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Wide set of Innovative projects allowed by multimodal intelligent environmentS aimed at promoting integration of cHildren with cognitive disabilities into the classrooms Sponsored By:Interaction-Ivrea: Sony: Cognitive disabilities are often intended as social disadvantages: people affected are scarcely included in social contexts. Children with such disabilities tend to be supported by special educational systems: in Europe many schools for such children provide a compensatory education targeting the specific problem. This approach produces high social costs, and generates an exclusion of these children. The idea is that the first way to cope with cognitive disabilities in learning environments is to not isolate children. In such environments many differences coexist, difficulties in communication and understanding arise, compromising the effectiveness of an integration-oriented pedagogical approach. To work at individual and collective levels is an interesting and difficult challenge: Computer Technologies (CT) can give a crucial support to this task. How can new uses of CT support learning environments? How can such systems be made aware of stress induced in children due to a breakdown or limitations in communication? In trying to find the answers, WISH aims to design and develop a multimodal programming environment to support learning environments for effective communication and understanding among children with different cognitive abilities. Various kinds of devices (visual, haptic, acoustic) will be used and integrated. WISH will involve children in cooperative design sessions, to conceive and design CT according to the needs of differently able children.
Investigations on current use of CT in learning environments show that such technologies have �cognitive disabilities�, limited sensorial capabilities, and often prove ineffective in trying to transfer information and contents, especially to people with perception an d cognitive elaboration deficits. WISH aims to raise their sensorial capabilities, increase their accessibility by differently able children, enhance integration by embedding technology in classroom artifacts and integrating it in daily activities.
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