This paper presents a brief overview of LARA (Learning And Reading Assistant), an open source online tool that has been under development since summer 2018. LARA currently contains a corpus of about 25 texts in ten languages and a crowdsourcing model used to expand the corpus. The central goal is to provide support for improving second language…

This paper presents the development process and framework used to construct a transportation app that uses situated learning, augmented reality, and communities of practice. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can cause social impairments as well as the limit the potential for the individual to achieve independence…

In Section 1 of this article, the author discusses the succession of models of adult writing that he and his colleagues have proposed from 1980 to the present. He notes the most important changes that differentiate earlier and later models and discusses reasons for the changes. In Section 2, he describes his recent efforts to model young…

In this paper, a new dance training system based on the motion capture and virtual reality (VR) technologies is proposed. Our system is inspired by the traditional way to learn new movements-imitating the teacher's movements and listening to the teacher's feedback. A prototype of our proposed system is implemented, in which a student can imitate…

During conversation, women tend to nod their heads more frequently and more vigorously than men. An individual speaking with a woman tends to nod his or her head more than when speaking with a man. Is this due to social expectation or due to coupled motion dynamics between the speakers? We present a novel methodology that allows us to randomly…

Relational thinking plays a central role in human cognition. However, it is not known how children and adults acquire relational concepts and come to represent them in a form that is useful for the purposes of relational thinking (i.e., as structures that can be dynamically bound to arguments). The authors present a theory of how a psychologically…

Assistive devices and assistive software make it possible for the impaired to use computers with all of its processing programs and to access the Internet. Assistive software and assistive devices are described that are specifically intended for students and adults who are blind or visually impaired, students and adults who are deaf or hard of…

The use of a portable schedule prompting system to increase independence and self-regulation in time management was compared to use of a written schedule with 12 adults with mental retardation. Results supported the utility of a Palmtop computer with schedule prompting software to increase independence in the performance of vocational and daily…

A weight management program utilized the participant's own data for the participant to (1) understand energy balance; (2) compare his/her diet with U.S. dietary codes; (3) know which food selections were high in calories, fat, and cholesterol, and low in complex carbohydrates and fiber; and (4) understand weight management. (JD)

The paper describes computer programs which can present the results of individualized assessment in a graphical form readily understood by persons unfamiliar with research methodology. A study evaluating an Australian deinstitutionalization project has also produced individual data providing graphical feedback to primary caregivers of the mentally…

Describes the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE), a project at the University of Louvain in Belgium that collects written work from, and analyzes the usage of, advanced adult English as a Foreign Language learners. Recurring combinations and concordances in ICLE are examined. (Contains five references.) (MDM)

This article describes assistive technologies for persons with learning disabilities, including word processing, spell checking, proofreading programs, outlining/"brainstorming" programs, abbreviation expanders, speech recognition, speech synthesis/screen review, optical character recognition systems, personal data managers, free-form databases,…

An information technology course was provided to people with physical disabilities in their Ireland homes, using computers and modem links. The course included modules on business applications software and specialized applications. Nineteen of 20 participants completed the course successfully and were awarded an internationally recognized…

The article examines: the process used by visually impaired individuals in composing, the difficulties in using braille, and the importance of text access for editing. The adequacy and effectiveness of computer tools is discussed, focusing on selection of alternative display formats, word processing software, and other software. (Author/JDD)

This paper describes different products to assist students who are only able to use one hand while typing. Information is provided on: (1) access features in Macintosh and Windows95, including Easy Access (Mac) and Accessibility Options (Win95) which allow the user to press a key such as the shift key and subsequently press the letter to be…