Constructing a personalized e-learning system for students with autism based on soft semantic web technologies

Abstract

Computer use offers a flexible, high status means of providing opportunities for people with autism in education, communication, creativity, leisure and employment. It may offer a range of very useful tools for a person with autism, but this must be embedded in a wider care for educational system to be effective. People with autism have a psychoeducational profile that is different from normally developing individuals. Planning the instructional program for students with autism is complex, because these students have significant differences from most other students in learning style, communication, and social skill development, and often have challenging behaviours. There is considerable individual variability in how these characteristics affect a particular person. Programs must be individualized based on the unique needs and abilities of each student. Context aware e-learning system provides the learning contents based on the individual characteristics of the learner. An adaptive e-learning system based on soft semantic web technologies can be developed to teach the students with autism.