CAJ#11_Microsoft helps children with autism to interact

Like I have already mentioned in one of my last posts, there is a very high number of people, especially children, with Autism in the area of the Silicon Valley. With the support from Microsoft External Research, two U.S. academic researchers are developing mobile device software that enable individuals with autism to communicate more effectively.

We already know that people with autism tend to process information visually. That is why educators and therapists have adopted various approaches to teaching communication skills to students with autism through the use of picture cards. Academic researchers learned that users of picture-based communication methods often struggle with managing a three-ring binder full of paper cars that are easily misplaced, damaged or forgotten at home. Moreover, using the cards in public also can feel embarrassing, especially for older children and adults. That is why Microsoft External Research provided financial and software support to help the two academic researchers develop an electronic communication device.

Available as a free download from the project Website, the software works on any smartphone or personal digital assistant (PDA) device running the Microsoft Windows mobile operating system. The website includes a downloadable repository of more than 400 digitized picture cards in categories such as School, Home, People, Emotions and Food. Parents as well as teachers can also upload their own photographs to create new cards and share them with others. Plans for enhancing the software include linking it to a calendar so autistic children can view their daily routine in pictures, enabling the handheld device to play short video clips and adding sound messages to help children associate pictures with words.

Experts agree that the new device could help students with autism become more engaged in learning and help teachers provide more effective instruction. They are sure that if these kids can communicate their wants and needs more clearly, it will reduce their frustration and open the door for them to interact in a much wider sphere of social life. Plus it is on a cool little electronic device so kids love it anyway.

CAJ#10 Autism & Asperger's syndrome in SV

The density of hight intelligent and creative people who think differently, which means not in words but in pictures, might be nowhere higher than in the Silicon Valley. Their primary use of the right side of the brain, which is responsible for creativity, could be the reason for their success but also for their flaws.

What came to my mind when I read this is the opening scene of the movie The Social Network. Mark Zuckerberg’s girlfriend is really annoyed by his obsessive personality and breaks up with him. This is the stereotypical for the Silicon Valley geek. Geeks are brilliant with technology but lack social skills. Scientists think that leaders of high-tech companies all over the world suffer from Autism or Asperger’s syndrome, which is not classified as distinct disorders but as a milder form of autism. The characteristics of these illnesses range from social and behavioral to language problems.

Another example that comes to my mind is Sheldon Cooper from the TV series The Big Bang Theory. He does not understand sarcasm and obviously lacks social skills but is brilliant as hell. Even when I think back to the time at my high school I remember some people who were brilliant at school but hardly had a social life.

A reason for the high autism rate in the Silicon Valley might be once again the high density of highly intelligent and creative people who already carry some autism genes. Their children then will inherit too much of those genes and become autistic.

Back to my Mark Zuckerberg example. Rumor has it that he himself suffers from Asperger’s syndrome. He is prone to spend several hours obsessing over Facebook. Before Zuckerberg’s girlfriend moved to California to live with him, he had to agree on 100 minutes per day which he will not spend on computing. Co-workers told that he lacks eye contact, does not listen when people are talking to him and seems absent during meetings and interviews. In addition, Zuckerberg is known for his weak sense of humor and awkward facial expressions.

Here are some characteristics of people of suffer from Asperger’s syndrome or Autism

(just think of Sheldon Cooper and you will have a great example)

• Repetitive routines provide security
• Stresses when routine suddenly changes
• Do certain things in an inflexible repetitive way
• Lack of empathy
• Find it hard to understand what others are thinking/feeling
• People often say he/she is rude even when this was not the intend
• Have difficulty making friends
• Difficulties understanding subtleties of communicating through

            *Eye contact

            *Body language

            *Facial expressions

• Unusually strong, narrow interests
• Can focus on certain things for very long periods

Here are some more famous “suspects”

Bill Gates

            Rocking motion

            Socially awkward

            High intelligence

            Flat tone of voice

Steven Spielberg

            Odd social tendencies

            Childhood obsession with film making

Courtney Love

            Reacted negatively to affection

            Had a variety of inappropriate affects (including sudden fits of screaming)

Albert Einstein

            Late onset of speech (age 3)

            Had no friends as a child

            Repeated sentences obsessively

            Appeared to be in his own world

How to kill Hitler

How to kill Hitler

What do you need:

• ·    time machine
• ·    hand grenade XM3000
• ·    Anti-tank weapon

approximate time exposure: 5-10 min.

Step 1 Go to the website amazon.com and order

• ·         a time machine

Hint: try this one, it is cheap and works really well : http://www.amazon.com/time#machine256$5.99/specialoffer

• ·         A XM3000 hand grenade
• ·         Anti-tank weapon (you will need this for your plan B)

(Take advantage of the super-fast delivery offer as it is only 2 $ extra)

Step 2 Once amazon delivered your articles find a good undisturbed place to use your time machine.

Step 3 Enter the correct date and place into your time machine.

Step 4 Take your hand grenade and the anti-tank weapon with you and travel back in time by pressing the button “GO”.

Step 5 Examine your surrounding and look for Hitler’s bedroom.

Hint: Adolf always left one window open while sleeping

Step 6 Once you found the open window to Hitler’s bedroom, ignite the hand grenade and throw it into his bedroom

Step 7 After you hear an explosion, go into his bedroom to make sure that Adolf Hitler is really dead.

Step 8 If Adolf Hitler is still alive, use your anti-tank weapon and shoot him from up close.

                                                                  OR

           If he is dead already, do not use your anti-tank weapon.

Step 9 Go back to your time machine, enter the date and place you want to go back to and press the button “GO”

Step 10 Back home, tell everyone you killed Hitler.

By the way, if you really followed all these instructions:

Thank you for killing Hitler

Napalm Girl_Group Work Link

http://stefanieha.blogspot.co.at/2014/04/description-of-napalm-girl-group-work.html

Photography Project_Group post_rate the instructions

 

In general we think that the instruction “How to make a camera lucida” cannot be considered as very helpful. Firstly, it does neither mention what you will need nor how long it will take you to build the camera lucida. Secondly,  the instruction is not arranged in chronological order what makes it difficult to follow the steps. In order to make the instruction more helpful and easier to follow, the first paragraph could be split into at least two steps. This, however, would not help a lot, because the pictures also confuse the reader as they are not placed next to the corresponding step. The picture on the top left, which shows an eye looking through a hole, is confusing, especially, because there is no connection between the picture and the first few steps of building the camera. What is even more confusing than the picture on the top left, is the second paragraph. Instead of explaining in detail how to build the frame, where the camera lucida is fixed on, this paragraph already focuses on how to use the camera. Several important steps are skipped which results in a confusing structure. All in all, the pictures themselves include some important and helpful information such as the measurements of the card, the frame and the piece of plastic. This helpful information, however, is worthless due to the lack of a chronological order. In conclusion it can be said that this instructional text lacks of cohesion and important information, which makes it difficult to understand how you can build a camera lucida. 

(group 3: Stefanie Haring, Alina Khurshid, Christina Rathmayer)

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