Helping special needs students learn skills through mobile apps

Could mobile applications be the answer to help special needs students to learn social and emotional skills? Researchers at NTU Singapore have developed three such apps after a nine-week pilot, which involved 140 students from the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN).

Prof Ong Yew Soon, Director of NTU’s Data Science & Artificial Intelligence Research Centre (DSAIR), who led the project, said the team's goal was to use AI for societal good. Developers said these games help them recognise and express how they feel. The games have since been released for use at all APSN schools.

“The benefits of these apps to special needs students are substantial,” said Prof Ong. “Prior to this, learning about emotional intelligence was more of a pen-and-paper exercise. Now, they can enjoy a personalised learning experience, as well as leverage the ability of AI as an assistive tool to recognise and respond to feelings while picking up social and emotional skills in a fun and engaging manner.”