Enter the maze

Giving the cs4fn 'Searching to Speak' school talk

The title slide of the talk

This page contains resources for anyone wanting to give the cs4fn 'Searching to Speak' talk in schools.

Summary

Locked-in syndrome leaves a person totally paralysed other than being able to blink one eye, but otherwise being able to think, see and hear as normal. How can an understanding of some basic computer science help a person with locked-in syndrome communicate? How have engineers built devices that not only transform the lives of disabled people but have potential to give us super-human powers. What this talk is ultimately about is how computer science and electronic engineering are not just about understanding gadgets but about understanding people too.

"How can you write a book when all you can do is blink one eyelid?"

Suitability

This talk has been given successfully with strong feedback to a a wide range of age groups from Year 7 (age 11-12) to Year 13 (age 17-18). It has also been given to all female, all male and mixed male-female groups.

Time allowed

We normally allow 60-75 minutes for this talk depending on how much discussion there is. If you successfully get the audience arguing with you about what intelligence is it can go on longer! For shorter talks or if over running it is possible to skip the sodarace part at the end.

Resources

A booklet giving the core story The slides as a ppt [LARGE FILE] The Emotional Robot Video Decision Tree to find a letter (pdf) - can be used as a handout Related articles from the cs4fn archive: Locked In Syndrome Related articles from the cs4fn archive: Kevin Warwick, Cyborg SUper Senses

You may also wish to get a copy of the book "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" by Jean-Dominique Bauby.

Credits

This talk was written by Paul Curzon of Queen Mary, University of London as part of the cs4fn project with support from EPSRC and Google.