Experiences of the use of the iPad app ADOC for collaborative goal setting in interprofessional rehabilitation: a qualitative descriptive study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Goal setting is a key part of the rehabilitation process. The use of technology and electronic tools such as smartphone applications (apps) and websites has been suggested as a way of improving the engagement of users in meaningful goal-setting and facilitating shared decision-making between patients and health professionals. OBJECTIVE To describe experiences of health professionals and patients in the use of the English language version of the iPad app Aid for Decision-making in Occupational Choice (ADOC) to facilitate collaborative goal setting in rehabilitation. METHODS We recruited participants from three acute and post-acute care rehabilitation wards in both public and private organizations in New Zealand. Participants were registered allied health professionals including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language therapists, who engage in goal setting as part of their normal work, and their adult patients. We collected data via semi-structured interviews to gather information about the experiences of the participants in the use of ADOC for goal setting. Data were analyzed with thematic analysis. RESULTS Eight health professionals and eight patients participated in the study. Six main themes emerged from the data: a) Changing patients’ perspective on what is possible; b) Changing health professionals’ perspective on what is important; c) Facilitating shared decision-making; d) Lack of guides for users; e) Logistic and organizational barriers; and f) App related and technical issues. CONCLUSIONS Health professionals and patients found ADOC to be a valuable tool when setting shared rehabilitation goals. The use of ADOC promoted a patient-centered approach that empowered patients to engage in collaborative goal setting. The technological limitations of the app that negatively impacted experiences can be addressed in the future implementation of ADOC in rehabilitation settings. CLINICALTRIAL The trial was retrospectively registered and allocated to the Australian New Zealand Clinal Trial Registry (ACTRN) number ACTRN12620001328965.

Adopting the “Explain EDU” Application Approach in Teaching Mathematics and Statistics

Interactive whiteboards (IWB) is known as one of the most revolutionary instructional technologies for various educational levels. One of the popular applications among educators that can be used as an extremely versatile interactive whiteboard is 'Explain EDU' (EEDU) application. EEDU works as a platform for borderless learning, sharing and collaborating using an IWB. It is an iPad app that is used to create dynamic lessons, presentations and other content that can be easily shared with others. Students who participated in this study are those from Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences who enrolled in a mathematics or statistics course at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Terengganu during the March – July 2019 semester. This study aims to gain insight on students' opinions and perspectives in learning Mathematics and Statistics subjects when being taught by using the EEDU application. The result suggests that the use of Explain EDU application in class for teaching does enhance students attitude towards learning mathematics or statistics course. Keywords: innovative teaching, interactive whiteboard, explain EDU application, iPad

A deep learning computer vision iPad application for Sales Rep optimization in the field

Computer vision is becoming an increasingly critical area of research, and its applications to real-world problems are gaining significance. In this paper, we describe the design, development and evaluation of our computer vision Faster R-CNN iPad App for Sales Representatives in grocery store environments. Our system aims to assist Sales Reps to be more productive, reduce errors, and provide increased efficiencies. We report on the creation of the iPad app, the data capturing guidelines we created for the creation of good classifiers and the results of professional Sales Reps evaluating our system. Our system was tested in a variety of conditions in grocery store environments and has an accuracy of 99%, a System Usability Score usability score of 85 (high). It supports up to 40 classifiers running concurrently to perform product identification in less than 3.8 s. We also created a set of data capturing guidelines that will enable other researchers to create their own classifiers for these types of products in complex environments (e.g., products with very similar packaging located on shelves).

Würfel mit digitalen Medien – Wo führt das noch hin? Ein tätigkeitstheoretischer Blick auf Würfelhandlungen

Dieser Beitrag wird ein Spagat – zwischen alt und neu, zwischen virtuell und real, zwischen Theorie und Praxis. Als Fundament dieses Beitrags dienen Holzwürfel, die zu kleinen Bauwerken werden und so ein bedeutsamer Bestandteil des Geometrieunterrichts sind. Kontakt zwischen Günter Krauthausen und uns entstand im Rahmen des Verbundprojektes "Digitales Lernen Grundschule", das die Deutsche Telekom Stiftung von 2017 bis 2019 für sechs Hochschulen förderte – unter anderem auch die Universitäten in Hamburg und Potsdam. Dabei entstand (in Potsdam durch Heiko Etzold) die iPad-App "Klötzchen", für die (u. a. in Hamburg durch Günter Krauthausen und Alexandra Pilgrim) vielfältige Unterrichtsszenarien entwickelt wurden. Die App wiederum bot (Lena Florian in Potsdam) Anlass, eine Virtual-Reality-Umgebung zu Würfelbauwerken zu entwickeln. Da stehen sie nun: Die echten Holzwürfel, die Klötzchen in der iPad-App und die Kuben im virtuellen Raum. Und stehen diese nebeneinander? Werden virtuelle Würfel bald dafür sorgen, dass wir uns keine Splitter mehr einziehen? Ist es von Bedeutung, ob ich nun raues Holz, einen glatten Bild-schirm oder einen VR-Controller mit vielen Knöpfen anfasse, um meisterhafte Würfelbauwerke zu erschaffen? Derartigen Fragen möchten wir in unserem Beitrag auf den Grund gehen. Wir betrachten vor allem die Handlungen, die mit Würfeln beim Bauen in den verschiedenen Medien möglich und sinnvoll sind. Wir untersuchen, inwieweit dies geometrisches Verständnis fördern kann. Und nicht zuletzt wollen wir Lehrerinnen und Lehrern Anregungen geben, wie mathematisch wünschenswerte Handlungen von Schülerinnen und Schülern im jeweiligen Medium aufgebaut, diagnostiziert und unterstützt werden können und damit ein vielfältiger, differenzierender Unterricht ermöglicht werden kann.

Comparing Spatial Release From Masking Using Traditional Methods and Portable Automated Rapid Testing iPad App

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare speech identification abilities of individuals of various ages and hearing abilities using traditional methods and Portable Automated Rapid Testing (PART) iPad app. Method Speech identification data were collected using three techniques: over headphones using a virtual speaker array, using PART iPad app (UCR Brain Game Center, 2018), and using loudspeaker presentation in a sound-attenuated room. For all three techniques, Coordinate Response Measure sentences were used as the stimuli and “Charlie” was used as the call sign. A progressive tracking procedure was used to estimate the speech identification thresholds for listeners with varying hearing thresholds. The target sentence was always presented at 0° azimuth angle, whereas the maskers were colocated (0°) with the target or symmetrically spatially separated by ±15°, ±30°, or ±45°. Results Data analysis revealed similar speech identification thresholds for the iPad and headphone conditions and slightly poorer thresholds for the loudspeaker array condition across participant groups. This was true for all spatial separations between the target and the maskers. Conclusion Strong correlation between the headphone and iPad data presented in this study indicated that the spatial release from masking module in the PART iPad app can be used as a clinical tool to assess spatial processing ability prior to audiologic evaluation in the clinic and can also be used to make recommendations for and to track progress with aural rehabilitation programs over time.

Language Differentiation Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication: An Investigation of Spanish–English Bilingual Children With and Without Language Impairments

Purpose Children with severe speech and language impairments growing up in dual language environments may communicate in more than one language using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This study investigated predictors of bilingual children's ability to differentiate between Spanish and English using an AAC iPad app during a cued language-switching task and examined whether switching between languages using AAC incurred a cognitive cost. Method Participants were 58 Spanish–English bilingual children ages 4;0–6;11 (years;months; 23 with language impairments). Children received standardized language and cognitive assessments and completed an experimental language-switching task in which they were asked to differentiate between languages using an AAC iPad app containing English and Spanish vocabulary layouts paired with voice output. Results Results of a binary logistic regression indicated that, when controlling for age, processing speed significantly predicted whether children were classified as high or low performers on the experimental task. Nonparametric tests indicated that switching between languages did not incur a cognitive cost as evidenced by similar response times on trials where participants were required to switch between languages compared to trials where they did not switch. Conclusion This study contributes to the understanding of how young bilingual children with and without language impairments conceptualize and discriminate between languages represented in a visual–graphic modality paired with speech output. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13289330

What do patients with glaucoma see: a novel iPad app to improve glaucoma patient awareness of visual field loss

PurposeGlaucoma patients with peripheral vision loss have in the past subjectively described their field loss as ‘blurred’ or ‘no vision compromise’. We developed an iPad app for patients to self-characterise perception within areas of glaucomatous visual field loss.MethodsTwelve glaucoma patients with visual acuity ≥20/40 in each eye, stable and reliable Humphrey Visual Field (HVF) over 2 years were enrolled. An iPad app (held at 33 cm) allowed subjects to modify ‘blur’ or ‘dimness’ to match their perception of a 2×2 m wall-mounted poster at 1 m distance. Subjects fixated at the centre of the poster (spanning 45° of field from centre). The output was degree of blur/dim: normal, mild and severe noted on the iPad image at the 54 retinal loci tested by the HVF 24-2 and was compared to threshold sensitivity values at these loci. Monocular (Right eye (OD), left eye (OS)) HVF responses were used to calculate an integrated binocular (OU) visual field index (VFI). All three data sets were analysed separately.Results36 HVF and iPad responses from 12 subjects (mean age 71±8.2y) were analysed. The mean VFI was 77% OD, 76% OS, 83% OU. The most common iPad response reported was normal followed by blur. No subject reported dim response. The mean HVF sensitivity threshold was significantly associated with the iPad response at the corresponding retinal loci (For OD, OS and OU, respectively (dB): normal: 23, 25, 27; mild blur: 18, 16, 22; severe blur: 9, 9, 11). On receiver operative characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the HVF retinal sensitivity cut-off at which subjects reported blur was 23.4 OD, 23 OS and 23.3 OU (dB).ConclusionsGlaucoma subjects self-pictorialised their field defects as blur; never dim or black. Our innovation allows translation of HVF data to quantitatively characterise visual perception in patients with glaucomatous field defects.