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Children enjoying joke software

Children who use computer aids to communicate have been discovering the joys of puns and jokes in a new piece of software. The program, a collaborative project between Aberdeen and Edinburgh University, allows children to learn about puns and how to put them into sentences to make a joke. Titled, System To Augment Non-speakers Dialogue Using Puns (Standup), the program has been trialled at a school near Glasgow with great success. The developers stated: "Children with communication impairments are often reliant on augmented communication aids in order to carry on conversations, but these aids give little scope for generating novel language. "We propose to address this deficiency in the language environment of the non-speaking child by providing a software tool which promotes humorous language play." Most importantly, the children are interacting with the program and having good fun in the process. "The children clearly enjoy these jokes and being able to engage in the practice of telling them," Ruli Manurung, from Edinburgh University, told the Guardian. Standup still needs some tweaking, as seen by some rather poor jokes produced by the software, but it is making important inroads into non-speaking child development. ihotdesk provide outsourcing services and IT support for London and throughout the UK © Adfero Ltd

23/08/2006

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