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Hi, until now Eye Control has been reserved for those who have a proven
understanding of cause-and-effect and are demonstrating that they are ready
for an AAC device
or a computer
to be used by their eyes.
Very few users would gain access to an Eye Gaze system without a successful assessment,
without proving they can use it
on that day when they're trying it out for the first time.
However, at Tobii Technology, we believe that Eye Gaze is a skill like any other
and that it needs to be taught in a constructive way.
And that's why we've pulled together
the Tobii Technology Eye Gaze Learning Curve.
Well, why Eye Control?
Eye Control is an access method like no other
put simply
it's the fastest access method for anybody with a physical disability.
Users can simply look at the object they want
and it will select.
The benefit of this is also that it has an extremely low cognitive load
attached to it.
Users can look
and choose, and therefore they don't need to learn switch timing
or the ability to move the joystick or a mouse to the requisite part of the screen.
You look,
it happens.
Also, individuals can forget their position in front of the computer
to some extent.
Most other access methods require
careful positioning of the switch, the keyboard, the mouse, the joystick.
Eye Gaze,
wherever your head is your eyes will always be there;
the Eye Gaze user
can take control of the computer
but freely move from side to side
forwards and backwards.
Finally, as an access method, Eye Gaze is the only one where the third party, the person
that we're using a computer along side, or the person that we're talking to
can see what we're looking at.
This prompts communication like no other access method.
So all in all we think that Eye Control,
because offers all of these things, is something that should actively be taught.
Well, what is the Learning Curve?
The Learning Curve is a step-by-step approach
which takes us from the earliest understanding of cause effect with the
computer all the way through to a full
digitally inclusive, independent life.
But up till now
calibration has been the most important thing
during that critical assessment stage, if somebody hasn't been able to calibrate
they haven't been able to access the system, and at that point
professionals,
assessors,
have thought that this was not the access method for them.
The Eye Gaze Learning Curve will start off with
no calibration,
and we'll get success.
From that
early level of success we will encourage the user to
fix their eyes more carefully,
teach eye pointing,
that will then give us
good calibrations, better calibrations
which then, in turn, leads to better
communication and computer access.
If we think about it that's exactly what we already do in Schools
Day Centers and Hospitals today.
We work with switch based games, touchscreen based games, we do a lot of
cause-and-effect exercises to teach the skills
so somebody can eventually take control of the computer
or their AAC device with a switch, a mouse or joystick.
We don't do this for Eye Control. We jump straight in with grid-based
communication,
but actually
there's a whole host of learning Pre-AAC that can be done
to get better control and teach that access method.
So the Learning Curve is a clear pathways to Eye Control success.
We like to break it down as follows:
Sensory Eye Control,
the very first experiences in front of a computer screen.
Imagine being taken into a darkened Sensory Room
where we sit in front of a screen, and the moment our eyes may contact with
that screen
stars start to appear,
bubbles will start to appear; we'll get a real immediate sense of cause-and-effect.
That's what we like to call Sensory Eye Tracking.
Next, we'll look at
Eye Tracking, Early Eye Tracking.
Early Eye Tracking is where we will sit in front of photos, videos
favorite television programs,
and the third party can watch where the cursor moves.
This leads the user to understand that we can interpret their eye movements into
conversation. We can react appropriately with them
in front of the screen.
This encourages the user to start actively moving their eyes around the
screen so that we respond
in a conversational way with them.
Thirdly, we have Exploration.
Exploration is the critical part. This is time
spent alone
by the end user, learning how to use their computer.
At this stage we might be looking at
painting on a screen, we might be looking at playing
space invaders, shoot-em-up games. Just simply,
mouse, simple mouse-over exercises that encourage the user
to start actively moving their eyes around a screen.
Stages four and five, we call
Turn Taking and Choosing.
Choosing and Turn Taking are critical steps that need to be learned before we can
get to Communication.
There's a whole host of software out there, a whole host of websites
which will allow
simple choices to be made.
We can also use Tobii's own software, Tobii Communicator at this point to introduce
early Choosing, early Turn Taking.
But it is a critical step that we have to learn before we potentially move on
to
Stage six, which is
Communication Vocabularies.
This is what Tobii are already specialists at,
we have a whole range of vocabularies that will allow people to start with
situation based symbol
communication charts, games based on those situations,
through to symbol based grids or communications charts. And then
going on to early stages of literacy,
moving then onto
full literacy.
Once we have somebody at full literacy the world is their oyster.
We can then move on to
stage seven,
which is Communication
and Computer Control in the wider sense.
At this stage we will start to introduce things like Email, Facebook, MSN or Skype.
This is where the user realizes that they can start to interact with the
world at large.
Having a real impact on their care,
having a real impact on their education.
So that's what we call the Eye Gaze Learning Curve at Tobii.