The Future Book for the Future Einstein: A Proposal
Think of “A night from Christmas past”- Well the virtual reality book would be an imitation of that. Instead of illustrations on a page, we are actually in the book, interacting with characters and objects. The reader will be introduced to a new environment in the realms of this book, as the narrator reads the words aloud. The reader will be directed to explore items by simply touching or tapping them.
Imagine! It’s a warm and sunny day. The air is filled with the song of two love birds in a ballad (the reader is seeing and hearing this). You look down and you find that you are in a field of flowers, flowers of all kind. Look up and you’ll see big white fluffy clouds. Touch the grass, it’s really real. Feel it! You touch and you feel it between your fingertips. The narrator, who is directing your attention, may be an audio voice or a simulation of an actual person who is walking through this book with you. You see a huge tree in the distance; it’s a great big oak tree. The narrator gives you history about the and instructed you to touch or place your hand on the tree, once you do that you get a vision of the tree’s past. Or maybe there is a girl sitting under the tree. She’s humming and seems happy. The narrator tells you to touch or tap the girl on the shoulder to get her attention. Playing off this idea, there are opportunities for new books to be written and translated into this program. The programs created for this book are intended for children with autism and a variety of intellectual disabilities. There will be a variety of different stories/ programs that will simulate “real-world” experiences. For instance, My First Trip to the Grocery Store, would be a book that teaches children coping with severe autism, or behavioral problems, how to behave in public settings. Within the story settings there will be a specific tab to set and adjust external stimuli such as sound. This way the parent or therapist can adjust the book’s settings to the child’s needs at the current moment, and introduce stimuli, moderately.
My audience would be geared mostly toward children with autism, as well as a wide range of other intellectual disabilities as the book evolves. The purpose of this new technology is to provide children with autism (specifically those with problem behaviors such as aggressive and self-injurious behaviors) learn socially desired coping skills and mechanisms in a fun and educational way. The program will also include positive reinforcement in the form of coins, tickets, or currency (depending on the setting) for following directions. For highly aggressive children, the virtual reality goggles and gloves must be able to detect AGGs and SIBs. The equipment must be nearly indestructible. My hopes for the new book is that children will take what they have learned and apply it to real life scenarios, thus decreasing problem behaviors and increasing social, communicative skills.