The SVSU smart spaces team is working on the following:

Julie Hadden has taken on the task of clearly defining what a smart space is, and what type of smart space we would like to have on campus.

Julie Ritsema and Danielle Scott are researching the role of the OT in assistive technologies such as smart spaces as well as why SVSU should build an AT lab.

Note from Julie H.: "So far I've searched google and google scholar and am finding tons of computer articles, but only a few really outline what I think we're looking for. I found a nice article on smart classrooms. Any suggestions on other search sources?"

Doug Comment: When you do smart spaces research, use terms like: ambient intelligence; smart walls (wallpaper); smart desks (surfaces); smart lighting; smart chairs; smart calendars (pictures, windows); digital books; smart floors, smart rugs, smart "chalkboards", smart doors or portals; talking rooms. Substitute "intelligent" for "smart". Remember that you are trying to take a standard space and digitalize it.

Also, remember that our goal is to create smart spaces (for real) in the public schools (especially but not exclusively special education). The ATlab would be a test space for these digital tools. It is not only a classroom that is our focus, but also street intersections, sidewalks, hallways, specific types of rooms (bathrooms, kitchens), and common objects within these spaces that can be made smarter (react to a remote, talk, move, etc.).

Take the OT notion of a sensory stimulation space (room) and see what high tech could do to the idea.

Imagine a hospital operating room in the year 1900. Now imagine an operating room today. The operating room today is so technologically intensive that the two rooms are completely different; one looks primitive and the other futuristic.

If you do the same thought comparison with two public school classrooms, one in 1900 and one today, the impact of technology is much less dramatic. Somewhere along the technology time continuum medicine evolved, but education did not.

A classroom in a special education setting also looks much like a classroom 100 years ago. Children in special education have needs and challenges far beyond the normal child; many of these needs could be addressed by sophisticated technologies, but they are not.

Blind children need classrooms that talk. They need sophisticated soundscapes. POHI children need the ability to remotely control their environments, to activate lights, games, to command that doors and drawers open when needed. Autistic children (LD, ADHD, EI, etc.) need classrooms that shut out extraneous sounds and visual clutter. Most of the children need lighting that stimulates them to be awake and ready to learn in the morning, but that changes as the day progresses. Processing speed and memory recall can be augmented/assisted by technology.

What follows is a detailed analysis of various categories of children in special education and the many ways their environment could be altered to improve learning and function.

The Blind Child's classroom

The Visually Impaired Child's classroom
The POHI Child's classroom
The Autistic Child's classroom
The ADHD Child's classroom
The Deaf Child's classroom
The CI Child's classroom