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2-18-14 Education Issues in the News
The Record - Robot gives autistic kids a more personal connection

Associated Press, Star Ledger - N.J. error prevents thousands from taking new GED

The Record - Robot gives autistic kids a more personal connection

 

Monday, February 17, 2014    Last updated: Monday February 17, 2014, 9:43 PM

BY  LESLIE BRODY

STAFF WRITER

The Record

 

He has a cute wide face and plays endless rounds of the same game without complaint. This newfangled teacher named Peter, a humanoid robot, seems to hold special charm for children with autism.

On a recent morning at Shaler Academy in Ridgefield, Peter asked six little boys to find a picture of a cow from a set of animal drawings. Frank Rattacasa, 5, lifted one up to the robot’s blinking eyes.

“Well done!” Peter said, with a herky-jerky fist-bump in the air. The boys erupted in cheers.

This was a moment of excited engagement for children who have trouble with focus, communication and social skills. Teachers hope the robot, which arrived last month, will help the youngsters learn to talk, follow directions and become more interactive with people around them.

It’s not clear why some children with autism respond to this electronic instructor. “There is something about the robot that takes away the defensiveness of the autistic child, the fear or shyness,” said Harry Groveman, interim superintendent in Ridgefield. “For some reason there’s connectivity for them.”

New Jersey schools have bought 16 of these orange-and-white robots since June, including four at the South Bergen Jointure Commission for special education. The French company that makes them, Aldebaran Robotics, says there are more than 5,000 in school and research settings worldwide. Officially called NAO robots, they cost about $15,000 each, including five days of teacher training.

Many parents are desperate for new strategies to cope with autism, a problem that is acute and rising; now, federal statistics say one in 88 children has the disorder nationwide, and one in 49 in New Jersey. Children with autism spectrum disorder have trouble making eye contact and interpreting social cues. In severe cases, they withdraw into silence.

Henry Leighton, 4, listened carefully when Peter told the story of “The Three Little Pigs” to his group of high-functioning children on the spectrum. The robot asked what one pig put under the chimney to catch the wolf – a pot of boiling water, a small salad or a table. Meanwhile, for an extra visual aid, Henry’s teacher pointed to pictures of each choice.

“Pot,” announced Henry.

“Well done,” declared Peter, with a fist-bump.

Henry’s face lit up. He jumped up and down with a long “Yay!”

That afternoon, he told his mom, Elizabeth Leighton.

“Most of the time it’s pulling teeth to get him to talk about what happens at school but he was excited to talk about the robot,” she said. “It’s definitely heartening. I want him to have enjoyable experiences at school and hopefully it will help him in some way as an added therapy.”

The district bought two NAO robots after its leaders saw a demonstration at a convention. One robot named Harry (after the superintendent) is at the high school so students interested in robotics can learn to program it. The other (named Peter, after a retiring supervisor at Shaler Academy) will live at this regional magnet program for Grades pre-K to 2, where half of the roughly 200 children have disabilities. Tuition paid by sending districts covered the cost of the robots, which can be used to help children with a range of special needs.

Joshua Diehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame who studies ways to help children with autism, said by email that the robot approach was “quite exciting, but there is still a lot of work to be done” to gauge its effects. He cautioned that it was important for schools not to take resources away from proven strategies, such as Applied Behavior Analysis, to pursue an experimental one like robots.

“There are a number of promising studies that show that robots can be used to improve communication in some [but definitely not all] individuals with autism spectrum disorder,” he noted. “Still, there is no data that shows that this improvement is any better than other empirically supported treatments that are already available. … Therefore, at this stage of research, robots would be considered a complementary, rather than primary approach.”

David Dickman, a teacher trainer from Teq, the New Jersey distributor for NAO robots, said children with autism tend to have a strong affinity for technology. The robot’s voice is steady without much inflection, and its face is friendly looking but blank, so it’s not overstimulating or threatening. Children “are not being overwhelmed by too much visual information,” he said.

In a small experiment last year, researchers at Vanderbilt University reported that children with autism spectrum disorder paid better attention to instructions from a NAO robot than from a human therapist. The study involved a dozen children, ages 2 to 5; six had autism and six in the control group did not. In training sessions led by a therapist, the control group children paid much better attention than those with the disorder. In the robot-led session, both groups focused on the robot for about the same amount of time.

These robots are part of a broad effort to tap new technologies to enhance education, such as embedding tests into video games and having students use hand-held clickers to show teachers they understand a concept. Joe Dixon, chief learning officer at Teq, stressed that these robots were intended as tools to be used by teachers, not as replacements for them. The manufacturer has not sold them for home use, but Dixon said that’s the ultimate goal.

NAO is responsive to cues from people because it has two cameras and four microphones inside. It comes programmed to play several games and tell stories, and teachers can download software for new ones. Robots can lead children in Simon Says and yoga, for example, and help special-needs children learn by imitating movements.

Rebecca Cannata, who has two sons on the autism spectrum, said the robot’s power likely depended on the child. It might help her 4-year-old, but for her 11-year-old, it would probably be an expensive gadget more than a therapy. “He’s extremely obsessed with electronic screens and it would end up being one more electronic item to him,” like a television, iPad or video game, she said. If he’s playing with electronics for too long, “he becomes grumpy and negative.”

NAO robots have inspired some colorful publicity. Its maker created a “Robot Idol” competition for them, and spread videos of robots dancing “Gangnam Style” and to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” The robots have made cameo appearances on a Brazilian soap opera and HBO’s “Eastbound and Down.” One intrepid team of computer science students in France programmed a robot to drive a car.

In Ridgefield, teachers are looking for much simpler results. Mary Ellen Paradiso, a speech therapist, sat with two 3-year-olds who needed help learning to say one-syllable words like “cat” and “cow.”

When Peter asked if they wanted to play a matching game again, one of them said “yes.” Paradiso beamed and praised the boy.

The other child smiled at the robot. The teacher was encouraged by that as well.

“He’s very quiet, very distractible,” Paradiso explained afterward. “The fact that he was sharing eye contact with him, I was thrilled.”

Email: brody@northjersey.com Twitter @lesliebrody

 

New Jersey Newsroom N.J. Virtual School Day: 5 Ways Some Schools Beat Snow Days

 

Friday, 14 February 2014 10:59

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The relentless winter has been a burden on the class schedules set up by schools in the United States. They’ve cancelled classes in Ohio for almost 3 weeks so far, and yes, it’s only February.

But there may be a pioneer in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District of New Jersey.

As usual these days, it starts with technology. NorthJersey.com reports that the Pascack Valley and Pascack Hills high schools had the first virtual snow day on Thursday by virtue of school-issued laptop computers. The district hopes the New Jersey Education Department will approve it as a substitute for one of the state mandated 180 school days.

The district gets around the elements by issuing 2,000 laptops to its students, where a virtual framework can be planned out for snow days, according to ajc.com. District superintendent Erik Gundersen said teachers connect with students by use of social networking to live video chatting to discussion boards.

Their idea also works because, as reported by The Press of Atlantic City, students are required to log in and visit their teachers’ web sites, then complete the assignments found there and communicate with the teachers.

Schools in New Hampshire and Ohio are considering virtual snow days. NorthJersey.com reported that those schools are also using “Blizzard Bags,” a printout of the day’s assignments for students without Internet or computer access. But University of New Hampshire professor Todd DeMitchell cautioned, “What happens when the power goes out?”

But 14-year old freshman Isabella Tolomeo said the virtual day may have involved more work than a regular school day. But she mentioned another of its positives. “It works well because now we don’t have to stay in school longer or have to take off from our spring break,” Isabella said, according to NorhJersey.com.

 

Associated Press, Star Ledger - N.J. error prevents thousands from taking new GED

Sunday February 16, 2014, 11:45 AM

BY PEGGY MCGLONE

AP/THE STAR-LEDGER OF NEWARK

Associated Press

TRENTON -  Despite approving a revised version of the high school equivalency exam in early December, state officials have yet to authorize the state's 31 test centers to give the test, stranding thousands of residents who want to get their high school diploma.

The exam, known universally as the GED, was revamped for this year, the first time since 2002. The changes made the test harder and aligned it with current curriculum standards.

State officials had three years to plan for the transition to the new version, which introduces an online version. Previously, the two-day test was given only with pencil and paper.

But six weeks after the new test became available, not one New Jersey resident has taken it, officials at various test centers confirmed to The Star-Ledger of Newark (http://bit.ly/1nEbZfv).

"We're waiting. We've done everything on our part to be ready," said Irene Schrader, manager of the Continuing Education Department of the Morris County Vocational School District. "We are waiting to get approval."

State officials say the delay was caused by a mistake in the memo of understanding, the legal agreement between the state and the test centers. The document was sent out in December after the State Board of Education's approval of three test vendors.

The document referred to a nonexistent appendix, Department of Education spokesman Michael Yaple said. Officials worried the error was enough to undermine the integrity of the agreement and could leave the state open to lawsuits.

So officials decided to correct the agreements and resend them to the test centers to be signed.

"It wasn't the popular decision, but it was the responsible one," Yaple said.

Meanwhile, the delay has affected thousands of New Jerseyans, test center officials say.

More than 17,000 people took the high school equivalency exam in New Jersey last year, or an average of 327 tests a week.

"(We) take pride in helping people move forward in a positive direction. Having a high school diploma is crucial," Schrader said.

After years of discussion, state officials approved the Pearson VUE, McGraw Hill and ETS test versions at a meeting Dec. 4. Pearson VUE, which purchased the rights to GED in 2011 and announced it would revamp it, must be taken online. McGraw Hill and ETS offer both online and pencil-and-paper formats.

Test centers have been in waiting mode for weeks.

"It caught all of us off guard," Ocean County College's chief examiner Carol Cappetta said about the delay. "I was very excited about the new test. It's so needed."

But instead of giving tests, the test centers have spent the last six weeks apologizing.

"All of us are frustrated, and the test-takers are frustrated," Schrader said.

Yaple said state officials expect eight or 10 of the 31 agreements could be signed by Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf this week, with another 20 or so next week. Upon his signature, the test centers would be allowed to proceed.