

1.   Introduction

There is a dearth of age-appropriate, motivating software for secondary and tertiary age students and adults with special needs.   This is because of the low financial returns from a relatively small commercial market compounded by the importance of multimedia for such students, the resultant high cost of production, and media copyright issues.

Special needs in this context can be a wide catchment, including sensory, motor or cognitive impairment, cultural differences or temporal limitations.   Having limited time is often over-looked as a special need, but often arises as a secondary result of compensating for a recognized need.   A user with cerebral palsy may have motor difficulties using a mouse and spatial difficulties navigating on screen, but their attainment may be most significantly affected by the limited time and frequent interruptions caused by addressing their sanitary needs.

Limited time may arise as a separate need arising from the situation of the user rather than from within the user alone.   A user may only be temporarily resident, may be trying to learn the native language, be in the final stages of a terminal illness, or there simply may not be enough equipment.

Whatever the need, the result of this lack of suitable software is that users are rarely motivated to reach their full potential and such progress as they make is inadequately rewarded or documented.

Software that is available is frequently distinct from that of their peers in terms of quality and media content.   Its use reinforces the cultural and social divide between students with special needs and their peers.   These students become the victims of a form of cultural imperialism, finding their frame of reference ignored and distorted to that of an outsider.

The challenge is to adopt an approach to software development that exploits increasing technological convergence of digital media to accommodate and include the whole range of social divergence.   Technological convergence of media means that it is relatively simple to use a standard computer with no additional software to capture images, sound, text and even video, and use these to produce original artworks, multimedia books or videos.   By exploiting this technology we create a powerful tool in the battle against social divergence for all of those with special needs.   In so doing we also educate and enrich society, and may even begin to view all special needs as part of that richness in a genuine celebration of human diversity.

2.   The proposed model:

• Generic software capable of producing cause and effect with audio, video and picture rewards through to electronic books and quizzes from grouped media files should be developed.   These could then be easily adapted by replacing content to produce individualized resources for both leisure and curriculum use.   Similarly alternative language versions would be simply produced by replacing text, audio or even video files for signers.

• User competence and understanding in educational environments could be assessed against agreed criteria and progress recorded.

• A Bobby-compliant (Hitchcock, 2001) online archive of content could then be made, with files grouped in “bundles”.  Content creators would be responsible for the copyright of individual media.

The generic user interface:

Universal design:

While a universally accessible interface may be an impossibility, it is possible to contemplate “universal design” as defined by Abascal and Nicolle (2001); “a process for creating a product that is usable by people with widely differing levels of knowledge in situations that can be very different”.   Instead of attempting the impossible it is therefore wiser to define an interface that while attempting to accommodate a wide range of user needs is sufficiently adaptable to extend that range with testing and experience over time.   Whether or not a product is going to be used depends not only on what it can be used for , how easy it is to use and its appearance, but just as crucially on how well it satisfies the needs of the user   (Eftring 1999).

In this context satisfying the needs of the user includes not only the user’s special needs but also their informational needs, and this can be best achieved by making the alteration of content as simple as possible.

Thus certain features may be essential to design and others included for their scope to be extended in the future:

Essential features:

Essential features for the user would include a simple, easily understood interface with a minimum reliance on text (Harryson et al, 2004).   The resultant reliance on graphic symbols for meaning requires that these have clear, defined, consistent and unambiguous meanings which ideally integrate with common symbols found elsewhere in the user’s and their peer’s wider experience.   A simple high visibility graphic language with meanings could thus be:

The position of these symbols must take into account not only their meaning but also the expected range of devices used to display them.   For example in order for a wheelchair user to access a whiteboard it is helpful to have all the key symbols and actuators as low as possible on the display.   When using laptop computers high contrast is beneficial.

In order that the contributor of media can create new structured resources there should be a simple means of identifying media and allocating these within the final resource.   In this way simple file management skills can be used to build and modify resources prior to or indeed responding to access by the user.   The generic interface software would then display the media in an appropriate way.

Essential variables:

In order to accommodate as wide a range of user-specific needs as possible the software should allow adaptation of the universal or common interface.   For convenience these variables may be divided into two groups; physical needs and cognitive needs.

Physical needs are commonly recognized and addressed in ICT by a mixture of hardware add-on devices and software adaptability.   The minimum software adaptability would be compatibility with the accessibility support offered by the computer operating system.   While this may seem obvious, it is seldom fully exploited.   Further, this built in support tends to focus (as do the current W3C guidelines) on visual disabilities and to a lesser extent hearing or dexterity impairment.   For this reason simple scanning, mouse hover and video signing options should be available to those users who require them.   These settings should be stored as a file so that unless the user wishes to alter them, the same support is always available whenever the software is run by that user.

Cognitive needs are almost entirely ignored by W3C and other design guidelines.   In order to address these in a meaningful way it is worth analyzing the different ways in which users may interact with the software.   These are sometimes referred to as “modalities”.   An early work applying this approach to disabled learners was Stansfield (1999), who when considering the impact of control technology recognized the importance of establishing the concept of cause and effect and then moving on to a sense of direction and spatial awareness.   The software model proposed here applies control to media; a model for modalities of interaction might thus be:

Spatial competence is central to human understanding.   Until recently there were two views on how this developed.   Piaget (1972, 1990) argued that competence was acquired by experience and manipulation of the environment, whereas Vygotsky (1980) emphasized the cultural transmission of such skills.   An interactionist approach in which biological preparedness interacts with spatial experience to produce spatial competence has been explored recently by Newcombe and Huttenlocher (2003).

By creating a coherent virtual space together with a structured approach to the development of navigational skills within, it is hoped to support the development of spatial competence particularly in users for whom control over, and hence an understanding of physical space may be severely limited.

Adaptable features:

In order to respond to user preferences and thus generate optimum motivation the software should allow such options as alternative languages or background music when viewing artwork.   These could be mediated by software from two files; one of user preferences and the other (contained in the media bundle) of resource author preferences, the user making the final selection.

Layout of the user interface:

Six basic user interfaces are proposed, which might be specified by the user, the resource author, or automatically selected by a single item of generic software:

                       Single                                                             Sequence

                       Selection                                                       Gallery

                       Book                                                               Quiz

All interfaces could result in audio, video, picture or a mixture of media displayed.   The lower rectangle is the text display area; of the two upper rectangles the smaller would display video and the larger still images.   A non-exclusive comparison between the interface and interaction modalities might be:

3.   User competence and the recording of progress:

By defining a limited set of alternative user interfaces and modalities of interaction it becomes possible to map progress in developing user competence.   Criteria within each node enable individual achievement to be recorded and highlighted alongside any records of progress with content:

(* indicates stop or pause button available)

This process could even be automated within an organisation to create a customised integrated learning system.   Thus a class of students with widely differing physical and cognitive needs could be working on the same content using individualised interfaces and recording their process in learning content at the same time as developing and recording their ICT competence.

4.   Online archive:

The importance of the online archive of resources now becomes clear; by functioning as a central storehouse of media bundles the usual model for software development:

Is transformed into:

By so doing most of the key issues outlined at the start are addressed.   Software content is generated by users and their supporters as well as external authors, and is shared between them.   It is therefore more likely to be relevant and motivating.   The cost of production is shared and copyright is assigned to the archive.   Both these factors should allow much higher multimedia content, the quality level of which would be the responsibility of the archive.

As internet download speeds increase such a model becomes practical, even for the home user with video files, provided files are kept short and compact.   This would also be the responsibility of the archive, who would also provide advice to users and content authors.

Membership of the archive would be dependent on having the generic software installed and is therefore open to all.   Because content is stored as separate media files, the creation process is also open to all.

5.   Field trials

The author has had the privilege of making and using digital media with an extremely wide range of computer users over the last ten years, ranging from able adults and young children to users with profound and multiple physical and learning difficulties.   The model is a product of distilling that experience.

Software interface; the user perspective:

By using specialist hardware and Windows© accessibility a network of interface options was created which allowed 140 users to access a central bank of media resources over two years.   Users were divided into four cognitive groups approximating to modalities 1, 2, 3, and 5, and their personal interests established.

Initially only interfaces similar to Single and Selection above were available, and as user competence expanded new interfaces were introduced where appropriate.   By the end of the trial interfaces similar to the first five were in use but the system had become so unwieldy and popular that management of media and users required a major overhaul.   This ultimately resulted in the model described in this paper.

During the course of the two years only 5% of users failed to respond to the system and 85% improved by at least one modality.   The remaining 10% were those who were already capable of the maximum multiple modality.   Progress in this group was assessed by competence in resource creation using standard software.

Because users were 4 to 19 years old, improvements over two years might be ascribed simply to maturational change.   However, results from the 16 – 19 year old group suggest otherwise.   These students had experienced standard software for most of their academic career and appeared to have fulfilled their potential in terms of competence.   It was often this group which showed the most dramatic improvements, in two cases interacting with the computer for the first time in their lives.

Key to this progress once the access requirements and interface were correct was the content “reward”.   Getting to know users allows us to provide content which they want to access rather than the uniform or generic “rewards” offered by most software at the early stages of interaction.  Many students were motivated by pop music or videos, others by clips of their favourite programs or photographs of family or even obsessional object.   Increased interaction, mutual understanding and engagement between staff and students emerged as a valuable by-product of this approach.

Once modality 1 and 2 were established the user was lead through their interests and leisure activities into a mixture of leisure and educational content.

Overall there was a dramatic increase in motivation.  Users requiring a small amount of support became more confident and were able to access a broader curriculum more independently.   An on-screen archive of resources was established.   Students of all levels frequently chose to use the resources during leisure time.

Cause and effect and electronic book resources have proved to be valuable for additional language acquisition.   Resources have raised cross-cultural awareness and provided a novel medium for delivery of this to students with high levels of support needs.

Assessment of progress sometimes came from unusual activity; one user indicated his transition from linear to multiple modality by locating a photograph of his girlfriend on the system during lunchtime activity!

Resource author perspective:

There are enormous benefits for individuals and society in raising the profile and participation of those with special needs.   By separating media from the software interface the author may use any software with which they are familiar to produce files which are then displayed in a professional, consistent and accessible way.

Users with special needs often have important stories to tell, are able to experience catharsis in the telling, or may in the telling establish their common humanity with the resource user.

Those users who may need help in creating media are able to take a more active part in the creation, by indicating what is to be included, the order of display, the type of interface to be available, and their approval or otherwise of the final result.

All users are more likely to think more carefully about what they want to say and to whom they are saying it.   By distinguishing different media and encouraging a critical approach they become more intelligent consumers of media in the wider world.

Inclusive partnerships:

As well as improving ICT access skills there have been considerable benefits for inclusion.   Developing resources has proven particularly valuable for social inclusion.   In one school mainstream partner students were involved in making resources for special school students with high levels of support needs.   The mainstream students needed to identify not only the individual needs but also interests of their “clients”.   They were trained by the more able students at the special school, who had already made their own resources.   The result was a range of unique resources for minimal cost, a boost in self-esteem for the trainer students and hugely increased awareness of their common humanity and individual distinctiveness by all students.

Online archive:

Although an internal online archive of resources was established, as this grew in size it became unwieldy and time-consuming to manage in the second year, partly because the complete separation of interface from media had not been achieved, and partly because of the rapid increase in interest, use and therefore expectations placed on the system.   It became difficult to keep up with demand for new resources, and then to get them to the selection interface of each user on time.

6.   Summary

A novel model for inclusive software is proposed.   By separating content from software management and establishing an online archive of content in the form of media files grouped as individual resources a wide range of motivating multimedia-rich, inclusive software is made available to users who may or may not have special needs.

The software interface for this content is adaptable dependent on available content, user special needs or culture, and user or author preference.

A method of recording progress by the user would also be available.

Initial trials have confirmed the effectiveness of the user interface and the ability of authors of a wide range of different special needs to produce or actively control content for novel resources.   The model has proved particularly effective at providing an accessible spatial and temporal model for those with physical and cognitive needs, as well as building inclusive partnerships for content development.

The online archive has yet to be fully tested but does appear to present few practical difficulties.

“Will the development of multimedia forms and the growth of broadband network distribution be a creative revolution, a Gutenburg shift, or just more noise?   The answer lies in the hands of creative people, in design studios, in garages, in University computer rooms, in front of screens all over the world.”

Brent MacGregor, Edinburgh College of Art, quoted in Digital Multimedia, Chapman & Chapman (2004)

© Copyright   Stuart Randall 2005

All rights reserved.

This document may be copied and modified for non-profit educational purposes only with this statement attached. Modification or re-distribution of this document outside educational establishments is not permitted without the consent of the copyright owner.

All images contained in this document are trademarked to Stuart Randall.

References

Abascal, J. & Nicolle, C. A. (2001) `Why inclusive design guidelines?', in J. Abascal & C. A. Nicolle (eds) Inclusive Design Guidelines for HCI London and New York: Taylor & Francis.

Chapman, N., & Chapman, J.   (2004), digital multimedia.   John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.   ISBN 0 470 85890 7  

Eftring, H. (1999) ‘The useworthiness of robots for people with physical disabilities.’   Doctoral thesis, Certec, LTH, No. 1:1999, Lund University: Sweden.   Also available at http://www.certec.lth.se/doc/useworthiness/ (April 1st 2005)

Harrysson, B., Svensk, A. and Johansson, G.I., 2004, How people with developmental disabilities navigate the Internet, British Journal of Special Education, 31 (3), 138 -142

Hitchcock, C. (2001) `Bobby: a validation tool for disability access on the world wide web', in J. Abascal & C. A. Nicolle (eds) Inclusive Design Guidelines for HCI. London and New York: Taylor & Francis.

Newcombe, N. S., & Huttenlocher, J. (2003), Making Space; The Development of   Spatial Representation and Reasoning: Bradford Book

Piaget, J. (1972) The psychology of the child, New York: Basic Books

Piaget, J. (1990) The child’s conception of the world, New York: Littlefield Adams

Stansfield, J., 1997, A First Handbook of IT and Special Educational Needs, NASEN, Tamworth.   ISBN 0 906730 94 5

Vygotsky, L., & Vygotsky, S. (1980), Mind in Society: the development of higher psychological processes.   Cambridge: Harvard University Press

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) (2004) 'Guidelines', available online at: http://www.w3c.org/ (23Feb. 2004).

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