Transcript Three’s company – an experimental proposal for AAC

Three’s company – an
experimental proposal for AAC
Norman Alm
School of Computing
University of Dundee
With AAC, the technology can actually get in the way
Technology can make distance communication possible but
tends to severely restrict face to face communication
Body language
Words
Tone of voice
Design efforts to overcome the ‘necessary evil’ of
technology
Automaticity of use
Using muscle memory,
like touch typing
Effortless to use
Intelligent interface design
Predicting what the user wants
But progress has been disappointing, really
TIME FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT ?
What about introducing a third element to the interaction ?
Both participants
make equal use
of the third
element
Participant 1
Participant 2
What would this third element be ?
Not an AAC system
Not a replacement for an AAC system
Something which both participants used to create engaging
and enjoyable communication and interaction
It might look a bit like a social networking site, or a game
Three challenges (at least)
How quickly the AAC user could provide input
The preference of a naturally speaking partner to just speak
instead
The third element seeming contrived and artificial and
therefore irrelevant to conversational goals
Two recently developed systems could give us a clue
CIRCA
CIRCA
Communication support
system for people with
dementia and their carers
Both enjoy exploring
touchscreen access to
reminiscence material
Triggers long-term
memories in the person
with dementia
This creates a
conversation built on the
person’s stories.
TALKING MATS
A structure for communication
to help a person with
communication difficulties
express their opinions about a
subject
Language as a game, with rules
The limits of my
language means the
limits of my world
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Examples of language interaction rules
Be relevant
No silences
Equal turns at talking
How to force someone to speak after you :
Finish your remarks and look straight at them
There are interesting cultural differences in the rules :
e.g. in the UK conversation is like a tennis match whereas
in Japan it is like bowling
New language interaction rules for AAC ?
We already have two :
Everyone need not contribute equal talk to a conversation
Long silences do not convey a negative emotion
A focus group of AAC users has experimented successfully
with another one :
Suspend the rule on turn-taking
(everyone communicates in parallel)
What kind of a new language game could we have ?
Two or more people
Touchscreen or switch input
Touchscreen gives them access to
... ?
What would the purpose of the interaction be ?
Could be :
(1) Spend some enjoyable time together
Kurt Vonnegut (censored slightly)
We are here on Earth to mess around, and don't let
anybody tell you different.
(2) Give participants a chance to express their personality
If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes
impossible.
(James Whistler )
(Both are key goals of all conversational interaction generally)
Social media sites
Single photos
Music
Video clips
Photo albums
Individuals
Links
Groups you are
a member of
Text
Other web pages
Dialogues with others
Who might come up with ideas for such a system ?
AAC users
Friends and families of AAC users
AAC professionals
AAC companies
AAC researchers
But also :
Computer games designers
Social networking sites designers