1.+Visual+Textual+Guidance+System


 * Visual/Textual Guidance System to Orient Users **


 * visuals will be made interesting yet not distracting to accommodate the unique attentional and learning issues of our target users (children with Asperger's Syndrome)
 * visuals will reflect the function of choice (for example, 'Get story' will show a child reading a book)
 * text guidance system will be succinct and clear, providing just enough information to make navigation simple

(Anyone artsy out there?? Couldn't find anything //perfect//, so thought I'd put these in as place holders. We could use, but there would be a cost associated.) //Do we know how much of a cost? I rather love these guys! Again, thanks for all of your work on this...we would certainly be at sea without you!//

Change a story



Get a story

Make a new story

= Interaction Design =

 Chris Blais,  Robin Halbert  Jeannette Jackson  Vanita Gupta

 //Kristof and Satran (1995) describe interactivity as user control over sequence, pace, what to attend to, and what to ignore. The interaction design phase involves figuring out where and how to give control to users as they experience and interact with the learning application. In the process of interaction design you are turning the flowchart, which shows content and structure (scope and sequence), into a storyboard that shows the pathways and user controls as well (EDER 679 Course Outline, Fall 2010).//

The goal of this interaction design is to articulate and communicate the intended user experience with the **//Virti-Cue Social Modeling Application//**. Specific objectives of Virti-Cue include the ability to create social stories using pictures, video, audio, and text, for the purpose of modeling appropriate behaviour in social situations. With an adult (parent, teacher, other significant adult in the child’s life) orchestrating the process, children participate in creating social stories. In most cases, it will be the adult who authors the social story, with the input of the child. In some cases, depending on the age and skill level of the child, children may be capable of creating their own social stories under the supervision of an adult. The stories that users decide to create will be carefully crafted including images and video clips that can be ordered and re-ordered to create social scenes that the child is //not yet// capable of achieving independently.  A successful entry point for creating a story for a skill that the child has not yet demonstrated may be achieved through the use of digital images, as opposed to video. In this case, a series of carefully chosen images could be sequenced together to create a realistic representation of the desired behaviour, even though the desired behaviour, with all of its components, has not yet been enacted in its entirety by the child. For example, if the child needed support in asking for permission to play his brother’s toy car, images and voice/text may include: Below is a Social Story to inform our sample story taken from http://www.thegraycenter.org/social-stories/what-are-social-stories According to Carol Gray... "A Social Story™ describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format. The goal of a Social Story™ is to share accurate social information in a patient and reassuring manner that is easily understood by its audience. Half of all Social Stories™ developed should affirm something that an individual does well. Although the goal of a Story™ should never be to change the individual’s behavior, that individual’s improved understanding of events and expectations may lead to more effective responses."  **I Make Many Friendly Choices. This is Awesome.**  My name is Julie. I make many friendly choices. This is awesome.  One day, Mark felt sad on the playground. He did not know the rules to the game. I went up to Mark and started to explain the rules. Then, Mark could play the game, too. That was a very intelligent, friendly, and caring thing to do.  On another day, Sarah helped me by making an art project for me. Sarah wanted me to have an art project like the other children in our class. Sarah cared about me, and wanted to do something to make me feel happy. I came back to school, saw the art project, and went up to Sarah and said, "Thank you." Saying "Thank you" is a very friendly and polite thing to do. It is an intelligent decision among friends. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;"> Choices like these are friendly choices. Deciding to help others, and to thank others when they have helped you, is an intelligent thing to do. I am a person who has made some wonderful, friendly, choices. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Grande',Helvetica,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left;"> Moms and dads LOVE to read Stories about the intelligent, friendly things that their child says and does. My Mom and Dad may like to read this Story. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"> 1. Child smiling (add text & voice – My name is Bob. Sometimes //I like to play with my brother’s car. It is so much fun.)// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 200%;"> 2. Brother, playing with the car (add text & voice – My brother is having fun with the car. I want to play too.)3. A picture of the child smiling (add text & voice –I ask my brother in a polite voice, "may I play with your car please?") <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 26px;">4. Brother, holding the car (add text & voice – "//You can play with my car if you take care of it and put it back on the shelf when you are finished//.")5. Child smiling, (add text & voice - //My brother’s car is very special to him. He would feel sad and upset if it were broken. "I promise I will take good care of it and put it back on the shelf when I am finished."//) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 200%;">6. Brother, handing child the car (add voice & text – //Thank you for letting me play with your car//.) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"> 7. Child playing with the car (add voice & text – //I play carefully with my brother’s car and drive it safely on the floor. It is nice of him to share it with me//.) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"> 8. Child putting the car away (add voice & text //– I took good care of my brother’s car. I am finished playing with it so I am putting it away on the shelf//.) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"> 9. Brother smiling (add voice & text – //My brother is happy that I took care of his car and put it away on the shelf when I was finished. He says, “Thank you!”)// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 200%;"> 10. Child smiling (add voice & text – //I smile and say, “Thank you!” too.)// As the child comes closer to the desired behaviour, the social story could be edited to include video clips of the child performing the appropriate behaviour, or //parts of the desired behaviour,// again, carefully sequenced to create a realistic representation of a successful social interaction. The story is used for review and reinforcement until the child is capable of performing the desired behaviour independently.

Visual/Textual Guidance System to Orient Users
The main page of the application contains limited text that links to three main options (RBWD&UG, 2007, p. 36): 'Get Story', 'Edit Stories', and 'New Story'. According to RBWD&UG (2007), "Clean, prose-free design allows users to quickly discern the primary headings and sub-headings without the distraction of paragraphs of text" (p. 39). The colours on each page have been carefully selected so that they will not demand too much attention or be too flashy for our sensitive users; excessive use of colour has been intentionally avoided (Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, 2002). As Myler, Fantacone, & Merritt (2005) note, because autism is marked by "extreme, debilitating sensitivity to sensory stimulation -- sound, light, color, and pattern -- it becomes of primary importance that schools for autistic children tightly control the amount and kind of visual and aural stimulation that children receive from their environment" (p. 100). The elements of each page are clean and clear, allowing for easier navigation (RBWD&UG, p. 45) and reducing the potential for distraction or overstimulation that children with autism often encounter (MacKenzie, 2008). Each page includes ‘back’ links as well as links to the home screen in order to avoid ‘dead ends’, or ‘orphan pages’ (Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, 2002; RBWD&UG, 2007, p. 59). The ‘help’ button is also included on each page and provides information to guide users through their current stage in the application. From this selection of three consistently placed buttons: ‘back’, ‘help’, and ‘home’, users will always be able to orient themselves within the application (RBWD&UG, p. 46). Page elements have been aligned to promote ease in scanning (RBWD&UG, 2007, p. 51) and to allow users to quickly find and choose their selections. **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">References **<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">Koyanl, S.J., Bailey, R.W., & Nall, J.R. (2007). Research-based web design & usability guidelines ( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 26px;">RBWD&UG) <span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">. Retrieved from ** @http://usability.gov/pdfs/guidelines_book.pdf ** M<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">acKenzie, H. (2008). //Reaching and teaching the child with autism spectrum disorder: Using learning preferences and strengths.//London: Jessica Kingsley.Myler, P. A., Fantacone, T. A. & Merritt, E. T. (2005). Special ed that’s even more special: Designing schools for autistic students. In E. T. Merritt, J. A. Beaudin, C.R. Cassidy & P.A. Myler (Eds.), //Magnet and specialized schools of the future: A focus on change// (pp. 99-105).Lanham, MA: Scarecrow Education. Preece, J., Rogers, Y., & Sharp, H. (2007). Interaction design: Beyond human-computer interaction. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Vicente, K. (2003). The human factor. Toronto, CA: Alfred A Knopf. - chart with reference to several research papers with information on stimulation