Elsevier

Computers & Education

Volume 54, Issue 4, May 2010, Pages 1068-1077
Computers & Education

Exploring the social competence of students with autism spectrum conditions in a collaborative virtual learning environment – The pilot study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2009.10.011Get rights and content

Abstract

Social reciprocity deficits are a core feature of the autism spectrum conditions (ASCs). Many individual with ASCs have difficulty with social interaction due to a frequent lack of social competence. This study focuses on using a virtual learning environment to help the deficiencies of social competence for people with ASCs, and to increase their social interaction. Specifically, it primitively explores social competence in collaborative virtual learning environment (CVLE) systems, and behavioral performance in social and cognitive interactions. Thus, this CVLE-social interaction system involves a 3D expressive avatar, an animated social situation, and verbal as well as text-communication. A preliminary empirical study involved CVLE-social interaction systems. Three participants who had been diagnosed with ASCs were conducted using a multiple baseline research for evidence of improved social competence through usage of the system. The experimental study consisted of 17 days; and the results showed that using the CVLE-social interaction system had significant positive effects on participants’ performance, both within the CVLE-social interaction system and in terms of reciprocal social interaction learning.

Introduction

Recent research has demonstrated that individuals with autism can use and interpret virtual environments (VEs) successfully (Cheng, 2005, Cheng et al., 2005, Parsons et al., 2005), and learn simple social skills in a VE (Parsons & Mitchell, 2002). VEs are computer-generated three-dimensional and highly realistic representations that provide controlled and safe environments in which to teach skills that are associated with some level of danger. They provide practice and repetition without real-world stress. Importantly, a VE can support human-to-human communication by bringing people together and allowing them to communicate via the internet (Churchill et al., 2001, Olguin et al., 2000, Passerino and Santarosa, 2008). This communication can utilize collaborative virtual environments (CVE). A CVE presents artificially generated sensory information in a form in which exploration and interaction are experienced realistically, and perceived as similar to real-world objects and events. A user can look around a CVE and interact with 3D objects or virtual characters in real-time. Cromby, Standen, and Brown (1995) describe several features of CVEs that make them especially promising as learning aids for individuals with severe learning difficulties. Examples include: control over the environment; making mistakes without suffering real consequences; and conveying rules, concepts, and relationships. In the “embodiment” of CVE, geographically dispersed users can communicate with each other via their avatar on-screen representation. The user can be present in the CVE system and interact with other users. In recent research pointed out that some potential benefits of CVE technology for people with autism have been observed: as an assistive technology, as an educational technology, and as a means of helping address any “mind-reading” impairment (Cheng et al., 2005). VEs have been applied with using disciplines to teach people with ASCs, for example (Parsons and Mitchell, 2002, Parsons et al., 2005) used virtual cafe to explore help their social skills, their research has evidenced that people with ASCs are able to use VE. Thus, we argue that the advantages of a CVE should be beneficial for people with autism.

Individual with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) are neurodevelopment disorders characterized by deficits in social perception and cognition, subtle impairment of verbal and non-verbal communication, presence of idiosyncratic isolated interests, and repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). People with ASCs’ interest in social interaction often increases as they age (Schopler and Mesibov, 1983, Siegel, 1996); their inability to fulfill the fundamental need to build social relationships is undoubtedly the most troubling and pervasive difficulty underling nearly every activity in those individuals’ lives (Kanner, 1943). More specifically, social competence flows from social cognition and peer interaction; and social cognition most closely links cognitive and social-emotional capabilities (Bauminger, Edelsztein, & Morash, 2005). This includes both verbal and non-verbal social and emotional cues and information; such as recognizing and understanding other’s thoughts, feelings, and expectations; and the ability to make inferences from another person’s mental state, e.g., role-taking abilities (Crick & Dodge, 1994).

Concerning of teaching social competence has been proposed by several studies and proposes that people with autism suffer from difficulties in understanding other peoples’ mental states; and cannot predict a person’s behaviors or emotions; as such predictions are generally based on knowledge concerning reality (Baron-Cohen, 1995, Dianne, 2004). This conceptual competence is a core deficit in autistic people (Kaland, Smith, & Mortensen, 2007; and Swettenham, 1996). Emotional understanding constitutes insight into one’s emotional state as well as understanding of others’ feelings or facial expression (Harris, 1989). In other words, individual with ASC have difficulties concerning integrative understanding of social emotions. Further, the recent research explored recognizing expressive avatars for individual with ASC; the results indicated that they were able to recognize the four basic emotions by using avatar representation (Cheng et al., 2008, Cheng et al., 2003). Similarly, this functionality can be extended to an understanding of basic social information through use of a role-play approach. Cheng et al. (2005) demonstrated that individual with ASC had understanding of basic social information through a CVE system. This study explored the primitively founding of used expressive avatar in a CVE system. The results indicated that individual with ASC performed the capability of using expressive avatar to show their own feelings and recognizing other’s expressive avatars; and they had the basic understanding of social information by using a CVE system.

Similarly, some studies have attempted to teach individual with ASC suffers social understanding, but the participants could not apply the learned knowledge to the real-world. For example, Hadwin, Baron-Cohen, Howlin, and Hill (1996) taught rules concerning emotion and belief to children with autism in this specific domain, but participants were unable to apply the learnt strategies to new contexts (Hadwin et al., 1996). More interestingly, the value of VE as a tool for teaching social understanding to ASC adults has been demonstrated by Parsons and Mitchell (2004). They pointed out that some people with autism could remember social knowledge gained in VE and are able to understand such knowledge and apply it to real-life settings.

Furthermore, Aarons and Gittens (1999) suggest that appropriate intervention enables individuals with autism to make the most of their capabilities and develop strategies to cope with their deficits. CVE technology may play an interventional role here, offering various opportunities to support individual ASC’s learning and social activities, possibly via the internet (e.g., effective distance teaching techniques (Redfern & Naughton, 2002); learning social rules (Parsons & Mitchell, 2002)). Similarly, Parsons and Mitchell (2004), also argue CVE may offer more realistic settings for practicing social skills (e.g., role-play, real-time responses, and resulting interaction). CVE can create simulated environments with situational learning; e.g., a variety of simulated social interactions or potential emotions are caused by a social event. Specifically, the 3D humanoid expressive avatar allows users to express their own emotions and to consider the facial expression being displayed by another user’s emotions. A user with autism can potentially share their own feelings by using a 3D humanoid expressive avatar with others, and the use of the 3D humanoid expressive avatar may facilitate a focused attention on the other person’s expressive emotions.

Thus far, not much evidence demonstrates the value of CVLEs as a tool for teaching individuals with ASCs. However, the specific application of CVLE for people with ASCs has been quite limited. Our purpose is to take an initial step in investigating the potential of CVLE as a tool that combines the functions of interaction, text-based communication and 3D visual information for teaching social competence in people with ASCs. Specifically, this study attempts to teach social understanding, including social cognition and interaction. At the same time, we seek to answer the question: are people with ASCs able to use CVLE-social interaction system in 3D social scenarios, and do such systems provide the benefits of social competence to people with ASCs?

Section snippets

System design

In order to create a simulated environment to promote social competence for people with autism, the CVLE-social interaction system has been developed. This system uses 3D technology to represent a real-world setting. Further, there are two social scenes in this CVLE-social interaction system – a classroom, and an outdoor scene – both of which were presented to participants on a laptop (with a Pentium 3650 MHz Processor, 64 MB RAM and Window XP). The 3D environment was developed by 3D Max,

Participants

Three children with ASCs were recruited in the local special education center. Participants were selected if they met relatively good prerequisites according their verbal IQ (VIQ), performance IQ (PIQ), and full-scale IQ (FSIQ), as evaluated by the Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence III > 70 (WASI; Wechsler, 1999). The three participants were diagnosed as demonstrating disorders with social competence, or consistent with autistic syndrome in their school record. Permission from their

Results

All scores measured baseline, intervention, and maintain, and were compared to gauge the effectiveness of the system on the social competence of each participant (Fig. 3). The data were examined via visual inspection for evidence of improved social competence through use of the CVLE-social interaction system.

Fig. 3 shows that each participant had different levels of baseline social competence, e.g., Ruby’s score fell between 43% and 48%, George’s between 68% and 70% and Eric’s between 52% and

Discussion

This study investigated the social competence of children with ASCs, specifically in their social interaction and understanding. This result shows that using the CVLE-social interaction system had improved markedly on participants’ performance, both within the CVLE-social interaction system and they continued to learn and maintain knowledge of social competence. This finding demonstrated the value of the CVLE-social interaction system for people with ASCs and had positive effects on them. This

Conclusions

This study investigates whether participants with ASCs are able to learn social competence through the CVLE-social interaction system and can achieve a significant level. The findings suggested children with ASCs are able to understand and use this system combined with text-based communication and visual assistant, and also have improvement in reciprocal social behaviors in this study. However, this pilot study provides the preliminary evidence of the benefits of using CVLE-social interaction

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