CD 485 Computer Applications in Communication Disorders and Sciences

Interactive Video In Rehabilitation

Interactive video is the ultimate in computer based multi media instruction. . It can be described, for purposes of our discussion here, as a joining of two communication media: movies and computers to make realistic, animated, interactive scenes. As a tool for teaching, computers reach their zenith of usefulness with this kind of multi media presentation. Sight, sounds, animation, realism, control and interactivity are powerful teaching/learning ingredients. As the speed of computer processing and the capacity for image storage increases, the nature of interactive video production is also changing. A review of how it has changed will help to clarify how it can be used now—what strengths and weaknesses have been gained or lost and what can be expected in the future.

Computers and Video Tape Machines: From early on, in the public schools, there were many Apple IIe computers available to teachers. Although the capability was rarely utilized, these computers (with the addition of a special controller card, costing around $800) could interface with a videotape recorder. Using an aural code dubbed onto the soundtrack of the videotape by the card, the computer could find and play, in isolation, any portion of the tape. Hence, movies could be segmented to illustrate various speech and language lessons featuring such goals as the development of vocabulary, syntax, pragmatics, phonology, concept formation, reasoning, judgments, and memory, to mention a few. Of course, this required some computer programming skills (Super Pilot, for Apple). Most computer stations featuring interactive video required two monitors -- one for the computer and one for the tape recorder. This was because computer monitors did not have audio capabilities and television monitors did not have sufficient resolution to portray computer generated print. There were, however, monitors available for about $900 that would serve both purposes. Two types of movies could be used for educational purposes: local productions and commercial movies.

Local Productions on videotape refer to movies made by teachers themselves to serve particular goals in the curriculum. These "home-made" movies had significant advantages, one being that the production costs were minimal, providing one had access to a video camera. Video cameras are readily transportable and videotapes are relatively inexpensive and re-useable. In addition, almost any topic that a teacher might wish to present to a class was able to be captured on tape. For example, a video of patients with neurological disorders could be taped at a hospital and presented to students in college via an interactive video mode. A computer program could be generated to ask the

students to identify the symptoms of the pathology and/or to make a diagnosis of the etiology. The computer would be programmed to provide feedback relative to the correctness of students' identifications, and could, when warranted, provide coaching hints as to what they should have been observing.

On the other hand, for clinical purposes, video pictures could be taken of a stroke client's family members and home environment. These could then be integrated into an interactive video lesson that would have a high degree of personal relevance to the client.

Commercial Movies on videotape could also be used for interactive video lessons in a manner, which is referred to the literature as re-purposing. In re-purposing, segments of a commercial movie are used to illustrate various skills in speech and language. Movie scenes portraying actions, objects, relations and feelings (present, past and future) can be integrated into computer lessons. In the movie on videotape, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," for example, scenes abound of people running through meadows, jumping over chasms, creeping through tunnels, screaming at the sight of spiders. Each provides an attention grabbing opportunity to teach a speech/language principle. With their music, expansive scenes and superb acting, commercial movies certainly have the advantage of being highly interesting.

Unfortunately, the present generation of computers, although they are faster and more powerful, do not have the capability of putting an aural code on a videotape movie, commercial or local. They can, however, play digitized copies of videotapes. At the present, however, these are very space consuming for the hard disc drive. In addition,

they are often smaller on the screen, than typically desirable, and do not move with the fluidity nor have the clarity of movies. As technology advances, nevertheless, these disadvantages are becoming less a factor. Computers can also be connected with a videodisc player if it has an interface port for the computer to access the remote control.

Now, instead of using movies on tape, teachers can incorporate movies from a video disc.

Local Productions on video disc are possible but not practical for most teachers. The process of creating "home movies" and then transposing them onto a video disc is not only time consuming, but expensive (costing anywhere from $500 to $3000, depending upon the quality and reproducibility of the disc). What is taking the place of videotaped "home movies", however, are CD ROM discs. "Home movie" segments or even scenes from commercial movies (if permission is obtained) can be digitized by computers into "Quicktime" movies (with the aid of special digitizing cards) and saved on CD ROM drives. This requires, however, a special CD ROM drive (costing around $500.00) that ca write on a CD ROM disc. While most brands of CD ROM discs cannot be modified by a computer, there are available commercially special CD ROM discs that can be written on once . They originally cost around $25 per disc, but recently have been selling for around $1.25 per disc. Hence, personal and creative interactive video lessons, like those which were developed for the old Apple II computers on tapes, can still be developed, but now

on CD ROM discs. There are disadvantages to digitized movies, however. One is the quality of the movies. As mentioned above, they are usually smaller on the screen and provide less clarity and less fluid animation than is typically found on videotape or disc. Because of storage constraints, the segments of the movies are typically short, ranging from 5 seconds to 5 minutes maximum.

Computer programming for interactive video lesson development has also become simpler in recent years. In the past, teachers had to learn computer languages like BASIC or Super Pilot, which required knowledge of computer semantics, syntax and pragmatics. Today, there are menu driven computer programs available to develop these lessons. Examples of such programs are HyperCard (for Macintosh) and HyperStudio (for both Macintosh and PC's). With the click of the cursor on a menu, movies, graphics and sound can be worked into an interactive lesson in speech or language. It should be mentioned, however, that for the avid programmer, these applications also provide special computer languages for more complex development.

Commercial Movies on video disc have some distinct advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that the computer has more precise control over the segments of the movie being presented; and they do not need to spend time winding or rewinding as tapes do to find the selected segments. Another advantage is the high degree

of clarity of video disc pictures, even in the pause mode. A major disadvantage is that only special video discs (called CAV discs) permit precise computer control. There is a much narrower range of movies produced on CAV discs, hence the choice of movies is seriously reduced. In addition, CAV discs are more expensive and require more discs per movie. For example, a regular video disc that presents a movie on one disc and costs $25.00, might require four discs and cost $118.00 in a CAV format to show the same movie. Computers can also interface with discs called CLV discs which are cheaper and require less disc space. These, however, control the video disc on a time bases and are not as accurate. For example, the computer might select a segment from a point 10

minutes and 30 seconds into the movie until 12 minutes and 10 seconds. Regular video discs cannot be controlled by a computer, hence, no interactivity is possible. Of course, the development of DVD discs will be adding a new chapter to this whole discussion soon. It will be interesting to see what opportunities this brings in the next several years.

Interactive Video and the Internet: The impact of interactive videos on education is being reflected on the Internet. An Internet search using the words

"Interactive Video" will probably yield more than 22,000 sites on the topic. The following URL’s represent some typical multimedia sites:

http://www.bigheadinteractive.com/frames_SO_train.html

It is evident from a perusal of the internet that the scope of interactive video is expanding greatly and quickly. It is a business vortex of its own with many companies providing services for individuals and/or organizations that can pay the price. Words and concepts like virtual reality are becoming linked to this multi media megalith. For example see the Web address:

http://lcs.www.media.mit.edu/projects/alive/

V