Interlocutors and interactions: Examining the interactions between students with complex communication needs, teachers, and eye-gaze technology

This study analyzes the role of the machine as a communicative partner for children with complex communication needs as they use eye-tracking technology to communicate. We ask: to what extent do eye-tracking devices serve as functional communications systems for children with complex communication n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human machine communication journal (Print) 2020, Vol.1, p.113-131
Main Authors: McEwen, Rhonda, Atcha, Asiya, Lui, Michelle, Shimaly, Roula, Maharaj, Amrita, Ali, Syed, Carroll, Stacie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to information
Classrooms
communication disability
Communications systems
communicative partner
Curricula
Digital humanities
Disabilities
Educational technology
Eye movements
eye-gaze communication
Face recognition
human-machine communication
Human-machine systems
Interpersonal communication
Learning
Nonverbal communication
Software
Special education
Students
Teachers
Technology
Tracking devices
Tracking systems
Voice communication
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Summary:This study analyzes the role of the machine as a communicative partner for children with complex communication needs as they use eye-tracking technology to communicate. We ask: to what extent do eye-tracking devices serve as functional communications systems for children with complex communication needs? We followed 12 children with profound physical disabilities in a special education classroom over 3 months. An eye-tracking system was used to collect data from software that assisted the children in facial recognition, task identification, and vocabulary building. Results show that eye gaze served as a functional communication system for the majority of the children. We found voice affect to be a strong determinant of communicative success between students and both of their communicative partners: the teachers (humans) and the technologies (machines).
ISSN:2638-6038
2638-602X
2638-6038
DOI:10.30658/hmc.1.7