Preparing for other assignments
I wanted to share in my weekly journal some reading that I have been doing for my assignment on communication - one of the 8 elements of digital literacy. I am fascinated how technology is making life better for those individuals that for whatever reason do not have a voice. I don't mean the supressed but those who physically are unable to speak due to physical disability, disease, or accident. I remember when I was doing my AQ special education course meeting a gentleman with CP. Unable to speak he used with the assistance of a nurse a kind of pic pad. Through the use of the pic pad he was able to manipulate phrases which his nurse translated. This device provided him the opportunity express and share his insightful ideas not only of his physical changes but also his mental challenges. More importantly he shared with us how much his life meant to him despite the challenges he faced each day. This got me thinking about those that cannot speak and thus we assume that their quality of life in our eyes is minimal ... perhaps even meaningless. We justify our thinking by perhaps saying they are trapped inside this body. What if we could reach ? What if there was a way to use technology so they could share with us their wisdom and insightful ideas. Through these questions I started to search for digital communicative assistance devices. I knew they had to be out there but what I found was amazing. An research article written by D. J. Krusienski, PhD and J. J. Shih, M.D. was titled, Control of a visual keyboard using an electrocorticographic brain-Computer Interface (2011). The article stated that brain-computer interfaces allow individuals who are unable to speak to communicate via brain waves. Their study showed that with the direct monitoring of the brain patients with ALS, epilepsy, strokes where able to move a curser on a visual keyboard to spell words with up to a 70% accuracy rate (Krusienski & Shih, 2011). Further research would help in the development of commuter programs that would help these individuals to communicate with their environment and others using digital literacy. This type of advancement in medical research and with the cooperation of technical support will provide a bright future for many individuals. In the United States alone there is an estimated 2 million people that this type of digital technology could assist (Krusinski & Shih, 2011).
References
Krusienski, D. J. & J.J. Shih. (2011). Control of a Visual Keyboard using an electrocorticographic brain-computer interface.
Neurorhabilitation and Neural Repair, 25(4). p. 323-331. DOI: 10.1177/7545968310328425
Wheeler, J.J. & Moran D.W. (2011). Retrieved from http://article.wn.com/view/2012/03/30/electrocorticographic_signals_may_restore_arm_movement.
Looking at this subject area further I found this video using brain-computer interface. It is in French but with English subtitles.
Mayandlo, P300 speller brain - computer interface for patience. (2012) Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsyzxOJFlak |
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Janette had given us a few links in week seven lecture to look at. One of them was Katherine Schulten's blog. I looked at Katherine's work with the NY Times and discovered a very valuable teaching resource not just for teachers but for students also. I have worked in the past with teachingkidsnews.com when I have had students create their own newspaper and then have it published along side our local paper. This is a wonderful resource and I liked how the news touched on important current world conditions but was kid friendly. This resource is free digitally and works in collaboration with other literacy resources however it is only text based. What I really liked about what Katherine was saying was that although the NY Times educational paper is similar it goes one step further by providing a blog area for children to respond and communicate about national issues and interest subject matter digitally. In this you tube clip she mentions critical thinking / ethical questions such as the legalization of marijuana, violence in city streets or how they feel about tabloid gossip. I like how children can become engaged nationally and globally in these great questions. She also mentioned that the blog is monitored constantly creating, to the best of their abilities, a safe learning environment. I will certainly use this resource if I teach older children. Thanks for sharing.
The center for news literacy, (2013). Katherine Schultens - using breaking news in the classroom - news literacy 2013 leaders conference. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB1KeHCU2Rs
The center for news literacy, (2013). Katherine Schultens - using breaking news in the classroom - news literacy 2013 leaders conference. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB1KeHCU2Rs